Cooking Louisiana  -  Barbecue Beef for Po-Boys
Cajuns love a good po-boy and here's a simple Barbecue Beef Po-Boy recipe you can do. It's best to cook the roast starting in the morning for supper-time po-boys as this could take several hours, and, you can't rush this. This can also be done with pork.

Barbecue Beef Po-Boy

1 crock pot large enough to hold roast.
1 5-6 lb chuck roast
2 lg. onions chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 beef bullion cubes dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water.
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
1/8 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning of your choice
1 cup (maybe more) of your favorite barbecue sauce (combine 2 types if you wish)
1 tsp. sugar

Brown roast well on all sides and put in the crock pot. In another pan sauté veggies until lightly brown then add to roast. Add remaining ingredients except barbecue sauce and sugar, set the crock pot on high, cover and cook until roast falls apart. If you have a really thick roast, go ahead and slice it in half against the grain before you brown it.

Once the roast is done (you should be able to pull it apart with a fork) turn the crock pot down to low. Take roast out and continue to separate it with a fork. If it's real stringy use an electric knife to chop it up some. You want the pieces small enough to sit easily on a po-boy bun, and when you bite on it you don't pull half the meat out from between the bread (you know what I mean).

Pour the water out of the crock pot using a strainer to catch the veggies. Put the veggies back in the crock pot along with the roast. Add the barbecue sauce to the roast, mix well and cook on high for around 30 minutes uncovered stirring occasionally. If you want to add more sauce go ahead. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

If you want to go through the trouble; take the water you removed, put it in a sauce pan and reduce it by two thirds and add it back to the roast. Just be careful not to make the roast to watery. If you need to thicken it some add a little flour or corn starch, or you can continue to cook it uncovered until most of the moisture is gone. ** What you're looking for is a consistency that will moisten the bread some, but not make it so soggy it falls apart.

Grill some sliced onions on the side if you're an onion lover!

This freezes well in zipper locking bags.

Enjoy