Brisket Burnt Ends

Ingredients

• 1 five-pound brisket point (deckle)
• 1/4 cup coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 cup coarse black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1/2 cup tomato-based barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pats
• 1/4 cup honey
• 6 chunks hickory or oak wood

Before you cook

• Trim the brisket point so the fat cap measures about a quarter inch all around.
• Mix the salt, pepper, paprika and granulated onion in a bowl.
• Coat the point on all sides with the rub, pressing it into the meat with your palm.
• Leave the seasoned point uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Take the point out of the refrigerator 1 hour before it goes on the smoker.
• Cut a sheet of heavy-duty foil large enough to wrap the point twice.

Steps

1. Bring the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit and add two chunks of hickory.
2. Lay the point fat side up on the grate and close the lid.
3. Smoke for about 6 hours, adding a wood chunk every hour and a half, until the bark is dark and firm.
4. Wrap the point tightly in the foil and put it back on the smoker.
5. Cook until a probe slides into the center with no resistance and reads 200 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 2 more hours.
6. Unwrap the point onto a cutting board and let it cool for 20 minutes so it firms up enough to cut.
7. Cut the meat into one-inch cubes, following no grain in particular.
8. Tumble the cubes into a foil pan with the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, honey and butter pats.
9. Set the uncovered pan back in the smoker and cook for 1 hour, stirring twice, until the sauce clings and the corners darken.
10. Taste one cube, add salt if it needs it, and serve straight from the pan with toothpicks.