Brisket Burnt End Nachos

When ready to cook, start the Traeger according to grill instructions. Set the temperature to 275 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Trim the excess fat and silver skin from the brisket. Also, remove any “hard” pieces of fat as they will not render off during the cooking process. Trim the fat off the bottom of the brisket leaving only 1/4-inch (6 mm) fat.

A brisket is comprised of two muscles; the point (the fat end) and the flat (the lean end). In order to be able to cook brisket burnt ends you need to butcher the brisket a bit more than you would for a traditional packer. Therefore, after your traditional brisket butchering, you need to start to separate the flat form the point. In short, you want to remove the fat layer between the point and the flat. Using a sharp boning knife, expose the point meat so it can absorb smoke. You don’t have to completely separate the muscles.

Season brisket liberally with Meat Church Holy Cow BBQ Rub and place the brisket in your Traeger. Using your instant read thermometer, when the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, double wrap the brisket in Traeger butcher paper or aluminum foil, this is what we call the Texas crutch. The bark will have formed nicely by this point.

Continue to smoke the brisket until it reaches 195 degrees F internal temperature. The brisket is not completely done at this point, but we need to separate the point to make burnt ends. Unwrap the brisket and separate the point from the flat. Re-wrap the flat and return it to your smoker.

Continue to smoke it until the meat is “probe tender” which means when you probe it with an instant read thermometer there is no resistance. Think of inserting a toothpick in a cake and pulling it out clean. Each piece of meat is different but this will likely be at around an internal temperature of 203 degrees F.

Rest your brisket flat in a cooler for at least one hour. Take the point and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubes in the aluminum pan. Season and toss the cubes with more Traeger Beef Rub. Cover the cubes with Traeger 'Que sauce. Finally, toss the cubes thoroughly to ensure they are completely covered.

Return the pan to the smoker and cook for another 1-2 hours or until all liquid has reduced and the bbq sauce has caramelized. Allow to cool for a few minutes and build nachos.

When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill according to grill instructions. Set the temperature to 350 degrees F and preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place a layer of chips, cheese, another layer of chips and with more cheese. Add the brisket burnt ends and bake in preheated Traeger for 10 minutes or until cheese has completely melted. Top nachos with pico de gallo, green onions, jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole and cilantro. Enjoy!