You know I believe Texas is the King of all BBQ. However, Kansas City Brisket Burnt Ends may be the best bite in all of BBQ. Arthur Bryant's in KC originated this amazing BBQ bite and they have become very popular over the years. In the recipe and video we will show you a very strait forward way to get maximum burnt ends out of the point on a full packer brisket.
How to YouTube video for this recipe: https://youtu.be/MemknZhzcjo
Ingredients
- 1 full packer brisket at least choice grade or higher
- Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ Rub
- Meat Church Holy Gospel
- Meat Mitch WHOMP BBQ Sauce
- ½ disposable aluminum steam pan
- Tools
Prepare your Smoker
Prepare your smoker at a temperature of 250°. I recommend a heavier smoking wood for this cook such as oak, hickory, mesquite or pecan.
Trim the excess fat and silver skin from the brisket. Also, remove any “hard” pieces of fat as they will not render off during the cooking process. Trim the fat off the bottom of the brisket leaving only ¼ in (6 mm) fat.
A brisket is comprised of two muscles; the point (the fat end) and the flat (the lean end). In order to be able to cook brisket burnt ends you need to butcher the brisket a bit more than you would for a traditional packer. Therefore, after your traditional brisket butchering, you need to start to separate the flat form the point. In short, you want to remove the fat layer between the point and the flat. Using a sharp boning knife expose the point meat so it can absorb smoke. You don’t have to completely separate the muscles. (See photo for example).
Season the brisket with a moderate coating of our Holy Cow. Then top that with an optional light application of Holy Gospel. Allow the seasoning to adhere for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Smoke the Brisket
Place the brisket in your smoker meat side up. Spritz with cider vinegar occasionally if the brisket looks dry.
Using your instant read thermometer, when the meat reaches an internal temperature of 175°F, wrap the brisket in non-waxed butcher paper or aluminum foil.
Continue to smoke the brisket until it reaches 195 internal temperature. The brisket is not completely done at this point, but we need to separate the point to make burnt ends. Unwrap the brisket.
Separate the point from the flat. Set the point aside.
Re-wrap the flat and return it to your smoker. Continue to smoke it until the meat is “probe tender” which means when you probe it with an instant read thermometer there is no resistance. Think of a inserting a toothpick in a cake and pulling it out clean. Each piece of meat is different but this will likely be at around an internal temperature of 203°. Rest your brisket flat in a cooler for at least one hour.
Finish the Burnt Ends
Take the point and cut it into 1” cubes. Place the cubes in the aluminum pan. Season and toss the cubes with more Meat Church Holy Gospel as a traditional Kansas City Burnt End is sweet.
I like to finish my burnt ends with a traditional KC sweet heat sauce.
Toss the cubes in a 2:1 mixture of your favorite BBQ sauce (We use Meat Mitch WHOMP sauce) and clover honey. Butter can be used as an alternative to honey if you like.
Toss the cubes thoroughly to ensure they are completely covered.
Return the pan to the smoker and cook for another hour or until all liquid has reduced and the bbq sauce has caramelized.
Allow to cool for a few minutes and enjoy immediately!
