10 tips for better brisket and burnt ends (plus top news & events)
This week’s guest introduction is by Ray Sheehan, founder and owner of BBQ Buddha, an award-winning line of sauces and rubs. He is also the pitmaster for the BBQ Buddha competition team and a certified Kansas City Barbeque Society Judge. A chef by trade with over 25 years in the food industry, he teaches cooking classes, caters pop-up dinners, and writes about food. His cookbook Award Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them is scheduled for release in April (see our Watch/Listen/Read section below for details). If you would like to write a guest article for The Smoke Sheet, please get in touch.
Tender beef brisket along with fatty, succulent burnt ends is not only a Kansas City culinary tradition, it is my favorite thing to cook. I have heard people say that brisket is one of the hardest things to get right in the barbecue world and I wouldn’t disagree, but I am always up for the challenge. The reward for the many hours of low-and-slow cooking and tending a fire is just too great.
There's nothing quite like perfectly cooked brisket.
Cooking brisket to its juicy, melt-in-your-mouth nirvana is an art unto itself. It is a goal aspired to by pitmasters across the world. The challenge lies in cooking a whole packer brisket, which is made up of two separate muscles; the lean “flat” muscle (where you typically get your slices from) and the fatty “point” muscle (where the burnt ends come from) to reach maximum tenderness.
The “point” is then cut into cubes, coated in an au jus and sauce mixture and placed back on the smoker to cook some more. When done right your brisket slices will pass the “bend, but don’t break" test and your burnt ends will become beefy 1-inch squares that are caramelized, sticky, and insanely delicious.
Buying the highest grade brisket you can afford is worth it.
With these ten helpful tips and a little practice, you will be well on your way to mastering the art of smoking a brisket and making what is arguably the best bite in the business, burnt ends.
First, you can purchase brisket in a wide range of grades and varieties, from Choice, Prime, and Wagyu, to Black and Gold varieties of the latter, all with varying flavors, textures, and price points. Buy the best grade of brisket that you can afford and at the very least purchase Choice grade. Starting with a good piece of meat goes a long way. Pick out a brisket with a thick flat for the best slices and one that’s not too stiff in the cryovac should help with tenderness.
Don’t trim off too much fat, and leave a quarter of an inch of fat as insulation during the cook. Fat is flavor; however, you do want to remove some of the large chunks of fat in the deckle that will not render out completely during a long, slow cook.
Inject and season in advance. Give the rub and injection plenty of time to work and build flavor, at least a few hours in advance and as long as overnight.
Whether you decide to use a grill or a smoker, be sure to use a cooker that provides a consistent temperature throughout the process.
Lightly re-season and wrap the brisket once it reaches 165 to 170 degrees internal temperature, or when you are happy with the color of the bark.
Make sure you vent and rest your brisket before serving.
You can push through the stall by using the Texas Crutch. Whether you wrap in aluminum foil or pink butcher paper, be sure to re-season and get that meat back on the cooker until it hits 198 to 203 degrees.
When testing for doneness, use the temperature range that I provided in #5 as a guide. Every brisket is different. Your temperature probe should have little resistance as you slide it in and out. You can also use the jiggle test, in which you grab the brisket from the fat end and shake it. The meat should bounce back almost like when you shake a bowl of Jello.
It’s incredibly important to vent and rest. When you hit your target temp, open the brisket wrap and let it vent for 10 to 15 minutes. Rewrap the meat with butcher paper or foil and let it rest. You’ll want to keep it wrapped in a blanket or towel in a cooler for one to two hours.
Separate the flat and the point but don’t slice the flat until you are ready to serve it. Be sure to slice the meat against the grain with the thickness of a No. 2 pencil.
At the end of your brisket cooking process, you can also make burnt ends.
One last thing you can do is make melt-in-your-mouth burnt ends from your finished brisket. Cut the point off and slice it into 1-inch cubes. Place the meat back on the cooker uncovered in a half pan with a quarter cup of pan drippings and 1 cup of BBQ sauce for one hour. Remove from the cooker and gently coat the burnt ends with the sauce and then place back on the cooker for about 15 minutes.
I hope these tips are helpful as you continue to refine your brisket and burnt ends cooking methods. If you want to talk barbecue, I can be reached on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Ray Sheehan
Founder, BBQ Buddha
Here are the top recent barbecue news stories from around the country:
Matt and Sarah Walker of Boomerang BBQ were named the 2019 KCBS Team of the Year.
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) recently named Matt and Sarah Walker’s husband-and-wife pitmaster team Boomerang BBQ as the 2019 Team of the Year Grand Champions. The couple out of Lubbock, Texas beat out over 2,600 teams from across the globe, sweeping all four meat categories, with Sarah also being named 2019 KCBS Rib Queen. Congrats Matt and Sarah!
Condé Nast Traveler released their list of the 11 best spots for barbecue in Austin, which includes some obvious choices with heavy hitters such as Franklin Barbecue and La Barbecue, but it also includes a few surprises. The list highlights just how deep the pool is in Austin when it comes to high-quality barbecue experiences.
Texas has long been recognized for its beef tradition in barbecue, yet just as we noted in The Smoke Sheet last summer, the Carolina tradition of whole hog barbecue is increasing in popularity in the Lone Star State, according to Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn.
For Southern Living’s Robert Moss, pulled pork is “another invasive barbecue species” that is taking over barbecue menus across the nation, “threatening to overrun native regional varieties” and displacing items such as pit ham and sliced beef in places such as Kansas City. He further notes that the Carolinas are unfairly associated with pulled pork, despite the fact that pork on menus there is chopped and sliced, but rarely pulled.
Speaking of Robert Moss, he recently noted the fact that announcements of the opening of new barbecue restaurants in the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina are becoming an increasingly frequent occurrence. The latest restaurant to join the scene is Prime Barbecue in Knightdale, which will serve Texas-style barbecue.
In more news of Texas-style barbecue outside the Lone Star State, one the newest restaurants to open in the Kansas City area is Jousting Pigs BBQ, offering sliced fatty brisket and other Texas specialties.
Pitmaster Bradley Parmer mixes the barbecue traditions of Texas and Alabama in his aptly named restaurant Texarbama BBQ in Fairhope, Alabama.
J.C. Reid of the Houston Chronicle writes about how rare it is for a veteran chef or restaurateur to switch to barbecue from another cuisine but shares one story of a couple who successfully managed to do just that.
According to Chuck Blount of the San Antonio Express-News, notable San Antonio barbecue joint 2M Smokehouse is now serving Akaushi brisket, “a premium breed of Japanese Wagyu cattle that’s known for its intense marbling, crimson coloring, and buttery beef flavor.”
Terry Wooten is helping Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que grow to become a Texas barbecue empire.
Writer Terry Dickson recently wrote an ode to Brunswick stew and the annual “Stewbilee” event held by the Brunswick Kiwanis Club for the Brunswick News.
A group of longtime employees is taking ownership of Milt’s Barbecue for the Perplexed, a popular kosher barbecue restaurant in Chicago. While the new owners plan some changes to the restaurant, they plan to keep donating some of the joint’s proceeds to charity like the previous owners did.
Finally, in a bit of sad news, Woody Phillips, founder of legendary Woody’s Bar-B-Cue in Los Angeles, recently passed away at the age of 78. Phillips opened three Woody’s Bar-B-Cue locations throughout South LA, “which helped establish the Phillips clan as the Southland’s first family of barbecue,” Eater Los Angeles reports.
Here are BBQ shows, podcasts, or books you should check out this week:
Pitmaster Tyler Harp of Harp Barbecue in Kansas City discusses craft barbecue in this new video.
Watch: Tyler Harp of Harp Barbecue — BBQ with Rik Rik
Kansas City-based photographer and videographer Tarik Sykes of BBQ with Rik Rik recently caught up with pitmaster Tyler Harp of Harp Barbecue. Harp talks about how he got started with his pop-up events at Crane Brewing Company in Raytown and discusses the different barbecue regions across the country. He also touches on what it takes to make craft barbecue and shares how he makes his pork belly burnt ends. Be on the lookout for an appearance from The Smoke Sheet’s Sean Ludwig during his visit to Harp Barbecue. Watch here.
Listen: Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn and KCBS CEO Emily Detwiler — The BBQ Central Show
Last week, host of The BBQ Central Show Greg Rempe was joined by the BBQ editor for Texas Monthly, Daniel Vaughn. They take a look back at some big Texas food events of 2019, what he expects to see from Texas BBQ in 2020 and they also talk about a few odd items that include a $75 baked potato and a “smoked” impossible burger. Could this be Greg’s year for the BBQ Hall of Fame? Daniel has a take on that as well. Closing out the show is the CEO of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, Emily Detwiler. Greg and Emily discuss the recent negative article from KCUR, take a peek at what is in store for the first quarter of 2020, and get a recap of this past weekend’s KCBS banquet. Listen to the episode here.
Read: Award-Winning BBQ Sauces and How to Use Them: The Secret Ingredient to Next-Level Smoking — by Ray Sheehan
This week’s selection is the forthcoming book from our special guest contributor Ray Sheehan. Kick the flavor up a notch by making award-winning sauces with wholesome ingredients in your own backyard. From Memphis Mop BBQ Sauce and Kansas City BBQ Sauce to less traditional flavors like Cherry Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Tangy Peach BBQ Sauce, there’s no end to the combinations you can create. Each specialty sauce takes out artificial ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and flavor enhancers like monosodium glutamate (MSG) found in many store-bought sauces, so you’ll always have a healthy foundation for delicious showstoppers like Slow-Smoked Memphis-Style Ribs, Texas-Style Beef Brisket and even Asian BBQ Smoked Pork Belly Bites. With notes of smoke and secret ingredients sure to leave everyone satisfied, these sauces are going to bring a new world of flavor to your cookouts. Pre-order it here.
Meatstock Music and Barbecue Festival takes place in Auckland, New Zealand this February.
January 25, 2020: The Shed Steak Showdown — Ocean Springs, Mississippi
The Shed will be hosting a huge SCA steak cookoff on January 25th. More than 100 teams competed at last year’s event, so expect fierce competition and lots of prizes. More than $20,000 in prizes will be given out to winners, so if you have interest in cooking steak or other proteins, this is a great event for you. More info here.
February 15-16, 2020: Meatstock Music and Barbecue Festival (Auckland edition) — Auckland, New Zealand
Meatstock Auckland is back again in its fourth installment of excessive meat and rockin’ blues. The sell-out festival will be returning to its NZ home, the ASB Showground, on the 15th-16th of February. The Festival includes live music, demonstrations, food trucks, barbecue expo, live art, the Rod + Custom Rumble, competitions, free rides for the kids, and refreshments by Liberty Brewing and Jack Daniels, plus more. More info here.
February 22, 2020: Rock the Block — Charleston, South Carolina
The gang at Home Team BBQ in Charleston will soon host their third annual block party benefiting the Hogs for the Cause event in late March. (More on Hogs below!) The Rock the Block event is free to attend and there will be tons of pitmasters and chefs there making food. VIP tickets will get you access to even more food and BBQ options. If you love food and music and aren’t too far from Charleston, you won’t want to miss this. More info here.
February 28 - March 1, 2020: New School Barbecue University — Austin, Texas
Leroy & Lewis Barbecue of Austin, Texas (which we included in ) will soon be “sharing their secrets” at its New School Barbecue University. During one long weekend, you’ll learn how to create popular items like beef cheeks, brisket, barbacoa, whole hog, sausages, and more. Attendance is limited to just 30 attendees so be sure to get your applications in quickly if you are interested. More info here.
February 27-29, 2020: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Bar-B-Que Contest — Houston, Texas
More than 250 teams, led by barbecue aficionados, compete in the World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. While most team tents are invitation-only, visitors can enjoy several public venues, including The Garden, Rockin' Bar-B-Que Saloon, and the Chuck Wagon. Activities include live music, rides, games, and more and visitors will receive a complimentary sliced brisket plate with chips and beans. More info here.
March 4-8, 2020: Charleston Food and Wine Festival — Charleston, South Carolina
The Charleston Wine + Food infuses homegrown flavor with top chefs, winemakers, authors, storytellers, artisans, and food enthusiasts from around the globe for a five-day event that spans the first full weekend each March. More info here.
March 14-15, 2020: Meatstock Music and Barbecue Festival (Melbourne edition) — Melbourne, Australia
Meatstock returns for its fourth year with a typically stacked line-up of barbecue enthusiasts and bands. The sell-out, two-day event brings big-name American pitmasters Down Under; sees 50 teams from across Melbourne go head-to-head over the coals to be crowned the city’s best barbequers; and features live music, food trucks and pop-up bars. This year, American pitmasters Moe Cason, Wayne Mueller from Louie Mueller Barbecue, and Ronnie Evans and Philip Moseley from Blue Oak BBQ will be putting on demonstrations. More info here.
March 27-28, 2020: Hogs for the Cause — New Orleans, Louisiana
Hogs for the Cause returns as the largest, tastiest BBQ festival in New Orleans. The city welcomes numerous local and regional BBQ masters and the best backyard chefs to compete in seven categories: Whole Hog, Ribs, Pork Butt/Shoulder, Porkpourri, Sauce, Fan Favorite, and Fundraising Champion. The barbecue festival is a two-day event full of music, local beer, and fundraising. More info here.
March 27-28, 2020: Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash — Venice, Florida
Since 2010, the Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash has established itself as a destination for the best barbecue competition and bluegrass entertainment in Southwest Florida. It is the signature fund-raiser for the Suncoast Foundation for Handicapped Children (SFHC). More than 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will feature a large Florida BBQ Association competition, lots of live music, parties, cornhole tournament, family fun, and more. More info here.
April 1-4, 2020: National Barbecue & Grilling Association Annual Conference — Louisville, Kentucky
The National Barbecue & Grilling Association (NBBQA) Annual Conference will be held at The Galt House Hotel. The conference gathers members and people from across the industry to network, learn, and participate in a variety of topics and activities around the Business of BBQ. Whether you are a product owner, run a restaurant, involved in media, or any other sector of BBQ, there are boundless opportunities to network, learn, and grow at the event. More info here.
April 5, 2020: 8th Annual Houston BBQ Festival — Houston, Texas
The 8th Annual Houston BBQ Festival will take place on Sunday, April 5th from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Humble Civic Center Arena Complex. The festival will feature Houston’s best barbecue joints all in one place, including Blood Bros BBQ, Brett's BBQ Shop, Buck's Barbeque, CorkScrew BBQ, Daddy Duncan's BBQ, Eaker Barbecue, and Feges BBQ. Read our to learn about the experience. More info here.
See the full Smoke Sheet events calendar online here.
This recipe for Kansas City Brisket Burnt Ends is the perfect dish for a Super Bowl party.
Kansas City Brisket Burnt Ends by All Things BBQ
For this week’s Recipe of the Week, we chose this video from All Things BBQ for Kansas City Brisket Burnt Ends. The Super Bowl is almost here and whether or not you’re a Kansas City Chiefs fan, burnt ends are the perfect thing to serve at your party. Chef Tom shows you how to trim and season your brisket for the smoker. He smokes using a mix of cherry and pecan until the brisket achieves the desired color, then wraps in foil until it is finished before cubing and tossing in sauce. Make these brisket burnt ends and be the hero of your Super Bowl Party. View the recipe here.
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