| |

Pork Burnt Ends w/ Spicy Butter Injection

IMG 3537 watermarked 2

Smoking-Meat.com is supported by its readers. We may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you if you buy through a link on this page.

Read this article without ads

I love burnt ends, of any kind really, and I particularly love these injected pork burnt ends more than the ones made from brisket.

In this recipe, I will show you how to not only make the burnt ends from start to finish but I'll show you how to inject a little buttery flavor into the inside to amp them up about a thousand times.

You'll love these!

Helpful Information
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 7 hours
  • Smoker Temp: 225°F – 240°F
  • Meat Finish Temp: 170°F  first then 200°F or until tender
  • Recommended Wood: Mesquite and Apple Mix
What You'll Need
  • 3-4 lbs of Country style ribs (make sure they are cut from the pork butt)
  • Regular yellow mustard
  • Jeff's original rub
  • Spicy butter (recipe below)
Mustard and Seasoning

The first step in making pork burnt ends is determining whether you want to use a whole pork butt, a half pork butt or country style ribs (usually from pork butt).

As you can see, both will work just fine but the country style ribs will get done quicker since they are cut up into pieces that are less thick.

2014-IMG_3474

Apply mustard to help the rub to stick. It won't make the pork burnt ends taste like mustard so there's nothing to worry about there.

2014-IMG_3483
2014-IMG_3477

Sprinkle my original rub all over the top sides and bottom of the meat. Make sure to get it down in all of the nooks and crannies.

2014-IMG_3484
2014-IMG_3479

Now you can relax for about 20-30 minutes while the rub does it's magic on the meat. The little bit of salt in my rub will pull some of the juices to the surface. There the meat juices, mustard and rub will mix together and create a very nice paste.

Wait for it..

2014-IMG_3486
2014-IMG_3489

The meat is now ready to go into the smoker. You will notice in the images above, that I placed it (as usual) into racks for super easy transport to and from the smoker.

Lately I've also been using a stainless steel rack and pan (instead of just a rack) for keeping the smoker cleaner. The ones I have are stainless steel and available on Amazon for quick delivery.

For even less cleanup, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil and when you're done cooking, just place the rack in the dishwasher. Easy peasy!

pan and rack
Getting the Smoker Ready

Setup your smoker for cooking at about 225-240°F.

If your smoker uses a water pan, use it.

The water pan serves 3 main purposes:

  1. Creates a barrier between the heat and the meat
  2. It moisturizes the air and moist air does not dry out the meat as fast as dry air does.
  3. The hot steam does a great job of keeping the heat in the smoker at a consistent temperature

Preheat the smoker to your goal temperature and when it is holding steady, you are ready to smoke.

Smoking the Meat – Step 1

Place the pork directly on the grate or use the racks and set them directly on the grate.

I used a mixture of mesquite chunks with apple chips for these pork burnt ends and the flavor was out of this world.

The idea in this first step is to get the meat to 170°F.

For the pulled pork roast, this will take about 7 hours. If you are using the country style ribs cut from a pork butt, you are looking at about 4-5 hours tops.

Once they reach this magical temperature, remove them from the smoker and bring them into the house.

Let them cool just a bit since you don't want to lose all that precious juice that's on the inside. By letting them cool down, the juices will settle down a bit and when you cut into them, you want have juices running out all over the plate.

I let mine cool for about 30 minutes and then cut them into cubes about 1-inch by 1-inch.

2014-IMG_3498
2014-IMG_3505
Making the Spicy Butter Injection

Ingredients

  • 1 stick (¼ lb) real butter
  • 1 TBS of your favorite hot sauce or to taste. (I used Habanero Tabasco®)

Instructions

Melt butter in microwave or on stove top. Add hot sauce and stir well.

Injecting the Meat with Spicy Butter

Use an injector, found in most grocery stores, big box stores and on Amazon. Fill the injector with the spicy butter then push the injector needle into the meat so that the hole(s), where the fluid come out, are inside the meat.

Press the plunger to force the spicy butter into the meat and continue on each piece until you see butter running out.

2014-IMG_3506

Tip: perform this injection process inside of a gallon sized zip-top bag to prevent an accidental geyser that shoots melted butter halfway across the kitchen.

Once all of the pieces have been injected, place them into a foil pan and sprinkle on more rub depending on how much bark you want. Lots of rub = lots of bark.

The pork burnt ends (to be) are ready to go back into the smoker.

Smoking the Meat – Step 2

The meat is now inside of a foil pan and coated with more of my rub so I recommend that you keep the smoke going even if you are using an electric, gas or charcoal smoker to further enhance the smoky flavor.

Smoke the pork burnt ends, stirring every 30 minutes or so for an additional 2 hours or until they get as tender as you like them. You can take the meat all the way up to 200°F if you want to and they will be fall apart tender with a nice “barky” exterior.

Tip: To get these done even faster, finish them on a very hot grill, stirring constantly. They will be done in 30 minutes or less and oh so good!

Serving the Pork Burnt Ends

There are endless ways to serve these, but here's a few that comes to mind:

  • Stick a toothpick in each one and make an appetizer out of them
  • Pile them on a french bun for a pork burnt end poboy
  • Top a pile of lettuce and veggies with some pork burnt ends for the ultimate BBQ salad
2014-IMG_3533
2014-IMG_3537

5 from 1 vote

Pork Burnt Ends With Spicy Butter Injection

Making burnt ends using pork butt and my original rub means that you get the flavor of pulled pork with that amazing, tasty bark in every single bite.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time7 hours
Total Time7 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 4 -6

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lbs Country style ribs (make sure they are cut from the pork butt)
  • Regular yellow mustard
  • Jeff's original rub
  • Spicy butter (Recipe below)

Instructions

Mustard and Seasoning

  • Apply a coat of regular yellow mustard to all sides of the meat
  • Sprinkle a generous amount of Jeff's original rub onto all sides of the meat
  • Wait for about 20-30 minutes until the meat starts to get a "wet" look

Smoking the Meat - Step 1

  • Place meat directly on grate or use a rack
  • Smoke for 4-5 hours at 225-240°F or until the meat reaches 170°F in the center
  • Bring the meat into the house and let it cool for about 30 minutes
  • Once cool, cut the meat into 1-inch by 1-inch cubes

Spicy Butter Injection

  • Mix 1 stick of melted butter with 1 TBS of your favorite hot sauce (I used Tabasco with Habanero)
  • Use an injector to inject each piece with butter until the butter runs out of the meat
  • Place injected pieces into an open foil pan
  • Sprinkle on more rub to create a nice bark all over

Smoking the Meat - Step 2

  • Place the pan of injected pieces back into the smoker
  • Continue to smoke cook for about 2 hours or until they get tender to your liking.
  • Stir occasionally while they cook

Finishing up

  • Serve immediately on toothpicks as an appetizer, piled onto a bun or as an entree with several vegetables or sides.

Get Jeff’s Products!

Leave a Reply to RM Brooke Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing!! I sliced my boneless pork butt into one 1/2 inch slices before I rubbed it, placed the slices in a rib rack, then on the smoker and let it go. Then I followed the rest of your directions and it came out wonderful! Thanks again for the tips!!

  2. You have a great rub and sauce….Question on chicken wings…I would like to cook them a few days ahead of time and heat up for a meeting I am putting on that I really don’t have the time to cook them….going to put in the oven at 350 and have someone bring them to our meeting.
    Appreciate any help you could give me.
    RMB