Aaron Franklin gave us a tour of his smokers at the private dinner at his restaurant during the 2013 Austin Mega Do. Listen here to the pearls of wisdom that drop out of the mouth of the man who makes the world's best brisket.
Here is the secret. You remember why you said no one cooks like mom? It's because he loves who he cooks for. He teaches in his books the secret is a clean fire which means watching a cooker for 12 hours in the hour. The brisket needs to be high choice. Prime. But he has guys working all night to make sure the fire is burning right. This is a tremendous effort. He picks the Post oak wood which is native to Texas. He has said many times he can't recreate this outside of the state because he can't control the quality of the wood and the meat from across the country. Just know he loves the folks that wait in line. He works so many hours to make a really nice meal for folks that want to experience the hard work. He is so humble and so kind. Aron. If you ever see this, it's so enjoyable to see you have a great attitude after working for so long and not changing a thing to keep the "love" alive you have. Here is the secret beyond the words I have given you. If your brisket isn't as flexible and loving after you cooked it versus when it was raw. It ain't right. Practice practice practice. Best wishes to Aron and his family.
I learned to cook in Austin, worked in kitchens in Austin, Bastrop and Round Rock for about 4 yrs. Briskets generally are cook between 250-275 degrees. But sometimes you'll need to push the temps up a bit when your not getting the results your looking for. In one of his videos he talks about "the wall" when a brisket just won't cook anymore thats when you 'll turn the temps up to get through that wall and to the intended result. Cooking brisket or anything for that matter there is always subjectivity to the craft. One person will tell you this, while another will tell you that. What it all comes down to is your experiences and your knowledge. What I am trying to say in most times there is no clear cut way. Hopefully that helps everyone.
jmac055 its not "the wall" it's "the stall" this takes place when meats reach around 150 to 160 internal.. its because meat is shrinking forcing moisture to the surface causing a cooling effect.
In his book Aaron is right he gets briskets from quality cows and salt pepper rub. NOW John Lewis former employee of Aaron, who founded LA Barbecue in Austin (amazing btw) said it's not true and that Aaron put or puts other ingredients on his briskets. But that was a few years ago. Also regarding the temps....for me 275 is that golden temp, renders the fat, doesn't burn it, but I'm sure for Aaron and his crew and pumping 100 briskets a day there is no room for error, so 300-320 degrees with that many brisket in a chamber like that will help compensate for all that cold beef hitting the cooker.
I think the temperature is the secret ...he fluctuates the temperature at a certain time at a certain cooking phase at the right time .275 f most of the time then 325f at a certain time
This week I finally smoked a Franklin-style Angus brisket in my Traeger pellet smoker. I applied a little olive oil first, to help the rub stick. Next, I rubbed it with coarse-ground pepper and Kosher salt, in a 50-50 mix, applied liberally. Pellet smokers are known for NOT imparting a deep smoky flavor, so I also use a tube smoker "up-wind" of the meat, which really amps up the smoke flavor. I like to place the point of the brisket towards the tube smoker, since that is where the most smoke is, and the meat is thickest there. The wood pellets I used are called Perfect Mix, which has hickory, cherry, apple, and maple wood mixed together. It works great on pork, beef, and chicken - better than anything else I have tried so far. Temp is 225 or 250 degrees for beef and pork, and 350 for chicken (makes the skin crispy.) In my smoker, it is best to cook the brisket fatty side down, to protect against radiant heat. Around 6 or 8 hours into the 12 hour cook, I used a spray bottle to apply a little apple cider vinegar to the top of the brisket. The moisture probably helps the smoke to stick to the meat, and it definitely added a light sweet-sour note to the flavor. This is possibly the best brisket I have ever tasted. Leftovers on successive days seemed even tastier! It's sort of like beef bubble gum, the more you chew it , the more flavor comes out.
Forgot to mention that I do NOT wrap my meats, I like them to get a crunchy bark and plenty of smoke. Also, don't blindly trust the temperature probe - check the way the meat feels with your hand - the temperature probe is only looking at one spot. When you see the internal temp get to 185, start checking the way the meat feels by hand.
Well, sorry to burst any bubbles, although Traegers are nice for novices, you cannot actually say you cooked a "Franklin-style" brisket if: 1) you use a pellet type smoker 2) you put olive oil on your brisket (when you prep it, sprinkle salt pepper and just pat it on) you re not coating it with rub) 3) do not wrap it 4) do not trim it properly 5) use artificial smoke 6) you use rubs other than salt / Pepper What you did do was make your own style brisket, I'm sure it tasted good, I'd eat it, but without actual wood, you not BBQing.
@@gwedoh69 sawdust and glue. It does not even compare to using full oakwood. Being "made from" is the same as Capri Sun Juice bags "made from" real juice. but only needs to have 1% real juice inside. Do real BBQ or stay off my lawn!
Pit temp and meat temp are two different things. He knows at what temp his pit has to be to cook 20 or so briskets at one time. So his temp gauge is right there at the firebox I guarantee he doesn't have 325 at the end of the pit.
Open for less than 4 hours and sells 1400 lbs of meat ... love it .... I am in the process of setting up a BBQ restaurant, and will start with one 1000gallon smoker, but doubt I will have near the business he has, at least not for awhile ..
Ill see what I can do lol ... All my financial backing (friends from the Army) disappeared as soon as I signed the lease agreement on my building, so it is slow going since I am on VA disability, and using that to pay bills and try and work on the place a little at a time ..
I can only hope that your business is doing well by this time though the first year is considered a financial loss. Keep doing your best for GOD and you will please all others in the mean time. Peace be with you.
+Azekiel Yeah- there isn't a slow cooking BBQ-er out there that would cook at that temp.. HOWEVER, he did have his "disclaimer" of it being close to the fire box...
+Azekiel No he's not. Because that's a 1000 gallon tank, he's got to increase the temp a little above the "ideal" ~260-275 (~300-325). On a smaller one you might go the opposite direction (~250).
+Azekiel Do you smoke brisket? Are you a low and slow guy or a hot and fast guy? If you smoke H&F, your temps need to be a minimum of 275. Competition people will smoke it as high as 350.
In his book he mentions Creekstone Farms (primes) and Snake RIver (Wagyu). If you look into higher end briskets you'll find that a lot of them claim to be humane and natural. People that pay good money for high end meat tend to look for these kinds of things, and people taking the time to produce product like this treat their animals well. I cooked a Creekstone and was happy with the meat.
CAM4IV i have heard he uses wagyu. but this video he states a really high end angus close to prime ill go with your statement then that he uses creekstone angus. if that the case then thata great. my local sams club sells creekstone angus brisket flats for 4.50 a pound. i het 8 to 9 pounders thay habe point meat on the ends. i have sold them smoked fot 15.00 a pound to co workers with amazing responses.. great to know.
It would be stupid to do that. You were told wrong. Wagyu is only in Japan, and the intense marbling and fat structure would melt away in the first hour. I have cooked Wagyu beef before, a 14 Oz steak runs about $140 retail. Food costs would be so high. But hes in Texas, so he has plenty of good beef choices to choose from.
If you think for one minute He’s going to reveal his secrets after busting his hump to get where he is I have some ocean front property I’ll sell you in Arizona. I don’t blame him either. He paid the price to get where he is.
Can someone explain why every video he makes he gives different info? One video he said NEVER WRAP a brisket. Other video ALWAYS WRAP One video LET REST 4 hours Next video rest just about an HOUR I think his former employee was honest when he said “his videos aren’t always truthful”
There are lots of variables to consider. I let the meat and weather dictate to me the best course of action. BBQ isn't meant to be easy. I don't think Franklin has been "untruthful" at all. The skill is determining what the best course of action, and Franklin cannot help anyone with that.
Second reply that answers your question. This is my personal preference and may differ to others but this is what works for me. I like to wrap when I am happy with the bark. The meat temp inside should be 150f mark when you do. I would wrap earlier if it is looking dry or it's a hot dry day. Typically you can wrap later if it's a humid day. use a tray of water inside your smoke too and spritz the meat with whatever you want. I wrap with aluminium foil because it's easier to get. After my brisket is done I let sit only an hour before serving uncovered. You only cut up what you plan to serve up at the time. So resting 4 hours, that's silly and means nothing. Because you never cut up all the brisket in one go, it will lose its moisture.
OMG Aaron those guys where assholes. I wish you could teach me, I truly love smoking food. Also I found that pork shoulder works great in soups. Asian soups with noodles and pot stickers, And don't forget the kimchee.
Last summer I showed up at Franklin's on a Wednesday at 10:00am. The hostess told me that where I was in line, I probably wouldn't be eating until about 1:30 - if there was any food left by that time. I had a 2:00 flight back home. Showing up at 9:30 or 10:00 is definitely not recommended. The only way to skip the line was to buy a whole brisket. It was worth each and every one of the 12,000 pennies I spent on it!
Is the 15lb prior to trimming? It was on the smaller side, but certainly was not 1/2 a brisket. Either way, I would travel back to Austin specifically to get more of it!
OK soo... there are no secrets in this video as the title suggests. It's the great Aaron Franklin giving a tour is all. Almost the same tour we've seen on PBS (he's even wearing the shirt) and I'm sure he's given this tour a million times. Nothing secret to lean here, just alaskanjackal jackin yer chain.
Salt Lick is not as good as Franklin's, La Barbeque, or John Mueller's. Might not be as good as Killen's, near Houston.... Not as good as Hutchin's BBQ in McKinney. Oh, I'm from Texas, too. We cook our own BBQ in a professional smoker. We have tasted lots of the best BBQ at the Texas Monthly BBQFest in Austin. And we evaluated lots more in the highly rated BBQ joints in Texas and Tennessee... It's subjective, of course.
I have gone from Snows to John Muellers to Franklins during the same day on purpose a few times and each time I preferred the brisket from Snows. Juggle these three around with Kreutz Market and Blacks and you won't get much argument from me.
GO TO LOCKHART! I don't understand all the people waiting in line when they could drive to Lockhart, get real TX BBQ and come back. Leave Austin, hipsters and get into real Texas. Sigh. Franklin is good, although I get annoyed at people knocking chains. Calm down, people. You're not cooler because you slag on chains. It's tiresome.
