Slow Cooker Ground Beef Barbecue for Sandwiches

Here's a good way to put your slow cooker to use and still get to enjoy a barbecue inspired dish for dinner after a long day at work. You can increase the sweetness if you like your barbecue sweeter, or increase the mustard if you prefer that tang. Change it up to your preferences, and serve this on buns with some cheese and pickles, or ladle over hot dogs for a barbecue style chili dog! Lots of ways to use this tasty meat mixture for a tasty meal.

This is very much a barbecue-esque sloppy joe mixture, and we really enjoyed it for a change of pace. Sloppy joe sandwiches are always well received in our house, and I will definitely be keeping this one in rotation. I love that everything can be combined in the slow cooker and set on low and that's all there is to it. You can cook the grease off first if preferred, but I chose not to and did find the mixture a little wet, but nothing a slotted spoon couldn't handle. I think a diced bell pepper would also work well in this dish for a little extra veggie in the mix.

Slow Cooker Ground Beef Barbecue from Christine Westrom on AllRecipes

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic minced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 small carrots, peeled and finely grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 1/2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups ketchup

Directions

1. Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook until brown, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 15 minutes. Drain excess grease.
2. Place the meat and all remaining ingredients into a slow cooker, and stir to combine. Set the cooker on Low, and cook for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Taste, adjust seasonings as desired and serve on buns with additional toppings if desired.

Note: I chose to cook my beef in the slow cooker along with the seasonings which also works well, but you won't be able to drain off the grease, so the mixture will be "wetter".