Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Beef

  When you think of barbecue, you usually think of firing up the grill, correct? Or if you're really hardcore, you think of firing up your smoker, am I right? Well, what do you do if you want something barbecue, but you live in an apartment with no way of grilling? You use your slow cooker, of course! That's usually my go-to when I want pulled pork, but this time I wanted to do a pulled BEEF.
 Now, normally, I would just pour some barbecue sauce over a chunk of meat and let it cook all day, but this time I kind of wanted to do a dry rub instead. Can you put a big beef in a slow cooker without any added liquid? Absolutely! For one thing, there will be a lot of juice from the beef itself. And for another thing, you really don't want to BOIL the beef in all that liquid. You just want it to slow cook in its own juices. And then, finally...FINALLY....., after patiently waiting for it to cook all day ... you pull apart the most tender beef you've ever cooked......  you add some barbecue sauce, just until it's enough, and then you serve it up on some fresh rolls with some cole slaw or potato salad and a crisp crunchy pickle spear.
OH. MY. GOD. Seriously, for me, that's Summer on a plate. All I need now is some Jersey corn and a few Jersey Tomatoes, and I'll be living like Royalty, wondering what the poor people are doing. SO GOOD! There's just nothing like it!
So, give it a try. If you're all about that beef, then this is one for you!


1 3-5 lb chuck roast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
a few pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
1 sliced onion
Barbecue sauce


Mix together the spices and brown sugar. Using your impeccably clean hands, rub the spice mixture all over the beef. Place beef in slow cooker. Top with onion slices. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. When the beef is falling apart, use two forks to shred it. Add your favorite barbecue sauce until it's as saucy as you like it.


Tips:
If there is quite a bit of juice, just remove a little before you add the barbecue sauce.