What better slow cooker item is there than a hearty barbecue, right? Beef barbecue makes for such a great sandwich.

On a homemade or store-bought roll and served with sides such as macaroni salad, coleslaw, a charcuterie board and other dishes, this sandwich is a great option for your game day buffet table.

You can make this recipe a week or two in advance and freeze it. How about making your barbecue a few days in advance and storing it in the refrigerator?

Easy, inexpensive, rich, a bit sweet and very savory, this game day beef barbecue is a winner. Topped with shredded cheese, iceberg lettuce, some diced tomatoes for a fresh pop or maybe some thinly sliced homemade onion rings, what a great fun recipe to make and to eat.

Game Day Beef Barbeque

1 pound of 80/20 ground beef; preferably chuck

½ cup green bell pepper, finely chopped

½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup sweet white onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

½ cup of water

¼ cup of ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1½ teaspoons of all-purpose flour

A few dashes of hot sauce, to your liking or optional

Salt and pepper to taste

To a nice-sized skillet over medium high heat, add in your oil and ground beef. Saute your beef until lightly browned. Remove the beef from the skillet, leaving about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan.

Turn your heat to medium low and add in your diced bell peppers and onions. Saute until softened and slightly caramelized. Your garlic, tomato paste, flour and spices go into the mix next.

Mix all of the ingredients together and saute until very fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add your beef back into the skillet along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well to combine. Turn your heat to medium low and cook for 15-20 minutes until thickened.

You can present your beef barbecue in a slow cooker on the lowest heat just to heat through when time to serve. This barbecue also works nicely as stove-top, heating through when needed.

Sesame seeded kaiser rolls are great with barbecue. Milk buns work out best, too. You can actually use this as a hot dog topping for game day as well.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. She is a former line cook for Chef Robert Irvine at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” which was located at the Downtown Allentown Market. Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.