I fell in love, and then I cheated: A tale of my burnt end…

At a Kansas City style BBQ joint, my heart melted as my first taste of a burnt end did the same, in my mouth. A charred chunk of brisket double smoked and slathered in bbq sauce was the perfect combination of both crispy and buttery. So good, it should be illegal. But, really, it wasn’t originally intended to be anything serious…

BBQ cooks in Kansas City, Missouri needed to do something with the odd bits left over after slicing into the flat of a brisket. So, they threw the charred chunks onto the counter for hungry customers to consume while they waited for their food. Sometime in the 1970s, this, once waste product, became a dish in itself. Mopped in BBQ sauce, these beef brisket bits were placed back into the smoker and put on the menu and mounded on top of a slice of bread.

At home, we aren’t likely serving hundreds of customers with whole briskets coming out of smokers where we can cherry pick enough ends to feed everyone. Some may not have a smoker, but this is just too damn good not to try to reproduce. So, folks, here’s my CHEAT:

The day before you want to serve your burnt ends, get a portion of brisket that will fit into your slow cooker (or stack two portions on top of each other). The point of the brisket works best because of its high fat content, but take what you can get. Put the brisket into the slow cooker with salt, pepper, garlic, a sliced red onion and drizzle with your favorite BBQ sauce (I make my own, but you don’t have to). Cook on low for 9 hours.

Take the brisket and onions out of the slow cooker and reserve the drippings in another container. Refrigerate until cool.

Three hours before you want to serve, put a couple handfuls of coal on one side the BBQ, throw two or three logs on top and light ‘er up. Note that, for my cheat to work, I use a standard Weber. The requirement for the BBQ is that you can put in coal and wood, and it has a lid. I like to use oak logs. Keep the lid off and wait until the logs are burnt to the point of being white (close to an hour).

In the meantime, take the cooled meat and onions out of the fridge and cut into approximately 3/4 inch cubes (no need for perfection as burnt ends are traditionally non-uniform or misshapen.) Place the pieces and the onions in an aluminum foil pan and slather generously with your bbq sauce and pour some of the reserve liquid drippings from the slow cooker on it and mix.

When the logs are burnt white, place the aluminum pan onto the BBQ grill (not directly over the flame) and close the lid. Let it sit in there absorbing that oaky smoke for a couple of hours until it’s even more tender and there are burnt flecks on the pieces.

Serve your burnt ends on top of a slice of artisan bread and your cheatin’ heart won’t tell on you…