Instant Pot Poor Man's Burnt Ends [Recipe + Video] (2025)

Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends are tender with a smoky sweet glaze. They taste like they cooked all day on the BBQ, but can be on your table in less than 30 minutes.

You could spend six to eight hours smoking your meat outside in the hot sun and then cut up the meat and add barbecue sauce.

Then you would spend another couple of hours, slowly smoking the meat with the sauce. Or, you can use your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker and make this incredibly delicious Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends in less than 30 minutes, from start to finish.

What is Poor Man’s Burnt Ends?

• “Poor Man’s Burnt Ends” cook in almost the same method and use the same ingredients as the burnt ends you know and love, which are made with brisket.
• However, to make Poor Man’s Burnt Ends, a chuck roast is used instead of brisket.

Pro Tip: Chuck roast is often less expense than brisket (and is frequently on sale), so using a very similar method, the chuck roast is slowly cooked and then placed over an open fire, slathered in sauce to crisp up and caramelize in perfect bite size pieces.

For Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends, we will speed up the process by using the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, which will tenderize the chuck roast (also known as pot roast) and infuse flavors in under 25 minutes!

The pieces of chuck roast will then be coated in a sweet barbecue sauce and will crisp up and caramelize right in the Instant Pot using a Mealthy Crisplid! ⬅️⬅️⬅️⬅️⬅️You’ve got to get one!

Imagine having such a glorious meal in well under one hour!

Normally, Burnt Ends are made with brisket. Brisket can be expensive and is generally sold in a gigantic piece. In this Instant Pot Burnt Ends recipe, we will use a well marbled chuck roast (the type of meat used in my famous Instant Pot Classic Pot Roast recipe) instead.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends.

• Chuck Roast – heavily marbled
• Liquid Smoke
• Garlic
• Salt and Pepper
• Barbecue Sauce
• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• Apple Cider Vinegar

The list of ingredients are few, it is the method, which will turn these few ingredients into a lip smacking, finger licking bowl of Burnt Ends!

Pro Tip: Look for a chuck roast with white fat running through the muscle. This is not the big, thick chunks of fat but rather the smaller and thinner white fat which is intramuscular.

You don’t need tons of spices as you do not want to cover up the flavor of the beef.

The liquid which the chuck roast will cook in, will add additional flavor to the meat.

Pro Tip: Massaging the seasonings in will help break down the meat a bit and make it more tender. Think about a shoulder massage. After some rubbing, the muscles are nice and loose.

Whether you use hickory, mesquite or applewood, the flavor this will infuse into the meat will be amazing. And, you won’t smell like smoke!

You could even add a shot of vanilla extract to give the Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends a bourbon-ish flavor.

A wonderful side dish for Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends is myInstant Pot Best Macaroni Salad Recipe. It cooks up quickly and is best to make first, so that it will chill.

Can I tell you my favorite side dish for burnt ends? It’s my recipe. I know it is not St. Patrick’s Day, but I’m telling you, burnt ends and colcannon, OMG, so good.

The garlic in the liquid will also infuse into the meat and there will be a very subtle flavor.

Can Instant Pot Burnt Ends Be Made in Advance?

Yes. There are a few options.

Pressure Cooking Today and Charring Tomorrow.

• The meat can be cooked right away and then kept in the refrigerator overnight.
• When you are ready to eat, allow yourself about 15 minutes to char and crisp the meat.

Freezing Raw.

• You can certainly cut up the meat and freeze the meat raw with the seasonings.
• When you are ready to cook, just toss it into your Instant Pot.

Freezing After Pressure Cooking.

• Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends can also be cooked in the pressure cooker and then frozen.
• On the day you want to eat your burnt ends, take a bag out of the freezer and defrost in the refrigerator. At dinner time, just use the Crisplid or Air Fryer and caramelize the meat.

Apple cider vinegar will help to tenderize the meat with such a short cook time. It also opens the pores of the meat and allows all the flavors to penetrate.

Will the Burnt Ends Taste Like Vinegar?

• No.
• The acidity from the apple cider vinegar paired with the sweet sauce makes a perfectly delicious Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends.

In myInstant Pot BBQ Pork Spare Ribs [Baby Back/St. Louis] recipe, apple cider vinegar is used there as well, for the same reasons.

Just like myPressure CookerLechón Asado {Cuban Pork with Mojo} recipe, which uses pork shoulder, the chucks of chuck roast only need a few minutes to become nice and tender.

Pro Tip: Chuck roast and pork shoulder can be used interchangeably in any recipe. Their cook time is exactly the same.

Can I Make Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends with Pork Shoulder?

• Oh gosh, absolutely! That would be so delicious.
• The picnic or butt (both parts of the shoulder) work just as well.
• The process is exactly the same, from beginning to end.

In fact, since pork shoulder has more fat running through the meat, it will be so sweet, chewy (the caramelized tips) and crisp.

As mentioned in the video (which you will find below), I make my own barbecue sauce most of the time. When I make sauces and dressings, I like to keep them in a glass mason jar with a leak proof flip cap. The dressings and sauces stay fresher this way and using glass keeps things nice and sanitary.

When I use bottle sauces, my preferences are Sweet Baby Rays for this recipe and to change it up a bit, I like this Korean Barbecue Sauce.

While the chuck roast is cooking, you can easily mix up the sweet barbecue sauce.

Why is Brown Sugar Mixed with Barbecue Sauce?

Brown sugar will help to crisp up and caramelize the pieces of chuck roast. The marbling on the meat will become crispy.

This is also why the meat is first cooked with apple cider vinegar as it perfectly balances out the sweet from the brown sugar.

No need to remove the liquid from the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker! No need to wash the pot now.

But the Manuel Says to Dump Out the Liquid.

• True, it says to drain the liquid, however, there is considerable liquid (but not enough to boil over) left in the pot after removing the meat, so, therefore, there is no chance of cooking down the liquid so much, that the pot will burn.
• If you feel better, dump it out, but then you will probably have the sweet sauce stuck to the bottom of your cooking pot.
• Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends will crisp and caramelize very well without having to remove the liquid.
• All this to say that the main reason to dump the liquid is to air fry with a dry heat.

You will be crisping up the meat with the barbecue sauce right in the pot, in a special crisping basket.

You will notice that the meat is first mixed up with the sauce, as opposed to simply adding the meat and brushing on the sauce.

Now it is time to crisp up, caramelize and char the meat to make burnt ends! Are you ready to see the magic?

The Instant Pot is going to turn into a…….. wait for it……………………

an Air Fryer!

The trivet and CrispLid basket is placed into the Instant Pot.

Where Do I Buy a Mealthy CrispLid?

• Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Mealthy) / Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Amazon)

Make sure the Instant Pot is turned off and unplugged!

Pro Tip: The reason is that before we give the meat a high temperature cook to char, we want to first cook the meat at a very low temperature so that the sauce will penetrate into the meat.

The short and low cook temperature will add a deeper layer of flavor.

After the low cook, the CrispLid or air fryer will be turned way up to caramelize the Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends.

Isn’t this fantastic? The Instant Pot has just been turned into an air fryer.

Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends will now finish up underneath the CrispLid. No need to transfer to an air fryer or place under the broiler or Mealthy CrispLid or go stand outside in front of a hot barbecue grill!

During this low temperature cook time, the barbecue sauce will penetrate the meat.

The process for Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends is very similar to cooking or smoking a whole piece of chuck roast or brisket, but, the final intent is to cut the meat into pieces and turn them into barbecued burnt ends. By doing this, there is more flavorful bark on every side of each bite.

Watch the video below as I walk you through every step and detail of this recipe. I’ve given you a ton of information above, but sometimes a live visual of the process helps so you can follow along. I have my own cooking show on my YouTube Channel, so be sure to check it out and subscribe!

Watch my video and then scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card.

Tips and Tricks for Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends

1. Buy a well marbled chuck roast.
2. A shot of vanilla in with the liquid will add a bourbon-y flavor.
3. Buy chuck roast on sale, cut it up, season and freeze it for another day.
4. Pork Shoulder can be used and method, cook time is the same.
5. A CrispLid or Air Fryer can be used in this recipe.

When the Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt ends are ready for the charring, more barbecue sauce with a little more brown sugar will be added.

Pro Tip: The additional brown sugar will help to quickly caramelize the meat and make the tips somewhat “chewy.”

The Poor Man’s Burnt Ends will begin to bubble and char. After a bit of a cook time, they will be flipped and charred on the other side.

You are going to totally love this recipe! Thanks for hanging in, now, go and cook!

Each bit of Instant Pot Poor Man’s Burnt Ends is filled with so much flavor. Serve them with my famousInstant Pot Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker),Easy Coleslaw Recipe (a/k/a Cole Slaw) and a nice salad!

More Instant Pot Recipes, Using the CrispLid to Finish:

• Pressure Cooker Buffalo Hot Wings
• Instant Pot Pesto Chicken Low Carb + Video!
• Instant Pot Baked Ziti (Pressure Cooker) – cook in the Instant Pot and melt the mozzarella using the CrispLid.
• Instant Pot Watermelon Baby Back Ribs

Which do you like? Brisket or Chuck Roast?

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
• Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Mealthy) / Mealthy CrispLid (buy from Amazon)
• J.A. Henckels Classic 8 inch Chef’s Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk– a MUST have, probably my most used utensil
• Bamboo Strainer
• Silicone BBQ Basting Brush

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

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