Franklin Barbecue book

I like it so far...about 3 pages left on chapter 5.  
A good read to gain a better understanding of smoking meat.  Granted...a lot of it is geared to cooking on an offset with wood.  I've already contacted my neighborhood welder to modify a pit my grandpa made me.  Hoping they can convert into a traditional offset.

Handcyclist said:

When you get to the Cook Chapter--he shares his recipes for cooking meat--including rubs and sauces.  Then he adds his recipes for sides as well.  Being that the book is titled a manifesto Franklin covers the whole spectrum of cooking with smoke and wood.  If anyone is expecting a traditional cookbook, this will disappoint.  If you're expecting a wealth of information about wood fired smoking and cooking, this is a gem worth reading and "digesting!"

A definite read.  I do like the inclusion of the bean and sauce recipes.  Two things I struggle with.

However, I think few recipes given are just baseline.  I think the biggest joke in Central Texas BBQ is "just Salt and Pepper".  

cazzy said:

However, I think few recipes given are just baseline.  

The above almost goes without saying. There are a lot of folks that will offer very useful tips and tricks along the way. However I can not think of anyone who would give away their trade secret that brings them millions of dollars in annually. I certainly will give credit where credit is due. Aaron Franklin and Brother Reed have given the best straight forward advice of anyone out there. Their advice is solid and proven. However at the end of the day, they are not telling all, and for good reason. My hat is off to both of them for what they have been willing to share.

mgd_egg said:

He's one hard working dude. 

This^^^^ is the biggest contributor to his success. He set his eye on the prize and never looked back. 

mgd_egg said:

It's amazing that he cooked his first brisket in 2002 and not that many cooks before opening in 2009.  I'll stop now...I don't want to spoil anything.

Don't believe everything you read.  In the book he says "within a month or so, as we got busier, I got a guy to help out a few days a week".  That guy was John Lewis and he was involved before the trailer opened (John is in the left window).

John just moved back to Austin and he and Aaron met on the competition circuit.  After he got John Mueller's pit (which was a POS; John also inherited one of Mueller's pits which is also a POS lol), they would do backyard meat parties to perfect the craft.  Based on what I know, he spent way more time in the meat lab with John before the trailer dropped.  John's pit was a game changer for him.  He hired John as a pit boss from go and they launched it together...

John is a competitor now, so Aaron doesn't talk to him anymore.  However, up until John started working on his new spot in South Carolina (Lewis Barbecue), he would regularly drink beers with Franklin's brisket cooks in what he called their "Brisket Lab".  

Added to my Amazon wishlist for later. 

Started reading it last night. Great read!

Cookinbob said:

Some of you have read lots more of the book than I have yet, and it will take me a while given my schedule.

At any rate, I think Aaron is one of those rare guys who just "gets it", and the insight it brings really does not translate neatly into a book.  I am expecting more of a road map that will help me tweak my methods, wood selection, etc.  Wish I could cook briskets daily - but it's only 3-4 a year when we have a group around.

Do you have an offset?  If so, this book makes me very jealous of you!

Cookinbob said:

I do not have an offset. Just 2 eggs. I could not cook enough to justify owning an offset. Maybe a business/hobby when I retire

Offset doesn't have to be huge...they sell the Old Country line at Academy that are perfect for the backyard and can easily be sealed.

Don't spend too much time on wood selection for an egg...we are cooking completely different...which he points out on page 45.

mrw123 said:

Does he really rest his briskets 10-11 hours before serving? 

Not entirely for the purpose of resting...but more so out of purpose to maintain sanity and keep up with the volume.  They start coming off at midnight and are held in holding units (Metro, Cambro etc) that are set somewhere between 140-170 degrees.  In the really good ones, you can hold protein for up to 24 hours without any degradation in quality.  

Doing them the day before allows a couple things.  It allows extra time for stubborn briskets or weather that might delay the cook.  Scheduling them to come off a few hours before service is very risky.  This is also employs the mentality that most purists live by..."barbecue is done when it's done".  This means nothing is forced to the finish line.  Next, it also means that most important and long cook is happening during the day where he and his kitchen manager (Braun) can manage the cook.

So - does he put the fat up or down?

Foghorn said:

So - does he put the fat up or down?

He puts them fat up. I did email him and asked if he had ever cooked a brisket on the egg. He replied that if he did he would cook it fat side down for the the egg due to the heat source coming from below.

dstearn said:

Foghorn said:

So - does he put the fat up or down?

He puts them fat up. I did email him and asked if he had ever cooked a brisket on the egg. He replied that if he did he would cook it fat side down for the the egg due to the heat source coming from below.

I cook high in the dome so I get more heat reflection than a standard configuration.  This is a lil similar to cooking near a wall on an offset.  Those factors have me lean towards cooking fat side up, but I've done numerous up and down on the egg and I don't think it really matters.  Since I've seen no benefit either way, I continue to cook up since I like the point to have a lil more top side bark.  

cazzy said:

Not entirely for the purpose of resting...but more so out of purpose to maintain sanity and keep up with the volume.  They start coming off at midnight and are held in holding units (Metro, Cambro etc) that are set somewhere between 140-170 degrees.  In the really good ones, you can hold protein for up to 24 hours without any degradation in quality. 

I'm in the market for a holding unit that I can drive around with. Are the really good ones not transportable?

damnedhooligan said:

cazzy said:

Not entirely for the purpose of resting...but more so out of purpose to maintain sanity and keep up with the volume.  They start coming off at midnight and are held in holding units (Metro, Cambro etc) that are set somewhere between 140-170 degrees.  In the really good ones, you can hold protein for up to 24 hours without any degradation in quality. 

I'm in the market for a holding unit that I can drive around with. Are the really good ones not transportable?

Without electricity, no.  

You'd be looking at something like this, which will give you 4 hours.  

http://www.cambro.com/Products/Insulated_Food_Transport/Non_Electric_Food_Transport_Carts/10737429923/1033.aspx

However, it just depends what you're driving around with.  If it's big cuts like brisket and butts, that time would likely be a lot longer because of their mass.