Recipe(tried): Tender Beef for Pam and Retail Cuts of Beef Chart

Hi Pam - The secret to that falling-apart-tender meat comes in two parts - first is the cut of meat you use and second is the cooking method.

Meat that is considered a "tough" cut is, funny enough, the best for this. These cuts have a lot of collagen in the tissue which is formed because that particular muscle is used often by the animal. When these cuts of meat are cooked over very low temperatures for a long period of time, that collagen breaks down, leaving that meltingly soft meat.

I'm a big fan of the shoulder meats for this type of cooking. These include the chuck and blade for beef, and pork "butt" and "country style spare ribs" (believe it or not) for pork. Neck meat, sold from lamb, pork and goat, is just as good, but sometimes harder to find in this country unless you live near ethnic communities (I'm lucky because I do!).

Cuts from the Round (rump), brisket, belly/breast, leg and shank, and tail have similar qualities, but in differing degrees. I will sometimes use top round/rump when I am doing a long, slow braise (in liquid) but don't want the pieces to fall apart, but use the shoulder/chuck most often, especially when I want to cook it long enough to fall apart.

Retail Cuts of Beef Chart (pdf format)

Retail Cuts of Beef Chart (black and white)

Long, slow cooking means temps of 200F-275F for 6-12 hours, depending on what you are doing. Texas style barbecue (meaning cooking outdoors with wood/charcoal) is usually done dry (no sauce until the end, if at all) in indirect heat and very low heat for 8-12 hours (what you had probably was barbecued meat added to sauce afterward). I believe the Texans like to use shoulder meat (blade, especially) and brisket.

If you are doing a braised dish like pot roast or the indoor-style BBQ beef/sloppy joe style meat, cut your meat into cubes (chuck/blade for beef), brown it, then add the liquid ingredients and bake in the oven at 300F (or cook on top of the stove at a BARE SIMMER) for 3 hours or so - you'll get the shredded beef you are looking for.

I'm not really a crockpot user except for soups, and am not familiar with their temperature controls. Maybe Besty can provide a link about how to use your crockpot to the same effect.

Sorry this was so long! Hope it helps!! Good luck!!!