Aaron's Franklins book. Masterpiece or Master Plan?

SGH · April 2015

Grillmagic said:

I have eaten at his place twice and it was out standing both times
the brisket was Great

This seems to be the universal thought on his grub. I'm dying to try it myself.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · April 2015

Grillmagic said:

I am away from home for a couple weeks and have the book waiting for me when I get back home and look forward to reading it. I have eaten at his place twice and it was out standing both times and so was I, I waited 3 and 3 and 1/2 hours both times and any fan of protein should check it out, the brisket was Great as well as everything else I had. I cannot verify this but I heard that he used select brisket not even choice which means that's even more impressive in my book! I CAN NOT VERIFIE THIS!

He uses 100% all natural prime beef. The only guy even worth a mention who says he uses select is John Mueller. You can walk up to his place at high noon and eat in 5-10 minutes. It's good but not in the same league as Aaron's.

SGH · April 2015

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:
He uses 100% all natural prime beef.

I have heard it said before that one of his main suppliers is Creek Stone. Do you know if this is true?

Grillmagic · April 2015

SGH said:

Grillmagic said:

I have eaten at his place twice and it was out standing both times
the brisket was Great

This seems to be the universal thought on his grub. I'm dying to try it myself.

Scottie it truly was very GOOD , I would hate to have to live up to his reputation, this place is so busy I think most of the grunt work is done by his crew I'm sure to his specifications. It's worth a half a day of you are ever in the area. I am willing to bet he would love the food you put out.

cazzy · April 2015

SGH said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:
He uses 100% all natural prime beef.

I have heard it said before that one of his main suppliers is Creek Stone. Do you know if this is true?

Yes. Creekstone is his supplier and he was using choice from them before moving to prime. I think the move to prime was on their side cause mid last year, Ronnie Killen was posting pics of his new briskets and announced they were now serving prime from Creekstone.

Before Creekstone Farms, his supplier was Meyers. Both companies are all natural.

Grillmagic · April 2015

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Grillmagic said:

I am away from home for a couple weeks and have the book waiting for me when I get back home and look forward to reading it. I have eaten at his place twice and it was out standing both times and so was I, I waited 3 and 3 and 1/2 hours both times and any fan of protein should check it out, the brisket was Great as well as everything else I had. I cannot verify this but I heard that he used select brisket not even choice which means that's even more impressive in my book! I CAN NOT VERIFIE THIS!

He uses 100% all natural prime beef. The only guy even worth a mention who says he uses select is John Mueller. You can walk up to his place at high noon and eat in 5-10 minutes. It's good but not in the same league as Aaron's.

Thanks, I will try and edit my post as I would not want to share a non truth, the Brisket was Awesome!!!

SGH · April 2015

cazzy said:
Yes. Creekstone is his supplier

With that said, do you know if someone were to order from Creek Stone would you be getting the same quality brisket as Aaron, or does he get the top pics due to the volume that he orders? I feel that due to the sheer volume that he orders, he probably gets the best of the best and then the rest is sold to whomever. I don't know this for fact, but it would be my first assumption. Your thoughts?

bclarksicle · April 2015

I may be in the minority, but I think with Aaron Franklin, what you see is what you get. There's no super double secret injection/rub/trick to making his brisket.

What he does have is a true talent for making great barbecue. I know that sounds weird, as it's not something we would normally call a talent, but that's what it is.

Take a great athlete like Michael Jordan (or Jordan Speith!). You can wear Mike's shoes, go to his basketball camp, read his books, and follow his practice regimen. You might get a lot better at basketball, but you will not become Michael Jordan.

I think Franklin is comfortable showing you everything behind the curtain because he knows it's his intuition and talent that are the secret ingredients. It's been said on this thread already, but he knows everything there is to know about his cookers, meat, wood, fire, etc. He knows exactly when to wrap, or when not to wrap, and for how long. That takes years (decades) of experience. The law of 10,000 hours and all that.

He can show you how he does it. You may even make better brisket. But you will not become Aaron Franklin.

Grillmagic · April 2015

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Grillmagic said:

I am away from home for a couple weeks and have the book waiting for me when I get back home and look forward to reading it. I have eaten at his place twice and it was out standing both times and so was I, I waited 3 and 3 and 1/2 hours both times and any fan of protein should check it out, the brisket was Great as well as everything else I had. I cannot verify this but I heard that he used select brisket not even choice which means that's even more impressive in my book! I CAN NOT VERIFIE THIS!

He uses 100% all natural prime beef. The only guy even worth a mention who says he uses select is John Mueller. You can walk up to his place at high noon and eat in 5-10 minutes. It's good but not in the same league as Aaron's.

Thanks for clarifying this for me, it sure tasted like prime. I hope I haven't miss lead anyone with the statement above. I was performing at a food and restaurant show a few years a go and over a beer a salesman shared that it was select, I do not have any history with this fellow and would not want to mislead anyone. In my opinion this was the best Brisket I have ever had and the fact that he does it day in and day out is amazing to me!

SGH · April 2015

@cazzy- I have never had yours nor Aaron's brisket. That said, in your opinion, when you really hit a home run with your brisket, is his really miles better than yours in your opinion?

cazzy · April 2015

SGH said:

cazzy said:
Yes. Creekstone is his supplier

With that said, do you know if someone were to order from Creek Stone would you be getting the same quality brisket as Aaron, or does he get the top pics due to the volume that he orders? I feel that due to the sheer volume that he orders, he probably gets the best of the best and then the rest is sold to whomever. I don't know this for fact, but it would be my first assumption. Your thoughts?

https://store.creekstonefarms.com/mobile/Category.aspx?id=66

I hear its the same quality...just frozen for shipping, where his are not.

cazzy · April 2015

SGH said:

@cazzy- I have never had yours nor Aaron's brisket. That said, in your opinion, when you really hit a home run with your brisket, is his really miles better than yours in your opinion?

The flat from my SRF was on the same page as his. He seasons much more aggressively than you do so that would be the biggest change you'll need to make.

Cookinbob · April 2015

@cazzy, I hit your link, price wise they are on par with SRF. For that price I would go Wagyu. There's the "secret". Very high quality beef. I'm sure Franklin gets a good price, but I'll bet his beef cost is higher than most Q restaurants. Other than special occasions, most on the forum are cooking commodity choice. I've never even seen a prime brisket!,

SGH · April 2015

Cookinbob said:

There's the "secret". Very high quality beef.

After playing around with a few Waygu and Waygu Golds myself, I feel very strongly that the quality of meat that he uses plays a significant factor more so than anything else. That's just me thinking out loud. I certainly do not have anything to substantiate my intuition.

Jeremiah · April 2015

little late to the party here, but just ordered it. Should be a fun read.

SGH · April 2015

Jeremiah said:

little late to the party here, but just ordered it. Should be a fun read.

You will enjoy it. His story alone is worth the price if you enjoy reading. And there is a tremendous amount of useful info in the book. Be warned though, the brisket secret is not going to be revealed until book 2 comes out

Jeremiah · April 2015

I find him intriguing. Much like jimmy buffet. And yeah my brisket sucks. Not much hope there either way.

SGH · April 2015

Jeremiah said:

And yeah my brisket sucks. Not much hope there either way.

I don't believe that brother.

DMW · April 2015

Jeremiah said:

I find him intriguing. Much like jimmy buffet. And yeah my brisket sucks. Not much hope there either way.

@Jeremiah - I have a SRF brisket in the freezer. On your next visit to PA, schedule an extra day and hang out, we'll see if we can not screw it up.

Jeremiah · April 2015

Thanks @DMW!

DoubleEgger · April 2015

Some things you just can't replicate. How many of you out there have tried to make your grandmother's recipes and it was never as good as hers? My grandmother could make biscuits that were out of this world. She would teach us how to make them and we'd make them side by side and her's were always better. She just had that feel...

allsid · April 2015

I wish I had the book, but for now I am enjoying reading all the comments. However, one thing I must mention is that if he was a pizza Czar instead of a brisket hero, I would be reading some of the same comments:

Fantastic ingredients
Consistent cooking environment
Repetition

Regardless of if it was brisket, baking, snow cones, or a hot dog cart. It is hard to beat good quality, consistent equipment, and LOTS of practice.

SGH · April 2015

DoubleEgger said:

Some things you just can't replicate.

There could be a ring of truth in the above statement. However with proper guidance from the brisket gods, I feel that the end product could at least almost equal theirs. There is always hope.

pescadorzih · April 2015

Cookinbob said:

@cazzy, I hit your link, price wise they are on par with SRF. For that price I would go Wagyu. There's the "secret". Very high quality beef. I'm sure Franklin gets a good price, but I'll bet his beef cost is higher than most Q restaurants. Other than special occasions, most on the forum are cooking commodity choice. I've never even seen a prime brisket!,

I wouldn't say price wise they are on par. $40 difference is a big jump for the same size brisket after shipping and with the 10% off today.
I've had 2 Creekstone briskets and they turned out great IMHO.
I've never had a SRF brisket, so I have nothing to compare to other than a prime brisket from Lafreida.
I have to get to Austin someday and try his brisket.

Zmokin · April 2015

I don't know who Aaron Franklin is and I doubt I will buy his book.
If I stumble upon a recipe of his when googling, so be it. I have nothing against the man, just never heard of him until reading this topic. My wife bought me a BBQ book by Steve Raichlen. It's called the Bible of sauces, rubs, & marinades. It has been worthless to me. I tried finding one recipe in it and there was nothing there.

I find the internet is far more useful to me when cooking than buying more cookbooks. the wife has bought a ton of cookbooks and there are about 5 or 6 recipes I use total out of 4 or 5 books. I think there is only one book I have used more than one recipe from.

SGH · April 2015

Zmokin said:

I don't know who Aaron Franklin is

If the above is true, you are one of only a very few. His name is everywhere. No pun intended but I have to ask, you seriously have never heard of him?

cazzy · April 2015

SGH said:

Zmokin said:

I don't know who Aaron Franklin is

If the above is true, you are one of only a very few. His name is everywhere. No pun intended but I have to ask, you seriously have never heard of him?

Aaron is prolly too salty!!

Cookinbob · April 2015

He was on jimmy Kimmel last night! Hitting the big time, but it does not seem to have gone to his head. @Zmokin, it's not a cookbook, but I sense you would not enjoy it anyways

Zmokin · April 2015

SGH said:

Zmokin said:

I don't know who Aaron Franklin is

If the above is true, you are one of only a very few. His name is everywhere. No pun intended but I have to ask, you seriously have never heard of him?

Never heard of him. I know who Gordon Ramsey is. I know who Guy Fieri is.

I don't even really know who Steve Raichlen is other than the fact he's the author of the book my wife bought for me.

I've heard of Bobby Flay but I never watch his show. I've seen a few of Emeril Lagasse shows. I've heard of Alton Brown, but don't know what his gig is other than it's cooking.

The only famous Aaron I know of is Aaron Burr and that is only because his name was used in a "Got Milk" commercial.

SGH · April 2015

@Zmokin- If you enjoy Q, then you really owe it to yourself to check out his YouTube and PBS series. He is definitely one of the more helpful folks without all the self glorification and nonsense. There is a lot of very useful "base line" info there. Things that are not normally offered by other folks. His actual cooking method does not apply to the egg, however his prep technique, seasoning, meat selection and general advice does. Check out his works if you get a chance. You will not be disappointed.

Aaron's Franklins book. Masterpiece or Master Plan?

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