Chuck roast seasoned and slow smoked on a charcoal grill. Then the chuck roast is cubed, slathered in butter, BBQ sauce, and honey and smoked again until the beef nuggets are pillowy soft. Therefore we call this poor man’s burnt ends with pics.
Poor man’s burnt ends are burnt ends made with chuck roast rather than brisket. Traditionally burnt ends are made by smoking an entire packer brisket and then removing the point, cubing it, applying a sauce and smoking again until each morsel is pillowy soft. A whole packer brisket is expensive and takes forever to cook. Indeed, by smoking a chuck roast before cubing, saucing and smoking again, we save both time and money.
I visited a local store with a great service meat counter that handles locally raised beef and pork with a reputation for good quality and found this beauty.
Anxious to get the beef chuck roast on my rectangular ugly drum smoker (UDS), stoked with Rockwood Charcoal as well as a couple chunks of post oak smoking wood.
Season the chuck roast and then smoke at 275F-325F until the internal temperature reaches 155F-170F. Set the smoked chuck roast on pink butcher paper, add a few dollops of beef tallow and wrap tightly. Put the wrapped chuck roast back on the grill until it reaches 185F-200F. Then carve the roast into cubes. Place the chunks in a roasting or aluminum pan and pour the sauce on top. Cover and grill for 30 minutes. Finally, remove the lid and allow the sauce to thicken up for another 30 minutes. When a probe thermometer or toothpick goes in and out of the poor man burnt ends like butter, they are ready to serve as either an appetizer, main course or sandwich.
Delivering the absolutely lovely hunk of beautifully marbled chuck roast to the ugly drum smoker was like strolling down the aisle to get married…the first time.
How long does it take to cook Poor Man’s Burnt Ends?
For an approximate four pound chuck roast at around 300F it will take between 5-6 hours from start to finish. But this is just a guideline. Cook to temp not time. As a matter of fact, for this particular cook until a probe thermometer or toothpick slide in and out of the chuck roast burnt ends like butter. In this particular recipe, the smoke session took right at 5.5 hours.
Wrapping in butcher paper powers the meat through the stall, where the meat cools as fat liquifies and the temps plateau for an excruciatingly long time. Wrapping hyper-accelerates the cooking process, thus pushing through the stall faster than not wrapping. Butcher paper works better than aluminum foil because it breathes and therefore doesn’t ruin the bark on the outside of the meat.
Two sheets of peach butcher paper pulled from the roll:
Poor Man’s Burnt Ends, or any burnt ends for that matter, can be served several ways. Hence, they can be served as an appetizer as we’ve shown before, as an entree shown below, or as a delightful sandwich.
Additionally, a light dusting of your favorite beef rub would be a nice finishing touch on any of these options:
I’ve really been on a streak recently enjoying barbecued beef with plain white bread (or buns) like it used to be served long ago.
Indeed, there’s something special about succulent smoked beef, barbecue sauce, and simple soft bread that can’t be beat.
Recap of Poor Man Burnt Ends
I would definitely do this cook again. Although, I might do two chuck roasts next time out. One for chuck roast burnt ends and one just with the SPG seasoning and serve it like regular brisket. Call it Poor Man’s Brisket? The smoke flavor is so Texas style spot on and the texture, while slightly different than brisket point, is quite enjoyable. Now, about this Poor Man’s BS. Indeed, at current beef prices I’m definitely poorer after buying that beef chuck roast.
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Combine the seasoning ingredients and apply liberally to the chuck roast on both sides and around the edge
Prepare the smoker by getting it to an internal temperature of 300F (+/- 25F) with a chunk of post oak on the coals
Place the chuck roast on a smoker until it reaches between 155F-170F
Place the smoked chuck roast on a couple sheets of peach butcher paper and top with 3 dollops of beef tallow. Wrap the chuck roast in the butcher paper and place back on the grill.
While the chuck roast continues to cook in the butcher paper, reduce the cola and then combine the rest of the sauce ingredients
When the chuck roast reaches between 185F-200F remove from the grill and butcher paper and carve into cubes
Place the cubes of smoked chuck roast into an aluminum pan and pour the sauce over. Cover the pan and put back on the grill.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid and stir the poor man’s burnt ends and leave the lid off to ‘tack up’ the sauce. When a temperature probe or toothpick go in and out of the poor man burnt ends like butter, remove from the heat and serve.
As shown above, here here are some additional pics of the Poor Man Burnt Ends:
