Triple Onion Slow Cooker Shredded Venison Sandwiches

You guys.

The other day I was watching Brayden and he was playing with some toys on the floor beside me, and I did what has become so second nature to me, which is to grab my phone and check into Facebook to see what people were having for lunch, and find out just who had a *terrible* sick headache, and who was just "SOOOOO over it all, DEEEEEE-LETE" and who had posted a really sarcastic yet extremely funny e-card, and who was just so ticked off at this administration, and who was trying to get a million likes so world hunger would magically end, and who felt like they needed to be at the beach instead of at their desk, and who had just liked the Oscar Mayer Weiner page, and lots of other really important stuff.

But in the background I could hear a tiny voice.  I think it was saying "Look, Lolli, look!"  but I was pretty engrossed in the doin's and happenin's of the social scene.  The little voice continued to call out to me.  But the little voice was hard to hear over the noise of my Facebook feed.  That sweet, little voice almost seemed annoying because it kept calling my name while I was feasting on the mundane details of other people's lives.

Fortunately for me, the little voice kept on, because that is what three year old voices usually do, and I eventually looked up and saw a very excited little boy who was proudly spinning a top over and over and trying to get his distracted grandmother to join in on all the top spinning fun.

(And please, no one needs to judge me at this point, because trust me, I judged myself.  Very harshly I might add.  *EPIC GRANDMA FAIL*)

And God suddenly and sharply showed me that if I didn't turn from my bad habit, the most profound memory my grandson would have of his grandmother might be that she was always looking down at her phone and didn't have time for him.

I was convicted.  And I felt sick.

SO, I said all that to say this.  Social media is not wrong.  In fact, it can be quite useful.  It has opened up a world of people to me in a good way and for that I am grateful.  But, and this is a GINORMOUS BUT, if not properly managed, social media is like a black hole that will swallow you and your relationships up.  And that is truth, my friends.
 
So we had a little teachable moment that day, only I was not the teacher.   I was the student.  And I have a gazillion more things to say about this subject, but I realize this is a food blog, and you're probably not here to hear me wax eloquent on relationships and how to be a good grandmother.

One more thing.  I recently came across this blog post and excellent campaign.  Why don't you think about joining it?  

Okay,  The sandwich.  I loved this sandwich and so did my hubby.  Super easy.  Tasty.  Cheap.  Fast.  And it's done in the slow cooker because who wants to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking when we can sit on the floor and spin tops with our grandchildren?

Here are my notes:

--Yes, I am lazy/ busy and I sometimes often do not take the extra step to caramelize a piece of meat before putting it in the slow cooker.  But you could if you wanted  to.  But that would mean an extra skillet to wash.  Just sayin'.

--I LOVED the crunchy French's onions on this.  It's like putting potato chips on your sandwich--it just works.

--You could put two onions in.  You could increase the Worcestershire sauce.  It's up to you.

--Now, I did not weigh out my meat but I estimated it to be about 3 pounds.  With one cup of water added, there was not a whole lot of liquid.  In fact, it was perfect and I hardly had to use a slotted spoon to put the meat in the bun.  But it you have a smaller amount of meat, yours might me more liquid-y.

--I used pepper jack slices, but any kind of melting cheese would work.

--These are best eaten immediately for the crunch factor, but I reheated one that I had made the day before and wrapped up and it was still delicious.  Delicious, I say!

--Don't skimp on a low quality bun--go for a good one.  And don't skimp on toasting the buns on a griddle.  It adds a lot to the sandwich, I promise.

Triple Onion Slow Cooker Shredded Venison Sandwiches

Printable Recipe

2-3 pounds venison roast or ham

1 cup water

1 beef bouillon cube

1 packet dry French onion soup mix

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and coarse ground pepper to taste

To assemble sandwiches:

Good quality rolls or buns

Butter

Slices of pepper jack or provolone cheese (or whatever cheese you like)

French Fried onions

Place first 6 ingredients in a slow cooker, then season with salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until meat is very tender and shreds easily, stirring once after it has been cooking a couple of hours.  Remove meat from slow cooker and shred.  Place back in slow cooker and stir.

To assemble sandwiches, split rolls, then spread cut sides with butter.  Place on a hot griddle, butter side down and grill until golden brown and toasted.  Using a slotted spoon, spoon some meat on the bottom half of each bun, then place a slice of cheese on top.  Sprinkle generously with the French fried onions.  Place buns tops on, and eat immediately.