Hello and welcome to Part 4 of the “make everyone at the table happy” series. If your household struggles with different tastes, this post offers an easy, flexible solution: a slow-cooked chuck roast transformed into pulled beef that becomes the foundation for multiple sandwich styles. I slow-cooked the roast in a crock pot until it was fall-apart tender, saved the clarified juices for moisture and future use, then shredded the meat and refrigerated it ready to assemble into sandwiches.

From one roast I made three different pita sandwiches using simple pantry and fridge ingredients: Mexican-style, Mediterranean-style, and American-style. In this installment I developed an Asian-style pulled beef pita that turned out to be my favorite so far.

The sauce is quick to make: a sweet-and-sour dressing blended from rice vinegar, sugar, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, a pinch of salt and a touch of crushed red pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves and set aside.

To build the pita: warm a 6″ pita, fill it with warm pulled beef, and add a tablespoon of hoisin sauce for depth. I used shredded lettuce here to keep things simple, but shredded cabbage mixed with carrot would also be excellent.

Fresh cucumbers add crunch and brightness — I julienned mine from garden cucumbers. Thinly sliced red onion contributed a little bite; green onions would work well, too.

Drizzle the salad components with the sweet-and-sour sauce, then sprinkle toasted sesame seeds for fragrance and texture.

For a final crunchy finish, add a tablespoon of coarsely chopped salted cashews and a drizzle of sriracha if you like heat.

This Asian-style pita balanced sweet, salty, spicy and crunchy elements and was a hit at my table. Using one base of pulled beef gives you freedom to create many distinct sandwiches to satisfy varied tastes — a practical and tasty way to please picky eaters or a crowd.

Below are links to the other sandwiches I made from the same roast so you can try different flavors at home:

Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 1 / Mexican-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 2 / Mediterranean-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 3 / American-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!
Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast Part 5 / Italian-Style Pulled Beef Pita Pizzas!

Versatile Crock Pot Chuck Roast / Asian-Style Pulled Beef Pitas!

Ingredients

• 2½ – 3 lbs. chuck roast (mine weighed 2.71 lbs.)
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 (10½ oz.) can beef consommé
• 4 large garlic cloves, grated

For 1 Asian-Style Pita Sandwich:

• 1 – 6″ pita bread round, warmed
• 1/2 – 1 cup pulled beef
• 1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup shredded cabbage or lettuce
• 1/4 cup julienned cucumber
• Thinly sliced red onion, as desired
• Sweet & sour sauce (recipe below)
• Regular or toasted sesame seeds, to sprinkle
• 1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped salted cashews
• Sriracha sauce to taste

For Sweet & Sour Sauce:

• 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 3/4 tsp. sugar
• Dash salt
• 1/8 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• Tiny pinch of crushed red pepper (adjust to taste)

Instructions

1. Pat one side of the roast with half of the seasoning blend.
2. In the crock pot, add beef consommé and grated garlic; stir.
3. Place the roast seasoned side down in the liquid.
4. Season the other side of the roast with the remaining seasonings.
5. Cover and cook on High for 15 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to Low and cook until fall-apart tender, about 6 hours.
7. Remove the meat to a baking sheet, pour the juices from the crock pot into a large glass measuring cup, and refrigerate the juices.
8. Shred the meat with two forks or leave in bite-sized chunks. Cover to keep moist.
9. When the fat solidifies on top of the juices, remove it and pour most of the juice over the meat to keep it from drying out.
10. Use what you need and freeze the rest of the juices for later use.
11. To assemble the Asian-Style Pita:
12. Stir the sweet-and-sour sauce ingredients in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves.
13. Warm the pita wrapped in a damp paper towel in the microwave until soft and pliable.
14. Top the pita with warm pulled beef, hoisin sauce, shredded lettuce or cabbage, cucumber and red onion. Drizzle with the sweet-and-sour sauce.
15. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chopped cashews, add sriracha if desired, fold like a taco and enjoy.

Notes

I prefer Kikkoman’s hoisin sauce because I found its color, taste and consistency most authentic after trying several brands; others were disappointing. That’s a personal preference.