Ah, brisket. The cut of beef I was so intimidated by when I first started BBQing. Gotta admit, I was working the smoker weekly when I started and it took me months to work up the courage to attempt it. After an experienced friend of mine smoked BBQ brisket with me for the first time, it didn’t seem so scary after all. If you are planning your first attempt at this beast of a cut, you’ve come to the right place. If you’ve smoked your share and are researching different methods, I applaud you for staying sharp in the craft.

I’ve cooked many of these smoked BBQ briskets over the last four years and done a variety of methods. I love brisket and it may be my favorite cut of beef to do on the smoker. The process will involve some work, patience, and attention to detail. But don’t be intimidated. It’s fun!

THE SUPER-CONDENSED VERSION

I’m about to dive into the specifics of each step of the brisket cooking process, but if you want to simply read the summary now and skip down to the recipe at the bottom, well you’re in luck because here it is!

I trim off the silver skin on the non fat side, trim some of the fat off of the skinny sides, especially where the point and flat overlap. I trim down to about a 1/2 inch on the fat side, which is a little more left on than others but I Smoke it fat side down because on the grills I use the indirect heat source comes from the bottom. That fat layer on the bottom helps protect the meat from burning. It’s like the fat is sacrificing itself for the meat. I rub with a S&P based rub, something simple for beef. I don’t go too generous, but cover it enough. I spritz a few times during the cook with Dr Pepper, which I think helps with the color more than the flavor. I measure temps where the point and flat overlap, pulling off when it hits 195-199F. I let it rest for 90 minutes to 2 hours before slicing. (NOTE: don’t forget you can make brisket burnt ends too!) If you want to read the breakdown, keep going!

TRIMMING THE BRISKET

I have another blog post in which I review this in more detail and you are free to go check it out. For the sake of keeping this post from being a novel, I’ll go over the important points for you to know.

You trim a brisket for multiple reasons: to enhance the smoke penetrating the meat, creating some tasty bark, and removing some thick portions of fat that don’t render. There is one side of the brisket that has a bunch of fat on it, this is called the fat cap. The other side will have some light sections of fat on it, but likely a bunch of silver skin.

If cooking the brisket fat side down (recommended if your indirect heat source comes from the bottom: pellet grills, ceramic grills, drum smokers), then I recommend trimming down to about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. I’ve burned the bottom of many a brisket going fat side up because the indirect heat source came from underneath. The heat cooks hotter when its closer to the source. Having the fat on the bottom will act as a protective layer to keep the meat from possibly getting a thin, burnt layer.

If going fat side up, I recommend trimming down to 1/4 inch. The hard fats don’t render, but can add a little flavor to your slices.

Here are some bullet points to that I elaborate on in my brisket trimming post:

• plan about 20-30 minutes for trimming
• a boning knife is preferred for the trimming due to the skinny point and curve
• trim fat side down 1/4 inch for cooking fat side up, 1/4 to 1/2 for fat side down
• trim off the light fat and silver skin on other side of brisket. Silver skin will make for a tougher chew and keep smoke from penetrating meat as well.
• don’t cut into the fat that separates the point and the flat
• cut off any little flaps of meat on the brisket. These portions will burn to a crisp due to smoking for many hours
• best to trim brisket straight out of the fridge. Fat will be harder thus easier to trim

RUB AND REST

Now that the trimming is out of the way, we can get to the applying the seasonings, or the rub as us BBQers call it. If using a bottle of rub, it is recommended to go with one that is more savory as compared to the sweet rubs which are great for pork. As for me, I like to go simple with brisket: 2 Tbsp kosher salt, 2 Tbsp ground pepper, and 1 Tbsp garlic powder.

While you may go generous on the rub when doing another meat such as pork shoulder, I like to go modest to medium on brisket to let the natural meat flavor stand out. Make sure to apply rub on all sides of the brisket, even the narrow thin ones. The crust will have good flavor and compliment the real star of the show, the beef.

You can let the beef sit at room temperature for a little while without the risk of contamination (unlike poultry and pork), so feel free to let the meat sit for about 20-30 minutes to let the rub soak in a little before hitting the grill. NOTE: before applying rub and letting meat rest would be a good time to get grill/smoker going.

TIME FOR THE LONG SMOKE SESSION

Get your heat source for your grill/smoker up to 250F using indirect heat. As far as smoking wood goes, I have a few that I like, such as hickory, pecan, and oak. To stick with traditional Texas-style brisket, let’s go with oak (post oak to be more specific).

Place the brisket on the grill either fat side up or fat side down (I prefer fat side down due to the types of grills I own: ceramic, pellet, and drum smoker. I explained this earlier in the trimming section). I like to put a water pan in the main chamber to help keep the meat from drying out (then again, I do live in a dry, desert climate).

I do like to spritz with Dr Pepper two or three times during the cook. To help the Dr Pepper spray better, open the can hours before spritzing. This helps the soda to go flat and spray better. I love the color it helps impart and the subtle flavor it gives the bark.

THE EFFIN’ STALL

During the first few hours of the cook, the meat temps will climb quick. Even at the 250F smoking temp, I’ve had briskets go from 50F to 130F internal in three hours. You would think with that type of start that you’re on pace to finish in two more hours. But the brisket will eventually hit a point that it’s internal temperature will stop climbing and level out. This is called “the stall”.

The stall usually happens around 160F. To get a deeper dive in the science of it, the folks over at Amazing Ribs have a great article on it. To summarize, the meat starts sweating and the moisture evaporates and cools the meat. With that said, this is about the time I stop spritzing. The internal meat temp will stay leveled out in this zone for hours.

There is a common method to push through this and it’s known as the “Texas crutch”. The Texas crutch is when you wrap the meat in either foil or pink butcher paper to accelerate the temperature the meat is cooking at and giving it no choice but to cook faster.

If going with this method, I prefer the pink (or peach) butcher paper as it allows air flow to go through while still retaining heat. Foil traps the heat and creates moisture inside the cocoon you’ve created and can cause the outside of the meat (aka-the bark) to get soggy and feel like roast beef. If you do go the foil route, I recommend unwrapping during the last hour or so of the cook to help the bark develop.

WHEN IS THE SMOKED BBQ BRISKET DONE?

There’s some debate on how to tell when the brisket is done. Some go by time, others by temp, and those who prefer by feel. I don’t like going by time because every cut of brisket is different and cooks different. I recommend temp because it is easier to monitor throughout the process.

On a whole (or packer) brisket, make sure to put the meat probe in the section where the point and the flap overlap. Go halfway in. When the temps reach between 197-201F, pull off the grill and let the smoked BBQ brisket rest. At first, the temp will rise a few degrees while resting but then start to cool off. Let rest about 90 minutes to two hours before slicing. Speaking of…

SLICING IT UP

Whole briskets have two different sections of meat and the grains go different ways. I like to slice down the middle to separate where the point and the flat are, against the grain. Slicing against the grain makes for a more tender bite. Find the directions the grains go and slice the opposite way for the best meat experience.

Some say a good measure of a great brisket is the smoke ring and the color of the bark. While these features are aesthetically pleasing and quite photogenic, they don’t necessarily mean the brisket automatically tastes good. I’ve overcooked briskets that passed the eye test more than once. Also, I’ve had briskets with very little smoke ring and not as dark of bark but still tasted pretty good. Bottom line is, go off of flavor. If it tastes good to you, then you did it right!

As a reminder, you can use the point portion of the brisket to cube up and turn into mouthwatering burnt ends! Enjoy!

THE RECIPE

Smoked BBQ Brisket

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Brisket is the king of all barbecued meats. It can be intimidating to cook due to the time and cost, but this recipe will guide you and make you look like a natural to your friends and family!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 12 hours

Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 14 hours

Ingredients

• 1 whole (or packer) brisket (11-14 lbs.)
• 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 3 oz. Dr Pepper (for spritzing)

Instructions

1. Preheat grill/smoker to 250F using indirect heat and oak wood
2. Remove brisket from packaging. Trim fat side of brisket down to 1/4 inch (boning knife preferred). Flip brisket over and trim off silver skin. Also trim off any random flaps of meat as they will burn during cooking.
3. Mix kosher salt, pepper, and garlic powder together and apply on brisket. Apply more on the exposed meat and less on the fat.
4. Place brisket on grill fat side down. Spritz with Dr Pepper a few times during cook. Wrap in pink butcher paper when meat reaches internal temp in the 160s to accelerate cooking process. Let cook for 12 hours or until internal meat temps reach between 197-201F.
5. Remove brisket from grill, unwrap and let rest for 90 minutes before slicing. When slicing, pencil thin is the ideal width.

Notes

1. It's best to trim the brisket straight out of the refrigerator while it's cold due to the fat being more solid and easier to cut off.
2. After seasoning brisket, one option is to let the brisket rest for about 30 minutes before putting on grill. Some do this to let the meat sweat a little and let the seasonings blend in.
3. If you don't have oak wood, other woods such as hickory or mesquite will work too (I like pecan with beef, as well)
4. Measure internal meat temps by placing digital thermometer into the spot where the point and flap overlap. Push thermometer halfway in.
5. If cutting sugar from your diet, spritz with beef stock or beef broth instead of Dr Pepper

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

4 oz
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 330 Total Fat: 21g Saturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 120mg Sodium: 120mg Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 32g

This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.

Are you interested in making homemade brisket pastrami? Or looking for a new recipe? I’m guessing its either one, otherwise you might be here because you are either a super loyal fan (hi mom!) or a bot. Anyway, making this recipe for homemade brisket pastrami was a fun process from start to finish, from making the brine to that glorious moment when you slice into the finished product five days later.

What’s the difference between pastrami and corned beef?

Pastrami and corned beef look similar, usually come from the same cut of beef (brisket), and go through a brining process. But the main difference is how they are cooked. While corned beef is usually boiled then simmered until done, pastrami is smoked (and, as in this recipe, wrapped near the end and cooked on a higher heat).

Trimming the brisket

Most recipes call for a five pound brisket flat. I tend to find them to be bigger at my local butcher who sells Certified Angus Beef. The one I used for this recipe (and in these pictures) was close to nine pounds! That just meant more homemade brisket pastrami for me!

Not a ton of trimming to do on this one, just trimming off the silver skin on one side (which can take a little while) and leaving the fat side mostly the same, which mine came trimmed down to 1/4 inch mostly (if you want details on how to trim a brisket, check out this blog post).

Preparing the brine

The process of curing the meat starts with making an awesome brine. A simple brine consists of kosher salt and sugar mixed in water, but brining for homemade brisket pastrami requires more ingredients to help with the curing process. For this brine, I use kosher salt, sugar, brown sugar, honey, Prague powder #1, ground black pepper, garlic, and pickling spice. Speaking of pickling spice…

If you have researched other homemade brisket pastrami recipes, you will see a lot of them have coriander seed, mustard seed, allspice, peppercorn, chili peppers, and bay leaves. Pickling spice combines all of these ingredients, saving you from the need to buy all of these spices separately. If you can’t find this at your local grocer, you can always head to Amazon like I did.

Combine all of these ingredients with two quarts of water in a large pot and heat to a boil. Keep it this way until the salt and sugars have dissolved, which should take about five minutes. Once those two ingredients have been dissolved, add two quarts of ice water to the pot to cool it down. We do this so the meat doesn’t cook while brining, thus ruining the whole dang thing. Experts say the water should be about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s a good idea to aim for a temp in that range.

Pour the brine into your bucket or whatever container is large enough to submerge your brisket in a gallon of brine. While I do have a standard, five gallon bucket I use for brining poultry, I went to the store and bought a flat, rectangular storage bin that was big enough to hold a brisket flat and it worked great. Keep the brisket in the brine for five days, flipping over each day.

Time to smoke this stuff!

Now that you have exercised patience over the last five days, the time has come to exercise more patience and smoke this brisket pastrami! Preheat your grill/smoker to 275F using indirect heat. I used oak wood for this one because I like the flavor of that smoke with the brisket.

While the grill is heating up, make sure to rinse off the brisket thoroughly when you pull it out of the brine. When that’s done, pat dry with paper towels. Now smother some spicy brown mustard and apply a simple beef rub, even one that is a little heavy on the pepper. Once that is done, put on the smoker and let it ride for five hours or until the meat reaches an internal temp around 160F. I like to use the Thermoworks Smoke (as well as the Signals) to monitor temps while I am away.

When you’ve reached that point (five hours of smoke or internal temp of around 160F), get a large cutting board and lay out a couple of sheets of aluminum foil that are large enough to wrap the brisket. Take the cutting board with the foil sheets laid out to the grill, remove the brisket from the grill and place on the foil. Wrap tightly, crank up the heat to 325F, and place the wrapped brisket back on the grill.

Let cook until the internal temp reaches around 195F, then remove the brisket pastrami from the grill, place on your cutting board and open up the foil halfway, then let rest for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Finally! Time to eat!

It is important to let meat rest after cooking so the juices can build up inside and enhance the flavor. To get the best bite, slice your homemade brisket pastrami against the grain, which will likely be at a diagonal angle as seen in the picture at the top of this post.

You can either eat the slices as they are or make some epic homemade brisket pastrami reuben sandwiches by taking said slices and putting them on a sandwich with thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, and melted Swiss cheese all in between a couple of slices of toasted rye bread. So. Dang. Good!

The recipe!

Homemade Brisket Pastrami

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Making pastrami at home is so much better than store-bought! While it takes five days to brine, and another seven hours to cook, it's actually a fun process from start to finish. You'll be so glad you did!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 7 hours

Total Time 7 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 brisket flat (size varies)
• FOR BRINE
• 1 gallon water (2 quarts for cooking, 2 quarts ice water)
• 1 1/2 Cup kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp Prague powder #1
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 1/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup pickling spice
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• AFTER BRINE
• 1/3 Cup spicy brown mustard
• 1/4 Cup salt & pepper rub

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine two quarts of water, kosher salt, honey, garlic, Prague powder #1, sugar, brown sugar, pickling spice, and ground black pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until salt and sugar granules have dissolved. Remove from heat and add two quarts of ice water.
2. Pour cooled down brine into container, put in trimmed brisket, put on lid. Place in fridge for five days.
3. When ready to cook, preheat grill/smoker to 275F. Take brisket out of brine, rinse and pat dry. Apply spicy brown mustard followed by salt and pepper rub.
4. Place brisket on grill/smoker and cook for five hours or until internal temp reaches around 160F. Double wrap brisket in foil, place back on grill and turn up temp to 325F. Cook until internal temp reaches the 190-195F range.
5. Remove brisket pastrami from grill, unwrap and let rest for 30 minutes before slicing. Slice thinly and enjoy!

Notes

1. I used oak wood for the smoke flavor with this, but feel free to use whichever smoking wood you prefer for beef.
2. Spritz with apple juice on occasion during the first five hours of the cook.
3. Make brisket pastrami reuben sandwiches!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

varies

Serving Size:

3 ounces
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 130 Total Fat: 5g Saturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 60mg Sodium: 900mg Carbohydrates: 0.4g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 0g Protein: 18g

To trim a brisket

Ah, brisket trimming. The joyful moments that come cutting off fat and silver skin. While it may not be the most exciting part of prepping a brisket, it is very important. You trim a brisket for multiple reasons: to enhance the smoke penetrating the meat, creating some tasty bark, and removing some thick portions of fat that don’t render.

There is one side of the brisket that has a bunch of fat on it, this is called the fat cap. The other side will have a lot less fat on it, but likely a bunch of silver skin. This tutorial will show you how to trim a brisket to maximize the experience.

Brisket anatomy

Before we go into the process of how to trim a brisket, I feel it is important for you to know the whole brisket, or packer cut, comes with two types of meat: the point and the flat. The point is the bigger chunk of meat that is covered under all of that thick fat. It is the softer, juicier portion of the cut and where burnt ends come from. The flat is the leaner portion that is long and thinner than the point. Here’s a visual to help:

Now that we have that out of the way, let us proceed!

The fat side of the brisket

With some other cuts of meat, you want a layer of fat so it will render into the meat and provide more flavor. With the fat cap on the brisket, a lot of that is hard fat that does not render. If left on, it will make the meat absorb less smoke flavor, not to mention the prime real estate for eating that bark that develops over the cook. Most folks won’t want to eat a mouth full of fat, so no need to keep so much of it on.

You have probably heard much advice on trimming a brisket, some involving cooking fat side up over fat side down. This is a topic up for much debate, but we will side step that one right now (but for the record, I like to cook mine fat side down). Some say trim the fat cap down to 1/2 inch. Others may trim it off completely. I prefer to trim it down to roughly 1/4 inch. That means there are some spots of the brisket that don’t get trimmed, and that’s okay. Just know that you will do more trimming near the point than anywhere else.

The other side

The other side of the brisket will be much leaner and contain the flat with meat surface mostly exposed, with the exception of some small spots of fat and a lot of silver skin. I find I spend about half of my trimming time on the silver skin. The best way to trim this is by taking the tip of your boning knife and poking just barely under the silver skin and above the meat. I like to go across the grain while doing this and then moving the blade down the grain in a sawing-like motion.

If you cut a little layer of meat under that silver skin, it’s nothing to freak out about. It still happens to the self-proclaimed experts. It’s a small price to pay to get that meat surface exposed for more smoke flavor and better tasting meat.

Between the point and flat…

Speaking of the point, there’s a thick layer of fat that separates it from the flat. You may be tempted to carve deep into that. If you go too deep you may end up getting to a spot where you should just separate the two. Going too far in and putting your mix of rub in that cavity you created may cause your meat surface in that spot to get all goopy and gross. Fight off that urge to cut deep into it and only go a little bit in, about an inch or so.

What about the sides of the brisket?

I think everyone who has trimmed a brisket before can agree that you will want to trim down the fat on the sides. The excess fat does you no good and robs you of some awesome meat bark for your end result. Square off the sides as best as you can.

Then there’s the little flaps of meat

You will discover when you trim a brisket that it will excess flaps of meat hanging off, usually some little, skinny flaps on the flat and small chunks on the point. These are usually the result of how they are cut by the butcher before packaging. As much as you want to capitalize on all the meat that the brisket provides, these thin, smaller flaps of meat will burn to a crisp during cook and serve you no value. Do yourself a favor and trim these off.

There you have it! You’ve successfully trimmed a brisket! If it didn’t go the way you had hoped, don’t worry. The main goal here is the flavor of the brisket, not how pretty it looks pre-cook. Keep consistent with the trimming and I promise you’ll get better!

I have never understood the obsession some people have with prime rib. I’m guessing it’s because the only time I’d see it was when I was a kid and my parents would take our family to some buffet restaurant and prime rib would be the main feature. And it usually wasn’t that great. As an adult I’ve had the desire to buy one to cook, but the price tag has been too high for me to try (especially with no prior experience cooking it before). Since I like to expand my horizons and try new things, I decided the Christmas holiday season was the time to give it a shot and do a smoked prime rib. And I’m so glad I did because it was AWESOME!

What’s the difference between prime rib and rib roast?

If you go to the butcher or meat department at your local grocery store, you may see a lot of rib roast or bone-in rib roast, but no cuts called prime rib. This is because the rib roast is usually described as the most desirable part of the rib section on a cow, or the “prime” portion. Hence, the name “prime rib”.

But doesn’t it have to be USDA Prime to be considered “prime rib”?

Nope. As described in the paragraph above, the term “prime rib” refers to the beef ribs in the “prime” section for meaty goodness, usually between ribs 6 through 12. But if you can find a USDA Prime rib roast, then it will have better flavor due to the increase in marbling (interwoven fat in the meat that renders when cooked).

To summarize, the rib roast IS prime rib.

Selecting a roast

I picked out a bone-in rib roast that had three bones and was a little over eight pounds. It came bound together with two strands of butcher’s twine (underneath the shrink wrap, of course). I asked the butcher to french the bones for me and they did it free of charge (keep in mind some butchers may charge a fee, so you may want to ask beforehand).

The “frenching” of the bones means to trim down some of the fat and meat around the bone to expose it and give it a more enticing look when cooked. This doesn’t affect the flavor of the meat, but it sure does look pretty.

Note that I got an eight pound prime rib (aka-rib roast) because I was feeding 10 adults and some kids (also note that I had some left over, too).

The process

Before I started prepping the prime rib I set my grill/smoker to 225F over indirect heat using pecan wood. You may want to allot about 10-15 minutes to get up to temps. Once I tended to the meat, the first thing I did was cut off the butcher’s twine because I wanted to trim the fat off the outside portion. Some folks like to keep it there but I decided to trim if off as a personal preference. Either way, I applied a simple rub comprised of kosher salt, ground pepper, and garlic powder on the rib roast.

After that, I smothered the roast in a compound butter comprised of garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese, and butter. I like to place a couple of sprigs of rosemary on top because I love how it pairs with beef. Then I take a couple of strands of butcher’s twine and tie it back up how it was before, tying the twine over the rosemary sprigs, too.

Once the smoker is up to temp, I place the roast on the grill bone side down. I like to use a digital meat thermometer, such as the Thermoworks Smoke, to gauge the internal temps throughout the process, making sure I don’t overcook it. I put the probe in the middle of the thickest portion of the roast.

Keep in mind the cooking time will vary per roast. This eight pound roast took just over four hours at 225F to get to an internal temp of 120F. When it hit that temp, I took the roast off, got the grill up to a roasting temp of 400F, and wrapped the roast loosely in foil while the grill gets up to the desired temp.

Now that the grill is at 400F, I unwrap the roast and place it back on the grill for another 15 minutes until my Thermoworks Smoke shows I’ve reached an internal temp of 132F. I expect there to be a little bit of carry over temp after the meat is removed, meaning the beef will continue to cook internally for a few degrees more. I like my steaks and roasts at 135F internal, which is good enough for medium rare.

Finally, I let the smoked prime rib rest for about 10-15 minutes before I slice. I do this to let the meat rest and build up juices inside for a better bite. Some like to slice the bones off at this point, but I like to make things difficult on myself and kept the bones on there while slicing. Didn’t matter. It tasted amazing anyway!

In closing, I’m happy I took the chance and did this smoked prime rib. I hope you take my advice and go for it, as well. Follow this recipe and I’m pretty confident you’ll find it better than your local buffet. And if you want to smoke something else to pair with this smoked prime rib, I recommend my smoked buttery shrimp recipe.

The recipe!

Smoked Prime Rib

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Prime rib is the crown jewel to any holiday feast and adding some smoke flavor will help you win over any hungry crowd!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 4 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 rib roast (5-8 lbs.)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp rub
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1 Cup garlic herb butter (recipe in notes)

Instructions

1. Preheat grill/smoker to 225F at indirect heat. Use pecan wood (or whichever smoking wood you prefer) for smoke flavor. While getting to the desired temp, prep the rib roast by removing twine and trimming off fat on top (optional). Apply rub (or salt and pepper) to rib roast, then spread garlic herb butter all over the meat surfaces. Add two sprigs of rosemary on top and tie two strands of butcher's twine over meat.
2. Place rib roast on grill and smoke for about four hours or until internal meat temp reaches 120 degrees. Remove from grill, placing roast in loosely wrapped foil while getting heat up in grill to 400 degrees. Place meat back on grill, roasting for 15 minutes or until internal meat temp reaches around 135 degrees for a medium rare finish.
3. Remove meat from grill, let rest uncovered for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Notes

1. Cooking times vary per cut of meat due to variables such as weight of roast
2. Trimming fat cap is optional, as is removing the butcher's twine
3. You can remove the bones prior to serving slicing along top of bones and following the shape down to the bottom under the hunk of meat
4. If you can't find a pre-made garlic herb butter, then use this simple compound butter recipe:

• 1 Cup butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped herbs (parsley, basil, and/or oregano)
• Combine ingredients in small to medium-sized bowl. Mix well.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

varies

Serving Size:

4 oz
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 450 Total Fat: 38g Saturated Fat: 16g Cholesterol: 96mg Sodium: 73mg Carbohydrates: 0g Protein: 25g

Ever since I got into smoking meat, I’ve been told that burnt ends are the pinnacle of barbecue. To be honest, I never had much of an interest in making them. After waiting 12-14 hours of smoking a brisket, then letting it rest for at least another hour on top of that, I am not very keen to wait another 90 minutes to two hours burnt ends and to eat the meaty goodness I’ve labored (and sometimes starved myself) for.

I’ve had all sorts of good intentions to make them in the past. However, whenever I slice up the point of the brisket into cubes, they look so good already! Tender to the touch, those meat juices oozing out, the savory flavored bark on the outside, and that classic brisket smell my family and I have been taunted with for hours, I mean how can I wait any longer to eat?

Well, one day I decided to brave it. Exercising the determination of a cornered honey badger, I powered through the slicing of the point and tossed the meat cubes into a foil pan. Adding a few other ingredients, I put them back on the grill/smoker at 275F and after about 90 minutes, I had taken these meat cubes and turned them into something worth posting about!

I have tweaked with the ingredients here and there since then and I think I have figured out a pretty good recipe for burnt ends. Good enough that I feel confident sharing with you folks.

What are burnt ends?

Little nuggets of heaven. That’s what.

But how do you smoke a brisket?

Smoking the full brisket (also known as a full or packer) is a topic that could be covered over multiple postings in and of themselves (such as trimming the brisket, fat side up or fat side down, wrapping or no wrapping, etc.). In a nutshell, trim off some of the fat, rub with your favorite rub (or a simple 50/50 mix of salt and pepper), put on the grill/smoker at 250F using your favorite smoking wood (I prefer pecan, hickory, or oak). Let it ride until the brisket hits an internal temp in its thickest spot between 195F to 203F internal. Remove and let rest for about an hour before serving.

The slicing

Now that we have briefly covered that, let’s get into the burnt ends! First off, take the finished brisket and separate the point and the flat. This is done by finding that thick vein of fat which divides the two portions of meat. Now that the point is separated, start cutting it into cubes, slicing about one to 1 1/2 inches apart. Place the cubes into a foil pan (I usually go with an 8×8).

The other ingredients

With the cubes of brisket in the foil pan, add about one tablespoon worth of your favorite beef rub (or salt n pepper). After that, grab your barbecue sauce and pour on about a cup. Follow up with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, two teaspoons of honey, four tablespoons of butter and three ounces of Dr Pepper or whichever cola you prefer (but seriously, Dr Pepper goes well with barbecue).

Trust the process

Mix the ingredients together in the pan and wrap the top with aluminum foil. Preheat your grill/smoker up to 275F. Hopefully, you have done this during the prep so you have less time to wait. Once at the desired temp, put your foil wrapped pan on the grill and cook it for an hour.

After one hour, go back to the grill and remove the sheet of aluminum foil. Cook uncovered for another 30 to 60 minutes. We uncover at this point so all of the juices in the pan will start to reduce and help create some stickiness to the burnt ends themselves.

You don’t want burnt ends to be too saucy because it wouldn’t be much different than just dumping BBQ sauce on cut up pieces of brisket. Let the mix of ingredients cook into the cubes. Its normal to have some juices still in the pan when they are done.

How will I know when they’re done?

Once the burnt ends have finished cooking uncovered, remove from off of the grill and let them rest for about 10-15 minutes. This will help some of the remaining sauce to thicken some and also let the meat relax so juices can build up a little inside.

To tell if they are done, I like to do the squeeze test. I take a cube and then squeeze down with some pressure. If it shreds apart, then they are cooked well. I also like to have my burnt ends be a little sticky to the touch.

The video!

Yep, I made a brief video of making burnt ends that pretty much explains everything I just told you. Maybe I should’ve led with this.

The recipe!

Brisket Burnt Ends

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Brisket burnt ends are considered the holy grail of barbecue. Follow this recipe and make your own!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 brisket point, fully cooked (point can be from full brisket)
• 1 Cup BBQ sauce
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp rub
• 2 tsp honey
• 3 oz Dr Pepper
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat grill/smoker to 275 degrees
2. Cook the full brisket, separating the point and flat when done. Slice the point into 1 to 1 1/2 inch cubes and place in foil pan
3. In the foil pan, combine rub, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, butter, honey, and Dr Pepper with the brisket cubes. Mix in pan and put sheet of foil over it.
4. Place on grill/smoker and let it cook for one hour. Remove foil and cook uncovered for another 30-45 minutes.
5. Remove from grill, rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Notes

**THE FULL BRISKET WILL NEED TO BE COOKED PRIOR TO MAKING BURNT ENDS**

After burnt ends have cooked for an hour and you unwrap the foil, feel free to drain some of the excess juices in the foil pan

Make sure the burnt ends render when you give them a squeeze.

Aim to have them be a little sticky.

I use Dr Pepper, but feel free to use your favorite cola instead

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

3 oz
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245 Total Fat: 16g Saturated Fat: 6.2g Cholesterol: 90mg Sodium: 41mg Carbohydrates: 0g Protein: 24g