The Greatest BBQ Story Ever Told

[CaptJack]

The Greatest BBQ Story Ever Told

[ACW3]

Great read!!  After seeing all that food, I am really hungry.  Never mind, I just remembered that I am having leftover ham and pasta.  Maybe a short cocktail will help.  Or a long one!

Art

[CDN Smoker]

I have been watching Aarons utube vids, the time he has taken to do these is very helpful to us new guys

[drholly]

What a great article story. Could be an interesting movie - with a kinda River Runs Through It feel...

David

[sliding_billy]

This is just my $0.02 for what it's worth (which is a little less than $0.03 and sometimes a little more than $0.01), but since I am just a couple of hours from all of this drama and get to spend a fair amount of time around Austin...  Aaron Franklin is a good cook, but I honestly don't think he is noticeably better than a lot of others in Central Texas.  I think he benefits a ton from the hipster BBQ trend that is going on in Texas right now (Pecan Lodge in Dallas is another great example of how good BBQ can be viewed as great BBQ and draw hours and hours of long waits with a hot trend and some TV exposure).  I also think that folks who have waited in line for hours drinking beer so that they can be "cool" are not necessarily real BBQ guys and are also going to convince themselves that it was worth the wait.  John Mueller is a GREAT BBQ cook, but he is a 1st class a-hole in more than enough ways to feel less than sympathetic to his situation.  I truly do hope that this comeback (the John Mueller Meat Company opening that happened in February) is for real (if for no other reason than his family's legacy) and that he has his head on straight, but when the comeback is accompanied by claims that he will be the same crotchety jerk as always it is hard to stay positive about it.  All things considered (no lines or idiotic behavior), I'd go to John's place.  None of it really matters IMO if you aren't at one of these places (and I include a lot of other Texas BBQ joints because of the meats being served without sauce - THE ONLY WAY TO GO) when the meat is fresh off of the pit.  The folks that are getting the dried out crap after waiting for hours are still raving about it.  That's how you know that they are going to think anything is great.

OK, off of my soapbox for a while. 

[deestafford]

Jack,  Thanks for the well written article.  I'd never heard of Aaron until Jaxon posted his experience using Aaron's tecnique on SOTG.  Most folks don't realize how hard work it is to run a BBQ joint and the hours required. My quess it is one of the most failed start up restuarants in which to go into business.
I think my Daddy could have done well if he had ever opened one. His sauce,  Brunswick Stew, and butt were legendary around Savannah in the 50s and 60s. 
Dee