Great Article - Franklin

I saw and read the article. So simple were his initial cooks. I suppose it is the same today. I also wrote down the sauce recipe. Again, his thought seems to be K.I.S.S. Maybe this is why he is revered in the BBQ world, he does not 'dolly' it all up prior to smoking it low and slow.

Jeremiah said:

He seems so grounded and humble. I hope he really is!

That's how he was when I met him.  Very nice!  Very geeky...just like the BBQ w/ Franklin Videos.  He even threw out the "if you're looking, you're not cooking line".   Then said, "I always have to get that in when I give a tour" and laughed.

I bet he cooked more than 20 briskets and one rack of ribs before opening the (arguably) best BBQ restaurant on the planet. . The mythology of these guys is hilarious. Ay-Aaron is a super cool dude and will spend time with you etc. but it seems every story has him (and now others) riding a jet pack to work and farting gold doubloons. His dad owned a BBQ restaurant his entire childhood and he worked for a BBQ legend (john mueller as seen on Cazzy BBQ bachelor post last night) for quite a while before opening his own place. Most of these guys say they only use salt, pepper and their "fairy hands" (whatever that means) to conjur up the best beef BBQ on the planet. No wonder brisket in austin is $5 per lb for crap cuts when it used to be $2.49 for the good stuff.i guess Fairy hands are expensive. Would someone please write an article in a foodie mag about magic Brussels sprouts and a chef that turns turnips in to levitra so I can get my cheap brisket back?

nolaegghead said:

I haven't eaten his brisket, but as an outsider, I can see something is making his brand exclusive enough to generate ridiculous lines for his product.  His brisket can't suck and maintain this amount of hype.  My conclusion:  He's very discerning about the quality of his meat, and he has a system to cook it right.  And he's working a "food nerd" "Austin" "hipster freak" whateverthefuck persona.  He obfuscates his cooking methods in an unassuming way, which makes us think some kinda  Midas reverse-urinal magic is at work with his cooking.  What. Evah. I'm not waiting in that line.  All the power to him with his success.  Wish I wrote for a food mag.

His brisket is thst good and the experience is even better. His line has become more of the fad than his BBQ. People want to say, I waited 4 hours in line, while we drank beer and shot the **** with 400 other cray people. It's now a bucket list experience and that will carry him. The amazing thing is how much consistent local support he's received and for how long.

Previously, he didn't really have any formidable competition, but he now has threats in East Austin in Micklethwait Craft Meats and La Barbecue, both of which are nearing the step of B&M. Along with LABBQ, Stiles Switch BBQ also has a connection to Aaron as their pitmaster was also a pit boss under Franklin Barbecue. Aaron's root even spreads as far as Pearland, TX, where Killen's Barbecue seems to have emulated Franklin's model, even down to the Expresso BBQ Sauce.

I think one of the best things Aaron and other Texas Pitmasters have done is openly tell the masses that we season with just S&P. When Aaron stated on BBQ w/ Franklin that this is how we do it in the restaurant, it actually garnered him more attention. How can it be that simple, but taste so good? Maybe he does have Fairy Hands? He's sold out of brisket every day since his existance is another statement that benefits him. He has it down to an art to sell out of meat daily, and as long as that demand remains true, people will keep coming . It definitely has lead to the reputation that he's the pitmaster that's ever done it. I feel the more accurate statement is that he has the best BBQ business model, period. The problem is that now it's out there and people ar beginning to mimic his approach.

His competition has now moved to Prime beef, which is basically BBQ evolution. Old school Pitmasters have been turning crap beef briskets into black gold for numerous years and never would have considered to use Prime Beef in a business setting. Due to Aaron's national success, high quality beef is the formula that most up and comings will employ. It's also why Cen-Tex is paying more for his brisket than he ever has. At the end of the day though, they're able to sell more of the brisket at the per pound price and are turning less into chop beef.

Aaron has revolutionized BBQ like the iPhone has the mobile phone industry. He took an existing product, made it better, and now he's the cool thing to do. Just like Android has closed in on the iPhone, Aaron's rivals are knocking on his door step. Will Franklin Barbecue top the next Texas BBQ Monthly Top 50 list? I don't think so, but we can discuss that in 2018!


Alright, I guess I should go back to sleep. :P

Whatever the case he or a group of people he's surrounding himself with are great businessmen and/or women.

All done in 6 hrs per day!.......which of course is impossible. Even half that is over $100 per transaction. That's 7lbs per order.

Chris_Wang said:

I'll be there early Saturday AM to wait in line and see for myself what all the hullabaloo is about. @Eggcelsior‌ - Didn't you pre-order from the website?

I tried. I ordered at 0010 on 2/1 but his wife told me that they already had a few hundred orders by then(sold out) . Oh well.