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Brisket Burnt Ends

Jason Pruitt

  • People

    Serves 4 to 6

  • Prep Time

    30 mins

  • Grilling Time

    9 to 14 h

Ingredients
Instructions

the Ingredients

Beeftips
  • Completed step 1 whole packer-cut brisket
  • Completed step ¼ cup yellow mustard
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons pickle juice

Brisket Rub

  • Completed step 2 tablespoons coarse salt
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • Completed step 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons coffee (instant)

Burnt Ends

  • Completed step ½ cup light brown sugar
  • Completed step 2 teaspoons
  • Completed step 2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
  • Completed step 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Completed step 1 teaspoon onion powder 
  • Completed step 1 cup bbq sauce
  • Completed step 2 tablespoons honey
  • Completed step 1 cup beef broth

Special Equipment

Take Your Grilling Anywhere

FIRE UP YOUR GRILL

Instructions

Classic brisket burnt ends are made from the point of the brisket, which is deeply marbled and packed with flavor. In most parts of the country, it’s difficult to find the point of the brisket sold on its own, so you need to buy a whole packer-cut brisket and separate the point from the flat. Cooking the point and flat separately makes the brisket easier to manage when it’s time to cut the point into cubes and caramelize in BBQ sauce and brown sugar. The result is a mouthwatering, sensational bite of sweet and savory brisket burnt ends that can be served alongside the leaner flat of the brisket.
  • To separate the point of the brisket from the flat, lay the brisket on a large cutting board with the fat cap up so you can see where the point and flat are. The point lays on top of the flat, and is thicker and well marbled, whereas the flat is thinner, leaner, and a more uniform shape.
  • Feel for that thick layer of fat that separates the point from the flat. This is where you’ll start cutting.
  • Starting at the end of the brisket where the point begins to rise above the flat, get a sharp knife and start slicing into the fat seam between the two sections.
  • Pull the point away from the flat with one hand while slicing along the fat seam with the knife in your other hand. Take your time with this part and make small cuts so you don’t cut into the meat.
  • Continue following the fat seam, making small, controlled cuts, until the point and flat are completely separated.
  • Once separated, trim away any hard chunks of excess fat from the point and the flat, leaving about 1/4" layer of fat on to protect the meat while it cooks.
  • Take your yellow mustard and thin it out by adding a little pickle juice (this will make the yellow mustard easier to coat the brisket with). Mix all the ingredients for your brisket rub together in medium bowl.
  • Coat both parts of the brisket in a thin layer of the thinned-out mustard, then evenly apply the dry rub to the point and flat and set to the side to go on the smoker.
  • To set the grill up for smoking, place an aluminum foil pan in the center of the charcoal grate and fill it halfway with water. Line the perimeter of the kettle with 2 rows of briquettes that circle ¾ of the way around, placing a 2nd row of 2 briquettes on top of the first row. Be sure that the briquettes are lined up vertically, and that all the briquettes are touching.
    Prepare the grill for Indirect, Low and Slow cooking, 225°–275°F. Remove the grates from the indirect side of the grill and place a foil drip pan on the flavorizer bars, then fill the pan with about 4 cups of water. Put the cooking grates back over the drip pan.
    Set your grill to 250°F. Once the temperature is reached and your pit is ready, place the point and the flat on the smoker to cook. Smoke the brisket until the bark is set and the internal temperature reaches 165°–170°F. This can take anywhere between 6–8 hours (see recipe tips).
  • Place the wood chunks on top of the charcoal, toward the beginning of the snake. Light the snake with 8–10 lit briquettes and adjust the dampers to achieve a temperature of 225°–275°F
    Place the wood chips in a smoker box over the lit burners. Preheat the grill until smoke appears and brush the grates clean.
    It’s now time to wrap. Remove the point and flat from the grill and place each of them on a long sheet of butcher paper. Wrap the point and flat in the butcher paper, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Put them back on the grill and continue cooking for another 2–4 hours so that it’s tender when pierced with a thermometer probe, and the internal temperature is between 198°–202°F.
  • Once the temperature is reached and your pit is ready, place the point and the flat on the grill over the drip pan to cook. Smoke the brisket until the bark is set and the internal temperature reaches 165°–170°F. This can take anywhere between 6–8 hours (see recipe tips).
    At this time continue allowing the flat to rest (preferably in an insulated cooler) for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Take the point and cube it into 1 ½" pieces and place in an aluminum pan or grill safe baking dish. Season the cubes with brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Coat the cubes with BBQ sauce and add the beef broth. Make sure all the ingredients are combined and evenly coating the cubes of brisket.
  • It’s now time to wrap. Remove the point and flat from the grill and place each of them on a long sheet of butcher paper. Wrap the point and flat, separately, in butcher paper, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Put them back on the grill and continue cooking until they’re tender when pierced with a thermometer probe, and the internal temperature is between 198°–202°F, another 2–4 hours.
    It’s now time to wrap. Remove the point and flat from the grill and place each of them on a long sheet of butcher paper. Wrap the point and flat in the butcher paper, then in a layer of aluminum foil. Put them back on the grill and continue cooking for another 2–4 hours so that it’s tender when pierced with a thermometer probe, and the internal temperature is between 198°–202°F.
  • Increase the temperature of your grill to 275°F and place the pan on the grill to cook for 1 to 1.5 hrs. You are looking for the sauce to reduce and caramelize over the burnt ends.
  • Let the flat rest (preferably in an insulated cooler) for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Take the point and cut it into 1 ½" cubes and place the pieces in an aluminum pan or grill-safe baking dish.
    At this time continue allowing the flat to rest (preferably in an insulated cooler) for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Take the point and cube it into 1 ½" pieces and place in an aluminum pan or grill safe baking dish.
    Remove pan from the grill and allow the burnt ends to rest about 10 minutes before serving. By this time, the flat has had plenty of time to rest, and you can serve it alongside the burnt ends.
  • Season the cubes with brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Coat the cubes with the BBQ sauce and honey then pour the beef broth into the pan.
  • Increase the temperature of your grill to 275°F and place the pan on the grill to cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours. You are looking for the sauce to reduce and caramelize over the burnt ends.
  • Remove pan from the grill and allow the burnt ends to rest about 10 minutes before serving. By this time, the flat has had plenty of time to rest, and you can serve it alongside the burnt ends.

Recipe Tips

Trimming the Brisket: Meat is easier to trim when it’s good and cold. So don’t take the brisket out of the refrigerator until you’re ready to start trimming. Trimming a brisket will give you lots of beef fat. You can turn it into tallow by putting it in a foil or grill-safe pan and rendering it while the brisket cooks. If you’d like, pour that tallow over the brisket before you wrap it to finish cooking. Cooking the Brisket: It’s difficult to give exact times and temperatures for brisket, as each one you cook behaves a little differently. The bark is set when the rub doesn’t look like a paste, and you can rub your finger across the surface of the brisket and the rub doesn’t come off. When the brisket is properly cooked and tender, you can easily slide a thermometer probe through the meat without feeling resistance or that the meat is gripping onto the probe.

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