Food - Drink
Kansas City's Burnt Ends Are A Beloved Regional Delicacy
BY ERIN SHAW
"Burnt ends" don't sound like something you'd want to eat, but they're a Kansas City delicacy made of the charred bits from the point end of a beef brisket. The "point end" of the brisket is richly marbled, but this can make the meat tough, and burn ends turn these once-neglected pieces of meat into succulent, caramelized treats.
The "point end" of the brisket was once discarded by chefs in favor of the more tender "flat end," but according to legend, Kansas City restaurant Arthur Bryant's BBQ was the first to set out the burnt ends for eating, as a sort of free sample for customers. The ends became so popular that customer demand made them an official menu item.
The original burnt ends at Arthur Bryant's were simply scraps of the brisket that got too charred during smoking. Today, BBQ pitmasters make burnt ends on purpose by slow-cooking the point end of the brisket for up to 16 hours, then chopping it into bite-sized pieces, turning a once-unpopular, oft-wasted cut into a true delicacy.
You can still order burnt ends at Arthur Bryant's BBQ in Downtown KC, or you can go on a Burnt Ends Crawl in the city. This crawl hits up the top five places for burnt ends (per KC Ends BBQ): Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ, Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Our House Restaurant, Cafe and Bar, Q39 Bar-B-Que, and finally, LC's Bar-B-Que.