Incredible beef chuck roast burnt ends prepared in bite-size cubes and cooked over smoke before basted in our homemade barbecue sauce. These juicy, tender BBQ bites are packed full of smoky flavor and taste incredible.
These poor man’s burnt ends save you the hassle (and cost) of smoking an entire brisket by swapping in chuck roast for the traditional brisket point. Rich in beefy flavor and marbled fat, these still deliver that BBQ bark and tender mouthfeel we all want from burnt ends, all while taking only a fraction of the time that their brisket counterparts would.
I always cube the beef before throwing it on the smoker, not just because it’s easier to do this while the meat is raw, but primarily because it means we can get a nice amount of crunchy bark on each piece before we sauce them. Smoking the chuck whole first just won’t give you that.
Poor Man’s Burnt Ends Explained
Traditional burnt ends are made from the brisket point, which presents one of two problems: One is that you need to cook a whole brisket (this can easily take 10+ hours); the other is that you need to buy just the point of a brisket to smoke (not always easy to find, although that is exactly what we did for our brisket burnt ends recipe). Neither option is easy, nor is it cheap. Enter: “Poor Man’s” burnt ends.
This recipe swaps in chuck roast for brisket, making it easier, quicker and cheaper than going the whole hog (well, cow) with brisket. Beef chuck has solid marbling and fat running through it, making it a pretty decent stand-in for brisket for the sake of burnt ends. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s a like-for-like replacement, but as a simpler swap it is a great alternative.
Quick Tips
- I’ve used yellow mustard as my binder for the seasoning here (as I tend to by default), but you can also use canola oil.
- After seasoning, let the beef sit at room temperature as you warm up your smoker. It’ll help the seasoning take and the meat will cook more evenly.
- Check the feel of these to tell when they’re done. They should be squishy and tender while still holding their shape. If they’re overcooked, they’ll be tough.
Smoked Poor Man’s Burnt Ends
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- wire cooking racks
- food-safe spray bottle
- disposable aluminum pans
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 4 lbs beef chuck roast
- 3 tbsp yellow mustard
Dry Rub
- 3 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp brown sugar
Spritz
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
BBQ Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ¼ cups tomato ketchup
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup molasses
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp coarse salt
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from the chuck roast. Then, cut the chuck roast into rough 2-inch cubes.
- Add the beef cubes to a large bowl and lightly coat with yellow mustard. Combine the dry rub ingredients and then coat the beef with the seasoning, covering all sides.
- Transfer the cubes to a wire rack (you may need more than one), leaving a little bit of space between each cube. Season the top of the cubes with any remaining rub.
- Leave the cubes at room temperature while you fire up your smoker to 250°F (120°C). Smoke the beef for 2-3 hours until it starts to tenderize and has developed a good bark on the outside. After the first hour, spritz the beef with a 1:1 mix of apple cider vinegar and water. Do this every 30-40 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir well to combine. Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, strain to remove any remaining solids, and then leave to cool until ready to use.
- Add the burnt ends to a disposable pan. Cover with the barbecue sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and return it to the smoker. Increase the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and cook for a further 2 hours, until the burnt ends are fully tender.
- Pull the burnt ends from the smoker and let them rest, still covered with foil, for 10-15 minutes. Top with a pinch more black pepper and sugar, and enjoy right away.
