Lacquered Brisket Burnt Ends

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Meat-candy cubes of brisket point, slow-roasted until the fat surrenders, then cubed, tossed in a butter-and-molasses glaze and blasted hot so every edge lacquers instead of drying out. Built for a home oven with a smoky dry rub doing the heavy lifting — plus a 40-minute shortcut if you already have leftover brisket in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 4 lb brisket point (deckle), fat cap trimmed to 1/4 inch
• 2 tsp yellow mustard (as a binder)

• 2 tbsp coarse kosher salt
• 2 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ancho chile powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional, hickory or mesquite)

• 3/4 cup thick tomato-based barbecue sauce
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp molasses
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 pinch flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions

1. Pull the brisket point from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking. Pat it very dry, trim the fat cap down to an even 1/4 inch, and rub the whole surface with a thin film of yellow mustard so the seasoning grips.
2. Stir all rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Coat the point heavily on every side — you want a visible crust of seasoning, not a dusting. Press it in with your palm and let the meat sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven heats.
3. Heat the oven to 275°F with a rack in the lower third. Set a wire rack inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan and place the point on it fat side up. Roast uncovered for 3 hours — this is where the bark forms.
4. Whisk the beef broth, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar and liquid smoke together. After 3 hours, pour the mixture into the bottom of the pan (not over the bark), tent the whole pan tightly with foil, and continue roasting 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until a probe or skewer slides into the thickest part with almost no resistance and the internal temperature reads 200–205°F.
5. Uncover and let the point rest on the rack for 45 minutes, until it is warm but firm enough to cut cleanly. Do not skip this — hot brisket shreds instead of cubing.
6. Cut the point into generous 1 1/4-inch cubes, cutting across the grain. Discard any hard gristle but keep the soft internal fat; that is what makes them candy. You should get roughly 40 cubes.
7. Raise the oven to 400°F. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the barbecue sauce, brown sugar, molasses, 1 tablespoon vinegar, Worcestershire and hot sauce, whisking until smooth and just simmering, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust for heat and tang.
8. Toss the cubes with about two-thirds of the warm glaze in a large bowl, then spread them out in a single layer on a fresh foil-lined sheet pan with at least 1/2 inch between cubes. Crowding steams them; spacing lacquers them.
9. Roast at 400°F for 12 minutes. Brush or drizzle the remaining glaze over the cubes, rotate the pan, and roast another 8 to 12 minutes until the glaze is tacky, dark and bubbling at the corners. Watch closely after minute 15 — sugar goes from lacquered to bitter fast.
10. Let the burnt ends sit 5 minutes so the glaze sets, then scrape them off the pan with a thin spatula, hit them with flaky salt, and serve hot with toothpicks and any pan syrup spooned over the top.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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