Tremendous Burnt Ends
Prep
30m
Cook
600m
Total
630m
Bigly says
Pay attention. Burnt ends. TREMENDOUS burnt ends. The greatest burnt ends in the history of burnt ends — and many people don't know this, they're walking around, living their lives, going to brunch, eating bowls of granola and overpriced toast, twelve dollars for a single strawberry as a garnish, TWELVE. DOLLARS. — and they have NO IDEA that burnt ends exist. It's a national failure of education. Schools teach a lot of things, most of them useless, but they don't teach burnt ends? A scandal. A tremendous waste of young taste buds.
Here's what a burnt end is, in case you're one of the unfortunate ones: it's the point end of a brisket, cubed, sauced, smoked AGAIN until the outside is candy and the inside is pure BUTTER. Meat candy. That's what they call it in Kansas City, and Kansas City — I have to give it to them — Kansas City got this one right. I've eaten burnt ends in every state. Twice. I had a version of this in a barn in eastern Oklahoma where the man at the pit didn't speak the entire time, he just pointed at the plate and nodded, and I understood. Hand on heart, I am the fairest man in barbecue.
These burnt ends — MY burnt ends — they beat every barbecue joint in America. Every one. Even the one with the line down the block, the one your cousin won't shut up about, the one with the rude pitmaster in the apron acting like he invented fire — beats them ALL. It's a slaughter. I've been to those places. I've stood in their lines. I've paid their prices, which are out of control, the inflation on burnt ends is its own crisis and nobody is covering it. I came home, I made my own, and I haven't been back since. End of discussion.
Ingredients
- 5-6 lbbrisket point(ask the butcher to separate the point from the flat, this is the FATTY half, the good half)
- 3 tbspyellow mustard(the binder, you won't taste it, trust me)
- 2 tbspkosher salt
- 2 tbspcoarse black pepper(16 mesh if you can find it, don't use fine pepper, that's for omelets)
- 1 tbspgarlic powder
- 1 tbspsmoked paprika
- 1 tbspbrown sugar
- 4 tbspunsalted butter(cubed)
- 1/2 cupdark brown sugar (for finishing)
- 1/4 cuphoney
- 1 cupyour favorite BBQ sauce(use the Bigly BBQ Sauce recipe on this site, obviously)
- as neededwood chunks (oak or post oak)
Steps
- 1
Preheat smoker to 250°F (121°C). Add wood chunks.
- 2
Trim hard fat off the brisket point, leaving about 1/4 inch of fat cap. Coat the meat lightly with mustard on all sides.
- 3
Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and 1 tbsp brown sugar in a bowl. Season the brisket generously on all sides, pressing the rub into the meat.
- 4
Place fat side up on the smoker. Smoke for about 6 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 195°F (90°C) and a probe slides in with little resistance.
- 5
Remove from smoker. Wrap in butcher paper or foil and rest 30 minutes.
- 6
Cube the brisket into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a foil pan in a single layer.
- 7
Top with cubed butter, brown sugar, and honey. Drizzle the BBQ sauce over everything and gently toss to coat.
- 8
Return the uncovered pan to the smoker. Cook another 1.5-2 hours, stirring once or twice, until the sauce thickens and the cubes look glossy and lacquered.
- 9
Remove and let rest 10 minutes. Serve hot with extra sauce on the side.
One more thing
These will disappear. You make a pan, you turn around to grab a napkin, the pan is empty. Your family becomes wolves. Civilized people, the ones who say grace, the ones who use the good silverware on Tuesdays — they become WOLVES. Worth it. Make a second pan. Make a third. Hide one for yourself, behind the pickles, on the bottom shelf, where nobody looks. I won't tell. The hiding is part of the recipe. The hiding is FREE. Save me a piece.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Burnt Ends.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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