Craving burnt ends but don't want to smoke an entire brisket? This easy poor man's burnt ends recipe is an excellent way to get your fill of legendary BBQ bites
Combine salt, ground pepper, garlic powder, and brown sugar until evenly mixed. Then generously season your chuck roast with the beef rub mixture. It's ok if you have a little bit of rub left over!
Place seasoned chuck roast on your smoker's grate and close the lid
Once your chuck roast reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, remove it from the smoker and wrap it with a double layer of pink butcher paper. The chuck roast should be stalled at 165ºF after about 5-6 hours on the smoker.
Place wrapped roast back onto the smoker and continue to cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 203ºF. This usually takes an additional 1-2 hours
Once roast reaches 203ºF, remove it from the smoker and let it rest for about 15 minutes
While the beef rests, combine your bbq sauce, brown sugar, and optional honey and stir to combine
Cut the chuck roast into 1 inch cubes and place them in an aluminum foil pan
Douse the beef cubes with your bbq sauce glaze mixture and toss until each burnt end is thoroughly coated
Place the aluminum foil pan back on the smoker and cook for about an hour. The goal here is to get the bbq sauce to caramelize on the beef, so as soon as that happens remove your pan