Poor Man’s Burnt Ends on the Smoker: Simple Recipe

Whole brisket is also rather expensive and considering the yield is so low for burnt ends, a better option are “poor man’s burnt ends” – made from chuck roast.

Buy a USDA Choice Grade or Higher Chuck Roast

The more marbling the better.

For this recipe I used a 2.6 lb chuck roast.

Cube the Chuck Roast

By cubing them first, all edges are exposed so you get better bark.

My suggestion is to make the cubes somewhat bigger – this is because the cubes will shrink.

Dry Rub for Poor Man’s Burnt Ends

Once you’ve cubed up your poor man’s burnt ends, either use my rub or use your own and toss the burnt ends in them.

My rub for poor man’s burnt ends is the same rub I use for my pork:

• 2 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp Diamond crystal kosher salt

Get Your Smoker to 225-250F and Put Cubed Meat on

I used post oak and cherry wood.

Add a new wood chunk every 45-60 minutes.

Checking on the Chuck Burnt Ends

All we’re doing now is waiting till we’re happy with the bark and for the burnt ends to take on smoke flavor.

For me this happened at around 3 hours and 35 minutes of smoking.

Put Burnt Ends in an Aluminum Pan with Some Beef Broth or Stock

Add enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan.

I also topped the chuck roast with some left-over rub.

People will tend to add lots of different ingredients to the pan:

• Pats of butter or Margarine
• More rub
• Barbecue sauce
• Brown sugar
• Honey
• Beef tallow
• etc.

You get the gist.

Typically it’s some form of sweet and some form of fat.

After wrapping the cubes in the aluminum pan, I then put the pan in my electric smoker set to 250F; Similarly you could use your kitchen oven.

The reason I’m not putting them back on my Weber Kettle is because electricity is much cheaper than charcoal.

At this stage all we’re doing is tenderizing the meat and that requires heat and time.

Waiting for the Meat to be Tender

At this point all you’re waiting for is the meat to be probe tender.

Every hour or so after wrapping I was taking my probe thermometer and prodding the burnt ends with my meat thermometer until it felt like it was passing through a jar of peanut butter.

Once Tender, Sauce the Burnt Ends With Your Favorite BBQ Sauce

I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey barbecue sauce and thinned it with water

Then put the burnt ends back in the smoker for 10 minutes to tack up.

After, rest for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Here’s two burnt ends that I effortlessly broke apart with my thumb and pointer finger:

Print Pin Recipe

Poor Man’s Burnt Ends

Burnt Ends Made with Chuck Roast

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Active Time5 hours hrs 57 minutes mins

Glaze10 minutes mins

Total Time6 hours hrs 17 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Ingredients

• ▢ 2.6 lbs Chuck Roast
• ▢ Barbecue Sauce I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey barbecue sauce
• ▢ Beef Broth

Dry Rub

• ▢ 2 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
• ▢ 1 tbsp White Sugar
• ▢ 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
• ▢ 1 tbsp Granulated Powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp Black Pepper
• ▢ 1 tsp Granulated onion
• ▢ 1 tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

Instructions

• Take chuck roast and cube up into equal sized cubes.

  Leave them bigger than you'd think because the meat will shrink.
• Combine my dry rub ingredients in the specified quantities or use your own dry rub. Cover the cubes on all sides.
  2 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar, 1 tbsp White Sugar, 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika, 1 tbsp Granulated Powder, 1 tbsp Black Pepper, 1 tsp Granulated onion
• Get your smoker to 225 – 250F. Then put your burnt ends on the smoker.
• Add your favorite hardwood. I used post oak and cherry and added new wood every 45-60 minutes.
• Smoke burnt ends until you're happy with the bark. For me this took 3 hours and 35 minutes.
• Put burnt ends in an aluminum pan.
  Beef Broth
• Add enough beef broth to the bottom so that the bottom is covered by 1/2 inch or so.

  Put more dry rub on.

  Then Cover the pan with aluminum foil.
• Put into your oven set to 250F.
• Every hour or so, check the burnt ends for tenderness by probing them with your thermometer or a toothpick.

  It should feel like the probe is gliding through warm butter or a jar of peanut butter.

  For me it took 2 hours and 22 minutes until I deemed them "probe tender."
• Once tender, toss your burnt ends in your favorite BBQ sauce.
  Barbecue Sauce
• Return to your oven, uncovered on a baking sheet for 10 minutes to tack up.
• After glazing, rest for 10 minutes and enjoy!