I dream of those burned edges. Sometimes, when I'm in some awful overpriced restaurant in some strange town—all of my restaurant-finding techniques having failed, so that I'm left to choke down something that costs $7 and tastes like a medium-rare sponge—a blank look comes over my face: I have just realized that at that very moment someone in Kansas City is being given those burned edges free. - Calvin Trillin, author speak of Arthur Bryant's "Burnt Ends"
Burnt ends are considered a delicacy in the barbecue world. They are tender, juicy, smokey, bits of brisket
that are pure gold. As you can see from the quote above they are truly desirable
leftover bits that are loved by barbecue enthusiasts everywhere.
Traditionally, burnt ends were odds and ends cut off from
the brisket and specifically the fattier muscle on a whole packer brisket called the point.
The flat of a brisket is a leaner, tough muscle with a definitive "grain". Whereas the point is a
largely fatty muscle that is sometimes removed, cubed, dusted and thrown back on the smoker to fully render out the extra fat content. The result: burnt ends.
They can also be used in other dishes such as baked beans, barbecue sauce or sliced and wrapped around scallops for a tasty 'surf and turf'.