Ok, confession time- I don’t turn in burnt ends in my brisket box at KCBS contests. I know all the Oklahoma and Kansas people will claim that’s not a true brisket turn-in, but I don’t care. I do well with my brisket when I compete, and I get the bonus of keeping the brisket points to do what I want with! This recipe for Gochujang Glazed Brisket Burnt Ends is one of my favorites. It brings the savory, umami, spiciness of gochujang along with some beautiful smoke flavors and really has a nice result.
Brisket- point and flat
In case you aren’t familiar with briskets, a whole, or “packer,” brisket is comprised of two different muscles separated by layers of fat. In laymen’s terms, these are known as the “flat” and the “point.” The flat is much larger and thinner and has less marbling. The point is incredibly marbled but also has a good bit of connective tissue. It is fairly easy to separate these two muscles using a boning knife. Take your time as you cut through the seams of fat and you’ll eventually end up with two pieces of meat. Trim the extraneous pieces of fat and you’ll end up with a beautifully marbled piece of meat. I usually cook the flat as a traditional smoked brisket. With the point, you have a lot of options on what you can do with it. Grind it for amazing burgers, smoke it along with the flat to make regular burnt ends, or just cook until tender and slice it for a delicious meal. You can also cure it to make corned beef or pastrami.
Gochujang Glazed Brisket Burnt Ends
If you’re not familiar with gochujang, it’s a Korean paste made from chili powder and glutinous rice. It has a sweetness, fiery spiciness, and just oozes umami flavors. It adds a deep richness and spiciness to many dishes, and I use it a lot in my dishes such as stews to add that “little something extra.” In this recipe, I use enough to make it a major flavor component. It’s very common in most grocery stores now, in the Asian food section. There are several brands, and the consistency among them ranges from thinner-than-ketchup to a “syrupy-brick.” So, feel free to adjust this recipe as needed for consistency and flavor.
Cooking Brisket Points
To achieve the tenderness I want, I cook brisket and brisket points in two parts. First, season your meat. I used a wet paste for this recipe but generally use a dry one. Season heavily, as all of the fats in brisket will wash a lot of the flavor off, and a crust is desirable. Cook until your meat hits around 160 degrees, then it’s wrap time. For this recipe, as I wanted to use a braising liquid, I wrapped in heavy-duty foil. Pour in the braising liquid, wrap up tightly, and cook some more until tender. I cooked these until they hit 206 degrees internal temp, then rested for 2 hours. The slices and the bites had texture, but were tender. They had amazing flavor and had a beautiful smoke ring. I cooked “hot and fast” for my test, at around 300 degrees on a drum smoker. Total time on the smoker was only 4.5 hours. Your times will vary depending on the size of the point you are cooking, the smoker you are using, and the temps you are cooking. Just follow that simple- Rub, Wrap at 160, Cook ’til tender (usually above 204 degrees,) Rest 2 hours- model and you’ll enjoy your meal.
As always, get your grill on!
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Gochujang Glazed Brisket Burnt Ends and Slices
Description
This amazing recipe will bring the full umami to your next smoke out! Gochujang brings a full-flavor effect to this brisket, and adds an amazing, slow-burn spiciness that will make you want extra!
Ingredients
1 Brisket Point, trimmed of extraneous fat.
For the Rub
¼ cup gochujang
1 tsp sesame oil
3 TBS kosher salt
1 TBS coarse ground black pepper
1 TBS granulated garlic
1 tsp Hungarian Paprika
½ tsp chili powder
For the Braise
½ cup beef broth
1TBS minced ginger
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS gochujang
1 tsp fish sauce
For the Sauce
½ medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS gochujang
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fish sauce
½ cup juice from braise; after fat has separated
Leaves from ½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
Instructions
Preheat smoker to desired temp. Mix Rub ingredients, and slather on all sides of point. Let rest for 20 minutes before putting on grill.
Smoke until internal temp hits 160 degrees. Wrap point in aluminum foil along with braising liquid.
Cook until temp hits at least 203, and meat probe goes in “like butter.” Remove from grill, pour off braising liquid into a small container, and rest in a compact space like a cooler for 2 hours.
Allow grease to separate and pour off. In a small stockpot, put all ingredients for sauce, except cilantro, and bring to a simmer. Stir in cilantro and turn off heat. Slice or cube brisket points and toss with sauce. Serve
