Burnt ends...

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mschwartz26

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Dec 9, 2009
87
15
Question to all the experts out there.  I love burnt ends. I like them more than the flat.  I have a packer that is going on the smoker Saturday night for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
  1. I know that you can buy only the flat.  Can you buy only the points to make burnt ends?
  2. Does it work to cut up the flat and make burnt ends with those also or should I not try this?
  3. Are there any other cuts of meat that are normally sold that also work good for burnt ends?
Thanks in advance!
 
Welcome to SMF. I'll try to answer your questions.

1. I know that you can buy only the flat.  Can you buy only the points to make burnt ends?

Never seen them around here.

2. Does it work to cut up the flat and make burnt ends with those also or should I not try this?

No not enough fat.

3. Are there any other cuts of meat that are normally sold that also work good for burnt ends?

Don't know everybody uses the point.

Al
 
I know very little on this myself.

I'm really just replying so I don't lose this thread to the archives.

Good question,

Bear
 
  1. I know that you can buy only the flat.  Can you buy only the points to make burnt ends? Yes, look around you can find just the point.  I've seen them in Walmart and other grocery stores locally.
  2. Does it work to cut up the flat and make burnt ends with those also or should I not try this?  You can use any of the scraps or cuts, but you won't get the same result as using the actual point because the fat and muscle difference of the flat and point cut.   
Not an expert by any stretch and I'm sure there'll be some that come by who can comment further.  But from my limited experience with brisket and what I've learned, you'll really want to either buy a full packer brisket or find the point cut to make your burnt ends.  
 
As Dean mentioned, it is the intermuscular fat and the actual muscle construction in the brisket point that gives the desired texture of burnt ends.

I dug through some pics of my latest documented brisket project to see if any pics would help show what we're talking about...

The point is a tubular muscle, similar to groups of straws filled with the meat in varying sizes, with intermingled fat between the tubes. Here's a pic of a smoked point (pre-smoke separation from the flat) as I'm slicing it up to cube, re-season and smoke again. Look for the muscle grain and interior fat:

af00ae66_31.jpg


The flat is a typical muscle construction with smaller, more tightly grouped fibers in comparison to the point. This is a small section (~1lb) of smoked flat, but you can see the finer, more tightly grouped muscle grain and reduced interior fat:

72458064_44.jpg


This is a spiced brine cured flat (similar to pastrami) which retains much of the fat during smoking, and you can see very little interior fat in the muscle:

950ec90e_11.jpg


There have been a few asking about doing BE's from the flat, a beef chuck, or even with pork CRS's, etc. I would think that it would be difficult at best to get good results with anything but the point. When my BE's come out perfect, they have a slightly crunchy crust and sort of like a snappy popping chew on the inside. That's the finished texture I strive for with my BE's, and I can't see the same being possible with a different type of muscle construction. I won't say it can't be done, I just can't imagine any special treatment which would give the same results with another piece of meat.

I've never really spent much time looking for center cut (trimmed flat), or points. I'm quite content with a full packer and all the various projects I can use it for. The packer is just to versatile for me to want a flat or point only. Once you learn how to separate them (which is actually pretty easy) there are several ways to finish them up for some truely great eating experiences.

Eric
 
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Now I have never seen it anywhere or in the stores that is. I have also heard of some folks making burnt ends out of the flat but to me you need all that fat in the point to make them sooo tender like I like them. Then I have never seen or heard of anyone making burnt ends out of anything else but the point.
 
I can get a point here anytime there is a flat available since the store seprates the two and repackages them. Most folks will buy the flat and leave the point. I use this to my advantage.

I wouldn't try using a flat for ends as everyone else seems to agree on.

How about a nice piece of chuck of some kind? I'm thinking like something around the neighborhood of a 7-bone steak or roast or maybe even look at some marbly flank steak that is usually tough but could stand some low and slow...
 
Thanks to all with the replies.  I will have to look for the points by themselves.  I have a packer going on the smoker tonight at 12am for the game tomorrow.  Going to be my first overnight smoke.  Hopefully it will work out...and hopefully I will be sober enough to put it on!
 
Thanks to all with the replies.  I will have to look for the points by themselves.  I have a packer going on the smoker tonight at 12am for the game tomorrow.  Going to be my first overnight smoke.  Hopefully it will work out...and hopefully I will be sober enough to put it on!
I have drill tomorrow or i'de stay up and watch the progress. keep the q view coming and lay off the bers until the brisket is well underway..  Good idea on the overnight smoke, it's the only way to do a packer imho..
 
Thanks to all with the replies.  I will have to look for the points by themselves.  I have a packer going on the smoker tonight at 12am for the game tomorrow.  Going to be my first overnight smoke.  Hopefully it will work out...and hopefully I will be sober enough to put it on!
     I'm ready for another all nighter myself, it's been a chilly winter.  Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.  If you need a wake up call at midnight let me know! LOL
 
So, I think I had one to many beers!  I went to bed at 1am and set the alarms on my probe.  Woke up at 6am in a fog and the wife had to remind me about the smoker and asked what the temp was.  Smoker had dropped to about 180ish...but we are all good and back on track.  Smoker at 240 and have foiled brisket and it's currently at 190.  Going to pull at 205.  Here are some pictures where we are now.

Question - do most of you let the point rest before you cube it up and back to the smoker for burnt ends?
6d2c9766_DSC04657.jpg
f06780fe_DSC04659.jpg
edd53bdc_DSC04660.jpg
 
I posted response with pictures...but got message saying since I am new my post is being held for moderator...?????
 
I have made burnt ends from  the flat and they came out pretty good . Not as good as the ones from the point but still good.

 I tried buying the points and the butcher wanted the same price per lb as a trimmed flat. I told him he was nuts.
 
While I am waiting on my other post with pictures to post, I will ask the question I posted there again...

Do you typically let the point rest after you separate it from the flat prior to cubing it and putting it back on the smoker for burnt ends?
 
Awesome job!! That is competition quality my friend!

I don't rest the point before chopping. It has enough fat to make the burnt ends moist and tender...
 
Some how i lost track of your thread.

Looks great and congrats on a successful smoke! Those overnighters with a buzz are rough anymore. LOL

BTW, when I was in walmart yesterday I checked on the points and they had them there in a prepackaged type wrapper (not a cryovac package).
 
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