View source for Burnt ends

{{short description|Barbecued meat delicacy}}
[[File:Competition Barbecue submission. This is beef brisket..jpg|thumb|250px|Beef brisket with burnt ends]]
[[File:Beef brisket burnt ends.jpg|thumb|337x337px|Beef brisket burnt ends made on a smoker]]
'''Burnt ends''' are pieces of meat cut from the "point" half of a smoked [[brisket]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eater.com/2014/7/8/6194903/the-burnt-ends-of-kansas-city-a-guided-tour |author=Bonjwing Lee |title=The Burnt Ends of Kansas City: A Guided Tour |publisher=The Eater |date=2014-07-08 |access-date=2020-08-08}}</ref>

When brisket muscles are separated, the lean "first cut" or "flat cut" is the deep pectoral, while the fattier "point", also known as the "second cut", "fat end", or "triangular cut", is the superficial pectoral. A traditional part of [[Kansas City-style barbecue]], burnt ends are considered a delicacy in [[barbecue]] cooking.  Either the entire brisket is cooked whole, then the point end is removed and cooked further, or the point and flat are separated prior to cooking. Due to the higher fat content of the brisket point, it takes longer to fully cook to tender and render out fat and collagen. This longer cooking gave rise to the name "burnt ends". Sometimes when the flat is done, the point is returned to the smoker for further cooking. Some cooks re-season the point at this time.   

Kansas City style burnt ends are usually served chopped with sauce either on top or on the side. A "proper" burnt end should display a modest amount of "bark" or char on at least one side. Burnt ends can be served alone (sometimes smothered in [[barbecue sauce]]) or in [[sandwich]]es, as well as in a variety of other dishes, including [[baked beans]]<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|author=Peter Meehan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/dining/07barb.html?pagewanted=all |title=The Big Apple May Never Be Known as the Big Sparerib, but It's Smokin' |work=New York Times |date=2007-03-07 |access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref> and [[French fries]].

Kansas City native [[Calvin Trillin]] is often credited with popularizing burnt ends.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/food/shows/burnt-legend-story-burnt-ends/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714024057/http://www.pbs.org/food/shows/burnt-legend-story-burnt-ends/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |title=Burnt Legend: The Story of Burnt Ends |publisher=PBS |access-date=2020-08-08}}</ref> In a 1972 article he wrote for ''Playboy'' about [[Arthur Bryant's]] restaurant in Kansas City, <ref>{{cite web|author=Calvin Trillin |url=http://fcg-bbq.blogspot.com/2010/09/playboy-april-1972-explication.html|title=No! One of the Worlds' Foremost Authorities on Ribs, Cheeseburger, French Fries and Frosty Malts Takes a Gourmet Tour of Kansas City |publisher=Playboy|via=scan of original article shared by Full Custom Gospel BBQ |date=April 1972|pages=108,110,209,210}}</ref> he wrote: "The main course at Bryant's, as far as I'm concerned, is something that is given away free – the burned edges of the brisket. The counterman just pushes them over to the side and anyone who wants them helps himself. I dream of those burned edges. Sometimes, when I’m in some awful, overpriced restaurant in some strange town, trying to choke down some three-dollar hamburger that tastes like a burned sponge, a blank look comes over me: I have just realized that at that very moment, someone in Kansas City is being given those burned edges for ''free''.”

==See also==
* [[Grilling]]
* [[List of smoked foods]]
* {{portal-inline|Food}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Barbecue}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnt Ends}}
[[Category:Barbecue]]
[[Category:Smoked meat]]
[[Category:American beef dishes]]