Short of regular sandwiches, this is quite possible the simplest recipe I can think of.

You take beef, rootbeer, and BBQ sauce and combine them in a slow cooker. Put on bread. Eat.

With that out of the way, the beef ends up quite tasty - even though I couldn’t really taste the rootbeer’s sarsaparilla, but it feels as if it requires more. I think something slightly acid makes a good side or additional topping; coleslaw probably works great, pickles do too - as long as they’re not too dill-y.

For my taste, I threw together some onion with salt and vinegar. Some of us added pickled banana peppers - those worked great too.

As far as the bread goes, I would (and did) use something other than regular hamburger buns. My local HEB bakery makes these great hamburger rolls - a bit larger and softer than regular burger buns and quite tasty too. While I love pretzel buns, I don’t think they would work. Garlic bread might. Sourdough definitely would.

The limited ingredients and ease of preparation makes this a great recipe for social gatherings; where burgers are appropriate, this is an upgrade.

Recipe

Pierce the raw meat a few times with a fork - it’ll help the juices go in.

Select a delicious root beer - preferably something craft that uses real sarsaparilla root. Do not use diet rootbeer

Ingredients

• 3-4 lbs extra lean beef roast
• 1 can or bottle of 12 oz root beer (get 2 - I’ll explain)
• 1 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce (get a bottle of at least 16 oz)
• 6-pack of hamburger buns (see above)

Preparation

The ingredients, as stated above are for a smaller 3.5–4 quart slow cooker. If you have a 6 quart one, you will need more liquid.

I would increase the quantity by 1.5x or maybe even 2x: instead of a can of rootbeer, use 2, instead of a 1.5 cups or BBQ sauce use 2 or even 2.5. Save some BBQ sauce for serving.

You want the meat completely covered in liquid, preferably with a bit on top to allow for evaporation.

1. Puncture the beef with a fork.
   Lay in greased cooker.
   Mix rootbeer and BBQ sauce; add to cooker. Cook on slow for 8-10 hours.

When done, shred the beef with two forks - it’ll come apart really easy. Scoop on buns with BBQ sauce and some sort of side.

Serves 6.

• calories: 690;
• fat: 11g;
• cholesterol: 202mg;
• carbs: 68g;
• sugar: 36g;
• protein: 70g;
• sodium: 2000mg; potassium: 2600mg;