Poor Man's Burnt Ends are bite sized pieces of tender beef, caramelized in a sweet and sticky honey BBQ sauce. This beloved BBQ classic is prepared with chuck roast instead of a traditional brisket which makes it a nice budget friendly meal option!
Seasoned well, Poor Man’s Burnt Ends are smoked low and slow till nice and tender. Slathered in a sweet and smokey BBQ sauce, tender chunks of flavorful meat are caramelized in one final cook.
If needing to add some other quick and easy comfort foods to your menu, you've got to give our cool Coleslaw Pasta Salad, easy Mac and Cheese, or best ever Corn on the Cob a try.
And don't forget about these cheesy Funeral Potatoes, or soft Dinner Rolls as they all go well with these juicy Poor Man's Burnt Ends. For dessert you've got to give this Orange Creamsicle Frozen Pie a try.
🥘 Ingredients
There's nothing better than a recipe that only calls for 5 ingredients.
- Chuck Roast
- Yellow Mustard
- Meat Church Holy Gospel BBQ Rub
- Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce
- Brown Sugar
🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the Meat
Firstly we need to pre-heat the smoker or oven, whichever you are using, to 250° F. Then prepare your cut of meat by coating the chuck roast with mustard.
After covering with mustard, sprinkle it generously with sweet rub seasoning. Because the entire cut of meat is cut up for burnt ends, we want it to make sure it has a nice bark or crust around the whole thing. Giving the meat a good thick coating of seasoning will help it get that nice bark.
Smoke the Meat
Afterwards, place the seasoned meat on the pre-heated grill or a sheet pan in the oven. Then allow the Poor Man's Burnt Ends to cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 175° F.
Most recipes give a specific time the dish needs to cook. However, when it comes to smoking meat you really can’t put an exact time on it. Instead of cooking to time when smoking you have to cook your burnt ends to temperature instead.
When smoking Poor Man’s Burnt Ends at a low temperature like 250° F, it should take roughly 5 to 6 hours to reach an internal temperature of 175° F. (We love using our instant read cooking thermometer to get an accurate temperature when we are grilling.)
But with all that said, remember burnt ends will continue to cook and tenderize when we caramelize them in the oven. So don't think you need to keep them on the smoker any longer once they hit that internal temperature.
Slice, Sauce and Caramelize
Next, after removing the burnt ends from the smoker allow them to rest for 10 minutes. Then cut the meat into 1 inch cube bites and add it to a casserole dish or aluminum foil pan.
Next, sprinkle the meat with brown sugar, smother generously with generously with BBQ sauce and toss. Finishing by covering the dish with a sheet of tinfoil and placing it back in the smoker or oven. Allow the meat to caramelize for an additional one and a half hours till tender.
When done, remove from the oven and enjoy! Poor Man's Burnt Ends are delicious as is. Or served my personal favorite way, over fool-proof mashed potatoes for a warm and comforting meal.
💭 Top Tips
Choosing the Meat - When choosing a cut of meat you want to choose a roast that has flecks of small white fat throughout the cut instead of big white chunks just around the cut. A roast with good marbling will give your burnt ends the best flavor and tenderness.
Seasoning Rub and Sauce - While we love Meat Church Holy Gospel BBQ Rub and Sweet Honey BBQ Sauce you can absolutely choose to use any favorite sweet seasoning rub or sweet honey BBQ sauce you may already have on hand. You can also add honey to a favorite regular BBQ sauce to make it a sweeter option for your Poor Man's Burnt Ends.
🍽 How to Serve
Poor Man's Burnt Ends are delicious as a stand alone dish. They can also make for a crowd pleasing appetizer or tail gating bite. Just stick each cut of meat with a toothpick for easy snacking and you are sure to have a crowd favorite on your hands.
Or if you are looking for an out of this world kind of comfort food meal try your Poor Man's Burnt Ends served with these fool-proof mashed potatoes. There is nothing more delicious or filling than this savory combo.
📋 FAQ's
What is Poor Man's Burnt Ends?
Poor Man's Burnt Ends are bite sized pieces of tender beef, caramelized in a sweet and sticky honey BBQ sauce. This beloved BBQ classic is prepared with chuck roast instead of a traditional brisket which does make it a nice budget friendly meal option!
Can you make burnt ends with chuck roast?
Chuck Roast is a great budget friendly alternative to use when making Poor Man's Burnt Ends. Chuck Roast offers a similar look, flavor and tenderness to the end pieces of a brisket. And when you can find a roast with a good amount of marbling throughout the cut, it may even be favorable since it offers a much shorter cook time than smoking a whole brisket.
What can I use instead of brisket?
Chuck Roast is a good substitute for brisket which is traditionally used for Burnt Ends. With a similar look, flavor and tenderness chuck roast also has a good amount of marbling. All of these attributes combined are what give these Poor Man's Burnt Ends so much delicious and sticky goodness.
Poor Man's Burnt Ends
Smoked low and slow these bite sized pieces of tender beef, caramelized in a sweet and sticky honey BBQ sauce are a great budget friendly meal option.
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast
- 2 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoon Meat Church Holy Gospel Rub, or any sweet rub seasoning
- 1 cup Show Me the Honey BBQ sauce, or your favorite sweet BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat your smoker or oven to 250° F.
- Prepare the chuck roast by slathering it down with mustard till coated all over.
- Sprinkle the chuck roast generously with sweet rub seasoning to give it a good thick coating to get a nice crust when cooking.
- Place the meat on the grill or on a sheet pan in the oven. Allow to cook until the internal temperature reaches 175° F, about 5 to 6 hours.
- When cooked remove meat from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- Cut the roast into 1 inch cubes and transfer to a casserole dish or aluminum foil pan.
- Cover meat with BBQ sauce and sprinkle with brown sugar. Tossing meat till completely coated.
- Cover dish with tin foil and place in oven to braise for one and a half hours until they are fall apart tender.
- When tender enjoy as is or served over mashed potatoes.
Notes
- When choosing a cut of meat you want to choose a chuck roast that has flecks of small white fat throughout the cut instead of big white chunks just around the cut. A roast with good marbling will give your burnt ends the best flavor and tenderness.
- Any sweet rub seasoning works but we especially love Meat Church Holy Gospel BBQ Rub.
- Any sweet BBQ sauce will do, but Show Me the Honey BBQ sauce from Traeger is a favorite of ours!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 752Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 188mgSodium: 2571mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 1gSugar: 56gProtein: 56g