# $3000. Worth of Brisket Stolen From Austin BBQ Joint



## chilerelleno (Aug 7, 2022)

Twenty briskets stolen from La Barbecue in Austin, TX, $3000. value when ready for the customer.
Their menu shows brisket at $20. per lb, so that's 150lbs of brisket.









						Texas barbecue restaurant manager says thief stole almost $3K worth of brisket
					

A Texas barbecue restaurant general manager says that almost $3,000 worth of brisket was stolen on Thursday morning and thinks the theft was planned.




					www.foxnews.com
				




So.... Who in Southwest TX is throwing a big brisket cookout?


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## Retired Spook (Aug 7, 2022)

I dunno but there was some rude @$$h©√£ in HEB Bastrop yesterday that bought every pork butt HEB had - filled his basket up - elbowed his way to the case and everything just like Alec Baldwin would... Real p.o.s. with no consideration for anyone but himself. Obviously a restaurant owner or caterer.

Must be something going on somewhere - could explain the brisket robery?

America aint what it used to be.


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## sawhorseray (Aug 7, 2022)

That's more like $500 worth of meat, not $3K . They'll get over it, maybe the thieves were starving, some folks are. RAY


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## Retired Spook (Aug 7, 2022)

Starving makes theft OK?


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## chilerelleno (Aug 7, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> That's more like $500 worth of meat, not $3K . They'll get over it, maybe the thieves were starving, some folks are. RAY


Way, way, way off base there man, theft is theft.
Gonna vehemently disagree.
If you're starving there are charities and other services that will feed you a meal or give you food/groceries.
And a starving person generally steals to eat immediately, not resell, trade or have a BBQ.


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## Displaced Texan (Aug 7, 2022)

Retired Spook said:


> I dunno but there was some rude @$$h©√£ in HEB Bastrop yesterday that bought every pork butt HEB had - filled his basket up - elbowed his way to the case and everything just like Alec Baldwin would... Real p.o.s. with no consideration for anyone but himself. Obviously a restaurant owner or caterer.
> 
> Must be something going on somewhere - could explain the brisket robery?
> 
> America aint what it used to be.


And, unfortunately, law abiding folks like us won't use a well placed elbow or round kick, maybe, to the sciatic nerve. 

Pesky laws. I hate people like that.


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## TNJAKE (Aug 7, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> Way, way, way off base there man, theft is theft.
> Gonna vehemently disagree.
> If you're starving there are charities and other services that will feed you or give you food.
> And a starving person generally steals to eat immediately, not resell, trade or have a BBQ.


Sadly people are ok with theft nowadays........I'm sure they would feel different if their house was robbed and not some anonymous business


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## chilerelleno (Aug 7, 2022)

sawhorseray

Still like you Ray, just disagreeing with ya on this.


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## Dirty Steve (Aug 8, 2022)

Saw this on arf earlier. That is a lot of brisket, I wonder if someone in the persons group will spill the beans.


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## Retired Spook (Aug 8, 2022)

You hungry and ask me for food I will feed you till you pop - but you will have to *GET A JOB* immediately thereafter. You steal someone else's property I don't care if it is a bag of potato chips, you are dirt and you can starve to death right in front of me and all I will do is watch.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 8, 2022)

$20 a lb for brisket?  That's the real robbery here.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 8, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> That's more like $500 worth of meat, not $3K . They'll get over it, maybe the thieves were starving, some folks are. RAY



The manager thinks it was possibly an inside job.  
I'm positive they are insured against loss...hmmmm???


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## chilerelleno (Aug 8, 2022)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> $20 a lb for brisket?  That's real robbery here.


Ha!
Look at what Franklin BBQ charges for a pound of brisket.
Yeah, that's right, $34. per lb.


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## sawhorseray (Aug 8, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> sawhorseray
> 
> Still like you Ray, just disagreeing with ya on this.


I still like you too John! Wasn't trying to make light of it, I believe you know I don't condone theft and more than you. Nobody got hurt, and I doubt the owner was paying $150 per brisket. RAY


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 8, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> Ha!
> Look at what Franklin BBQ charges for a pound of brisket.
> Yeah, that's right, $34. per lb.



Yikes!


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## Retired Spook (Aug 8, 2022)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> Yikes!


And there are people that stand in line for it, for the experience...

Fortunately for me, I was raised different.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 8, 2022)

Retired Spook said:


> And there are people that stand in line for it, for the experience...
> 
> Fortunately for me, I was raised different.



Same here.  
There are better things to do than stand in line waiting and hoping to pay for over priced brisket. 
The foodie hipsters ruined it for the rest of us and are the main reason why the price of brisket has skyrocketed the past few years.


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## sawhorseray (Aug 8, 2022)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> The foodie hipsters ruined it for the rest of us and are the main reason why the price of brisket has skyrocketed the past few years.


Same reason pork belly got so expensive Stu. Wasn't so long back belly was 99¢ a pound, now it's five bucks. RAY


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 8, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> Same reason pork belly got so expensive Stu. Wasn't so long back belly was 99¢ a pound, now it's five bucks. RAY



That's for sure.


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## GonnaSmoke (Aug 8, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> Look at what Franklin BBQ charges for a pound of brisket.
> Yeah, that's right, $34. per lb.


Well I was hoping to one day venture there for the experience, novelty, and food. Some things you just can't put a price on, but the costs do have their limits and at $34/lb., that's beyond my limit...


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## rexster314 (Aug 8, 2022)

About HEB. Their normal price for JBS pork bellies right now is 3.79 a pound. Costco JBS pork bellies CASE PRICE last time I checked was 4.19 a pound. Probably the pork butts were priced cheaper and he was cleaning up.


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## Retired Spook (Aug 8, 2022)

rexster314 said:


> About HEB. Their normal price for JBS pork bellies right now is 3.79 a pound. Costco JBS pork bellies CASE PRICE last time I checked was 4.19 a pound. Probably the pork butts were priced cheaper and he was cleaning up.


I spoke to the meat department manager just a little while ago - I think they are going to limit how many pork butts a random inconsiderate shopper can purchase at one time - especially in light of the supply chain problems the Country is having.

And folks like the rude shopper guy will cry like a baby when his neighbors vote for someone he don't like that wants to cut into his special interests...


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## chilerelleno (Aug 8, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> I still like you too John! Wasn't trying to make light of it, I believe you know I don't condone theft and more than you. Nobody got hurt, and I doubt the owner was paying $150 per brisket. RAY


LOL, nope they're not paying $150. per brisket.
That's twenty 7.5lb (cooked weight) briskets valued at $20. per pound.


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## chilerelleno (Aug 8, 2022)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Well I was hoping to one day venture there for the experience, novelty, and food. Some things you just can't put a price on, but the costs do have their limits and at $34/lb., that's beyond my limit...


I hear ya there.


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## chilerelleno (Aug 8, 2022)

I bet half of us here can smoke most BBQ just as well as Franklin and the rest of the big Texas names.

But if I was on vacation I'd probably wait in line at Franklin and pay the big money, just to say I'd eaten there.  Definitely would want a T-Shirt.


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## Retired Spook (Aug 8, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> I bet half of us here can smoke most BBQ just as well as Franklin and the rest of the big Texas names.
> 
> But if I was on vacation I'd probably wait in line at Franklin and pay the big money, just to say I'd eaten there.  Definitely would want a T-Shirt.


I heard the T-shirts are $90!


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## sawhorseray (Aug 8, 2022)

Retired Spook said:


> I heard the T-shirts are $90!


Nah, $24. We went there 11-12 years back, the Salt Lick too. I ever get back that way I'll go to Robert's house, I like beef ribs more than brisket. RAY









						Black Franklin Barbecue T-Shirt
					

Signs of a good T-shirt: It’s subtle as a nod, yet firm as a handshake. It’s not so tight your coworkers call you Dieter. It’s got the material of a soft embrace, which all men need sometimes. It has a couple grease stains. It’s the first shirt you wear out of the dryer. That’s your golden boy...




					shop.franklinbbq.com


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## Retired Spook (Aug 8, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> Nah, $24. We went there 11-12 years back, the Salt Lick too. I ever get back that way I'll go to Robert's house, I like beef ribs more than brisket. RAY
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can I steal one if I can't afford it? don't want to pay for it because Franklin might have more money than I do? I am asking for a morally challenged neighbor...


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## clifish (Aug 8, 2022)

sawhorseray said:


> Nah, $24. We went there 11-12 years back, the Salt Lick too. I ever get back that way I'll go to Robert's house, I like beef ribs more than brisket. RAY
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Me too,  I would rather be a guest at a Robert AKA 

 tx smoker
 house for a cook than any BBQ place.


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## millerbuilds (Aug 8, 2022)

Holy Cow!  Pun intended!

- Jason


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## WV_Crusader (Aug 8, 2022)

Sad what people do instead of working for a living!


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## daspyknows (Aug 10, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> I bet half of us here can smoke most BBQ just as well as Franklin and the rest of the big Texas names.
> 
> But if I was on vacation I'd probably wait in line at Franklin and pay the big money, just to say I'd eaten there.  Definitely would want a T-Shirt.


Doing that in December while seeing friends in Austin.  This was planned for 2020 and finally happening.  More for the novelty than anything else.


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## Cody_Mack (Sep 7, 2022)

Retired Spook said:


> filled his basket up - elbowed his way to the case and everything just like Alec Baldwin would... Real p.o.s. with no consideration for anyone but himself


Yeah, I don't like him either.

Rick


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## tallbm (Sep 7, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> I bet half of us here can smoke most BBQ just as well as Franklin and the rest of the big Texas names.
> 
> But if I was on vacation I'd probably wait in line at Franklin and pay the big money, just to say I'd eaten there.  Definitely would want a T-Shirt.


I tried it 1 time the last day I was working in the Austin area a few years ago.

Best brisket I have ever eaten for sure.
With that said, my brisket is not very far off from the best.  Also other really good back yard brisket I've eaten, is not that far off either.
To give a measurable comparison his is 70yd field goal in football where mine is a 62yd field goal :) 

I feel like if I bought the highest quality beef briskets in the land (from best raised and best breed cows), highest quality spices in the land, and maybe obsessively fine tuned a few things here and there, that I could make up that gap quite a bit.

Will I do that? Nope!  I and I'm sure many of us make damn fine brisket and love what we make with no need to go messing it up or go to extremes for minor gains.

Now I can say that the whole experience, and eating the best brisket in the world is worth it 1 time.
I would also recommend that if u go there, be sure to get the chopped brisket sandwich, it is ridiculously under priced, overloaded, and OMG soooooo goood!  I feel like the turkey and the sausage can be skipped there.  Which is a shame because in Texas sausage is like a stable for bbq and you can get amazing smoked/bbq turkey in many places.

Here is a big writeup i did on my visit if u ever care to prep for a visit yourself :)





						First Time at Franklin's BBQ, What I Learned
					

Let's start with the pics of what I ordered and then I will make a way too long post with way too many details for you to skin through :)  The Order 3/4 pound Fatty/Moist Brisket1/4 pound Lean Brisket (buried under turkey and hardly visible peaking out on left side from under turkey)4 Pork ribs...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


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## chilerelleno (Sep 8, 2022)

tallbm said:


> I tried it 1 time the last day I was working in the Austin area a few years ago.
> 
> Best brisket I have ever eaten for sure.
> With that said, my brisket is not very far off from the best.  Also other really good back yard brisket I've eaten, is not that far off either.
> ...


Like I said, I'd try Franklin's just to cross it off the list and say I'd BTDT.
But again, when looking at many of our skills, it is an extravagance considering the costs.
Check out their menu now, prices are up 50-75%, that Tipsy Texan sammie is now $13., but damn does it sound good.


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## Retired Spook (Sep 8, 2022)

I just can't give my money to anyone that comes off as a snob - which, in Arron's case, equates to an arrogant price for a sammich, just because a small segment of a community is foolish enough to pay it, thereby flipping-off anyone that cannot afford to throw their money around like Ralph Cramden found a bag of money...

It is a human characteristic that I despise.


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## noboundaries (Sep 8, 2022)

I can appreciate that the VAST majority of folks do not know how to smoke a brisket. Nor do they want to learn. When they taste one that is tender and flavorful again and again from the same place, smokers like Franklin are born. Snob or not, it's a line I will never join. And those prices? No frigging way.

He uses Prime grade briskets. The vast majority of my briskets are Select grade, a few "Choice or Better" when they are on sale. I've said before that my own probe-tender brisket results improved dramatically after a smoke with a foil wrapped 3-5 hour rest in a 170°F oven. Why so long? Long rests at 140°F+ are what places like Franklin's do. First time I did so, I was literally overcome with emotion because the results rocked my brisket world from flat to point. Same results twice more; moist, tender, and flavorful. It even tasted almost as good after the extra cooked meat was vac-sealed, frozen, and thawed.

I've watched YouTube videos where folks spend $200‐$300 for two people at Franklin's after waiting in line for hours. And they do it again and again. That's insane. A WSM, a few briskets, and a several hours reading here at SMF will save them a fortune.


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## chilerelleno (Sep 8, 2022)

Retired Spook said:


> I just can't give my money to anyone that comes off as a snob - which, in Arron's case, equates to an arrogant price for a sammich, just because a small segment of a community is foolish enough to pay it, thereby flipping-off anyone that cannot afford to throw their money around like Ralph Cramden found a bag of money...
> 
> It is a human characteristic that I despise.


That kind of price for a good Smoked Brisket Sammie is about par the course anywhere I've been in the last couple of years.
I'm surprised it's not more what with food inflation the last year.
Is it expensive? Sure it is, but a lot of time goes into decent Q.

Good Gosh! What I just spent today at Costco and Publix shopping for an extravagant meal menu for Saturday in celebration of my favorite sister-n-law visiting.


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## Retired Spook (Sep 8, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> That kind of price for a good Smoked Brisket Sammie is about par the course anywhere I've been in the last couple of years.
> I'm surprised it's not more what with food inflation the last year.
> Is it expensive? Sure it is, but a lot of time goes into decent Q.
> 
> Good Gosh! What I just spent today at Costco and Publix shopping for an extravagant meal menu for Saturday in celebration of my favorite sister-n-law visiting.


I used "sammich" as a sarcastic metaphor. I would not pay what I consider an exorbitant price anywhere, for anything, based on mystique. I'm not saying his brisket is bad, I'm just saying it isn't worth the asking price, to me, and I am certainly not waiting on or in line (depending on your bias) in the heat here in the 9th circle of hell for the "honor" of eating his over-priced brisket.

Just my 2-cents worth.


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## Jonok (Oct 15, 2022)

Just remember, Aaron Franklin won’t eat his own BBQ…


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## Jonok (Oct 15, 2022)

Have had franklins, but they can’t touch Snows. Those guys smoke to around 150, wrap with tinfoil and cook to the general temp regarded as tender, then hold wrapped till ready to serve at 160 or so.


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## rexster314 (Oct 15, 2022)

I'll never know what Snow's is like, although I'm about 3 hours away.


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## noboundaries (Oct 15, 2022)

Looks like whoever stole the meat got away with it. I checked all the online articles and didn't find anything about someone being arrested.


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

rexster314 said:


> I'll never know what Snow's is like, although I'm about 3 hours away.


Why?
I’m not being argumentative, just wundering?
Seemed like a nice, low key place trying to do a good job, and definitely not overpriced for what I got.


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## chilerelleno (Oct 17, 2022)

I'd like at some point in the future to do the _'Texas BBQ Tour'_.
There are several BBQ joints that need to be added to the tour, _'Robert's House of CPB_ and _'Snow's'_ are two of'em.
To do it right, and by that I mean days spent hitting the non-BBQ attractions too, I figure two weeks or so.


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

Might have a couple of weeks in February ( I have a pretty bigairplane, so if you’re up for the rental car…)


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## chilerelleno (Oct 17, 2022)

Jonok said:


> Might have a couple of weeks in February ( I have a pretty bigairplane, so if you’re up for the rental car…)


I'd be all over that if I wasn't in-between jobs right now.

What kind of aircraft do you have/fly?
I love to fly, once upon a time 99% of my flights were one way... Up.


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> I'd be all over that if I wasn't in-between jobs right now.
> 
> What kind of aircraft do you have/fly?
> I love to fly,once upon a time 99% of my flights were one way... Up.
> View attachment 646184


Cessna 421


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

Jonok said:


> Cessna 421


Spend a fair amount of time in SW Missouri, so might not be a problem.  Used to live in Galveston before I understood bbq, but since then, have made more than a few forays back into Texas to find out what I’m missing.
Always looking for another excuse, and by mid-February, the honeysuckle is blooming (At least down south) so it might be a nice break from mid-Michigan


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## chilerelleno (Oct 17, 2022)

Jonok said:


> Cessna 421


An original 421? Not many of those manufactured, even less of the A models.

February in mid-Michigan, yeah, that could be a nice change of locale.


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## SmokingUPnorth (Oct 17, 2022)

Jonok said:


> Spend a fair amount of time in SW Missouri, so might not be a problem.  Used to live in Galveston before I understood bbq, but since then, have made more than a few forays back into Texas to find out what I’m missing.
> Always looking for another excuse, and by mid-February, the honeysuckle is blooming (At least down south) so it might be a nice break from mid-Michigan



What part of mid Michigan. I’m up in the Soo but use to live in Ludington


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

Well, now that you mention it, it is an original 1968 straight 421, but it’s maintained and flies like new…


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## chilerelleno (Oct 17, 2022)

Jonok said:


> Well, now that you mention it, it is an original 1968 straight 421, but it’s maintained and flies like new…


1968, that bird is the same vintage as I am.


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

Live in Kalamazoo, work in northern Wisconsin , southwest Missouri and Occasionally up in the Up


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## Jonok (Oct 17, 2022)

Got 4 years on you.


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## lemans (Oct 18, 2022)

chilerelleno said:


> Way, way, way off base there man, theft is theft.
> Gonna vehemently disagree.
> If you're starving there are charities and other services that will feed you a meal or give you food/groceries.
> And a starving person generally steals to eat immediately, not resell, trade or have a BBQ.


That’s disgusting.. steal a man’s livelihood. There is a certain place in hell for them!


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