At some point over the past several years, bacon has become a trendy ingredient in many foods and menu items. I've even seen people infuse it into alcohol, add it to drink recipes, wear it on their clothes, etc. The hipster community has embraced bacon and this food fad has taken on a life all its own. However, there is a food item out there with enough flavor to punch bacon in the face, and it is the "burnt ends" of the brisket.
Burnt ends get their name from their appearance. After a brisket has been all rubbed up with spices and smoked for hours and hours, a blackened crust forms on the outer edge of the meat. The sugars and spices caramelize, forming what is known as "brisket snot." These unctious, flavor-filled little morsels of food are prized pieces of meat, but were not always considered as such.
The brisket has two main parts, the point and the flat. The flat is usually what is purchased in supermarkets, since it is easily trimmed and has a neat little fat cap on top of beautiful red meat. The point however, is usually trimmed away, as it contains much more fat throughout the meat and is harder to trim. Many pit cooks would keep the brisket intact while smoking it, allowing the fat from the point and on top of the flat to melt into the meat, flavoring it and keeping it moist at the same time. However, since they didn't think they could sell the blackened and seasoned trimmings from this meat, it was usually discarded.
Arthur Bryant's BBQ in Kansas City had another solution. Since long lines usually snaked around the block at their joint on Brooklyn Ave., they kept the trimmings and "burnt ends" in a bucket for customers waiting in line to eat for free. This whetted many appetites while people waited to be served. But Mr. Bryant noticed that the burnt ends were getting more popular than the meat he was selling, and realized that he would have to charge for it. As you can imagine, this upset many people in Kansas City. Now burnt ends are one of the most popular menu item at Arthur Bryant's, and at many other BBQ joints across the country.
This month, blu seafood and bar is featuring burnt ends on it's monthly wine dinner. "The LandLover's Wine Dinner" features four courses of steak-themed dishes. The second of these courses is a "Wedge Salad with brisket "burnt ends" and blu cheese dressing. Imagine that... Brisket burnt ends spread over a wedge of Romaine and drizzled with blu cheese dressing!
The dinner is Wednesday, August 18 at 7pm, and the four courses, each paired with a wine from Hope Valley Bottle Shop, is only $45. And we apologize ahead of time for converting you from bacon.
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