Smoked Beef Finger Meat as Burnt Ends

Cows don’t have hands, let alone fingers, so what is Smoked Beef Finger Meat? These big gnarly 1 inch strips of meat look like fingers off your local friendly giant. But thankfully, this cut is just the rib meat on your local cow. More specifically, beef finger meat is the meat cut in between the rib bones.

Also known as beef finger bones, beef fingers, rib fingers, rib meat, finger meat, Chinese brisket (for ngow laum or ngow nam); this rib meat doesn’t look like your conventional ribs. I find the beef finger meat more affordable than beef ribs, especially when you don’t have to pay for the bones! Best place to find this cut is an Asian (Chinese or Korean) butcher, meat market or grocery store. Because this cut is incorrectly identified in Asian cuisine, but highly utilized, request “brisket” and you may be more successful. (Or shown them a picture below.)

Meat from beef ribs can be tough and chewy if you cook it like a steak. It’s not a steak, so the best way to enjoy this cut as tender bites is to cook it past well, where the collagen breaks down into gelatin. Yes, gelatin like jello – jiggly and tender. To do this, set the seasoning on the meat, braise in liquid, return to high heat to quickly create a crisp crust and cut into bite size morsels, like burnt ends. <Oh yum, I’m drooling again!>

Taste: I love love burnt ends, so cooking beef rib meat into burnt ends, is divine with just salt and pepper
Texture: Tender, juicy, but not falling apart or too mushy

A little different for “bite size” theme for Supper Challenge this week because it seems so simple, but so delicious because the basic recipe is always so good!

Smoked Beef Finger (Rib) Meat as Burnt Ends

All meat and no bone; smoke or grill these strips of beefrib meat or beef finger meat to tender morsels like burnt ends!

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Equipment

• Aluminum foil
• 13×9 pan (or medium sized disposable pan)

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs Beef Finger Meat
• 40 % Kosher Salt
• 60 % Ground Black Pepper
• ¼ cup SmellaQue Kitchen Pantry Rub optional
• 2 cups beef broth
• BBQ sauce optional

Instructions

 

• Warm up kettle grill/ smoker/ BBQ/ grill to 350F
• Using a sharp knife (I prefer boning knife) insert tip of knife under shiny, tough, white membrane on one edge of the beef finger meat and push blade away from yourself to release membrane. Turn beef finger meat around by 180 degrees and remove other side of membrane.
• SmellaQue Tip: Membrane on the back side of beef ribs will not break down and therefore should be removed to ensure tender bites!
• Remove excess fat from beef strips.
• Place beef finger meat into a pan and generously season with 40% black pepper and 60% kosher salt.
• Optional: Generously season all sides with SmellaQue’s Kitchen Pantry Rub
• Place beef finger meat strips onto grill/ smoker or BBQ for 45 minutes or until rub is set. (This means the seasoning will not wipe off if you gently drag your finger or the edge of the tongs on the meat.). Rotate on cooking surface about halfway, especially if your grill/ smoker/ BBQ has hot spots.
• Place strips of beef finger bones into a disposable pan and add in 2 cups of beef broth. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.
• Return pan of beef finger meat back to the grill/ smoker/ BBQ to braise for at least 45 minutes or until probe will smoothly insert into meat without resistance. Ideally rotate pan on grill/ smoker/ BBQ at an out halfway in the time.
• Remove pan with tin foil still tightly wrapped and