Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

I bought Aaron Franklin BBQ Manifesto book

I'm really intrigued by his success with not really doing anything special. I'm hoping to get a food license and start catering (legally) and it's my dream to have a restaurant someday. Anyways looks like it will be a great book. I'll give a review after I finish it.

Comments

  • Dobie
    Dobie Posts: 3,354
    If you think he’s not doing anything special you’re wrong. It’s not luck. 
    Jacksonville FL
  • Jasonbird said:
    I'm really intrigued by his success with not really doing anything special. I'm hoping to get a food license and start catering (legally) and it's my dream to have a restaurant someday. Anyways looks like it will be a great book. I'll give a review after I finish it.
    I wish you the best. Give it your all and it shall reward you. 
  • Jstroke
    Jstroke Posts: 2,600
    The question becomes, what’s not in the book? Anyone who is excellent at something can tell you exactly what and how to do it. And yet it never comes out the same. 
    Columbus, Ohio--A Gasser filled with Matchlight and an Ugly Drum.
  • for all the things eggs do great , eggs and stick burners are apples and oranges
  • And 12 hour holds in specially designed CVAP ovens with super high humidity. Briskets come off at midnight, they open at 11. Something magic happens in those hours. 
    They hold them for 11 hours before they serve?  Yikes 
  • And 12 hour holds in specially designed CVAP ovens with super high humidity. Briskets come off at midnight, they open at 11. Something magic happens in those hours. 
    They hold them for 11 hours before they serve?  Yikes 
    Yep. At least 11. They usually serve through 2pm or so before they sell
    out. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • They make 106 brisket’s a day.  And if you want one of his custom stick burners, they are letting you reserve a spot on line.  Heard they had 2600 pre orders.
  • GoldenQ
    GoldenQ Posts: 565
    I love my XL but it can not make brisket or pulled pork as good as the Klos offset sick burner that I gave my son-in-law after I got my XL   However the difference is not worth the extra effort unless you are doing large cooks for many people.  Franklin uses custom made offset stick burners which he has perfected over many tries  and modifications plus he uses the best meats and wood
    I XL  and 1 Weber Kettle  And 1 Weber Q220       Outside Alvin, TX-- South of Houston
  • I'm about halfway through it so far. The biggest thing really that I'm picking up that he really emphasizes is the wood and the quality of the smoke. He only uses for the most part, post oak and never charcoal. There's something in the smoke as the wood changes from wood to charcoal that he finds desirable. I'm just getting to the cook part... I'm going to be cooking a lot tonight so I'll have lots of time for reading more. Around 11 PM I'm going to cook 2 prime briskets, a pork butt, and 3 racks of baby back ribs for a feast tomorrow. The briskets are each going in there own smokers because I want to do a comparison between the Egg and my WSM. The pork butt and ribs will go in the small WSM. Should be a fun filled evening!
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    Jasonbird said:
    I'm about halfway through it so far. The biggest thing really that I'm picking up that he really emphasizes is the wood and the quality of the smoke. He only uses for the most part, post oak and never charcoal. There's something in the smoke as the wood changes from wood to charcoal that he finds desirable. I'm just getting to the cook part... I'm going to be cooking a lot tonight so I'll have lots of time for reading more. Around 11 PM I'm going to cook 2 prime briskets, a pork butt, and 3 racks of baby back ribs for a feast tomorrow. The briskets are each going in there own smokers because I want to do a comparison between the Egg and my WSM. The pork butt and ribs will go in the small WSM. Should be a fun filled evening!
    It's a whole different ball game with a stick burner. The smoke flavor profile can't be replicated with lump charcoal. The downfall is that it takes much more time and effort to achieve this smoke profile. To me it's worth the effort. It almost becomes a craft and can be somewhat enjoyable at times. Sometimes not. 

    I'd imagine most people wouldn't recognize the difference between the two. Most people taste smoke and are happy. Offset or not. 

    It all depends on the people who you are serving. I've made some average grub and my friends will rave about it. I'll just scratch my head and wonder what I could have done better. Most people like average tasting bbq. Not their fault. They just don't know better.

    Keep playing around and having fun. I wish you the best in your journey!
     
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,170
    This:  as @WeberWho writes, "It's a whole different ball game with a stick burner. The smoke flavor profile can't be replicated with lump charcoal. The downfall is that it takes much more time and effort to achieve this smoke profile. To me it's worth the effort. It almost becomes a craft and can be somewhat enjoyable at times. Sometimes not."
    In the main I find it quite enjoyable but only when I don't totally hose up the weather forecast-nothing like playing with sticks during a  1.5" rain accumulation event. The challenge of fire, air and fuel (wood sticks) management is something I wanted to deal with first-hand. Different strokes for different folks-  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • Just sold my big gravity smoker, as I have always wanted to build a stick burner!  Making that my next shop project when it warms up this spring.  
  • unoriginalusername
    unoriginalusername Posts: 1,063
    edited December 2018
    And 12 hour holds in specially designed CVAP ovens with super high humidity. Briskets come off at midnight, they open at 11. Something magic happens in those hours. 
    They hold them for 11 hours before they serve?  Yikes 
    Yep. At least 11. They usually serve through 2pm or so before they sell
    out. 
    Hadn’t heard about CVAP before. Pretty crazy what it can do.... I think the post oak, or stick vs charcoal has far less to do with the magic than what secret settings this things crank out after reading a few pages 
  • And 12 hour holds in specially designed CVAP ovens with super high humidity. Briskets come off at midnight, they open at 11. Something magic happens in those hours. 
    They hold them for 11 hours before they serve?  Yikes 
    Yep. At least 11. They usually serve through 2pm or so before they sell
    out. 
    Hadn’t heard about CVAP before. Pretty crazy what it can do.... I think the post oak, or stick vs charcoal has far less to do with the magic than what secret settings this things crank out after reading a few pages 
    I disagree with the stick vs charcoal but the CVAP is a big part of the texture. The flavor is all about the clean burning post oak fire (down here anyway). It makes a huge difference. There is no comparison to a brisket cooked in a BGE and one cooked in a stick burner in my book. That said, I still do most of mine in a bge because it’s so much easier. Plus, 80% of the briskets I cook these days are for a BGE class that we teach. Kids are gone and wifey does not like BBQ :smile:
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • I finished the book and it is a good read. He does include recipes for the sides they serve so I will probably try them and maybe the sauces... I already have a great potato salad and coleslaw recipe but I'm always open to try new recipes. I really need practice trimming briskets and the instructions for the slicing and trimming will be useful. I bought the Kindle version of the book and it was less than$16, so I have no regrets. The progress and results of my brisket cook-off will be a different post. 
  • Just understand AF's profession is cooking BBQ , just like ours is being a doctor, plumber, salesman, engineer or all the other professions on here. It is what he does everyday from custom made stick burners to sourcing the meat, wood, etc. Some of can get close to the taste of his brisket, others like me may not. Good luck on your reading and cooks.
    LBGE, and just enough knowledge and gadgets to be dangerous .
    Buford,Ga.
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    Jasonbird said:
    I finished the book and it is a good read. He does include recipes for the sides they serve so I will probably try them and maybe the sauces... I already have a great potato salad and coleslaw recipe but I'm always open to try new recipes. I really need practice trimming briskets and the instructions for the slicing and trimming will be useful. I bought the Kindle version of the book and it was less than$16, so I have no regrets. The progress and results of my brisket cook-off will be a different post. 
    Here's a good video with him going over trimming a brisket.

    https://youtu.be/yaMgt1Altys
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • GoldenQ
    GoldenQ Posts: 565
    I agree the stick burner can do better but for me it was not worth the effort and I gave mu stick burner away since I only have room for one
    I XL  and 1 Weber Kettle  And 1 Weber Q220       Outside Alvin, TX-- South of Houston
  • GoldenQ said:
    I agree the stick burner can do better but for me it was not worth the effort and I gave mu stick burner away since I only have room for one
    I here ya... I have two WSM, my egg, and a weber gas grill. I'm thinking if I sell the gas grill and clean up the area a little bit, I can make room for a stick burner, maybe an Oklahoma Joe one or a used Yoder. 🤔
  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
    edited December 2018
    Jasonbird said:
    GoldenQ said:
    I agree the stick burner can do better but for me it was not worth the effort and I gave mu stick burner away since I only have room for one
    I here ya... I have two WSM, my egg, and a weber gas grill. I'm thinking if I sell the gas grill and clean up the area a little bit, I can make room for a stick burner, maybe an Oklahoma Joe one or a used Yoder. 🤔
    The Franklin book basically cost me $1500 (for a new smoker). I cook on a 2nd story deck so I don't have room for a true offset stick burner. I wouldn't run a live fire out there anyway.  In my search I found the karubecue C-60. It's a great smoker in a small package. It will fit in the space of your gas grill or a WSM and it's a true stick burner. It does run with a convention draft so it's a little different but it burns sticks and burns a 100% clean fire by design- it sucks the smoke down through the coal bed to purify it- the smoke is essentially clear. You can smell it but barely see it if at all. I love it and it fits my needs pefectly. If I were to move to a house with a space for a decent offset, I would likely add one but the KBQ is as good as anything I've cooked on for smoke.


    Oh, if you haven't figured it out yet, this place is very expensive to hang around. Sorry/not sorry :wink:


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Stoogie
    Stoogie Posts: 173
    WeberWho said:


    It all depends on the people who you are serving. I've made some average grub and my friends will rave about it. I'll just scratch my head and wonder what I could have done better. Most people like average tasting bbq. Not their fault. They just don't know better.

    This.

    My next door neighbor's wife loves anything that I cook on my LGBE to the point where she encourages me to open a food truck.  Of which I want no part of, especially when I know that the brisket she's eating is just average in my opinion.

    Plus, if I had to cook for a living it would take out the enjoyment of cooking that I do now.  

    Not trying to discourage @Jasonbird at all - go for it!!  The world needs more BBQ!!!
    Large BGE

    Neenah, WI
  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
    edited December 2018
    "Plus, if I had to cook for a living it would take out the enjoyment of cooking that I do now. "

    This- We opened a market and restaurant in Appleton when we lived in your neck of the woods. The last thing we wanted to do after 60 hours a week around food is cook for fun. Took 2 years after we sold it to get back into it the way we were before.

    We sold it 10 years ago btw so it's been a while.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • GoooDawgs
    GoooDawgs Posts: 1,060
    @Stoogie so the next door neighbors wife likes it...  this could cause some problems  =)  
    Milton, GA 
    XL BGE & FB300
  • Just looked at a house in Andover....nice neighborhood!  Your neighbors get to enjoy the woodsmoke aroma of your cooks, which seems to make people hungry. When I am running the EGG with hickory or pecan, I get lots of comments from my neighbors. Some actually stop by with cold beverages to check on what’s on the smoker!
  • Just looked at a house in Andover....nice neighborhood!  Your neighbors get to enjoy the woodsmoke aroma of your cooks, which seems to make people hungry. When I am running the EGG with hickory or pecan, I get lots of comments from my neighbors. Some actually stop by with cold beverages to check on what’s on the smoker!
    Andover is a great little town. My kids all did well in the schools here, but now that they are out, I'd love to move in to Wichita but I don't want to move again...ever.lol
    My neighbors pretty much all keep to themselves. I should try inviting them over sometime