How About Some Mid-Winter BBQ?

About author / Sarah Christine Bolton

Coffee addict; professional food writer; food fusion. Her slow cooker recipes go above and beyond your normal crockpot fare.

One dark, cold night last week, I came home from being at work too late, and as I climbed the stairs to my third floor apartment (who had the brilliant idea to have a third floor apartment, anyway?), I smelled the intoxicating scent of barbeque. My first emotion was anger. I was mad that someone had the time and energy at 9:00 at night to fire up the old grill. Then, desire. If I had known whose apartment the smell was coming from, I would have seriously knocked on their door.

It was probably a good thing that I didn’t know whose apartment the smell was coming from. I ended up eating a can of soup or some other generic canned good. But the whole experience got me remembering some of my childhood barbeque experiences.

I grew up in Montana, where the winters last for nine months and the summers (if you can call them that) are there for just a few elusive moments. Because of the limited summertime livin’, we had lots and lots of barbeques. It didn’t take much to convince my dad to start up our electric grill and throw on some meat.

What was on the grill varied depended on the occasion. Chicken, turkey patties, beef burgers, even the occasional hot dog all made appearances on the center grill. And of course, no barbeque was complete without all the sides: corn on the cob, crisp green salad, mixed fruit salad, and baked potatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper.

For certain days of the year, barbeque was a no-brainer choice. Fourth of July, for example, was most definitely a barbeque day. One year, after a long hike up the Rocky Mountains, we came home and cooked up barbequed chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and baked potatoes wrapped in silver tinfoil. We even brought out the hand-crank ice cream maker and made some peach ice cream sweetened with fresh peaches and honey.

I remember the day when my dad allowed me to man (or woman!) the barbeque. I was so very excited and proud to hold those tongs in my hands. After wrapping an apron around my waist, I started dropping meat onto the hot grills. It sizzled and popped, especially when I spread sauce over the top of the chicken and burgers. I stood at that barbeque for a good hour. By the time I was done, my hair and clothes smelled like grease and smoke. I carried a heaping platter of meat to the picnic table and set it in the middle of all the sides. It was a proud moment. It was an exhausted moment. Barbequing is hard work.

Which is why when I came home late the other night and smelled barbeque, making my own barbeque really was not going to happen. I did, however, get inspired to make barbeque in the crockpot. Since cooking meat naturally makes it very tender, I thought pulled barbeque sandwiches would be the best dish to try.

So, here it is: a pulled barbeque sandwich recipe. And beware. You might make some of your neighbors very mad. Keep extra buns and sauce on hand to appease them if need be.

Serves/Makes: 8

• 3 pounds beef round steak
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 can (12 ounce size) beer
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 can (6 ounce size) tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• salt, to taste
• hamburger buns