Grandma Wooly's Beef Barbecue

So, I've been wanting to make a pulled pork or barbecued beef recipe for a little while now and found this one in Cooks Country--it's a magazine put out by America's Test Kitchen. It's easy AND I got to use my new dutch oven for it. It's very simple and I thought it might be a little bland, but we both really liked it--very tasty.

1 T pickling spice

2 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Salt and Pepper

2 T vegetable oil

2 1/2 c water

1 1/2 c ketchup

1 T cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

8 hamburger buns, toasted

1. Brown Beef

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Tie picking spice in cheesecloth to make a sachet (or borrow a coffee filter from a friend--that's what we did). Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T oil in large Dutch oven over med-high heat until just smoking. Cook half of beef, turning occasionally, until well browned all over, abt 8 min. Transfer to large bowl. repeat with remaining oil and beef.

2. Braise Beef

Stir water into pot, scraping up any browned bits. Add beef, along with any accumulated juices, to pot and bring to boil. Transfer pot to oven and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until meat it nearly tender, about 1 hour. Stir ketchup, vinegar, and mustard into pot. Add picking spice sachet and continue to cook, covered, until meat is fork-tender, about 1 hour longer.

3. Shed and Serve

Discard sachet. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to plate. When cool enough to handle, shred beef into bite-sized pieces. Return beef to pot and stir until coated with sauce and warmed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on hamburger buns