"Burnt Ends" are typically the dry crusty edges that are to hard to slice. Those bits are chopped, sauced and returned to the smoker to soften and caramelize. With a SI you have a hard time getting true burnt ends due to the way it smokes. More often than not you can slice the entire brisket that comes out of an SI Smoker.
Burnt ends is not a culinary achievement it is a practical solution to salvage over dry meat. Personaly I can live without it.
That may have been the way burnt ends were invented (not sure of the history), but is certainly
not what burnt ends have evolved to, my friend. I would guess that you've never actually had, what people today, call "burnt ends."
It's really a
process, not a way to salvage inedible meat. The best part of the brisket to do it with is the point, due to the fat content. The process of cubing a perfectly-cooked point, adding additional sauce, rub, honey, and then re-smoking to turn the little chunks into meat candy is absolutely fantastic. If you haven't done them, you should try them. You take properly-cooked brisket and turn it into little chunks of heaven when you coat them, and smoke again to render the fat in the chunks. Makes my mouth water just thinking about them! You can also smoke a chuck roast to make them with! They come out so tender, moist and flavorful, it should be illegal!
They're pretty much a Southern thing, so I definitely understand you not being exposed to them before.
