Anyone who has ever been on any kind of diet knows the feeling of realizing that your favorite dish is now off limits. I don’t know if I could ever pick one dish that I would miss the most, but odds are good that it would be something extra rich and gooey. Thankfully the number of rich and gooey desserts that we’ve learned how to make with healthy ingredients is steadily growing! For my husband, it was the moment he realized that his barbeque days were now behind him. Specifically a good pulled pork sandwich slathered with Dr. Pepper barbeque sauce. Even in my zeal to make this new healthy lifestyle stick, I definitely laughed at the idea of figuring out a healthy option for that, and basically threw my hands up and thought, ‘well, you can’t win them all, right?’.
Wrong! It kept bugging me that there was this one thing that I had deemed impossible… It’s not exactly in my nature to give up so easily. And all of the best barbeque sauces are honey, or maple based anyway! Then when you add in all of the spices, which are absolute health powerhouses, it started coming together as an obvious healthy meal option!
Now, I feel the need to warn anyone about to make this recipe, the onions and garlic… No, it’s not a typo. It really does take (at least!) 2 large yellow onions, and 2 full bulbs (about 16 cloves) of garlic. Please trust me here, I promise you will not come out of your home reeking of garlic, and you will not be breathing garlic on everyone who comes within 10 feet of you for the next week. To be completely honest, I don’t understand it myself! I use a ridiculous amount of onions and garlic, both because of their immense health benefits, and because they add so much depth of flavor to whatever you’re cooking! Both belong to the Allium genus, and contain high amounts of the antiangiogenic favanoid, quercetin. Quercetin has been increasing in nutrigenomics interest for years now, with the known benefits of fighting free radicals, reducing inflammation, reducing the risk of heart disease, lowering high blood pressure, even reducing the risk of cancer by targeting the growth of new blood vessels to unhealthy cells (angiogenesis). The ancient Greeks were known to use onions as flavoring as well as therapeutically, while both onions and garlic were listed among the foods that the Israelites longed for after being freed from Egypt (Numbers 11), and the medicinal qualities remained evident even through the 1300s when garlic was used as a remedy for the Black Plague.
Thankfully, between the vinegar, the spices, and the maple syrup, the garlic pieces and even the garlic smell completely dissipate, but the health benefits and that deep flavor profile is left in the beef! All while the onions break down and caramelize to absorb the sweet and spicy sauce. Then when all of those flavors steep into the broth, it creates a perfectly seasoned barbeque sauce! The final product is idea for a good homemade artisan sourdough bread, or even some crispy roasted potatoes. No matter what you put underneath it, this meal is sure to please anyone!
BBQ Beef Recipe:
2 Large Yellow Onions - Cut into 1 - 2 inch slices
2 Bulbs (about 16 cloves) Garlic - Chopped
1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar (with the Mother)
1/3 C Unsulphured Molasses
1 C Water
1/2 C Pure Maple Syrup
4-5lb. Roast of any Grass Fed/Pasteur Raised Meat (Beef, Venison, Chicken, Pork, Turkey)
Spice Rub:
2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
Add 3/4 of the onions and garlic, then all of the ac vinegar, molasses, and water, to the bottom of the crockpot. Mix all of the spices together before thoroughly coating all sides of the meat. Carefully set the spice rubbed meat on the bed of onions and garlic in the crockpot, and sprinkle any leftover spices on top. Gently layer the remaining onions and garlic over the top of the meat, then carefully drizzle the maple syrup over everything - making sure to not wash the spices off of the meat. Cover crockpot and allow to cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
Once the meat is cooked, pull out as much of the spiced broth as is possible - easiest done using a large soup ladle - and don't worry if some bits of onion come along with it! Simmer the broth for about half an hour, until reduced to a deep caramel color and much thicker. This is a perfect time to test the flavor and add more cayenne or maple syrup if you like your barbeque spicier or sweeter. Shred the meat while the sauce is simmering, then add the sauce back to the crockpot. Stir the meat and sauce together, and serve over a heavy artisan sourdough bread, everything bagels, or crispy roasted potatoes.
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