Why is Franklin BBQ in austin so good?

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I've been there and it's nothing more than hype. It certainly isn't worth a 2-3 hour wait. It's my opinion so take it for what it's worth. 

There's nothing special about his BBQ. The sides were horrible. 

The salt lick is nothing special. They drown their meat in sauce. I asked them for some with no sauce and some guy came out and spoke with me. I asked him what he's hiding putting sauce on everything. He went back and brought me some out with no s
I haven't been there and will eventually try it whenever I get the chance; nevertheless I also have wondered about the hype factor. Like the stock market.
 
I have a few questions:

I've been researching and learning from Aaron by watching his videos, reading articles for months. There are a couple of things/questions I would like to point out/ask:

Aaron cooks the briskets all day, then pulls them off by the time he gets to work (around 1:30 am). I've read somewhere that he places them on cookie sheets/racks and lets them rest while he "gets the warmers ready". My theory is, is that the internal temp doesn't just go away immediately. I think the longer it rest and absorbs all the moister, then more it 'slow cooks' while it rest. Any idea how long he rest them at room temp?
Also, what is the temperature for a warmer? My oven will only go down to 170. I'm afraid that's too high. I don't want to cook the meat longer forcing out all the moister I just tried to reabsorb through resting.

Any ideas? Input?

Thanks!
 
Good question. I guess there are trade secrets not meant to be public domain, just to justify Aaron. I have seen restaurants keeping food warm under lamps; also those trays immerse in hot water. I don't know but trial and error seems unavoidable in this quest.
 
Also, what is the temperature for a warmer? My oven will only go down to 170. I'm afraid that's too high. I don't want to cook the meat longer forcing out all the moister I just tried to reabsorb through resting.

Any ideas? Input?

Thanks!
I saw on TV once when he was talking about resting and it looked like his smoker was running 185.
 
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I saw on TV once when he was talking about resting and it looked like his smoker was running 185.
The Danger Zone for food for anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours is between 40* to 140*. So, federal and local food safety laws require that cooked, unrefrigerated food needs to be kept at or above 140*. Generally, food shouldn't be kept unrefrigerated for more than 2 hours, or for more than 1 hour if the air/room temp is over 90*. I would think that an oven's Warm 170* setting was selected precisely because it won't further cook the food being kept warm. If cook with a smoker the minimum temp is going to be anywhere from 200*-215* and the food's going to cook over a period of several hours at least.

Perhaps if Aaron is keeping the briskets warm under 185* he must know that won't overcook the meat before he serves it to customers.
 
1 thing I've learned is the quality and grade of meat available makes a difference.

I'm sure he's using a C.A.B for his brisket.

I also know he mentions S&P as his seasoning but rest assure he's using more than just that, and as any bbq person does, they will not reveal their secret to you.

Now I'm not saying his bbq isn't great, but hype, quality of meat, consistent cooking and spending years refining your craft all play a part.

I've had his brisket and it is DAMN GOOD, but I like the bbq at Salt Lick better so it's just a matter of peoples taste and if his bbq caters to the peoples taste in Austin then good for him.

Surprising thing is how many people in line are from out of town and come to try his bbq because they heard about it.  I know that was why I got some.
 
i know iam not waiting in line at 8am for bbq haha
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I haven't had Franklins BBQ but did try a pork shoulder with just salt and pepper as Aaron described it and it was amazing. I will never go back to the pork rubs I have made or bought at stores. It came out black as coal due to the pepper. Not burnt mind you, just black. AMAZING! Sometimes we think we have to jump through hoops but this time simpler is waaaay better.
 
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1 thing I've learned is the quality and grade of meat available makes a difference.

I'm sure he's using a C.A.B for his brisket.

I also know he mentions S&P as his seasoning but rest assure he's using more than just that, and as any bbq person does, they will not reveal their secret to you.

Now I'm not saying his bbq isn't great, but hype, quality of meat, consistent cooking and spending years refining your craft all play a part.

I've had his brisket and it is DAMN GOOD, but I like the bbq at Salt Lick better so it's just a matter of peoples taste and if his bbq caters to the peoples taste in Austin then good for him.

Surprising thing is how many people in line are from out of town and come to try his bbq because they heard about it.  I know that was why I got some.
Hey, I've been with Aaron when he was seasoning up his briskets... it's really only salt & pepper (and a fairly light sprinkling at that). Sorry to disappoint you JWG... that's just how it is.
 
I have been using only salt & pepper for quite a while, low and slow, and wrap with butcher paper about 5 or so hours in. I get asked all the time if I use a special rub, inject or marinade ?  Nope I like the taste of the smoked meat without added or injected flavors. Again it all depends on your taste and what you like. Now every once in a while I will try something different, but always go back to simple. Ribs are a different story, everybody around here (family) likes different styles, so when I do ribs, some are dry, wet, wet & sweet Dry & spicy, some sauced some not.

Gary
 
 
 
1 thing I've learned is the quality and grade of meat available makes a difference.

I'm sure he's using a C.A.B for his brisket.

I also know he mentions S&P as his seasoning but rest assure he's using more than just that, and as any bbq person does, they will not reveal their secret to you.

Now I'm not saying his bbq isn't great, but hype, quality of meat, consistent cooking and spending years refining your craft all play a part.

I've had his brisket and it is DAMN GOOD, but I like the bbq at Salt Lick better so it's just a matter of peoples taste and if his bbq caters to the peoples taste in Austin then good for him.

Surprising thing is how many people in line are from out of town and come to try his bbq because they heard about it.  I know that was why I got some.
Hey, I've been with Aaron when he was seasoning up his briskets... it's really only salt & pepper (and a fairly light sprinkling at that). Sorry to disappoint you JWG... that's just how it is.
Not disappointed my friend. I've had his brisket and noticed more than just salt & pepper plus I've seen a video where he says he will use 1 or 2 other things, but no matter what he does, he's successful and doing something right because the people love it.
 
I read an interview about Franklin BBQ and he described a lot of what he goes through.

He runs on five 1,000 gallon tank smokers and burns through 4 cords of wood per week - geez!!  Starts out at 1:00 a.m. each morning and finishes when he sells out in the early afternoon.  I thought to myself - man I would love to do what he does (when watching him cook and slice brisket, etc. on youtube) then when I heard this, it is surreal of just how much goes into a BBQ restaurant.

He has a really interesting story behind starting out on a backyard smoker, then moving to a trailer and selling a couple of briskets a day, to quickly becoming "the best bbq joint in America" and moving through thousands of pounds of meat per day.
 
Here’s a Daniel Vaughn article on how most central TX BBQ Places take care of their rested meat before serving. Franklin uses an Alto-Shaam warming Cabinet
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/importance-wrapping-brisket
I've read a lot of people say their best briskets were the ones wrapped in a cooler, or set in an oven at 170 for a while.

Franklin BBQ lives up to the hype. I've had BBQ just as good as it in several other places, but the thing about Franklin BBQ is that it’s consistently great. There aren't off days, they've honed their process. Is it worth hours of waiting? Sure, every once in a while. I lived in Austin for several years and most Austinites don’t even eat there. It’s sort of somewhere you go when you've got family in town. You wait in line, drink some beers, shoot the shiz, eat. If you’re not interested in waiting in line but you’re in Austin, go right up the road to Micklethwait Craft Meats.
I think if you follow his BBQ with Franklin Videos, wrap with butcher paper, let it rest in a cooler you’ll have some pretty killer BBQ. Try contacting some meat suppliers if you can’t get higher quality brisket at the super market. A lot of the companies that supply nicer restaurants will have a line on prime brisket, and may be willing to sell you a one off order.
 
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Not disappointed my friend. I've had his brisket and noticed more than just salt & pepper plus I've seen a video where he says he will use 1 or 2 other things, but no matter what he does, he's successful and doing something right because the people love it.
I agree. Franklin success is remarkable, more over when taking into consideration this is Barak Obama's America time, not Teddy Roosevelt.
 
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