Help! Wife wants burnt ends.

[jetsknicks1]

Good morning all, long time member but I haven’t posted for a while. My wife brought this home yesterday and said “How about you do some burnt ends for Sunday?” Sure, except that I’ve only tried anything like this once before in my life and the results weren’t great. Smoke it then cube it? Cube in then smoke it? Wrap/no wrap? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[cutplug]

Morning Jetski, rather than me blabbing on about BE. Here is a great tutorial.

Brisket Burnt Ends: A Kansas City Original Made At Home

When done right, smoked brisket burnt ends are the perfect bite. Find out how to make your own with this tested recipe featuring the point muscle of the brisket.

amazingribs.com

Good luck, and make the wife proud!
Also after re-reading the recipe myself is that you most likely have the flat of the brisket not the point. I think it will still work but you better get on it!

 

[Marknmd]

Yeah I agree with cutplug re the flat. You might trim some fat and render it, then sear the flat cubes in the fat. Good luck.

 

[jetsknicks1]

Thanks guys, I never thought about crisping them up at the end. I imagine this could also be done in a cast iron skillet?

 

[TulsaJeff]

There are definitely a lot of recipes for burnt ends.

I prefer to cook my brisket or chuck or whatever meat I’m using to super tender and then cube it up and put it back in a pan.

Add more barbecue sauce and rub and give it some really high heat to crisp and darken the outer edges of the burnt ends.

Outside should be dark with a lot of bark, and the inside should be super tender and moist.

You can definitely use a cast iron pan for this and even do it on the stove top if you like.

Stir it around pretty often so all of them get a chance to crisp up.

 

[civilsmoker]

There are definitely a lot of recipes for burnt ends.

I prefer to cook my brisket or chuck or whatever meat I’m using to super tender and then cube it up and put it back in a pan.

Add more barbecue sauce and rub and give it some really high heat to crisp and darken the outer edges of the burnt ends.

Outside should be dark with a lot of bark, and the inside should be super tender and moist.

You can definitely use a cast iron pan for this and even do it on the stove top if you like.

Stir it around pretty often so all of them get a chance to crisp up.

This is how I do them as well. I pan sear method on the stove more than back in the smoker though …. High heat in a non/stick sear the chunks a bit then add & caramelize the sauce while tossing. I do pork belly ends this way!

 

[thirdeye]

With a smaller flat, I would recommend some wrapped time to preserve moistness while cooking it tender. Your bark will soften, but it will come back when you re-season and return to the smoker. Make your first slices against the grain, then make 90° cuts. Don't worry about making perfect little cubes, in the old days burnt ends were cutting board scraps and irregular in shape.

You can also serve BEs un-sauced, but with a table table sauce.

 

[jetsknicks1]

With a smaller flat, I would recommend some wrapped time to preserve moistness while cooking it tender. Your bark will soften, but it will come back when you re-season and return to the smoker. Make your first slices against the grain, then make 90° cuts. Don't worry about making perfect little cubes, in the old days burnt ends were cutting board scraps and irregular in shape.
View attachment 645959
You can also serve BEs un-sauced, but with a table table sauce.
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Thanks, all that looks awesome. The flat is only 2.5# so spending more time wrapped makes sense.

 

[thirdeye]

Thanks, all that looks awesome. The flat is only 2.5# so spending more time wrapped makes sense.

With shrink and a little liquid loss, you might loose upwards of 3/4 # during cooking.