What Are Burnt Ends, and Why Are They So Popular?

A brisket doesn't cook evenly. It's a big, uneven cut that tapers down at the edges, and during a long smoke those thin ends crisp up and char well before the thick middle is ready. For decades, pitmasters sliced those pieces off and threw them away before serving the rest. Nobody figured there was anything in the scraps worth selling.

Where Did Burnt Ends Come From?

Burnt ends trace back to Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City. Instead of tossing the charred, fatty trim, Bryant set it out for customers to snack on while they waited in line. It wasn't a menu item, just a way to use meat that would otherwise have gone in the trash. People kept asking for more, and by the 1970s, with help from writer Calvin Trillin singing the restaurant's praises, those free scraps had become a Kansas City signature. Arthur Bryant's eventually put them on the menu, and they've been there ever since.

What Part of the Brisket Are Burnt Ends?

The original burnt ends were the crispy tips of the brisket, and there are only so many of those per cut. To keep up with demand, pitmasters started using the point instead. The point is the thicker, fattier half of the brisket, so it stays juicy through a long cook. It gets cubed after smoking and goes back on the pit for a second round. That extra time renders even more of the fat and builds a crust on every side of every cube, not just the outside edge a regular slice gets. If you want to go deeper on that crust, we break it down in The Art of Bark, and on the fat side, in The Secret to Perfectly Rendered Fat.

In Kansas City, burnt ends almost always come with sauce, either tossed in it and caramelized on the smoker or served alongside. That's one of the bigger differences from Central Texas, where we'd rather let the rub, the post oak, and the meat do the talking. (More on that in Why Black's BBQ Keeps Sauce Simple.)

Are Burnt Ends Actually Burnt?

Not if they're done right. The name comes from the dark, charred look of the bark, not from anything being overcooked. A good burnt end is crusty and peppery on the outside and tender and rich underneath. If it's dry or tough, something went wrong.

Why Are Burnt Ends So Popular?

Most brisket is built around contrast between a firm bark and a soft center. A burnt end skips that balancing act. Since every side of the cube gets crusted, nearly the whole bite is that dark, smoky exterior people come to a barbecue joint for, and there's still enough fat inside to keep it from turning tough. It's the same reason the crispy corner of a roast or the edge piece of a pan of brownies always disappears first. More surface means more of the good part.

The story helps too. Burnt ends weren't designed in a test kitchen. They were found by someone who looked at what everyone else was throwing away and saw something worth serving.

Burnt Ends BBQ in Texas

Burnt ends are a Kansas City tradition, but Texas has put its own spin on them. In the last decade, pork belly burnt ends have become a fixture at Texas joints, a trend widely credited to Heim Barbecue in Fort Worth. And the free-bite tradition is alive here too: at some Central Texas joints, like Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, it's not unusual to be handed a crusty "taster" while you wait in line.

The instinct behind burnt ends should sound familiar to anyone who knows our story. When Edgar Black opened his meat market in Lockhart in 1932, smoking meat was a way to make sure the cuts that didn't sell never went to waste. We've been turning overlooked cuts into something worth lining up for ever since. (For what we do with the raw trim, see What to Do with Brisket Trimmings.)

Come Taste What the Fuss Is About

Reading about brisket only gets you so far. Stop by Black's BBQ and ask for a slice from the fatty end, where all that rendered fat and peppery bark come together the same way they do in the best burnt ends. Come find out what all the fuss is about at any Black's BBQ location in Lockhart, Austin, New Braunfels, or San Marcos.