If you love smokehouse BBQ restaurants but don’t want to spend the money to go out, or maybe you have a smoker at home but don’t have 16 hours to wait, this Smokehouse style slow cooker beef recipe brings those aromas, flavors, and tender cuts of beef to your kitchen.
Dan here, Debi’s husband, with a new husband-approved recipe! I created this recipe because I wanted a smoky delicious yet easy recipe for making at home.
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Do you love smokehouse BBQ pit restaurants?
Do you love the aroma that hits you as soon as you walk in? Does your mouth start to water at the thought of the fall apart tenderness of the meats and that wonderful smoky flavor? Yeah, me too!
But those restaurants can be pricey and sometimes I don’t want to spend the money or time to go out. I know people who have invested the money to get a home smoker and invested the time to get good at it.
While I love the results they get, I don’t have the space for another backyard item and honestly I can’t imagine getting up in the cold, dark morning to get the smoker going.
And let’s be honest, don’t we all want to be able to serve up an amazing platter of smoked beef for our friends and family?
This recipe is for you
If you agree, then this recipe might be the thing for you. This recipe brings those aromas, flavors, and tender cuts of beef to your kitchen in about 4 hours! It takes less than an hour to bring everything together in the slow cooker and then you are free to try and get something else done while your house fills with delicious smokehouse aromas! Just don’t blame me if your neighbors show up unannounced.
Steak
We’ve made this Smokehouse style slow cooker beef a few times, and it’s great with all different kinds of steak meat. Use whatever’s on sale that week, like brisket, tri tip, or New York strip. I’d pass by the expensive cuts like Filet mignon, save that for a special occasion, and don’t make that in the crock pot.
Serve the cooked beef in
- Sandwiches
- Sliders
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Nachos
- On mashed potatoes
- With rice
Mesquite Spice
There are a bunch of different brands that my grocery store carries. I’m sure all of them are great. We used {affiliate link} this brand, which seems to be available in lots of places.
Broth
My go-to broth base now is {affiliate link} Better Than Bouillion. There are so many things I love about it (and they aren’t sponsoring this post, I do just really love it).
It’s condensed, so you only have to buy one small jar and you get many uses out of it. If you bought that much canned broth you’d take up a whole pantry full! It tastes great, with a rich and complex flavor, not simple, like most broths. It’s easy to use.
I add it to lots of places that need a flavor boost, like gravy, soups, stews, ramen, and it doesn’t water anything down.
If you want to use homemade or canned broth for this recipe, simply use 2 cups broth in place of the water and Better than Bouillion.
Liquid Smoke
This is the brand and flavor of liquid smoke that we use. It’s what my grocery store carries. It tastes great. I’m sure that just about any brand will be good. Have you ever seen how they make liquid smoke? It’s pretty interesting.
It really is made from smoke. Wood chips or sawdust from hardwoods such as hickory or mesquite are burned, and the smoke is collected in condensers. The resulting liquid is concentrated down for a stronger flavor. So the flavor really is the same as what you get from a smoker. Want to watch a video and learn more, check it out here.
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Smokehouse style slow cooker beef recipe
Smokehouse style slow cooker beef
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 pounds less expensive steak meat, like brisket, tri tip, or New York strip
Rub
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Mesquite spice
Cooking Liquid
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke hickory flavor
- 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillion
Instructions
- Trim the steak of any of silver skin, gristle, and excess fat. If the steak is large, don’t be afraid to cut it into smaller pieces so it fits in the crock pot.
- Mix the rub ingredients (salt, pepper, and mesquite spice) together in a small bowl. Rub both sides of the steak with the spice mix and let it sit while you work on the rest of the recipe. At least 15 minutes should do.
- Pour the water, liquid smoke, and Better Than Bouillion in the crock pot, mix together, and turn on high.
- Sear the outside of the steak until browned; this can be done on the grill or in a pan on the stove. Don’t worry if the steak is cooked all the way through, you’re just trying to get a nice browned crust on the outside.
- Add the browned steak to the crock pot, cover, and cook on high until tender and delicious. Time will vary depending on how thick your cut of beef is but figure on about 4 hours. I start checking it after about 3 hours. Check it by pushing on it with the back of a spoon. You can cook it just until tender or keep cooking it until it falls apart for more of a pulled beef style.
- Serve the beef using a slotted spoon to drain off all the juices. I like to save the beef broth and use it when reheating the meat to pour over and moisten the beef. You can also use the beef broth as a gravy or a soup.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
This looks perfectly cooked!
This beef looks so moist and tender!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Cooking at home is so much cheaper, and usually healthier too!
Oh my goodness… We grill all the time, but I’ve always wished there was an alternative for bad weather days. This sounds like the perfect option, and so much easier, too!
The meat was wonderful, thanks for sharing the recipe
Can you use the pressure cooker. If so how long would you suggest?
Karyn, yes, I think you can make this in the pressure cooker. Typically, beef takes about 20-25 minutes per pound. So, this should take 40-50 minutes for 2 pounds on high pressure. Some cooking time may vary based on the cut of meat and exactly how many pounds you cook, but that’s a great ballpark time. I’d love to hear how it goes if you try it. We haven’t done this recipe in the Instant Pot, but Dan has cooked similar ones. It should work well.