John or Louie? If Louie, never been. 
Normally have my hands full with Austin and Lockhart during the rare opportunities Iām out that way. Iāve heard itās good though, right?
@TheCookie highly recommend starting with his PBS show (book if you really decide to get into the weeds). I think it is a very well produced series, accessible but with sufficient technical details to learn the art. Aaron is one of those nerdy/hipsters that can back up the 'tude with legit skills.
1 Like
those three are legit, althought i havenāt been in a few years and canāt speak for the line.
the market in luling is excellent as well.
mueller in austin i think is another line suck, but iāll defer.
@linus I though TX bbq was all about Lockhart, boy was I wrong. Austin may rank higher as a BBQ destination.
City Marketās sauce kicks ass!
Aaron Franklinās series is almost the whole mouthful. Educational, well-paced, local and hilarious - just enough quirk to round out each episode. The only missing piece is smell-o-vision - that would be glorious.
again iāll defer to those more expert in things austin, but for
a long time the general consensus was you had to get out of austin
to get good bbq.
clearly, over the past few years or more, that has changed.
he really managed to go right the fuck up to the doucheline without quite going over. i enjoyed it.
years and years ago, there was this cool series called āgreat chefs of _________ā. they did a bbq
one i still think about. some old dude in a cowboy hat putting generic salt and pepper on a huge hunk
of cow and talking about what a lame ass cut of beef brisket was.
1 Like
John, and I wouldnāt know but I do hear itās good - saw a very interesting documentary on Franklin/Mueller and their competing styles. I had actually never even known hot & fast was a valid method of brisket prep until seeing said documentary.
[quote=āNs1, post:112, topic:3662ā]
so I guess the only logical thing to do was an SFV beef rib throwdown
[/quote]I was thinking about that. I wouldnāt dare participate, but can make great sides 
.
[quote=āmhlee, post:113, topic:3662, full:trueā]
Iāve been to Franklin.
[/quote]Why am I not surprised 
. Guess I donāt have to ask if it was good.
[quote=āHelper_Monkey, post:117, topic:3662ā]
La Barbecue, which is as good or better, depending on the day.
[/quote]Then why do you think Franklin is more popular? Marketing?
Franklin is OG, LA BBQ smokemaster is Franklin alum.
Theyāre both incredible. Like out-of-this-world tasty.
That being said, when is popularity ever a perfect gauge of quality?
1 Like
well if thatās the barometer then shouldnāt Mueller be busier than Franklin AND La BBQ?
I think location in the heart of Austin benefits Franklin.
1 Like
Thanks @Sgee. I watch Franklinās show, and as I mentioned BBQ Pitmasters on Destination America. Franklin is also a sometime judge on BBQP. I love watching the shows and have gotten great tips. But what Iāve discovered is, it is really a commitment and takes years to become good. Iām not willing to invest in the smokers, etc. to get to that level. If I canāt cook it on the Weber or my Cuisinart gas portable it aināt happening. But Iām really knocked out by you guys/gals.
[quote=āHelper_Monkey, post:132, topic:3662ā]
That being said, when is popularity ever a perfect gauge of quality?
[/quote]That wasnāt my question. So Iāll let you answer that 
.
Itās a lot of workā¦ 
.
2 Likes
If youāre talking about John Lewis, who worked at Franklin, while I believe heās a part owner of La Barbecue, he hasnāt been Austin based for some time, probably close to or over a year. He has his own place in Charleston, SC.
Iām also not sure that La Barbecue is as good as before. Although I didnāt go there (they were closed for an event the day I went), theyāve had a lot of pitmaster turnover since John left, and, from what Iāve seen, their meats have looked a little inconsistent. I hope itās still good. Iāll be back in Texas early next year and Iām planning to go there.
Lockhart was disappointing when I went. Blackās was, by far, the best place in Lockhart. The meats at Kreuz and Smittyās were all seriously overcooked and dry when I went in 2014, and people whoāve gone more recently have said the same. Smittyās meats looked so bad on the cutting block when I went, I didnāt even bother to try it. But, Smittyās is supposed to be back on track now that John Fullilove is back cooking.
As for āOGā, Franklin is part of the Louie Mueller lineage. John Mueller is part of the Louie Mueller family; he also cooked with his sister before they split and she opened La Barbecue. John taught Franklin.
Johnās product wasnāt close to as good as Franklin; I went to John Mueller twice in two days to verify the quality because we first went when he was about to close, so we went again right when he opened. Franklin has better product than John or Louie Mueller in my experience. Franklinās lean brisket was the best cooked and tasting lean brisket I had of all of the places I went to in Central Texas.
Being OG has nothing to do with how good BBQ is in Central Texas in my experience. The only old school places that were really good were Blackās in Lockhart, and Snowās in Lexington. All of the rest of the old school places I tried, including Louie Mueller, Taylor Cafe, Southside Market, Salt Lick, Kreuz, were not as good as Franklin. (I didnāt go to Cooperās or City Market.)
Personally, the one place thatās a āmustā IMHO is Snowās on Saturday morning. It had the best all-around barbecue of the places I tried. And, watching Tootsie work is amazing.
4 Likes
Thatās quite the BBQ Family Tree
Size of the meat is more important IMO. I have had monster IMP 123A and smaller ones. Same goes for IMP 130. I would cook both the same way, all else equal. I use applewood for my beef ribs so my technique may be different than using say red oak.
But BBQ is not complicated. It is meat, smoke and adult beverages. Once I have my initial set up, the hardest part is deciding which beer to drink next.
If anything, practice makes better BBQ.
1 Like