An easy game day favourite; Barbeque Beef Bites are deliciously simple to make and smothered in a sweet, spicy, thick, homemade barbeque sauce. As far as appetizers go, you’ll be the winner; hands down!
Barbeque Beef Bites are one of my favourite ways to eat beef. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll note that there are really not too many beef recipes here. There are two reasons for that.
The first reason is that a good cut of beef can be quite expensive, and since I’m not a huge red meat lover any way, I usually save that expense for a good steak on a summer barbeque. The second reason is that my vegetarian cohabitants really despise the smell of beef being cooked at home, so I’m limited to times I can cook beef without complaint.
Oh, I just thought of a third reason as well. Nobody – and I really mean this – can cook red meat like my ex-wife. She could turn the cheapest cut of beef into the most tender, moist, and flavourful dish. This Barbeque Beef Bites recipe reminds me of a recipe she used to prepare with a cheaper cut of beef. But, truth be told, this recipe is more flavourful! Hahaha!
The star of this dish is certainly not the cut of beef, but that delicious sauce you see in the photos there. It’s such a versatile sauce; I’ve used it on chicken, on pork, and even as a dip for French fries! Even though you’ll probably lick the bowl clean from this first batch, keep in mind that you could make this sauce ahead of time, and it will store perfectly safely refrigerated in a mason jar for a week or two.
Barbeque Beef Bites
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds beef sirloin tip roast, roughly cut into two inch cubes
- 1 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 cups ketchup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- ½ tablespoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 Pinch dried red chili flakes, optional
- Parsley, chopped for presentation (optional)
- Vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the beef, corn starch, and half of the salt to a large bowl and toss well to coat. Set aside.
- Next, add the rest of the salt, onion powder, ketchup, lemon juice, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, vinegar, water, cayenne, and dried red chili flakes to a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Whisk the ingredients together and bring to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer and allow ingredients to heat together for 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- In the last few minutes, the sauce will thicken. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sear each piece of beef on both sides. This process should take about 3-4 minutes per side. Do this step in batches. You don’t want to overcrowd the skillet. The beef should have a good brown crust before transferring to a bowl.
- Once all the beef has been seared, pour the barbeque sauce over the beef and toss to coat. Remove each piece of beef from the bowl with tongs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Leave a little bit of space between each piece of beef.
- Bake for 25 minutes. While the beef is in the oven, transfer the remaining sauce back to the sauce pan and reheat.
- Remove the beef from the oven. Plate for serving and top with a few drizzles of the leftover barbeque sauce.
- Garnish with fresh cut parsley for presentation. Enjoy!
Margaret says
I may have licked the computer screen! Can’t wait to try it.
Megan Marlowe says
My mouth is watering at that shimmery, shiny glaze you have on these beef bites. I’m awful at cooking inexpensive cuts of beef so, like you, I just limit the times I make beef so I can splurge for the good stuff. I’d much rather have chicken anyways. BUT these BBQ bites look amazing and would be perfect for snacking during a game or as dinner with a side of mashed potatoes, YUM!
Just Jo says
I’ll have to ask my butcher what cut they would recommend to do this in the UK as I am so putting these BBQ beef bite son our next BBQ menu! BBQ season starts at Easter for my crazy family 😀
Pam Wattenbarger says
These barbecued beef bites sound awesome! We have been eating less red meat here but I may have to make an exception for these.
Leah says
Oh, these look so tasty! That barbecue sauce sounds so delicious! What a great appetizer, or dinner!
Adriana Lopez Martn says
Beautiful way you prepared this beef looks like perfectly seasoned and that coating must be very flavorful. Must try it soon =)
Christine McMichael says
Yum! My husband and I love barbecue. Definitely need to try this recipe soon! Especially perfect for cookouts in late spring and summer!
ManilaSpoon says
Oh, you just made me hungry again and it’s only still breakfast!!! Love that you showed close-up photos of these delectable beef bites as they fully show their delightful texture and all that yummy flavor!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
I just finished lunch and I was perfectly satisfied. I just read your post and my mouth is watering. Not nice, Byron!! This is such a temptation cuz we are carnivores in this family. But I do understand the cost of meat and being economical. Your beef bites would be gone in no time at our house. And I do believe you’re outshining the ex in this recipe. ?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hahah – thank you, Marisa. She’ll probably end up reading this. 🙂
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
The sauce on these beef bites sounds wonderful but I’m like your vegetarian cohabitants and don’t eat beef. But I can see how it would be great on other things..probably even mushrooms!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Mushrooms are my go-to substitute for red meat. Totally worth a shot!
Veena Azmanov says
I love the color you got on these little bites. I bet these tasted awesome and I can think of so many uses for the left overs – especially in my sons school wraps with salad and avocado – yum..
byronethomas@gmail.com says
That sounds like a great idea, Veena.
Noel Lizotte says
My daughter and I rarely ate red meat for the cost reason … I’d totally rather spend that grocery $$ on other items we love more!
Now I eat more red meat since she’s grown and my new husband loves beef. This looks like a recipe I need to test on him. He’s big on flavor so I’ll bet this will appeal to him.
Meanwhile, maybe I should take a lesson from your ex-wife on turning cheap meat into good food. LOL
byronethomas@gmail.com says
LOL – I can put you in touch with her. 🙂
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
That sauce would be a sure hit in any house. Love all the ingredients in it and I can definitely use it in meatless meat. I might just increase the pinch of red chili to a good whopping tablespoon to satisfy our Indian taste buds 🙂
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Sandhya. I wish I could handle a little more heat. 🙂
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
Totally drooling over here. Here’s how this would play out:
Kylee is invited to a party.
Kylee agrees to bring an appetizer.
Kylee makes this.
Kylee tries a little. Kylee eats the rest.
Kylee goes to the store and brings a pre-made dip and chips to the party.
Moral of the story? MAKE TWO BATCHES, KYLEE!! (or don’t go to parties)
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hahaha – Oh my God, I just totally laughed out loud at work. I hope no one heard me!
Heather says
… (Licking my computer screen)… I am making these this weekend and I am not going to share with anyone .. I am hoarding these all to myself… these look amazing and your homemade BBQ is the perfect combination of sweet with just a hint of spicy .. Perfection!!!
Melanie Lindquist says
This recipe looks very delicious. I am not good at cooking. I have to request my mom to prepare it for me.
Molly Kumar says
OMG look at those saucy saucy bite !!! I would love to gobble up a lot of them – such a flavorful recipe Byron and perfect for spring entertaining. I like bite food more than regular ones, so these are definitely being bookmarked for later.
Jamie says
The first step is to combine all the ingredients. Is this everything except the corn starch, salt and vegetable oil? And obviously the beef…
I would like to make this but don’t want to get it wrong by mixing the corn starch in with the other ingredients if it’s not meant to go in there during the first step!
Thank you! I can’t wait to try this!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Jamie, yes you are right! I’ve updated the recipe instructions to make the steps clearer. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. 🙂
Leslie says
Can the beef be baked or broiled instead?
Nikki says
Your only flash frying the beef in a small amount of oil just to brown it off, the rest is done in the oven🙂
Nikki says
Tried this for the first time on Saturday as a treat using rump steak 🥩 we are in UK
It was really nice, had it with salad and put into wraps, the only thing I might add next time is some smoked paprika for a bit of a more smoky taste, O and would halve the recipe as we had a lot left, but saying that we only cooked it up for three people. Thanks for the recipe though it was delicious 😋
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Nikki. Love the smoked paprika idea!
Barbara B says
Loved this recipe, especially the sauce ! Next time I would use less of the starch for coating and I had already cut it down, (I used arrowroot) the sauce was absolutely delish and easy for me to low carb by using Sukrin Gold brown sugar. The sauce may become my favorite BBQ sauce ! I paired it with some oven fried parmesan green beans and remoulade.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Barbara. 🙂
Marci says
Where does the 1/2 T salt go? The directions say with the cornstarch AND the sauce.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Marci. I have updated the recipe card accordingly.
Kate says
I love how I just took the meat I had got out for stew, and turned it in to this!! Totally didn’t feel like having beef stew tonight, so this recipe saved the day!
I didn’t have worchester sauce but substituted with a bot of soy sauce.
Frances Corpuz says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a great hit!!⭐️⭐️
My husband loved it and he had seconds!!
I servers it with steam rice and sauté zucchinis.
Kimberly says
Last night I was going to make some stew in the crockpot, then I saw this recipe, so that’s what we’re having tonight! Wish me luck, (I’ll let you know)