Well, that was a long 2 weeks. But after a second off week this season, the Bucks look to get things back on track this week against Nebraska. And for your tailgating pleasure, we have a yummy slow cooker recipe:

Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Sliders

Full transparency here. The recipe actually calls for brisket in the slow cooker. I couldn’t stomach the thought of putting a piece of meat as expensive (and smokable) as a brisket in the slow cooker, so I used a chuck shoulder roast instead. If you want to use brisket, though, simply substitute that in place of the roast.

Ingredients 

• 2 lb chuck shoulder roast (or trimmed brisket)
• 1 ½ Tbsp packed light brown sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped up
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed (or 3-4 tsp of minced garlic)
• 1 cup of barbecue sauce
• 12 slider buns, toasted
• ½ cup pickle chips

Directions

1. Mix the brown sugar, kosher salt, cumin, and black pepper together in a small bowl. Once mixed, cover the beef with the rub.
2. Place beef, chipotle chiles, and garlic in a 6 quart slow cooker.
3. Cover and cook 4 to 5 hours on HIGH or about 8 hours on LOW.
4. Just before you pull the beef from the slow cooker, heat the oven to 350 and toast your slider buns for 8-10 minutes, flipping them halfway through. 
5. After beef is cooked, transfer to a cutting board, keeping ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Use 2 forks to shred the beef and place in a large bowl.
6. Add barbecue sauce of your choice and cooking liquid to the meat and stir until the meat is fully coated.
7. Divide the meat evenly among the bottom halves of the buns. Add pickle chips and cover with bun tops.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Pro Tips

• Use sweet Hawaiian rolls for the buns.
• Use spicy pickle chips for some added heat. I couldn’t find any, so I made my own. I emptied a jar of pickles and juice into a pan, then heated it all on the stove, adding in some sliced jalapenos and habaneros from my garden. After letting the mixture cool a bit, I poured it back in the jar and stuck it back in the refrigerator while the beef cooked.
• Add some spicy coleslaw to add an additional crunch.

Previous editions of Tailgate Fare