Easy Smoked Italian Roast Beef Sliders Recipe

5 from 1 vote
Jump to Recipe

Sharing is caring!

This Italian Pulled Roast Beef Slider recipe starts with slowly smoked Chuck Roast finished in an amazing beef braise with Italian Seasoning. Pull the tender Beef and add to your favorite slider rolls for the perfect game day appetizer, tailgating treat, or even making into full Roast Beef Sandwiches. These may be easy, but they sure don’t compromise on flavor!

This recipe is sponsored by Beef. It’s Whats for Dinner. on behalf of the Beef Checkoff. All opinions are our own.

Recipe Highlights

  • Adding giardiniera (jar-din-AIR-ah) gives the dish a slightly spicy and rich acidic flavor.
  • This recipe is great to make in advance and makes for easy game day sliders or a tailgating treat.
  • Melted butter combined with Italian seasoning on the top of the rolls gives extra flavor.
  • Can be easily modified if you want to add melted cheese or additional toppings.

Roast Beef Sliders Ingredients

  • Chuck Roast – This great cut from the shoulder of beef cattle is perfect for slowly braising and pulling.
  • Slider Buns – With the Italian influence we are using something similar to hoagie or dinner rolls with brioche slider buns. Hawaiian sweet rolls can be a substitute as well, or any small soft rolls. If making this as a main dish consider large hoagie rolls or something that won’t fall apart with the au jus.
  • Beef Stock – This is the base for the braising liquid and au jus.
  • Giardiniera – This Chicago influenced pickled mix is how we add incredible flavor with minimal preparation.
  • Italian Seasoning – This is a mixture of dried herbs and spices like oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and others. If your seasoning does not contain salt then we recommend you add some additional kosher salt.
  • Red Wine Vinegar – Acid is the backbone of this dish and helps the flavor shine. You can substitute with apple cider vinegar or even white wine vinegar.
  • Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

Chuck Roast for Roast Beef

The definition of Roast Beef is simply a roasted cut of beef. Historically, for deli Roast Beef, you’ll find anything from sirloin to eye of round.

Because our goal is to pull the beef for sliders, the Chuck Roast is the perfect cut for this Roast Beef slider recipe. The Chuck is a hard working muscle from the shoulder region and has a lot of intramuscular tissue. Because of this it should be slowly roasted, smoked, or braised to allow the connective tissue to break down and tenderize. This is why it makes for the best cut for pulled beef.

raw chuck roast

Target a 3.5 pound chuck roast for 12 slider buns. If you planned on slicing versus pulling the best alternative cut would be Top Sirloin or Eye of Round.

Preparation

  1. Start with trimming excess fat from the outer edges of the chuck roast. If the chuck roast is tied off, remove the kitchen twine.
  2. Prepare your smoker for 275 degrees Fahrenheit using your favorite wood. We like oak or fruit woods for this recipe.
  3. Prepare your seasoning in a small bowl and then liberally apply to the trimmed chuck roast.
Raw Chuck Roast with seasoning
Be sure to buy at least 3 pounds of chuck roast for 12 slider buns.

Smoking Roast Beef Sliders

Smoking at low heat first will allow smoke flavor to infuse with the chuck. Then get the Chuck to pull temperature with a braise.

  1. Smoke: Place the seasoned chuck roast on the smoker and insert a good Bluetooth instant read thermometer like the Thermoworks Smoke Unit. Close lid and smoke until the internal temperature of the beef roast reaches 165 to 170 degrees F (about five hours).
  1. Braise: When the roast comes to temperature of 165, place beef stock, giardiniera, Italian Seasoning, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper into a large pan (we used a 13-inch baking dish) and mix together. Place the chuck roast beef into the pan and cover with aluminum foil. Insert the instant read thermometer back into the roast and place the dish back into the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 203 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit or when an instant read thermometer inserted into the roast feels like it’s going into room temperature butter.
  2. Prep Sliders: While the beef rests remove and let rest for 30 minutes. Take 2 tablespoons of butter and microwave on high in 10 second increments until melted. Add the reserved Italian seasoning (and kosher salt if there is none in the seasoning). Cut the slider buns in half with a serrated knife and place on a baking sheet. On the top half of the buns brush on the butter and seasoning mixture. Add back to smoker for 5 minutes to let them harden.
  3. Rest: After 30 minutes remove the foil from the beef roast and pull the meat using two large forks and mix the tender meat with the braising liquid. Discard any excess fat pockets.
Smoked Pulled Chuck Roast meat in a glass serving dish

Variations

An important step for flavor in this roast beef slider recipe is to coat the top of the rolls with the butter and seasoning mixture. If you want even more flavor sprinkle freshly shredded Parmesan cheese to the top buns before warming. You can even add a provolone cheese slice and bake for five minutes for some melted cheesy goodness.

If you want more spice for the sliders then consider a horseradish sauce like from our prime rib steak sandwich.

Smoked Pulled Chuck Roast Sliders with Italian Seasoning

Making the Sliders

With the beef shredded and the braising liquid as the au jus, you’re ready to build the pulled roast beef sliders.

  1. Add the pulled beef to the bottom half of the buns.
  2. Top with the au jus. Then using a slotted spoon add some additional giardiniera to the top.
  3. The au jus will coat the beef and soak into the bottom buns. Then add the top of the rolls over the slider and you’re ready to dive in.

Best Side Dishes

You can check out our full list of BBQ side dishes for some of our favorites, including:

Additional Recipe Inspirations

Pulled Roast Beef Sliders on a sheet pan

Tried this recipe? Give us a star rating and we would love to see! Mention @vindulge or use the hashtag #vindulge on all the social media handles. And consider subscribing to our newsletter where we drop all our favorite ideas and inspirations every week.

Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.
One pulled Italian beef slider on a cutting board.
5 from 1 vote

Easy Smoked Italian Pulled Beef Sliders

A slowly smoked Beef Chuck Roast finished in a savory braise of Beef broth, Italian Seasoning, and giardiniera for the ultimate Italian pulled roast beef slider.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 7 hours
Resting Time: 21 minutes
Servings: 12 sliders

Ingredients 

  • 3 ½ pound chuck roast, (trimmed of excess fat)
  • ¼ cup beef seasoning
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 16 ounce giardiniera, (Typical size of one large jar)
  • 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning, reserving 1 teaspoon
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, (If none in Italian seasoning)
  • ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper, (If none in Italian seasoning)

For the Roast Beef Sliders

  • 12 slider buns
  • 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • reserved 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Instructions 

  • Prep: Prepare your smoker for 275 degrees Fahrenheit using your favorite wood. We like oak or fruit woods for this recipe. Liberally season the chuck roast with the beef seasoning.
  • Smoke: Place the seasoned chuck roast on the smoker and insert a good Bluetooth instant read thermometer like the Thermoworks Smoke Unit. Close lid and smoke until the internal temperature of the beef roast reaches 165 to 170 degrees F (about five hours).
  • Braise: When the roast comes to temperature of 165, place beef stock, giardiniera, Italian Seasoning, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper into a large pan (we used a 13-inch glass baking dish) and mix together. Place the smoked chuck roast beef into the pan and cover the entire pan with aluminum foil. Insert the instant read thermometer again and place back into the smoker until it reaches an internal temperature of 203 – 210 degrees Fahrenheit, or when an instant read thermometer inserted into the roast feels like it’s going into room temperature butter. Remove from smoker and let rest for 30 minutes
  • Prep Sliders: While the beef rests prep the sliders. Cut the slider buns in half with a serrated knife and place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops of the buns with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter, then top with the reserved Italian seasoning (and kosher salt if there is none in the seasoning). Add the buns to the smoker for 5 minutes to let them toast up.
  • Pull Beef: After 30 minutes of resting, remove the foil from the beef roast and pull the beef using two large forks and mix the tender meat with the braising liquid. Discard any excess fat pockets.

To Build The Sliders

  • Layer: Add the pulled beef to the bottom half of the buns. Then top with the au jus. Then using a slotted spoon add some additional Giardiniera to the top. Then add the top of the rolls over the slider and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Italian Seasoning: Look at the ingredient list to see if there is salt and pepper in the seasoning. If so, then do not add salt to the recipe or wait to salt until you taste the finished braising liquid.
Note: The Giardiniera will cook down and soften in the braise. If you want a fresh crunch to the sliders reserve 1/4 cup of it to add to sliders directly.

Nutrition

Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 1353mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 168IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours
Resting Time: 21 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Game Day Recipe
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 12 sliders
Calories: 468
Keyword: roast beef sliders, roast beef sliders recipe
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!


mary cressler headshot

Vindulge

About Mary


I'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, founder of Vindulge, and author of Fire + Wine cookbook. Thanks for stopping by!

You May Also Like:

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4 Comments

    1. Chloe – yes – I would make the beef and the sauce. Then warm up and make the sliders the next day. If you fully make the sliders they will be soft and fall apart because of the juice.