Do you love snacking on burnt ends but don’t have the time to smoke a whole brisket? These smoked Sausage Burnt Ends are simply amazing. The mouthwatering smoky flavor of the tender, juicy sausage bites along with the slight char of the sauce. This is a must-make recipe for any BBQer! Best of all, you can serve these little bites of heaven to family and friends in just a few hours!
Are you looking for some other great recipes for your smoker? If so, you have to check out these awesome Smoked Beef Short Ribs. Or maybe you are in the mood for a smoky appetizer like this superb Armadillo Eggs recipe. They are a must-make for any social gathering, or you know, just because it’s Saturday!
Other than the fact that you don’t have to babysit a whole beef brisket for hours on end, this recipe allows you to use your favorite cooked smoked sausage!
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What do you need to make smoked sausage burnt ends?
With just a few simple ingredients, you can create these wonderfully flavorful little bites! Best of all, the ingredients are easy to find in your local grocer!
INGREDIENTS
- Smoked sausage (fully cooked) – you can use any type of smoked sausage for this recipe, from your favorite farmers’ sausage to Kolbaz.
- Mustard – I like to use yellow prepared mustard for this recipe.
- BBQ rub – use your favorite BBQ rub, or if you prefer, you can make your own. Click here for my recipe.
- Brown sugar – I love the sweet molasses flavor of brown sugar in this recipe.
- BBQ sauce – use your favorite BBQ sauce, or if you prefer, you can make your own. Click here for my recipe.
How to make Smoked Sausage Burnt Ends
To begin, preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F. To prepare the sausage, slice it every 1 – 1/12 inches without cutting it all the way through. (See pro-tips for a great tip for cutting the sausage!)
Once you have cut the sausage, rub a thin coat of mustard all over the sausage, including the areas that you have cut as best you can. Then sprinkle a thin layer of the BBQ rub all over the sausage.
Place the sausage directly on the grates of the smoker and smoke for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. I like to use hickory wood for smoking the sausage in this recipe. Continue to smoke the sausage until it has slightly browned and plumped up.
Carefully remove the sausage from the smoker and place it on a cutting board. Increase the heat on your smoker to 350 degrees F., or if you prefer, you can use your regular BBQ grill.
Slice the sausage all the way through; this will create the “burnt ends” pieces of sausage. Transfer the sausage pieces into a large foil pan or a cast iron skillet.
Add the BBQ sauce and brown sugar to the foil pan or skillet and stir. You want to be sure that all the brown sugar is combined in the sauce and that all the sausage pieces are coated with the BBQ sauce.
Place the foil pan or skillet in the smoker or on your BBQ grill (for 30 – 45 minutes at 350 degrees F). Stir 2 – 3 times while it is cooking to ensure that the sausages are caramelizing evenly. You will know they’re done when the sausage bites are slightly burnt, and the sauce is sticky and shiny.
Pro Tips
How to slice the sausage before smoking
The easiest way to slice the sausage without cutting all the way through is to use 2 wooden spoons. Place one on either side of the sausage and cut down until the knife hits the wooden spoons. This will help ensure that you don’t cut the sausage all the way through, which makes it so much easier at this point to keep it whole.
What sausage works best?
You can use any type of smoked sausage in this recipe. The only requirement is that it must be fully cooked; you cannot use raw sausage in this recipe.
You can make these amazing little bites ahead of time and simply keep them warm in your warming drawer or oven until you are ready to serve them.
One more recommendation: make a double batch! They are going to disappear quickly!
Pin it HERE!!
Pin it HERE!!
Sausage Burnt Ends
Ingredients
- 1 lbs smoked sausage fully cooked
- 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 Tbsp BBQ rub your favorite
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup BBQ sauce your favorite
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F.
- To prepare the sausages, slice the sausages every 1 – 1 1/2 inches without cutting all the way through. You can lay the handle of a wooden spoon on each side of the sausage and cut until you hit the spoon. This will ensure that you do not cut all the way through. (This helps to expose more of the sausage to the smoke and will add more flavour to the end product.)
- Once you have sliced the sausages, rub a thin coat of yellow mustard all over the sausages, including in the cut areas, as best you can. Then sprinkle a thin layer of BBQ rub over the sausages.
- Place the sausages directly on the smoker grates and smoke for 1.5 – 2 hours. (I like to use hickory wood for this recipe). You want the sausages to be slightly browned and plumped up.
- Remove the sausages from the smoker and turn the heat up to 350 degrees (or you can use your regular BBQ).
- Slice the sausages all the way through to create the “burnt end” pieces. Place the pieces into a foil pan or a large cast iron skillet.
- Coat the pieces with BBQ sauce, making sure that they are fully covered with the BBQ sauce. Then sprinkle the brown sugar over the sausage pieces.
- Place the pan back into the smoker or on your BBQ grill for 30 – 45 minutes. Stir the pan 2 – 3 times, making sure that the sausage caramelizes evenly.
- You will know they are done when they are slightly burnt, and the sauce is sticky and shiny.
- Remove the pieces to a platter and serve with toothpicks so everyone can help themselves.
- You may want to make a double batch; they are going to disappear quickly!
Amazing! The perfect bite!