Circle M Pulled Bourbon Beef

This time of year, declining temperatures send me inside seeking comfort food and a steamy occupation. What could be better than to get busy with meat and a slow cooker? All that with bourbon.

Ingredients
3 lb chuck or arm roast
1/2 c. bourbon, apple cider vinegar, red wine or other tenderizer of your choice
salt/pepper
2 tsp Worcestershire or soy sauce
2 large onions
1 large red sweet pepper
A few hot peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 cup honey, sorghum, molasses, maple syrup or other sugar of your choice/season
1 quart tomato juice, or whatever form you’ve got tomatoes preserved (you could also use peeled, cored and quartered fresh tomatoes)

Directions
Generously salt and pepper both sides of roast, then place in crock pot with bourbon and Worcestershire. Cook on low for 4 hours, or whenever you get back to it, or when it is tender and pulls apart easily. Remove roast to board to cool. Chop onions and peppers roughly, place in crock pot with remaining juices.

Mince and add garlic. Sprinkle cumin over top. Cook on high one hour or until onions soften. Pull apart roast and return to crock pot with honey and tomato juice. I’m generous with both because I’ve got honey hoarded from a neighbor with bees and juice from another neighbor who trades me canning services for surplus tomatoes.

I don’t tend to desire any green flavors in this dish, but I use the same recipe for beef short ribs and with those I add about 2 tsp of dried thyme. Cook on high until reduced to the sauce thickness you desire (which could be overnight, depending on your tomatoes).