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Welcome to episode 80 of the 
Under Season BBQ Show, and we 

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have a special episode for you. 
But before we get to that, 

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there's this. 
We're the boys and we're here 

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with barbecue and you're 
watching the under season BBQ 

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show, Woo. 
So that's the boys and Emily 

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from B4 Barbecue, and they did 
this week's intro, so big thanks

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to them. 
Yeah, we've got a special guest 

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in the studio today, and you're 
a chef. 

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You're a pit master. 
You are the owner of 

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Interstellar Barbecue in Austin,
TX. 

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You now have a Michelin star. 
And seemingly, you came out of 

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nowhere to rate as highly as #2 
by Texas Monthly, which is 

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crazy. 
Yeah. 

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You seem to fully respect the 
traditional rules and the purity

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of BBQ, but are prepared to 
break them too. 

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And you have led the way in 
pushing modern Texas BBQ beyond 

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brisket, beyond ribs, and beyond
a standard sausage. 

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You launched into BBQ just 
before COVID and not only 

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survived, but used your skills 
as a chef with the medium of 

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barbecue and turned traditional 
barbecue on its head with dishes

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like the Peach Tea pork belly, 
Molay baby back ribs, and 

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pastrami beef ribs. 
And I'm going to cut to the 

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chase right here. 
I've got a picture up of your 

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BBQ up on the screen. 
A picture is worth 1000 words. 

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Welcome to the the Under Season 
BBQ show. 

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John Bates. 
Well. 

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Thank you so much for having me 
and this is a dream come true. 

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So stoked. 
Awesome. 

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Now we've had plenty of pit 
masters asked to do the show and

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we tell everybody exactly the 
same thing. 

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You've got to get yourself to 
Port Macquarie, where our studio

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is located and you have made it 
from the other side of the 

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world. 
Have you found Port Macquarie? 

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It's a gorgeous coast, man. 
I'm so glad that we made the 

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time to come up here and we've 
spent the last few days 

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exploring the coast and the 
beaches and hanging out with the

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folks. 
It's been really nice. 

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All right, we always start off 
the show with our dishes of the 

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week, but these are not dishes 
that were found online. 

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These are dishes that I found on
your Facebook page. 

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And this looks absolutely 
sensational. 

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It's prime grade beef short rib 
skewers, cold smoked and seed 

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crispy on the plancha. 
Tell us more. 

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This is crazy. 
Well, this is a dish that kind 

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of came out of like the need to 
use that product in the 

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restaurants, kind of a big deal 
for us to make sure that we're 

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trying to use everything we can 
make sure the restaurant's 

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profitable. 
But same time I want to like 

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present food that I'm stoked and
excited to eat. 

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So this was kind of like my play
on the classic Texas fajita. 

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We take this trim that we get 
off our short ribs that we have 

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to use in some fashion, clean it
up, shave it down really fine. 

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We marinate in a classic like 
Texas style fajita marinade and 

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then we cold smoke it very few 
hours. 

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We sear it real aggressively 
with the fire or the plancha to 

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get that nice crispiness to it 
and then put it on a homemade 

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flour tortilla with a red dunya,
some onion, some lime cilantro. 

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Like, this dish is kind of like 
me in a nutshell, you know, 

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growing up in South Texas. 
It's awesome. 

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All right, next these are some 
sorghum glazed BBQ duck legs. 

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Duck. 
Yeah, duck. 

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I love duck. 
It's one of my favorite things 

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in the world to eat this dish 
again. 

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You know, a lot of what we do at
the restaurant where we're all 

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about is like taking things that
you can find in Texas. 

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You know, ducks are haunted. 
It's a game animal there, and 

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people hunt them all the time. 
I want to take things you can 

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find in Texas and put it back 
into BBQ. 

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So duck is one of my projects. 
We've served it in a variety of 

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ways, but I think this is the 
best version we've come up with 

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so far. 
And what we do is we meld, like 

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my background as a chef, we 
basically make duck on feet, 

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which is a cured duck that's 
cooked under fat. 

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And then we do a second cook on 
it where we run through the 

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smoker and we glaze it multiple 
times. 

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The sorghum sauce, I think it's 
like the perfect combination of 

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fat and sweet and smoke, kind of
like the poultry version of our 

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pork belly. 
Wow it's awesome. 

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And duck takes smoke so well. 
Oh, it does. 

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Yeah, it's lovely. 
All right, Well, I've put you on

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the spot now, and I've asked you
for some dishes that you've 

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eaten in your life that have 
changed everything for you. 

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Right. 
So obviously, the position that 

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you're in, you're a foodie by 
nature. 

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Yeah. 
And there are certain times in 

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your life that you eat foods and
they kind of change the way you 

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think about things. 
Yeah. 

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So I've asked you to highlight 
them now. 

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Big problem here, you don't take
many photos. 

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Yeah, no, I'm terrible with 
that. 

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So I've had to put some photos 
up on the screen representative 

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of the places that you're 
talking about, just as a little 

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bit of a placeholder so we can 
see. 

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But this is Truth BBQ. 
What did it have such an impact 

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on you? 
What was it? 

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Well, you know, for most of us 
who love barbecue and pursue 

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BBQ, whether you're in the field
cooking it or if you're just an 

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aficionado and you're on that 
trail looking for a great BBQ, 

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we've all had that like aha BBQ 
moment where we have that first 

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bite that just kind of changes 
it all for you. 

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For me, that was truth. 
The restaurant is in Brenham. 

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I was pulling through with my 
family and a little trip out to 

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go camping and I told the wife 
that it's like hey I've got to 

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stop and have some BBQ at this 
place and got to the door, no 

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line. 
Felt pretty fortunate and as 

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soon as I walked in I knew that 
I was in a much different kind 

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of BBQ restaurant. 
I could see from the sides that 

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they were. 
They were all made from scratch 

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and made with love. 
The Pickles were made in house. 

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They had these beautiful layer 
cakes. 

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Everything about it spoke to me 
as a a chef and a cook, but I 

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had never really ever cooked BBQ
at that point. 

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But I just knew it was somewhere
special. 

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Of course when I sat down and 
had my first bite of the brisket

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pulled into a pork rib, you 
know, had some of the pulled 

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pork and the sausage, I just, I 
was blown away. 

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I was like, man, left that meal 
and got in the car and I told my

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wife, you know, and at the time,
I never thought I would open up 

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a BBQ restaurant, but I told 
her, I said, hey, if I ever 

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opened up a BBQ restaurant, 
that's the place. 

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Like that's the one we need to 
try to be like. 

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That needs to be the standard. 
That's the guy that we need to 

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make sure if we ever get in that
game, we need to be on that 

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guy's level. 
And was amazing, changed my 

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life. 
Unreal. 

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There's something about the 
first time that you tried good 

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BBQ that just knocks you for 
six. 

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Oh yeah, for sure. 
I mean, and I'm a native born 

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Texan. 
Everything in Texas revolves 

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around BBQ or Tex Mex. 
You know, every family function,

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every wedding, graduation, 
Kingston, Yetta, Sweet 16, 

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these, all these events bring 
BBQ to the family. 

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So it's a big deal for us. 
I mean, like we don't just, you 

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know, have BBQ because we enjoy 
it. 

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You have BBQ because that's just
the culture. 

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So when you have something that 
changes it for you, that's 

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really insightful and can like 
really inspire a lot of like 

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creativity. 
It was probably about 10 years 

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ago. 
Would that be about right? 

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Yeah. 
I mean, gosh, what are we now, 

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26? 
Yeah. 

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No, this is probably, you have 
to say 10 or 11 years ago at 

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this time, just before he opened
up in Houston. 

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He just, I think he'd made the 
list for the first time when 

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when this when I had my first 
visit there. 

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Because for me, barbecue in 
Texas is an institution and it 

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was always good, but at some 
point, which is probably when 

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you walk through the doors at 
Truth, it became great. 

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Yeah. 
I mean, I think, you know, Aaron

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Franklin kind of laid the 
groundwork for what Leo did, a 

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truth what we're doing here at 
Interstellar. 

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But yeah, I think that was kind 
of that moment about 11-12 years

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ago when BBQ really started to 
like, take that third evolution 

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because I like to think of 
barbecue in three waves, you 

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know, traditional old school 
BBQ. 

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I kind of think Aaron Franklin 
was his own wave, you know, kind

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of changed the game. 
And what you're seeing now I 

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often refer to as like that 
third wave of barbecue. 

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And it felt like that happened 
about 12 years ago. 

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Yep. 
All right, moving on, The French

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Laundry. 
Yeah, in Huntville, California. 

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Tell us about this. 
I mean, this is an iconic place,

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but how did this change the game
for you? 

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As a young chef, this guy was my
hero. 

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Like I followed this guy from 
afar. 

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I couldn't ever, you know, go 
down the road of a traditional 

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chef and like, you know, go work
somewhere for free and peel, you

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know, peas and plate them up 
and, you know, waste a year, 2 

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years of your life working for 
free to get this knowledge and, 

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and move on. 
So what I did is I just read 

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cookbooks, voraciously tested 
recipes from them. 

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And at that point when I was a 
young chef, my favorite cookbook

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and one of my favorite cookbooks
still is the French Laundry 

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cookbook. 
I just was so enamored with it. 

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And when I was younger, and this
was before I had my first child,

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it's probably one of our first 
times we ever had a chance to 

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vacation, go anywhere. 
State of all my money got 

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reservations to the French 
Laundry, something ridiculous 

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like 90 days before the actual 
seating and shut up for dinner. 

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And it was just, it was really 
moving for me because the food 

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was everything I hoped it would 
be. 

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It was fantastic. 
The the technical skill, the 

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presentation, the flavors, and 
the moment that I enjoyed the 

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most about that meal was when I 
actually met Chef Keller and 

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went back to the kitchen. 
Total fanboy, said hello to him 

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and he was so polite and kind 
and humble and talked to me for 

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a few minutes about my career 
and where I was at as a chef. 

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And that really stuck with me. 
The fact that you could make 

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beautiful, amazing food and you 
could also still be a nice 

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person about it. 
So next, I'm not even going to 

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try and pronounce this one, but 
it's in Florence, Italy. 

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Yeah, now I'm going to butcher 
this one too. 

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Trattoria del osti Chiana. 
I don't know. 

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They'll never trust me for for 
pronunciation on anything. 

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But what I do know is that one 
of the best steaks I've had in 

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my life in Florence, we were 
fortunate enough to be there to 

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cook for a catering and a 
wedding. 

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And one of my goals why we were 
there is to track down and have 

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one of these iconic steaks. 
You know, they're this area is 

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very much known for this steak. 
It's a traditional food that 

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have been serving for who knows,
maybe thousands of years. 

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So track it down, get my 
reservation, have this steak. 

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And for me, it just was the 
epitome of like just great 

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cooking. 
It's like just a few simple 

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ingredients executed really 
well, great meat, cooked to the 

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right tenderness, the right 
doneness. 

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It was special. 
And to this day, I still think 

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about that steak because it 
just, it really moved me. 

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I have a similar experience just
outside of the Amalfi Coast. 

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It was a pizza joint of all 
places but they had that exact 

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same steak cooking over the 
charcoal and it was an option 

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that they sold in the 
restaurant. 

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And to this day that's the best 
steak I've ever had. 

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And if you look at it, it's not 
highly marbled, it's not a non 

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Waggu score, but for whatever 
reason the flavour that it 

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produces. 
And in Australia we call that 

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cut the T-bone. 
But I've been to a lot of steak 

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places since, and I can't 
recreate that experience that I 

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had in Italy of eating that 
particular cut of meat well. 

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It's like, you know, there, 
there are some things that are 

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just perfect in certain areas, 
whether it's like bagels in New 

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York, barbecue in Texas, ramen 
and Tokyo. 

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This steak is perfect in that 
region. 

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00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,400
The cattle, the herbs, the oil, 
the, the culture around cooking 

225
00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:36,600
it. 
Everything has come together to 

226
00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:38,240
make something unique that's 
special. 

227
00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:39,840
Yeah. 
You got to go there to go 1. 

228
00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:41,880
Yeah, I loved it too. 
All right. 

229
00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,920
And this is an actual time that 
you took a photo, so. 

230
00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,440
You know, I've gotten to the 
habit of keeping my phone in my 

231
00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,240
pocket when I go out for meals, 
at least for the last five or 

232
00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,640
six years. 
And I want to live in the 

233
00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:56,800
moment. 
I want to enjoy the food. 

234
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,680
I want to be there with friends,
and I want to be with family. 

235
00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:00,800
And I don't want to get, like, 
tied up and trying to take a 

236
00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,160
perfect picture. 
But yeah, this one, I couldn't 

237
00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,200
help myself. 
I had to, you know, borderline 

238
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,080
passable photo and a little 
video. 

239
00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,000
All right, let's move on. 
I've put you on the spot again 

240
00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:15,600
and I've asked you for your top 
five people in BBQ today, OK? 

241
00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:16,560
You ready? 
Yep. 

242
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,960
All right, Miss Tootsie. 
Bit of an eyebrow now. 

243
00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,840
Yeah, no, I really don't have to
explain that one. 

244
00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,760
But I think she's fantastic. 
I love the culture that she 

245
00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,560
brings to barbecue. 
A little bit of attitude when 

246
00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:31,560
you get in her way and she's 
cooking chicken and she's got 

247
00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,960
things to do. 
And she just really speaks of 

248
00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,800
like barbecue in Texas. 
I mean, easy one to point out. 

249
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,560
She would have to be the most 
famous face in BBQ, I would say.

250
00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,320
And if you were to, you know, 
ChatGPT, an image of a pit 

251
00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,000
master, it'd never come up with 
something like Tootsie, right? 

252
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,120
But the fact that she's earned 
so much respect from pretty much

253
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:56,920
universally everybody. 
And she is a hard worker even to

254
00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,120
this day. 
Her resilience, the style of BBQ

255
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,320
that she does, her attitude and 
she's another person that has 

256
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,040
time for everybody. 
Yeah, she does. 

257
00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,080
She'll take a photo, she'll have
a little chat with you and she's

258
00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:09,920
Justin harass cooking at the 
same time. 

259
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,240
Yeah, yeah. 
Lot of love, lot of respect and 

260
00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,680
she's got a great sort of team 
of people around her too. 

261
00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:18,040
And I I think the world about. 
Yeah, Now they're amazing. 

262
00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:22,160
The whole team over there, Clay 
and Carrie and Miss Tootsie, 

263
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:24,200
they have created something 
truly special there. 

264
00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:28,240
And I mean, she uses everything 
that I think Texas should be, 

265
00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,000
you know, hard working, 
dedication to her craft. 

266
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:32,960
She's friendly. 
She's getting a little bit of 

267
00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,720
sass. 
She just does it every day in, 

268
00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:37,080
day out. 
She does this because she loves 

269
00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:38,640
it. 
This is not like, you know, 

270
00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:40,640
she's not doing this because 
she's, like, crushing it. 

271
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,960
I mean, I'm sure she's doing 
better than I am, but, you know,

272
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,640
she does it for the love. 
And I really respect that a lot.

273
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,520
Yeah. 
OK, next, the Mueller family. 

274
00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,120
Oh yeah. 
And you didn't say a specific 

275
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,320
Mueller, you said the family. 
Yeah, no, I think they're hugely

276
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,520
important, Texas BBQ. 
I have a ton of respect for 

277
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:04,200
Bobby and Wayne and you know, 
John and Leanne, they all have 

278
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,080
an imprint on what I'm doing, 
affected very much what I'm 

279
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,040
doing nowadays. 
So I think it's really important

280
00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,680
to understand your history and 
your roots about your food and 

281
00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:15,160
your cuisine and, and respect 
that because it's important 

282
00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,560
because you can't, you can't 
elevate your food if you don't 

283
00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,200
know where it's coming from, if 
you don't know what's that 

284
00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,080
about. 
And I think these guys really, 

285
00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:26,240
you know, epitomize the history 
of Texas BBQ done the right way 

286
00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,640
in a small town. 
That building's got tons of 

287
00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,720
patina. 
I mean, these guys are legends 

288
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:32,640
and Texas barbecue. 
And if you're not familiar with 

289
00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,880
them, they are kind of like the 
Kennedys of the BBQ world. 

290
00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:38,640
It's like anything they touch, 
you know it's going to be 

291
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,120
probably pretty amazing or, or 
it's going to be moving. 

292
00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,120
Yeah, and all of the offspring 
have gone off to do their own 

293
00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,600
things and had success. 
It's a a long story that we 

294
00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:49,320
won't go into, but. 
Too much there. 

295
00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:51,680
There's a lot of history there 
and there's a lot of water under

296
00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:55,160
the bridge, but Bobby for me was
old school BBQ through and 

297
00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:55,720
through. 
Yep. 

298
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:58,520
But Wayne? 
Wayne bridges the gap between 

299
00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,480
old school barbecue and new 
school BBQ for me from the first

300
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,440
generation or the 1st wave and 
the second wave. 

301
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,520
He's stuck in a world where he 
wants to keep the legacy of his 

302
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,160
father alive, and at the same 
time there he wants to keep the 

303
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,800
BBQ as good as it can be, but 
sticking to traditional roots. 

304
00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,760
And in many ways he is holding 
the Fort. 

305
00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,280
I feel almost single handedly 
for still representing 

306
00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:24,880
traditional American BBQ the way
it was, but with a modern sort 

307
00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:27,280
of spin to it. 
But he's keeping it the way it 

308
00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:28,920
was. 
Yeah, now, I mean, he walks a 

309
00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,160
fine line. 
He's got so much tradition and 

310
00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,240
so much history to live up to, 
but yet he's got to make sure 

311
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:35,720
that his food remains means 
relevant. 

312
00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,480
The restaurant remains relevant.
I think he does it in a really 

313
00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,280
way that's very classy and with 
a lot of respect to the food. 

314
00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:44,520
And you know, he's not going to,
he's not the guy who's going to 

315
00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,600
show up with like a bowl of with
some brisket in it and nor 

316
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,360
should he. 
But he does make a just a mean 

317
00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,000
ass beef rib and everything 
about the restaurant feels 

318
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,400
really relevant even though the 
style of cooking is still very 

319
00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,480
traditional. 
Yeah, if someone said to me, 

320
00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:03,880
take me to a BBQ restaurant that
epitomizes Texas barbecue and 

321
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,040
take me to 1, that's where I'm 
going. 

322
00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,480
Yeah, now he's definitely. 
It's like one or two 

323
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,600
restaurants, and that's probably
my choice too. 

324
00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,960
Next, Daniel Belude. 
Not really a BBQ guy. 

325
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,120
No, no. 
I mean I kind of took some 

326
00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,800
liberty with the list here. 
I mean, it was, I felt like it 

327
00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:23,200
was like to me, the people that 
influenced me the most, like 

328
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,480
going into BBQ people for me 
that were the most influential 

329
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,160
people in my life is now a chef 
and, and a BBQ man, French 

330
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:33,160
strain chef, New York 
restaurants, a guy that I 

331
00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,280
followed and cooked through his 
book cookbooks, you know, like 

332
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,400
just every day I could to learn 
as much as possible. 

333
00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,360
And what I always respected 
about him was the dedication to 

334
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,240
his craft, to the ingredients. 
And even though he was serving 

335
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,640
food that was very, you know, 
high end fancy fine dining, it 

336
00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,040
still spoke to me in a way where
it's like, but it was still 

337
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,720
accessible even for a guy in the
middle of Texas who had never 

338
00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:58,720
been to New York, never been to 
a French restaurant. 

339
00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,480
But I loved his food. 
And for me, he's always been a 

340
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,440
big influence for me as a cook 
and a chef. 

341
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:07,920
And you know that for me means 
it's an influence on my BBQ all.

342
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,120
Right in the same vein, Thomas 
Keller. 

343
00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,320
Yep, same way. 
I mean, I mentioned him earlier,

344
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:14,840
we talked about cooking through 
his cookbook and again, the 

345
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,480
importance of ingredients, the 
importance of technique, on the 

346
00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,800
importance of building a team 
and respecting the ingredients. 

347
00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,360
I feel like these are all things
that are really important in 

348
00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,640
BBQ, especially nowadays. 
And for me, that was my guiding 

349
00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:28,160
light. 
Like chef below. 

350
00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,960
They were these, you know, 2 
chefs that even though I never 

351
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,120
met them, never cooked with 
them, they were inspirations for

352
00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:34,400
me. 
Yeah, I think there's a lot to 

353
00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,120
be said for people like him that
take the time to talk to young 

354
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,080
chefs. 
Yeah, that 2 minutes, I mean, 

355
00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,200
you've got a Michelin star now 
and that two minutes might have 

356
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:45,720
been the difference. 
It could have been, yeah. 

357
00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:48,240
They'll give you that motivation
to say, hey, you know, these 

358
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,680
people are approachable. 
I can learn from them. 

359
00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:52,120
They're prepared to give me my 
time. 

360
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,120
Don't know if they realize how 
important those moments are for,

361
00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,160
you know, fans or chefs. 
Well, you don't realize that as 

362
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,280
a person, you know, and not even
in the food world, but just as a

363
00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,560
in this world as a human, you 
have that effect on people as 

364
00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:08,000
you travel through this life and
how you treat them with a little

365
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,040
bit of kindness. 
Giving them a moment of your 

366
00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:12,760
time answering a question 
thoughtfully and honestly 

367
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,359
instead of being smart ass or 
sarcastic about it or not even 

368
00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:17,640
giving them time to answer a 
question. 

369
00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:21,400
You have a chance to really 
affect people and it's amazing. 

370
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:25,319
You don't know what's going to 
happen, but you do can you can 

371
00:17:25,319 --> 00:17:26,520
make a big difference in this 
world. 

372
00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,920
All right, next, it's your dad. 
Oh, yeah, my pops love him for 

373
00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:32,560
me. 
My dad was really the guide in 

374
00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,120
life for me as a business person
and a chef and a cook in a lot 

375
00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:40,440
of ways because he's just Texas 
boy, grew up in West of San 

376
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,000
Antonio in a small town called 
Kanipa, New Valley. 

377
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:45,120
My buddy Ernie's from New 
Valley. 

378
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:46,400
So we connect over that a little
bit. 

379
00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:48,920
You know, he was the kind of guy
that if he wanted something in 

380
00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:53,280
life, he had to do it, build his
own cars, remodel his own house.

381
00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,280
If there was foundation work to 
be done. 

382
00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,520
I was digging the holes and he 
was playing the stuff behind it.

383
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,240
He was the kind of guy that 
always worked really, really 

384
00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,200
hard on things. 
But he came home every night, 

385
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:04,360
took care of the family, sat 
down to dinner with us. 

386
00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,120
And he's always been somebody 
who's been like a guiding light 

387
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:09,720
for me as well. 
It's like I want to work hard. 

388
00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:12,120
I want to put my heart into it, 
come home, have dinner with my 

389
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:13,800
family. 
You know, I want to be like my 

390
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,120
dad. 
So I'm getting pretty close. 

391
00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,680
Could he cook BBQ? 
He cooked a pretty good steak. 

392
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,280
He didn't cook much BBQ. 
All right, moving on. 

393
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,560
Top five BBQ joints. 
Yes, now this is your chance to 

394
00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:29,440
embrace your inner BBQ critic, 
and I've asked you to pick your 

395
00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:32,400
top five places that you would 
suggest if you had to put a list

396
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,160
together. 
OK, you've featured on a lot of 

397
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,720
other lists, but this is your 
opportunity to create your own 

398
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,840
top five BBQ joints. 
Yep. #1 again. 

399
00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:44,760
Truth BBQ. 
Yeah, I mean, my top three in 

400
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,960
Texas BBQ is pretty 
interchangeable on any giving 

401
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:48,640
day. 
I think any of these guys could 

402
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,160
be doing some of the best 
barbecue in the state of Texas. 

403
00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,840
But truth is always one of the 
ones that I mentioned when 

404
00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,240
people ask me for my top five. 
They're making their own 

405
00:18:57,240 --> 00:18:58,360
products now. 
Oh yeah. 

406
00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:00,720
So they don't mess around. 
They're serious business. 

407
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,840
And Leo comes from a restaurant 
family. 

408
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:04,440
He's not the first one in the 
family to do this. 

409
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,320
So he's seasoned. 
He knows how to run a 

410
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:07,520
restaurant. 
He knows how to do it really 

411
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:09,200
well. 
He learned from his family. 

412
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:11,280
So yeah, we're good. 
Exceptional. 

413
00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,800
Yeah. 
Cadillac Barbecue in Dallas, TX.

414
00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:18,520
Yeah, so Cadillac, I love these 
guys. 

415
00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,320
I love what they do. 
They were one of the first 

416
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:24,160
places that I know of that was 
using like a Wagyu crossbreed or

417
00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,920
a Texas Wagyu for their BBQ. 
They also do this really great 

418
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:29,960
barbecued Bologna. 
They make this house made 

419
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,840
Bologna with the Wagyu trim for 
it. 

420
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:33,320
I think it's just an excellent 
restaurant. 

421
00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:35,680
I love the vibe, I love the 
feel, I love the food. 

422
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,560
They do a great job. 
They also do whole hog there, 

423
00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:39,920
which one of the few places in 
Texas that do it and do it 

424
00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,680
really well. 
So yeah, everything about them I

425
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,480
really enjoy. 
I like their food and I think 

426
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:46,160
it's a great experience. 
I highly recommend them. 2M 

427
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:49,120
Smokehouse. 
Yeah, this one's in San Antonio,

428
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:51,040
if I believe. 
Yeah, yeah, No, this is the kind

429
00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:53,720
of BBQ restaurant that I wish I 
had in Corpus when I was growing

430
00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,640
up. 
It's kind of like the beautiful 

431
00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,320
fusion of like Texas and Tex Mex
cuisine. 

432
00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,880
They do this really great 
sausage that's got like roasted 

433
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,640
Serrano and Oaxaca cheese in it.
Just dynamite. 

434
00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,080
They do a Mac and cheese with 
crushed chicharron on top. 

435
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,040
Just everything they do really 
speaks of like barbecue in San 

436
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:13,520
Antonio. 
When I'm looking for that 

437
00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,920
combination of things that make 
me feel good, when I'm, when I 

438
00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,720
want to go home, when I've been 
traveling, when I eat, get back 

439
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,960
and like do the things I love 
and eat the things I love. 

440
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,400
I always want barbecue and I 
always want Tex Mex. 

441
00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,480
And here I can get them both at 
the same time. 

442
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,840
Perfect. 
OK, next brat. 

443
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:29,720
Yeah, You know, I've been 
blessed. 

444
00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:33,000
We've been able to travel all 
over the world, get to try other

445
00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:35,400
types of BBQ. 
I think it's really important 

446
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,800
that you get out of your comfort
zone and you get out of the the 

447
00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,400
standard model, like the low and
slow when it comes to what you 

448
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,400
know, what BBQ is for me here, 
all live fire cooked restaurant.

449
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:47,520
It's in London. 
They're cooking their breads in 

450
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,440
a wood fired oven. 
They're cooking their meats hot 

451
00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,320
and fast. 
They're hanging some of the 

452
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,720
proteins up high where you can 
cook low and slow over the the 

453
00:20:55,720 --> 00:20:58,200
heat and the smoke and then 
finish it on the fire. 

454
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,080
It's definitely not a Texas 
style BBQ restaurant, but I 

455
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,240
think it's got all the right DNA
and I think it's a fantastic 

456
00:21:04,240 --> 00:21:06,520
restaurant. 
OK, this is one that me and you 

457
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,040
both share our love for, and 
it's Fazenda Chirascada. 

458
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,000
It's a place that I also love in
Sao Paulo, in Brazil. 

459
00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,360
Yeah, I think that may have been
the time I've met you. 

460
00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:18,920
First was in churrescada in 
Brazil, in Sao Paulo. 

461
00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,760
I had never been to a proper 
churrescada, and when I got to 

462
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,680
this place, I was immediately 
blown away. 

463
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,920
I mean, it's like the size of a 
football field. 

464
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,440
It's freaking huge. 
And every table was full of 

465
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,720
Brazilians just chowing down and
crushing, you know, all forms of

466
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,400
beef available to you. 
The one, the dish that really 

467
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,240
like spoke to me when we were 
here and we had this aside from 

468
00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,160
this amazing like cheese bread 
they served, which is, you know,

469
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:44,640
not BBQ. 
It's still really good. 

470
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,320
Was the, the copine, the, the, 
the Brahma hump that they 

471
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,560
cooked. 
And when they cut into it and I 

472
00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:53,240
looked at it, I'd never had it 
before. 

473
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,600
You know, it's like, I almost 
thought it was like moist 

474
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,680
brisket and was quickly 
corrected by the Brazilians at 

475
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:00,200
the table that it was not 
brisket. 

476
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,520
But yeah, for me, it was one of 
those like, restaurants moments,

477
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,080
very similar to the early 
restaurants we talked about that

478
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,760
was like, wow, this is like, 
completely different and just so

479
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:10,840
amazing. 
And again, you know, there are 

480
00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:12,880
different ways to cook meat with
fire. 

481
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,760
The original BBQ, you know, 
they're not traditional in the 

482
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,040
sense of like, they're not like 
Texas BBQ, but they're doing 

483
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,360
great work. 
They're cooking great things and

484
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:23,200
for me this is like, you know, 
the pity of me of like Brazilian

485
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:24,720
BBQ. 
Yeah, the part that really 

486
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,040
impressed me is I've been to a 
lot of BBQ joints in Texas and 

487
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,760
America, and I've been to a lot 
of BBQ joints in Australia. 

488
00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,360
But when I walked in here, it 
felt like there was 1000 seats. 

489
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,160
Yeah, they were cooking. 
There was fucking tables and 

490
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,920
chairs everywhere and people 
were partying and having fun and

491
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,000
there was families and people. 
But the food was exceptional. 

492
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,560
They were pumping it out at 
scale and the I hadn't seen 

493
00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:48,040
anything that big. 
No, I haven't seen. 

494
00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,320
I didn't. 
I didn't know you could do a 

495
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,120
restaurant that big. 
I mean, for Christ sakes, they 

496
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,280
sell Dodge trucks and I think 
Harleys there too. 

497
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,160
I mean they do everything. 
But yeah, the the love for food 

498
00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:01,840
and family and like celebration 
that you find in Brazil, it's 

499
00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,400
infectious. 
And that restaurant was just a 

500
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,200
small bit of it. 
Yeah, it blew my mind. 

501
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,080
They had their own dry aging 
butcher shop. 

502
00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:10,680
Not a dry aging cabinet, a 
butcher shop. 

503
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,320
Yeah. 
And then they had their own 

504
00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,080
stage where they had music and 
they've got bars, huge, big open

505
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,160
fire cooking area. 
They're doing low and slow at 

506
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,680
the back on big offset pits. 
It's all set in what I would say

507
00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,280
is like a really old homestead. 
So they use part of the outside 

508
00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,600
and the inside. 
They had their own merchandise. 

509
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,960
It blew my mind. 
It was everything they they were

510
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,680
firing all cylinders. 
All right, let's move on. 

511
00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:35,440
Travel events and experiences. 
You've been very fortunate, as 

512
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,960
have I, to travel around the 
world with your love of BBQ. 

513
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,520
We're not moving too far away 
because this is Traskara. 

514
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,640
It's a festival that you 
attended as a guest chef and you

515
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:47,960
cooked there and it's probably 
one of the coolest events I've 

516
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:49,920
ever been to, and maybe even you
too. 

517
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,160
Oh yeah, no, it's up there. 
When people ask me about food 

518
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:55,360
events, my favorite food events,
this is always one of a couple 

519
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:57,360
that I mentioned. 
To be honest, it was my first 

520
00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,280
time travelling out of the 
United States. 

521
00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,400
Wow, I mean, unless you count 
hopping the border in Mexico to 

522
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,080
go to Madam Morris and, you 
know, hang out for the day. 

523
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,600
But this is my first like real 
international trip. 

524
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:11,640
BBQ helped me get there and I 
just was immensely impressed 

525
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:13,840
with everything. 
The commitment that the 

526
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:15,360
Brazilian chefs have for this 
event. 

527
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,600
You can see that it is very 
important the displays, the 

528
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,640
amount of ingredients and 
techniques they bring. 

529
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:25,320
It's like a it's like a carnival
of food and it's just, it's such

530
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:26,360
a blast. 
It's wild. 

531
00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:29,320
And while you were there, 
someone built a pit for you. 

532
00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:34,400
Yes, this is Mario, he shed at 
my restaurant in Texas one day. 

533
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,960
It was probably about six years 
ago and I was cooking, you know,

534
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:39,160
I think I was on the brisket 
cooked. 

535
00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,200
So I was cooking in the 
afternoon, working into the 

536
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,880
evening. 
He just starts to pepper me with

537
00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,840
questions about what I like 
about my BBQ pit, what I not 

538
00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:48,720
like about my BBQ pit. 
What would I do differently? 

539
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,120
Talk to me about the 
thermodynamics and the flow. 

540
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:54,400
And I was like, who is this guy?
But we chatted for about an hour

541
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,960
and then, you know, basically I 
was like, hey, you know, I've 

542
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,760
got to get back to doing other 
things. 

543
00:24:58,760 --> 00:24:59,800
It's really great chatting with 
you. 

544
00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:00,800
I thought I'd never see him 
again. 

545
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,680
I get invited to Truscotta and 
then the first, one of the first

546
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,200
people that reach out to me is 
Mario. 

547
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,160
And he's like, hey, I would love
to build you a BBQ pit. 

548
00:25:08,160 --> 00:25:10,560
And I was like, no, that's 
ridiculous. 

549
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:12,520
Can't do that. 
But he insisted. 

550
00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,400
He really wanted the opportunity
to show his work in, you know, 

551
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,640
one of the premier events in 
Brazil. 

552
00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:21,520
He built me a BBQ pit. 
He built these two for Ernie, 

553
00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,880
for Burbine and so we were 
cooking side by side. 

554
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,400
Ernie had these, you know, this 
dual 350 setup or 250 setup and 

555
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,120
then I had 1000 gallon and it 
was pretty amazing. 

556
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,680
Yeah, I just remember when he 
rolled in with these pits, they 

557
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,440
were unlike anything I've ever 
seen because the firebox was 

558
00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,640
almost level with the chamber. 
Yeah, yeah. 

559
00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,040
He's just, you know, he's a 
welding engineer. 

560
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,000
He's a trained engineer and 
welder, and he thinks 

561
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,600
differently about how he puts 
his stuff together. 

562
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,000
And I was just super impressed. 
I mean, that's the first 1000 

563
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,600
gallon pit he built and the flow
and the consistency on it 

564
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,360
shockingly good. 
And then what was really funny 

565
00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,320
too is like, nobody had seen 
anything like this, I think, at 

566
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:01,480
Churroscotto before. 
And people were just like, they 

567
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,040
were going nuts over it. 
They couldn't believe how big 

568
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:05,920
and massive. 
And I think one guy rolled to 

569
00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:07,280
me. 
He's like, hey mate, you know, 

570
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:08,560
you can cook a whole man in 
there. 

571
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,200
I said, yeah, probably. 
He's like, no, really. 

572
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:13,680
And then he pulls up his phone 
and he shows me a picture of 

573
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:15,560
himself. 
He had climbed into the BBQ bit 

574
00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:17,680
in the middle of the night and 
had his boys take a picture of 

575
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:19,040
him. 
It was, it was pretty funny. 

576
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,640
His name is RAF and he may or 
may not have been on our crew. 

577
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,000
Oh. 
Yeah, you, you were guys are 

578
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,640
responsible for that. 
He got in there clumsy. 

579
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,400
There was 2 two of us in there. 
I wasn't in there, but there was

580
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,880
2 Australians in there in that 
pit to prove how big it was and 

581
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,360
it was a beautiful pit. 
And then somehow you got it back

582
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:36,040
to Texas. 
Yeah, no, I loved it. 

583
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:39,120
And you know, The funny thing 
is, like after the event, Maria 

584
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:42,720
was like, do you want this pit? 
I was like, well, I can't, like,

585
00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,800
check this, you know, he says, 
well, I don't have anywhere to 

586
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:48,600
store it. 
And he's like, OK, well, let's 

587
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,040
see what we can figure out. 
Let me get back home and let's 

588
00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:54,720
see if we can figure out the 
myriad of, like, traps and 

589
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,200
things that it takes to ship 
internationally. 

590
00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:00,800
And yeah, so we had it boxed up 
and sent to the Port of Houston 

591
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,400
and I picked it up. 
So cool, and it's still at the 

592
00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:04,840
restaurant today. 
Oh yeah, it's a huge part of the

593
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:06,800
restaurant. 
It was our third BBQ pit. 

594
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:09,520
It was much needed on the daily 
basis. 

595
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,760
My Boy War dog usually cooks on 
the true and it runs a lot of 

596
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,320
our pork belly, our sausages, 
some of our lamb shoulders. 

597
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:19,640
Love our R&D stuff. 
Goes through this BBQ pit. 

598
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,480
OK, next you took over the 
electric at the Ned and you 

599
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,240
brought your BBQ to London and 
you had a month of sold out 

600
00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:27,880
dinners. 
Yeah, I was crazy. 

601
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:29,200
Yeah. 
I didn't know what to expect. 

602
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,200
I got this e-mail in my inbox 
and it looked kind of sketchy, 

603
00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:34,880
you know, like, hey, bring your 
restaurant to London. 

604
00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:36,400
I'm like, all right, this is a 
scam. 

605
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,280
But I was intrigued enough to at
least set up the call, and it 

606
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:41,400
was probably one of the best 
decisions I've ever made. 

607
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,840
The team there at the Ned, super
committed to make the vision 

608
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,520
happen. 
Didn't say no to anything, gave 

609
00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,000
me all the people that we need. 
They didn't worry about the 

610
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,440
budget. 
It was like, if we need to bring

611
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,640
in a BBQ pit, we'll bring in a 
BBQ pit. 

612
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:55,880
And so yeah, they were super 
supportive. 

613
00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,760
And it was just really surreal 
because we sold out a month of 

614
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,080
dinners and, and lunches, all of
them in a matter of like, I 

615
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:04,280
don't know, 96 hours. 
It was pretty crazy. 

616
00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:08,080
The, the Brits are mad for BBQ 
right now that it's a thing, 

617
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:12,440
it's a movement in the UK. 
And it was really nice to be a 

618
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,440
part of it, kind of throw our 
hat in the ring and cook some 

619
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,960
BBQ for folks. 
And it was pretty surreal 

620
00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:18,040
because it's a really nice 
hotel. 

621
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:19,640
I mean, it's, you know, it's a 
nice place. 

622
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,320
And one of the many questions I 
had is like, So what do you 

623
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,600
think about cooking barbecue in 
such a nice restaurant? 

624
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,520
It's like, well, it feels a 
little different, but I think 

625
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:29,360
we've done a good job. 
But yeah, it was a lot of fun. 

626
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:31,400
Really amazing. 
It's crazy how in a very short 

627
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,800
amount of time England has 
really jumped on the BBQ 

628
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,760
bandwagon because they kind of 
got into it at around about the 

629
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:39,320
same time Australia did. 
OK, it seemed like it really 

630
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,760
took off in Australia from the 
get go, but there was a lot of 

631
00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:45,680
restaurants that started in the 
UK and in London specifically 

632
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,720
that it didn't last. 
I don't think, I don't think the

633
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:52,000
Brits knew what BBQ was, but 
more recently they're crushing 

634
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:54,240
it over there. 
Yeah, I mean, you get, you got 

635
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,440
guys that have figured it out, 
they've cracked the nut, they've

636
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,080
come to Texas, they've found the
supply chain. 

637
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,160
And I think that was probably 
the biggest like thing that was 

638
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:03,800
holding them back was like the 
grass fed beef in England. 

639
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,480
It's great for a steak, terrible
for BBQ. 

640
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,360
Yeah. 
So finding the right beef, 

641
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,680
getting access to it, I think 
has really helped move it along 

642
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:13,800
quite a bit. 
All right, lastly, cooking your 

643
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:17,480
childhood food in ABBA Dubai at 
the Michelin Guide Food 

644
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,960
Festival. 
Yeah, International. 

645
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,720
Again, like surreal moments. 
I mean, BBQ has taken me so many

646
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,600
places that I never would have 
expected. 

647
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,440
All I wanted to do is pay my 
bills and cook something that I 

648
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:31,800
love. 
This opened up the doors to 

649
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:35,720
traveling halfway across the 
world and cooking barbecue and 

650
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:39,440
Abu Dhabi, which just completely
surreal put on by the Michelin 

651
00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,560
Guide. 
They brought us over there and 

652
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,720
you know, there were no proper 
BBQ pits. 

653
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:46,280
So for this one, I really leaned
into like cooking food for my 

654
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:50,360
childhood, leaned heavily into 
like Tex Mex flavors and quick 

655
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:52,440
cooking things, direct heat 
cooking things. 

656
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,000
And it was just such a pleasure.
It was like really nice to see 

657
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,240
people's reactions to the fact 
that like this is the white guy 

658
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,400
from Texas in Abu Dhabi cooking 
barbecue and like, why are you 

659
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:02,200
here? 
And I was like, well, they 

660
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:04,960
invited me and that just started
the conversation. 

661
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,680
And it often led to about like, 
where we had connections over 

662
00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:10,080
food and culture and just real 
pleasure. 

663
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:11,640
Awesome. 
And these are some of the dishes

664
00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:13,800
what were. 
They So this is a short rib. 

665
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:15,080
I want a short rib. 
I'm sorry. 

666
00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:19,360
It's a flanking rib that we cold
smoked in advance before the 

667
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,360
events start every day. 
Finished it hot and fast over an

668
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,560
ironwood fire and then glazed it
with my Texas classic BBQ sauce.

669
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:29,840
Some pickled white onion, a 
little bit of sesame seed on 

670
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,360
there. 
Cooked just a slightly over 

671
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,760
medium rare so it's still tender
but smoky. 

672
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,280
Really, really nice over here. 
We did a little day, which is a 

673
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:40,800
childhood favorite of mine. 
You know, corn on the cob or 

674
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:45,840
Esquite when it's in the cup 
with dried chilies and cilantro 

675
00:30:45,840 --> 00:30:48,240
and onion and pumpkin seed and 
cut the hot cheese. 

676
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,640
A little bit of South Texas and 
Abu Dhabi. 

677
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:52,600
Very cool. 
All right, bucket list. 

678
00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,120
You've done a lot of things 
already. 

679
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:55,800
Yeah, but there's a lot of 
things to do. 

680
00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,120
Oh, yeah. 
I've asked you for the number 

681
00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,320
one thing on your bucket list. 
And what you've told me is it is

682
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,600
a restaurant in Singapore called
Burnt Ends. 

683
00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:05,960
And the chef's name there is an 
Australian, by the way, David 

684
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:06,840
Pint. 
Yeah. 

685
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:10,040
One of those restaurants I just 
like got a knock off the list. 

686
00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,320
I've been blessed to to travel 
and have food in different parts

687
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,640
of the world and I really want 
to try his version of, you know,

688
00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:20,480
Australian barbecue and 
something as foreign and exotic 

689
00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:22,080
as Singapore. 
To me that just sounds like an 

690
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:25,720
amazing time and I'm very much 
hope that I have the opportunity

691
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:27,040
to eat there one day. 
It would be great. 

692
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,520
He's got 2 restaurants over in 
Singapore and I want to say I 

693
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,320
have a tattoo of the exact cow 
that is on the front door of one

694
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,000
of those restaurants. 
But this is his flagship here 

695
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,080
and I would say I'm going to go 
on the record here and say this 

696
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:43,280
is the best fit out of a BBQ 
slash live fire restaurant 

697
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:47,000
anywhere in the world. 
Wow, yeah, I mean, you're can't 

698
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,080
wait to experience it as well. 
He also probably has one of the 

699
00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:52,240
coolest BBQ cookbooks he's ever 
done. 

700
00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,720
It's a monster and I'm yet to 
get my hand on it, but it looks 

701
00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,600
absolutely awesome. 
A good friend of mine, Adam 

702
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,200
Robert, has got a signed copy 
and it looks phenomenal. 

703
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:02,960
Yeah, no, I actually was able to
get a copy of it sent to me. 

704
00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:05,280
It's a really nice read. 
It's really well put together. 

705
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:09,000
You can tell that the book 
really represents, I think 

706
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,080
represents what he's trying to 
do there at the restaurant, 

707
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:12,800
which is what a good cookbook 
should do. 

708
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,040
It should feel like an extension
of the restaurant in the chef. 

709
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,280
Kind of starting to think there 
are now chefs that are super 

710
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:23,240
talented that are enamoured by 
the fire and the flame and 

711
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,040
barbecue and smoke and those 
sorts of techniques. 

712
00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:30,320
Then you've got BBQ people that 
are all about the fire and the 

713
00:32:30,320 --> 00:32:33,520
smoke and BBQ techniques that 
are enamoured by a chef's 

714
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:37,000
precision and ability to add 
flavours and spices and 

715
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,480
ingredients and really push the 
boundaries, and those two things

716
00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,280
are starting to come together. 
Yeah, I think it's a beautiful 

717
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:45,560
time for for all things barbecue
and live fire cooking is because

718
00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,200
it's reaching the level of 
respect that, you know, Michelin

719
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,240
is like giving, you know, stars 
to live fire restaurants and a 

720
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,600
BBQ restaurants. 
And I think the cuisine is 

721
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:57,200
really starting to get the 
respect that it deserves. 

722
00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:59,560
So yeah, it's a beautiful time 
to be in BBQ on live fire. 

723
00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:01,440
Yep. 
All right, let's move on to some

724
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,880
talking points and maybe some 
serious stuff. 

725
00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:05,400
Oh. 
No, don't get serious on me, 

726
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,440
everybody. 
The state of Texas BBQ. 

727
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,480
So it's a bit of a worry right 
now because the menus of Texas 

728
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,880
barbecues are generally very 
protein focused and they're all 

729
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,040
based on weight and price per 
weight. 

730
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:22,120
It's not a really fun time to be
in a traditional Texas BBQ 

731
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,440
restaurant selling meat by the 
weight because meat is expensive

732
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:26,760
as it's ever been. 
It is. 

733
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,000
People are very reluctant to pay
more. 

734
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:31,200
What's the tipping point here? 
What's going to happen? 

735
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,160
I don't know. 
I'm, I'm very worried about it 

736
00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,800
myself. 
You know, BBQ was originally 

737
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,240
basically everyday working man's
food. 

738
00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,320
It wasn't expensive. 
It wasn't, you weren't going to 

739
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,840
break the bank if you were to go
have dinner or go have lunch at 

740
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,400
a BBQ restaurant. 
But with the cost of goods and 

741
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,880
services and the scarcity of 
supplies every week, every 

742
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,760
month, every year, our costs to 
do business and barbecue in 

743
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:55,640
Texas just goes up. 
It is hard. 

744
00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,080
We do our best, you know, I 
should be really charging like 3

745
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,360
times as much as I charge for 
brisket if I was going to try to

746
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,600
make any money on brisket. 
So you have to figure out how to

747
00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:06,200
make money in other parts of the
restaurant. 

748
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:09,120
So it's very challenging. 
It's a tough time, but you know,

749
00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,800
when it gets hard, it's often 
good to look in words and take 

750
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,679
those challenges and figure out 
ways to make those advantages. 

751
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,520
And I think the good operators 
in the long run will be able to 

752
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:21,719
take, you know, what is a 
tougher moment, hopefully, and 

753
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,480
then come up with some things 
that you meet the moment and 

754
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:26,880
then also make them excel, 
whether it's like cooking less 

755
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,960
extensive proteins like chicken 
or focusing on vegetables, God 

756
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,800
forbid vegetables. 
But, you know, something like 

757
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:34,120
that. 
I think there are ways to work 

758
00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:35,440
around it. 
But yeah, it's been tough and 

759
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,520
it's hard. 
And you're not seeing as many 

760
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:39,239
restaurants open up right now 
because of it. 

761
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:41,360
Yeah, and we're starting to lose
a few good ones too. 

762
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,199
But what I would say is since 
COVID, meat prices have almost 

763
00:34:45,199 --> 00:34:47,480
doubled, yes. 
And I don't think they're done 

764
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,480
yet. 
I feel like I've gone into BBQ 

765
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,400
at the absolute worst time in 
the history of man to open up a 

766
00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:54,480
BBQ restaurant because pre 
COVID. 

767
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,520
I mean I was paying 3 bucks a 
pound and now I'm lucky if I see

768
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,360
anything less than 6. 
And that's when in, you know, 

769
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:04,440
things are good. 
Like there's plenty of cows. 

770
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,840
It's cool. 
It's not the high season like 

771
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,480
once we get into the summer 
those numbers creep up to 7-8 

772
00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:12,720
dollars a pound. 
It's a worldwide thing, too. 

773
00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:14,800
Anyway, that's not just Texas. 
We're all dealing with it. 

774
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,720
But you notice it more in Texas 
because there's just so much 

775
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,440
love for barbecue and the way 
the the cuisine is built, being 

776
00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,480
so protein heavy, people don't 
want to get a slice of brisket. 

777
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,400
They want to get like half the 
brisket. 

778
00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,800
It's expensive. 
And look, I don't really know 

779
00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,720
the economics or the science or 
the maths or whatever you want 

780
00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:34,640
to call it, but the rest of the 
world has also fallen in love 

781
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,360
with barbecue. 
And whether you're in Sweden or 

782
00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:41,200
China or Japan, they're buying 
American beef, Australian beef, 

783
00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,720
Brazilian beef, and there's only
so much of it. 

784
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,000
It's not like we've grown the 
supply that much. 

785
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:47,840
No, no, no. 
It's a finite resource. 

786
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,800
I mean, you can only go so many 
cattle in an area and the demand

787
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:54,520
it just, it's sensation. 
It's like, you know, it's 

788
00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:56,680
tougher and tougher. 
Yeah, I don't know where it will

789
00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:59,320
end, but I really do hope that 
people get out there and support

790
00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,800
their local pit master and 
understand what they're dealing 

791
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,880
with and stop kind of sticking 
their head in the sand and 

792
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,560
going, oh, it's too expensive. 
Well, it's expensive for you 

793
00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,360
guys, but on it as well. 
Yeah, I mean, as a consumer, the

794
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,840
best thing you can do is come 
into the restaurant and support 

795
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,760
that restaurant and don't like, 
give them a hard time because 

796
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,240
they're charging what they need 
to pay their bills. 

797
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,000
If you love these places, you 
want them to exist, you want 

798
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,400
them to stick around, you have 
to let them charge what they 

799
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,360
need for that food in order to 
so they can't be around. 

800
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,560
I mean, none of these guys are 
like rolling in like big piles 

801
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,160
of cash back home. 
They're just trying to figure 

802
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,160
out how to, like, keep their 
staff, keep them, you know, well

803
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,080
employed, hopefully give them 
some health insurance. 

804
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,720
So, yeah, I mean, go in, you 
know, and buy some barbecue. 

805
00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:41,960
And then, you know, when you go 
to the restaurant, you know, 

806
00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,360
tell them you're on a budget and
say, hey, I need to spend 50 

807
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:45,960
bucks. 
What's the best way I can spend 

808
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,520
50 bucks here? 
You know, trust them to give you

809
00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:50,720
a great experience. 
And then when you're done, you 

810
00:36:50,720 --> 00:36:52,600
know, go out there and sing 
their praises. 

811
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,000
And if you're not happy, the 
best thing you can do is just 

812
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,280
tell them instead of running 
like Yelp or Google dropping A1 

813
00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:01,160
star review because you got your
feelings heard about, you know, 

814
00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:03,040
the rib was maybe a little 
tougher than you thought it 

815
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:05,000
should be. 
Like if you tell them they could

816
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:06,680
replace it for you. 
Yeah, I agree. 

817
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,680
And I think it's the most 
heartbreaking thing in a 

818
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:12,000
restaurant to put your best foot
forward in difficult 

819
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,960
circumstances and then have to 
deal with A1 star review. 

820
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:16,800
Oh yeah, they're terrible 
because someone thought that 

821
00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:19,360
they had a bad experience. 
You know, and I mean, and I get 

822
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:21,280
it, we, we screw up. 
We're not perfect. 

823
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:24,080
You know, we, there's the days 
where we go into the restaurant 

824
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,760
and we taste our tray and I 
determine something's not up to 

825
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,480
our standards and we'll 86 it. 
We won't serve it, but we do our

826
00:37:30,480 --> 00:37:32,720
best to make sure that we give 
everybody a great experience. 

827
00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:34,960
It's just tough when you don't 
know it. 

828
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,360
And instead of like them giving 
you the opportunity to fix it, 

829
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:39,560
which all restaurant tours do, 
we're not in the business of 

830
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:42,600
pissing you off, you know, and 
then charge it a bunch of money 

831
00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:44,040
for that experience. 
We want to give you a good time.

832
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,760
So if you're not happy, tell 
them they'll fix it for you. 

833
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:49,320
OK, right here, let's move on to
the future of BBQ. 

834
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,000
Now we've talked at length about
how BBQ has literally night and 

835
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,360
day from old school to new 
school to what we, what I call 

836
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:59,400
future school, right? 
But third wave, what's the next 

837
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:00,960
5 to 10 years going to look 
like? 

838
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,840
What do you think? 
Well, I mean, I think you're 

839
00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,800
going to see a couple camps come
out in the next 5-6 years. 

840
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:09,400
I think you're going to continue
to see people pushing the 

841
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:12,680
boundaries and borders, if you 
will, a BBQ bringing in like 

842
00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:16,440
more techniques, more flavors, 
new ideas, that beautiful 

843
00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,120
merging of cultures that is 
becoming part of Texas BBQ. 

844
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:23,800
I also think you'll see probably
the beginning or I wouldn't say 

845
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,480
necessarily you'll see it, but 
right in the future. 

846
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:29,200
But I think right now we're kind
of seeing the beginning of like 

847
00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,440
a when you know, kind of like a 
backlash to that or an answer to

848
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:34,840
that where I think people are 
going to start gravitating 

849
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,760
towards what they call 
traditional BBQ again, based on 

850
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:41,840
like the, the Trinity and trying
to get away from the, the new 

851
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:45,000
flavors and new techniques, but 
still cooking in a manner that 

852
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:48,200
lives up to the standards of 
current like modern BBQ. 

853
00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:50,800
But I think there will be an 
embracing of like going back to 

854
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:54,280
like the old school ways of BBQ.
I think you're going to see the 

855
00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:56,280
continued growth of BBQ 
internationally. 

856
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,520
And what's nice about that is 
you'll see live fire and that 

857
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,720
you'll see new ingredients 
there. 

858
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,400
And so you kind of, I think it's
got three ways to go. 

859
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:07,240
You know, the building of Texas 
BBQ internationally, building a 

860
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:09,880
Texas BBQ with flavors coming 
into it internationally. 

861
00:39:09,880 --> 00:39:12,200
And then people say, you know 
what, I just want my Trinity. 

862
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,600
Give me a good piece of brisket 
and some pork ribs and a 

863
00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:16,960
sausage, and they're all good 
routes to take. 

864
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,400
You know there's no right way. 
Well, that's my favorite part of

865
00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:22,720
this new world of BBQ. 
Like I know that there are lines

866
00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,280
and there's the old school, the 
new school and the future 

867
00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:27,320
school, first wave, second wave,
3rd wave. 

868
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,240
But the beauty of it is I can go
to any of them and still enjoy 

869
00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:34,680
it and have a great time, right?
And sometimes you might not want

870
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,000
all the razzle dazzle. 
Sometimes you just want a Hardy 

871
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,000
hit of good old fashioned BBQ, 
right? 

872
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:40,080
So you. 
Just want a foldy you. 

873
00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:42,440
Know, And sometimes you want to 
sit in a fucking place that 

874
00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:43,760
looks like it's got history, 
right. 

875
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,680
Barbecue might not be great, but
holy Dooley, the atmosphere is 

876
00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,800
electric. 
And I think that all of those 

877
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:52,240
lanes have their place. 
And if we try and pigeonhole BBQ

878
00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:54,720
like the future of BBQ is this, 
I think we're doing it a 

879
00:39:54,720 --> 00:39:56,800
disservice. 
Because yeah, don't put blinders

880
00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:58,240
on it. 
I mean, I'm excited to see where

881
00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:02,280
it goes and for BBQ to continue 
its relevance, to continue the 

882
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:04,600
moment we're in. 
It's got to evolve. 

883
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:06,680
Because if you just keep doing 
the same thing over and over, 

884
00:40:06,680 --> 00:40:08,240
it's boring. 
You know, people move on. 

885
00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:12,840
Yeah, and you know, good brisket
in Texas was hard to find maybe 

886
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,160
10 years ago. 
It's fucking everywhere now. 

887
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:16,760
You've got to do things to stand
out. 

888
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:20,400
Dude, we're brisket rich. 
We got all the brisket and it's 

889
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,480
damn good. 
Like it's hard to find a place 

890
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:24,080
that doesn't do a good brisket. 
Now you know I. 

891
00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,440
Mean, honestly, yeah. 
I mean, like if you open up a 

892
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:29,800
barbecue joint in Austin and you
just do good brisket and good 

893
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,200
ribs and sausage, it's like, OK,
well, yeah, welcome to the 

894
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:34,600
party. 
Everybody else is doing, you 

895
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:36,600
know, for the most part, good 
ribs and good brisket and good 

896
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,600
sausage. 
It's like, how do you stand out 

897
00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:41,320
in a market that that's the 
standard? 

898
00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:44,200
It's it's very difficult. 
So I think it's important that 

899
00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:47,080
you, you know, you find your own
way, you look in Word, you try 

900
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,760
not to copy trend, you try to do
things that you think speak of 

901
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,760
you as a cook and a person and 
then hopefully you make it. 

902
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,520
All right, let's move on to 
Milscale. 

903
00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:58,400
It's a brand that I absolutely 
love. 

904
00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:00,400
I love the aesthetic. 
I love what they build. 

905
00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:02,280
I love how they build it. 
I love the look. 

906
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,440
I love the boys. 
I love everything about it. 

907
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:09,000
And they have built you a custom
pit and you kind of affiliated 

908
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:10,320
with them in some way, shape or 
form. 

909
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,040
Yeah, good friends of Milscale, 
a big fan of them as well. 

910
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:14,920
Like I've always love their 
products. 

911
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:17,520
We are going to be participating
in an event called Lockhart 

912
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:18,840
Rising. 
It's an event they've been 

913
00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,600
putting on in Lockhart now for 
the last three or four years and

914
00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:23,200
we've been fortunate to be a 
part of it. 

915
00:41:23,440 --> 00:41:26,720
I was really stoked that I got 
invited because they're they're 

916
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:29,360
pulling in some heavy hitters to
come cook in Lockhart of all 

917
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,240
places. 
People internationally, big 

918
00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:33,880
names and BBQ, big chefs from 
around the country. 

919
00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,200
So yeah, to be a part of it was 
really exciting. 

920
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,320
And then probably the most 
exciting thing I've done with 

921
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:42,280
Millscale is get this this bad 
ass rig because it's my favorite

922
00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:44,640
thinker, right? 
The details are crazy. 

923
00:41:44,640 --> 00:41:47,080
Tell us a little bit about it. 
I wanted something that I could 

924
00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:51,320
roll into a field with nothing 
there and cook food for like 200

925
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:53,920
people. 
So they built me 1000 gallon pit

926
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:56,720
on one side. 
You know, the classic beautiful,

927
00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,960
you know, millscale pit. 
In addition to that, they added 

928
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:02,960
this lovely fire table. 
There's a direct heat cooker, 

929
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:06,360
there's a folding down stainless
steel table, there's a coal 

930
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,520
generator on the back. 
And then every nook and cranny 

931
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,200
that wasn't occupied by 
something that can cook is set 

932
00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:17,640
up to strap down ice chest and 
boxes and coolers and things so 

933
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,240
we can go wherever we need and 
be self-sufficient. 

934
00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:22,760
That's the nicest patina I've 
seen on a BBQ yet. 

935
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:25,400
I know it's dope. 
It's got like four or five 

936
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:27,520
layers to it. 
Yeah, and it's really cool. 

937
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,360
Like this pit, right? 
Well, this part of the pit here,

938
00:42:29,360 --> 00:42:33,360
right here, the firebox, that's 
half of A-250. 

939
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,040
The other half is on their 
custom rig that they kept there 

940
00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,080
at the restaurant. 
So I kind of feel like we're 

941
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,680
like Lightning brothers or twins
separated in some way because we

942
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:43,520
got a little part of their rig 
as well. 

943
00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,960
Awesome. 
All right, The Michelin star. 

944
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:49,320
This is a big fucking deal. 
Yeah, this is a real big deal, 

945
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,040
right? 
Michelin has been ignoring BBQ 

946
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:54,560
forever. 
It's embraced nearly every other

947
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,440
cuisine in the world. 
You know you can go and get 

948
00:42:56,440 --> 00:42:59,280
dumplings from a little Hawker 
market in the back end of 

949
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:02,320
Singapore and they've got a 
Michelin * but it's forgotten 

950
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:04,760
about BBQ. 
But not now, not. 

951
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:06,880
Anymore. 
So tell us about it. 

952
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:11,320
The first Michelin star in BBQ. 
I think a few people got awarded

953
00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:13,760
it at the same time, but this is
a huge deal. 

954
00:43:13,760 --> 00:43:15,480
This is not a mention, this is a
*. 

955
00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:17,800
Yeah, no, it's, it's quite 
surreal. 

956
00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,960
I mean, as a trained chef, 
somebody's been in the in the 

957
00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:23,440
chef world. 
I understand the value and the 

958
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,480
relevance and the importance of 
a Michelin * I just never 

959
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:28,840
thought I would ever be anywhere
where I could even have that 

960
00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:30,560
happen. 
Because when I was growing up as

961
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:33,120
a chef, Michelin wasn't in the 
United States. 

962
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,360
And when it did come to United 
States, it was in the big 

963
00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:38,560
cities, it was in New York, 
Chicago, San Francisco. 

964
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,680
They weren't going to roll 
around in the middle of Texas 

965
00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,840
and offer stars. 
But yet they showed up. 

966
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,920
And then something really 
special happened on that night, 

967
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:52,760
you know, in November of 24. 
It was a, it was a gathering and

968
00:43:52,760 --> 00:43:56,400
I think a real like recognition 
of Texas BBQ because not only 

969
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,440
would, you know, I got a star 
and Evan got a star over Lauren 

970
00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:02,320
Lewis and Ally at La Barbecue 
and the guys over at Corkscrew. 

971
00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:04,600
You know, we were, we all 
received those awards and we're 

972
00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:06,920
just immensely happy. 
But I was also really happy for 

973
00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:10,280
my friends in BBQ because there 
was probably another 20 to 30 

974
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,920
restaurants in Texas BBQ that 
got Bib Gourmands, got 

975
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:16,440
recommended. 
It was a really coming of age 

976
00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:19,240
moment, I think, for Texas 
barbecue in that room because 

977
00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:21,880
there's just so much recognition
for everybody's hard work, all 

978
00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:24,760
the people before us, our 
friends next to us. 

979
00:44:24,760 --> 00:44:28,120
It was nice to see the cuisine 
finally Garter the respect that 

980
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:30,280
we think it deserved. 
Yeah, and look, lists are 

981
00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:32,280
important, reviews are 
important. 

982
00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:36,080
But when it comes to food on a 
worldwide scale, Michelin is 

983
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:38,240
kind of like the gold standard. 
Yeah, it is. 

984
00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:40,760
And, and it's funny because like
in people in Texas, it's really 

985
00:44:40,760 --> 00:44:42,840
new. 
Like what is a why is a card 

986
00:44:42,840 --> 00:44:45,880
like tire company me like 
raiding my BBQ joints Like no 

987
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:47,760
thank you. 
I'll stick with Texas Monthly or

988
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,360
I'll stick with my own list 
because it's the gold standard. 

989
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,080
So it's nice to see the 
recognition. 

990
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:56,760
And when you get out in the 
world and you travel or when you

991
00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:00,480
have food in Europe or in parts 
of Southeast in Asia, you 

992
00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:02,200
realize how important Michelin 
is. 

993
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:03,960
And they are kind of like the 
gold standard. 

994
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,600
They're the guys that say, you 
know what this is? 

995
00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:07,840
This is good stuff. 
It's worthy of a trip to come 

996
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,360
visit this restaurant. 
It was really nice. 

997
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,680
All right, the Peach tea, glazed
pork belly, burnt ends. 

998
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:17,000
They put you on the map. 
They did. 

999
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:18,800
Tell me about them. 
The most important dish that we 

1000
00:45:18,800 --> 00:45:20,920
have ever created. 
My nemesis because they're a 

1001
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:23,680
real pain in the ass. 
This started out as a special me

1002
00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:26,440
and war dog, my buddy Warren, 
who's been at the restaurant 

1003
00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,360
from day one. 
We wanted to cook pork belly 

1004
00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:32,080
and, and typical John and Warren
fashion, it's like, well, how do

1005
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:34,200
we want to cook this pork belly?
Because we want to eat it. 

1006
00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:36,800
And so we ran through several 
ideas and variations and 

1007
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:39,520
eventually settled it on this 
Peach tea version of it and 

1008
00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:41,560
started running as a special 
Saturdays. 

1009
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:45,880
And it just quickly became a 
pain in my ass because people 

1010
00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:47,920
would show up on Friday and I 
didn't have the pork belly. 

1011
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,000
And that was a problem. 
So then we had to start 

1012
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:52,160
expanding it. 
And I knew that this was one of 

1013
00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:54,560
those dishes, the technique and 
the way we do it. 

1014
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,480
I was like, Oh no, this is this 
is a trap. 

1015
00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:00,400
This is going to be a lot of 
work. 

1016
00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:03,400
And if this really blows up and 
we're just going to have to, we 

1017
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:06,160
have to be a whole new pit, buy 
a whole new pit just for this 

1018
00:46:06,160 --> 00:46:07,760
pork belly if this thing really 
takes off. 

1019
00:46:08,280 --> 00:46:10,280
And of course it did. 
And it really helped put us in 

1020
00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:14,200
on the map in BBQ. 
It quickly became A5 day a week 

1021
00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:16,280
thing. 
Now we have it, you know, try to

1022
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:17,840
add this to the end of service 
every day. 

1023
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:21,000
It's as important to us as 
brisket is in BBQ. 

1024
00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:27,000
I would say this is the most 
copied dish in BBQ period. 

1025
00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:29,200
Wow, yeah, it's it's, it's been 
amazing. 

1026
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:31,200
I mean, I see a lot of stuff out
there that looks similar, 

1027
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:32,880
different techniques, different 
flavours. 

1028
00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:36,040
But yeah, it's it's heavily 
associated with us. 

1029
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:40,080
And I'm just glad that we can 
like, add our, you know, touch 

1030
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,600
to barbecue and, you know, 
hopefully we inspire people. 

1031
00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:44,240
I mean, I think it's great. 
I think it's flattering, you 

1032
00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:47,280
know, and you, you do something 
that inspires people to go out 

1033
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:49,600
there and do their version of it
and add their own flavors and 

1034
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:51,360
techniques. 
So I'm here for the party. 

1035
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:53,600
We'll see where it goes. 
So just to clarify, do you call 

1036
00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:54,720
them burn insurance in the 
restaurant? 

1037
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:55,760
No, we don't. 
OK. 

1038
00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:58,680
No, no, we call them a Peach tea
glazed pork belly. 

1039
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:01,440
And it's very intentional 
because, like, in my mind, 

1040
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,920
classic burn insurance or beef, 
they're cubed up. 

1041
00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:07,160
They're tossed in a sauce, 
thrown back in the pit and 

1042
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:09,960
cooked again. 
I think words matter when it 

1043
00:47:09,960 --> 00:47:11,960
comes to food. 
So yeah, in the restaurant, we 

1044
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:13,800
never call them bird ends. 
And everybody calls them a bird 

1045
00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:14,960
end. 
And that's just, you know, 

1046
00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:17,920
sometimes you can't fight the 
tide anymore and you just go 

1047
00:47:17,920 --> 00:47:20,600
with it. 
But we still put them on the 

1048
00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:22,640
menu as a Peach tea glazed pork 
belly. 

1049
00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:24,840
OK, you're not stopping. 
No. 

1050
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:26,960
Why stop? 
Well, it's too short. 

1051
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:32,160
You dominated BBQ like, and 
that's not me blowing wind up 

1052
00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:34,040
your skirt or whatever. 
You've got the Michelin star to 

1053
00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:36,760
prove it, right? 
But you've also got this Yellow 

1054
00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:39,760
Bell Taco food truck. 
Yeah, you're under tacos now. 

1055
00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:42,600
I love tacos. 
I love tacos too, but it's hard 

1056
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:44,720
enough to be good at one thing, 
let alone fucking 2. 

1057
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:49,280
Well, the big three in Texas is 
chili, tacos and BBQ and I 

1058
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:52,080
figure if I can do really good 
in all three of those, I will 

1059
00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:54,800
meet my goals as a Texas based 
chef. 

1060
00:47:54,800 --> 00:47:57,840
So growing up in Corpus Christi,
probably the most important meal

1061
00:47:57,840 --> 00:48:01,040
in Corpus Christi is breakfast 
and it's tacos and it's on flour

1062
00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:05,400
tortillas all made from scratch 
and by hand and yellow bells, my

1063
00:48:05,400 --> 00:48:08,160
expression of South Texas, the 
Coastal Bend. 

1064
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:11,280
And then it's also just like a 
really good thing for my 

1065
00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:13,400
business is for Interstellar as 
well, because one of the 

1066
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:16,080
problems with barbecues, we 
create so much by product and 

1067
00:48:16,080 --> 00:48:19,320
trim things that we can't use 
inside the restaurant. 

1068
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:22,960
And we use some of those 
products to build our tacos and 

1069
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:25,000
our cellar, I mean, at, at 
Yellow Bell. 

1070
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:27,360
So yeah, it, it works both in 
both ways. 

1071
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:29,920
It helps me out at Interstellar 
and then it also allows me to 

1072
00:48:29,920 --> 00:48:32,840
cook a food that I love dearly 
and I think it's important to 

1073
00:48:33,080 --> 00:48:34,560
have in the the mix, if you 
will. 

1074
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:38,400
OK, so we've talked about BBQ. 
Yes, we've talked about the fact

1075
00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:41,760
that you have pivoted it to 
tacos and judging by the 

1076
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:43,800
pictures I've got up on the 
screen, are crushing it. 

1077
00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:45,040
I mean, I think they're pretty. 
Good. 

1078
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:46,000
You know what you're missing 
though. 

1079
00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:49,640
What's that pizza? 
And you've fucking got one. 

1080
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:51,560
Yeah, we got pizza too. 
Deft pizza? 

1081
00:48:51,560 --> 00:48:53,480
What the fuck is what do you 
mean? 

1082
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:57,520
Well, I mean, I spent a lot of 
time as a chef cooking in 

1083
00:48:57,520 --> 00:49:00,400
Italian restaurants. 
So I really love all things 

1084
00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:03,840
Italian, La pasta, la pizza, and
I love a thin crust pizza. 

1085
00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:08,000
And in Austin it's been like all
Neapolitan for the last 10 

1086
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:09,400
years. 
Like everybody's like doing 

1087
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:12,280
these wood fired pizzas. 
They're all floppy and foldy. 

1088
00:49:12,280 --> 00:49:15,760
And I mean, it has a place, but 
it's not my style pizza. 

1089
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:17,320
I like it. 
I want to hold it out. 

1090
00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:19,400
I want that piece of pizza to 
like stand out like that when I 

1091
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:21,200
pick it up. 
So there wasn't any thin crust 

1092
00:49:21,200 --> 00:49:24,200
that I was excited about. 
So what do you do? 

1093
00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:26,280
You open up a restaurant to fix 
that problem. 

1094
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,920
This is some exceptional looking
pies. 

1095
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:32,080
Yeah, thank you. 
So we kind of follow, you know, 

1096
00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:33,040
it's going to sound funny to 
say. 

1097
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:35,480
So we kind of follow like the 
Chicago style, the Tavern style 

1098
00:49:35,480 --> 00:49:38,880
pizza, thin, crispy, party cut, 
crushable. 

1099
00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:41,520
The idea is that you can have 
several slices and still have a 

1100
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:44,280
cold beer and not feel stuffed 
and nasty afterwards. 

1101
00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:46,560
So yeah, this is what we're 
doing and it's gone over fairly 

1102
00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:47,760
well. 
I mean, we're coming up on our 

1103
00:49:47,760 --> 00:49:50,000
two year anniversary. 
This fall will be our two year 

1104
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,760
anniversary and I really like 
where the food's at. 

1105
00:49:52,760 --> 00:49:55,840
I'm really excited about it. 
I think it's, it's nice and, you

1106
00:49:55,840 --> 00:49:58,680
know, running like a, like an 
actual owner instead of a Daily 

1107
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:01,240
Key employee. 
And we've hired a great team. 

1108
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:05,520
I give them inspiration and we 
check the quality of food and I 

1109
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:07,920
kind of drive the menu. 
But we've got a great team of 

1110
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:10,600
people that believe in the 
concept and they're out there 

1111
00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:13,400
doing it day in, day out for us.
All right, I'm going to move on 

1112
00:50:13,400 --> 00:50:15,720
to something that's a little bit
personal to me because I've been

1113
00:50:15,720 --> 00:50:18,520
a graphic designer for 20 years.
And so when I look at other 

1114
00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:22,280
people's work, I'm always blown 
away when I feel like somebody 

1115
00:50:22,280 --> 00:50:25,720
has done something that 
completely changes the way that 

1116
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:29,400
I I look at artwork. 
And it's not artwork done by 

1117
00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:32,880
you, but it's been done for you 
by a guy called Brady. 

1118
00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:35,720
And this is some of the artwork 
that he's created for you. 

1119
00:50:36,560 --> 00:50:38,840
Obviously you collaborate on 
this stuff together, right? 

1120
00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:41,320
So obviously you know what 
you're looking for, everything 

1121
00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:44,880
you've touched and done in BBQ 
has a certain amount of finesse 

1122
00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:48,560
to it and Brady is the right 
graphic designer to just create 

1123
00:50:48,560 --> 00:50:52,880
and I would say pioneered this 
new look of what future school 

1124
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:57,160
BBQ should look like. 
Yeah, I'm really blessed to know

1125
00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:00,080
Brady. 
Brady Clark, His handle on 

1126
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:03,400
Instagram is Brisket country. 
I met him before I ever got into

1127
00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:05,520
BBQ. 
He showed up Interstellar and 

1128
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,720
had lunch with us a few times. 
We rapped about art and design 

1129
00:51:08,720 --> 00:51:11,480
and food. 
And when I decided to shut down 

1130
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:14,200
my old restaurant, a Noble 
Sandwich Company, I reached out 

1131
00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:16,080
to Brady. 
It's like, hey, I had this 

1132
00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:17,320
division. 
It's kind of wacky. 

1133
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:20,040
They were going to do this space
themed BBQ place. 

1134
00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:21,840
Like, can you do something with 
that? 

1135
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:24,760
And he's like, Oh yeah, I can 
definitely do something with 

1136
00:51:24,760 --> 00:51:26,320
that. 
And that was the beginning of 

1137
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:28,760
our collaboration. 
I think it's really important 

1138
00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:31,200
when you're working with 
creative types, whether it's in 

1139
00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:35,840
design or, or food or whatever 
their medium is, is that you 

1140
00:51:35,840 --> 00:51:40,160
give them enough space to, to 
really own it and design it and 

1141
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:43,040
be a part of what we do. 
So my relationship with Braley 

1142
00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:45,120
is really built on that. 
And you know, I, I'll throw out 

1143
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:49,320
a wacky idea like, hey, I want 
our anniversary party to be tiki

1144
00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:52,520
themed, run with it. 
And he knows what I'm looking 

1145
00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:53,520
for. 
We work together enough. 

1146
00:51:53,520 --> 00:51:57,160
Now when he comes back, I might 
make a few suggestions, you 

1147
00:51:57,160 --> 00:51:58,680
know, like can we do this or do 
that? 

1148
00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:01,200
But for the most part, he just 
brings it and just knocks it out

1149
00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:04,480
of the park on a regular basis. 
And on top of that, you have got

1150
00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:06,960
some exceptional merch, right? 
You've been really on the front 

1151
00:52:06,960 --> 00:52:09,040
foot there about saying, hey, 
when people come and have a 

1152
00:52:09,040 --> 00:52:11,200
great meal, they also want to 
rip your brand and walk it 

1153
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:12,720
around, right? 
And you've got some really cool 

1154
00:52:12,720 --> 00:52:14,240
merch as well. 
Yeah, I think it's important 

1155
00:52:14,240 --> 00:52:17,040
part. 
I mean, a fully mature, fully 

1156
00:52:17,040 --> 00:52:20,720
realized concept needs to have 
all things firing on all 

1157
00:52:20,720 --> 00:52:22,560
cylinders. 
And I think one of the ways you 

1158
00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:25,920
can really get your brand out 
there is to lean into your 

1159
00:52:25,920 --> 00:52:28,320
merch, make it fun, make it 
exciting, make it something 

1160
00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:30,800
wearable and make it stand out 
and be unique. 

1161
00:52:30,800 --> 00:52:33,080
And it's just, it's great. 
I mean, you know, you, it's the 

1162
00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:36,320
coolest thing is to walk out 
into the wild and see somebody 

1163
00:52:36,320 --> 00:52:40,240
sporting one of your T-shirts at
the grocery store or drive 

1164
00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:41,960
another St. and wearing one of 
your hats. 

1165
00:52:42,360 --> 00:52:44,040
So it's always been a really 
important part of it. 

1166
00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:46,400
I told Brady from day one I was 
like, hey, we need to have great

1167
00:52:46,400 --> 00:52:49,000
merch. 
I want to have 5 or 6 different 

1168
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:50,760
hats at all times. 
I want to have four or five 

1169
00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:53,880
shirts at all different times. 
We don't want just one image, 

1170
00:52:53,880 --> 00:52:56,680
you know, like that. 
That's all we do is let's mix it

1171
00:52:56,680 --> 00:52:57,840
up. 
Let's have fun, let's do lots of

1172
00:52:57,840 --> 00:52:59,360
things. 
So it's been, it's been really 

1173
00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:01,320
good and it's one of the better 
decisions that I've made. 

1174
00:53:01,440 --> 00:53:04,480
A lot of the times when people 
do logos, I look at them and go,

1175
00:53:04,560 --> 00:53:07,080
that's not going to last, you 
know what I mean? 

1176
00:53:07,080 --> 00:53:08,360
It's going to date really 
quickly. 

1177
00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:10,080
That logo of yours is never 
going to date. 

1178
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:11,960
No, I think he did. 
I think he crushed it. 

1179
00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:14,800
I mean, people told me it was a 
terrible name when I chose it, 

1180
00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:18,760
but I think we've really owned 
it and like, leaned into it, 

1181
00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:21,000
really made it something that 
hopefully will stand the test of

1182
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:21,840
time. 
We'll see. 

1183
00:53:21,880 --> 00:53:24,360
OK, so we've got some questions.
We did say that you were going 

1184
00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:26,720
to come in the studio. 
We've got tons of questions 

1185
00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:29,280
about the pork belly. 
OK, I feel like we've talked 

1186
00:53:29,280 --> 00:53:31,080
about that enough. 
So let's just jump into some 

1187
00:53:31,080 --> 00:53:34,440
other stuff here. 
These photos, they were posted 

1188
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:38,920
in 2019 and they are some of the
first photos that you ever 

1189
00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:43,360
posted on your social media. 
And for me, these two things you

1190
00:53:43,360 --> 00:53:46,760
do better than anybody, the 
Peach tea, pork belly and the 

1191
00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:50,600
other is your sausage. 
Now I don't know and I can't 

1192
00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:54,680
really think of anyone else, 
maybe sausage sensei who was 

1193
00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:58,600
doing sausage to this creativity
of level like people were doing,

1194
00:53:58,720 --> 00:54:01,040
I guess you know, the cheese and
jalapeno or whatever. 

1195
00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:03,840
But you've got pistachios in 
there, you've got corn in there,

1196
00:54:03,840 --> 00:54:06,960
you've got a whole heap of 
tightly packed beautiful 

1197
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,400
ingredients in a sausage that 
was breaking the mould. 

1198
00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:12,640
And then at the same time you 
were doing the the pork belly, 

1199
00:54:12,800 --> 00:54:15,560
Peach tea, pork belly. 
The question I have for you, did

1200
00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:19,240
you know at the time when you 
were doing this that this was 

1201
00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:22,440
unique and different and no one 
really was doing it before? 

1202
00:54:22,440 --> 00:54:24,480
Like anyone was unique in the 
sense that I was trying to make 

1203
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:27,760
food that was special to us. 
You know, like we were just 

1204
00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:30,680
referenced earlier, Austin's 
brisket rich. 

1205
00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:33,760
It's BBQ rich, and if you're 
going to be dumb enough to open 

1206
00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:37,480
up a BBQ restaurant in the 
toughest BBQ market in the 

1207
00:54:37,480 --> 00:54:40,360
world, how do you stand out? 
Like, how do you bring something

1208
00:54:40,360 --> 00:54:42,680
new to the table? 
So that was part of like our 

1209
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:45,480
mission from day one. 
Not sure why we landed on pork 

1210
00:54:45,480 --> 00:54:48,240
belly. 
And I mean, we did the Frito pie

1211
00:54:48,240 --> 00:54:51,480
sausage because I love Frito 
pies, but a lot of my food is 

1212
00:54:51,480 --> 00:54:53,280
built around the ideas. 
Like I love this stuff. 

1213
00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:54,480
This is what I would want to 
eat. 

1214
00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:56,680
This is what I want to share. 
And then hopefully this is 

1215
00:54:56,680 --> 00:54:59,000
unique enough where we can like 
get to stick around for a little

1216
00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:00,680
while. 
So that was kind of the basis 

1217
00:55:00,680 --> 00:55:03,640
for most of our creative 
endeavours early on. 

1218
00:55:03,640 --> 00:55:06,200
It's like, how can we stand out 
a little bit from everybody 

1219
00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:08,600
else? 
There was a few people back then

1220
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:11,160
and and I would say Valentino's 
won't have been another one, 

1221
00:55:11,160 --> 00:55:13,560
right? 
And I'm sure that it wasn't just

1222
00:55:13,560 --> 00:55:16,960
Interstellar, but that kind of 
broke that mould from new school

1223
00:55:16,960 --> 00:55:20,120
into future school. 
And I feel like these photos, 

1224
00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:22,440
the beginning of it. 
You can look at like the guys 

1225
00:55:22,440 --> 00:55:25,120
over at Tejas, they were doing a
chili Reno sausage. 

1226
00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:29,000
You can look at 2 M they were 
doing that Mojaca cheese and 

1227
00:55:29,000 --> 00:55:30,240
roasted Serrano that I 
mentioned. 

1228
00:55:30,240 --> 00:55:32,920
You know, it's like kind of like
a play on a classic jalapeno 

1229
00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:34,760
cheddar, but something new, 
something fresh. 

1230
00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:38,000
So things were bubbling. 
You know, I, I wouldn't claim 

1231
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:40,880
that I was the first one to do 
it, but during that time period 

1232
00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:43,560
is when you started to see other
people saying, you know what? 

1233
00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:47,200
We, we don't just have to do 
like a classic hot gut or a 

1234
00:55:47,440 --> 00:55:49,720
standard pork link. 
We can do we can be more 

1235
00:55:49,720 --> 00:55:51,520
creative. 
It can be an area where you 

1236
00:55:51,520 --> 00:55:54,000
express things. 
And you know, at the beginning 

1237
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:57,200
of that time when I think new 
school barbecue and future 

1238
00:55:57,200 --> 00:56:00,520
school or third way was kind of 
starting up, you know, before us

1239
00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:03,040
and while we were getting our 
footing, sausage was one of the 

1240
00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:06,280
areas where you could have fun 
and not like get in trouble, you

1241
00:56:06,400 --> 00:56:08,160
know, like the old, good old boy
rolling. 

1242
00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:10,720
Like, you know, I want ribs, 
sausage and and brisket and I 

1243
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:12,560
don't want anything else. 
Don't get anything weird like 

1244
00:56:12,560 --> 00:56:15,000
your Mac and cheese or or this 
and that. 

1245
00:56:15,320 --> 00:56:17,680
But for some reason, you could 
kind of get away with it with 

1246
00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,680
sausage. 
I would kind of say a lot of 

1247
00:56:19,680 --> 00:56:22,600
people at at the same time, and 
there's a lot of restaurants 

1248
00:56:22,600 --> 00:56:26,120
pushing the mold these days, saw
things like this and went, holy 

1249
00:56:26,120 --> 00:56:29,320
shit, if he can do it like that,
I can do it like this. 

1250
00:56:29,320 --> 00:56:32,360
And they went off and got their 
own kind of twists on things. 

1251
00:56:32,360 --> 00:56:35,120
Whether it's KG BBQ or Cafe or 
whatever. 

1252
00:56:35,560 --> 00:56:39,120
I had to at some point be 
inspired by you taking things to

1253
00:56:39,120 --> 00:56:42,440
the next level, showing what was
possible and then opening a 

1254
00:56:42,440 --> 00:56:44,120
floodgate is what I would call 
it. 

1255
00:56:44,280 --> 00:56:46,360
Yeah, I mean, it's an honor and 
a privilege to be a part of it. 

1256
00:56:46,360 --> 00:56:48,440
You know, when you see people or
talk to people that were 

1257
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:50,800
inspired by your work, I think 
it's, you know, it's really 

1258
00:56:50,800 --> 00:56:52,560
validating. 
It's pretty damn amazing. 

1259
00:56:53,280 --> 00:56:55,080
So, yeah, I mean, we're we're 
off to the races. 

1260
00:56:55,080 --> 00:56:57,440
I don't know where Barbie who's 
going, but I like the direction 

1261
00:56:57,440 --> 00:56:58,560
it's. 
Going yeah, so do I. 

1262
00:56:59,080 --> 00:57:02,240
All right, This question was 
sent in by Armstrong BBQ Nate, 

1263
00:57:02,240 --> 00:57:04,480
and he has a great BBQ 
restaurant in Victoria, 

1264
00:57:04,480 --> 00:57:06,680
Australia. 
And he asks, with your pits out 

1265
00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:09,640
in the parking lot and open to 
the elements, what adjustments 

1266
00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:12,080
do you make when winds change or
it's raining? 

1267
00:57:12,120 --> 00:57:14,520
How do you keep the BBQ 
consistently great? 

1268
00:57:14,880 --> 00:57:17,400
It's hard. 
I mean, it's hard. 

1269
00:57:18,240 --> 00:57:21,440
You know, I've cooked many 
shifts in that parking lot in 

1270
00:57:21,440 --> 00:57:25,400
rain gear and rain boots. 
We've had cold funds bowling in 

1271
00:57:25,400 --> 00:57:29,600
where, you know, it's 75° one 
moment and two hours later it's 

1272
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:31,640
35. 
It's a tough environment. 

1273
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:34,720
My guys do some of the best 
barbecue in the world in the 

1274
00:57:34,960 --> 00:57:39,000
worst pit room in the world. 
I'm so grateful and so thankful 

1275
00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:41,640
that my team buy into it. 
They do it and you know, 

1276
00:57:41,640 --> 00:57:43,600
honestly wouldn't change 
anything about it because it 

1277
00:57:43,600 --> 00:57:49,120
does add so much, you know, like
vibe and style and attitude to 

1278
00:57:49,120 --> 00:57:52,000
our restaurant that you don't 
get when you, like, open up a 

1279
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:54,680
barbecue joint in a shopping 
center and like the burbs in 

1280
00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:56,920
Austin. 
So having those pits on that 

1281
00:57:56,920 --> 00:58:01,480
island just adds a ton of like 
BBQ gravitas to the whole space.

1282
00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:04,640
But it's hard, you know, you 
have to work with the elements, 

1283
00:58:04,640 --> 00:58:08,840
the humidity, the temperature, 
the the wind, the rain, all 

1284
00:58:08,840 --> 00:58:11,640
those things play into running 
the pit the right way so you 

1285
00:58:11,640 --> 00:58:13,760
could BBQ out of it. 
And so it takes our guys quite a

1286
00:58:13,760 --> 00:58:16,320
while to go through training. 
And I don't feel like our guys 

1287
00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:19,200
are done training until they've 
gone a full year cooked in all 

1288
00:58:19,200 --> 00:58:22,120
the seasons and all the elements
and all the things that can 

1289
00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:23,840
happen to you when you're out 
there cooking BBQ. 

1290
00:58:23,840 --> 00:58:25,760
All right, next. 
This one was by Blue Jay 

1291
00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:27,720
Barbecue. 
And he asks, what's your 

1292
00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:31,800
favorite first dish to eat? 
My deathbed meal is a Teresa 

1293
00:58:31,800 --> 00:58:34,960
bean and egg Taco on a flour 
tortilla locked in for my 

1294
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:36,600
favorite taqueria in South 
Texas. 

1295
00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:39,560
Yeah, that's what I want to have
right before I lie the right in 

1296
00:58:39,560 --> 00:58:43,840
or whatever. 
All right, I've got some quick 

1297
00:58:43,920 --> 00:58:46,480
fire questions for you. 
They're off the cuff. 

1298
00:58:46,680 --> 00:58:49,000
Some of them might be a little 
bit quirky and weird and loose. 

1299
00:58:49,080 --> 00:58:50,960
Here we go. 
What's the most underrated cut 

1300
00:58:50,960 --> 00:58:53,360
of meat for BBQ? 
I'll stick with my guns. 

1301
00:58:53,360 --> 00:58:55,800
I've said this many times and 
will say many times in the 

1302
00:58:55,800 --> 00:58:58,280
future, I think it's Turkey, 
poultry in general, but Turkey 

1303
00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:00,840
is like probably the most 
underrated cut in Texas BBQ. 

1304
00:59:00,840 --> 00:59:03,640
People are constantly surprised 
when they come in, they're from 

1305
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:06,040
out of the state or they're from
out of the country. 

1306
00:59:06,040 --> 00:59:08,720
They try the Turkey and they're 
just like, this is really good. 

1307
00:59:09,040 --> 00:59:10,640
Like I never thought I would 
like Turkey. 

1308
00:59:11,080 --> 00:59:12,680
So I think it's the most 
underrated cut personally. 

1309
00:59:13,000 --> 00:59:14,440
Right, I happen to agree with 
you there. 

1310
00:59:14,520 --> 00:59:16,600
All right, BBQ trends that need 
to die. 

1311
00:59:16,640 --> 00:59:19,600
The one that annoys me the most 
is when you have a pitmaster 

1312
00:59:19,600 --> 00:59:23,200
stare at you through his social 
media, making eye contact with 

1313
00:59:23,360 --> 00:59:27,320
you and snapping that sausage 
right in front of the camera. 

1314
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,280
It just feels like they're 
violating you. 

1315
00:59:29,720 --> 00:59:33,440
I can't get into it. 
So in your seat is normally a 

1316
00:59:33,440 --> 00:59:36,880
guy called Sai and he didn't 
like the snap. 

1317
00:59:36,880 --> 00:59:39,360
He kind of banned it. 
He said that it was 2025 and we 

1318
00:59:39,360 --> 00:59:41,080
needed to let the sausage snap 
die. 

1319
00:59:41,400 --> 00:59:43,680
And he's going for the vertical 
kind of reveal now. 

1320
00:59:43,680 --> 00:59:47,400
So you slice it and reveal it 
like a butterfly as a nicer way 

1321
00:59:47,400 --> 00:59:49,040
of doing it. 
And I understand it doesn't have

1322
00:59:49,040 --> 00:59:51,440
the kind of like snap and all 
the juice flying out of it. 

1323
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:53,840
But sometimes I look at him and 
I'm like, I don't know whether 

1324
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:57,040
I'm impressed or disgusted. 
But you know you're moved one 

1325
00:59:57,040 --> 00:59:58,160
way or the other, right? 
That's true all. 

1326
00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:02,080
Right, let's move on the BBQ 
dream team. 

1327
01:00:02,080 --> 01:00:05,840
So hypothetically, if you had to
start a BBQ competition team, 

1328
01:00:05,880 --> 01:00:07,280
who's on your team? 
Dead or alive? 

1329
01:00:07,280 --> 01:00:08,960
Oh. 
Man, I'm going to go all live 

1330
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:11,440
because like I got to know the 
people I'm going into war with. 

1331
01:00:11,440 --> 01:00:15,400
So it's going to be Rick Mace 
out of Tropical Smokehouse, It's

1332
01:00:15,400 --> 01:00:20,120
going to be Hector Karate out of
Palmira, my boy Don from Corey 

1333
01:00:20,120 --> 01:00:22,520
BBQ. 
I would probably get Ernie from 

1334
01:00:22,520 --> 01:00:24,520
Burt Bean, even though he 
doesn't get out and do anything 

1335
01:00:24,520 --> 01:00:25,920
because he's always at the 
restaurant. 

1336
01:00:25,960 --> 01:00:30,080
And then #3 maybe I sell you all
from 2M. 

1337
01:00:30,400 --> 01:00:32,960
That's that's my big three, my 
big 5 currently. 

1338
01:00:32,960 --> 01:00:34,880
I was going to bring somebody in
that wasn't alive. 

1339
01:00:34,880 --> 01:00:37,720
It'd be John Mueller because I 
need somebody to add some spice 

1340
01:00:37,720 --> 01:00:40,280
to the mix. 
There's some heavy hitters in 

1341
01:00:40,280 --> 01:00:43,880
that list. 
All right, next on the menu. 

1342
01:00:43,960 --> 01:00:45,480
This is the end of the show, 
right? 

1343
01:00:45,480 --> 01:00:47,880
And this is where I've got lucky
enough that you're going to 

1344
01:00:47,960 --> 01:00:50,200
fucking cook for me. 
I know it's not a bad deal. 

1345
01:00:50,240 --> 01:00:52,440
All right, but I did ask you to 
make it simple because you are 

1346
01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:55,320
cooking on. 
There's no kitchen here, right? 

1347
01:00:55,920 --> 01:00:58,080
Pretty dodgy. 
Cy does wonders because he cooks

1348
01:00:58,080 --> 01:01:00,600
a dish every episode while we're
doing the podcast. 

1349
01:01:00,600 --> 01:01:02,400
He's kind of like trying to cook
at the same time. 

1350
01:01:02,680 --> 01:01:04,840
But I did ask you to do 
something simple because you're 

1351
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:06,520
travelling. 
You don't have nothing with you.

1352
01:01:06,520 --> 01:01:07,400
What are you done? 
Tell me. 

1353
01:01:07,880 --> 01:01:09,560
I'm just doing simple chicken 
thighs. 

1354
01:01:09,560 --> 01:01:12,080
I mean, I don't get into wings. 
I'm not a wing guy. 

1355
01:01:12,080 --> 01:01:15,440
My version is the bone in skin 
on chicken thigh. 

1356
01:01:15,440 --> 01:01:18,040
So I like to do it in a two-part
series where we kind of like 

1357
01:01:18,040 --> 01:01:21,560
cook it low and slow, offset 
away from the heat, then crisp 

1358
01:01:21,560 --> 01:01:23,720
it up good quick and hot over 
the fire to get the skin 

1359
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:25,800
rendered. 
Then toss it in a simple sauce, 

1360
01:01:25,800 --> 01:01:28,040
fresh herbs on there and then 
just tuck into it. 

1361
01:01:28,040 --> 01:01:29,760
It's good stuff. 
All right, bring it up. 

1362
01:01:31,320 --> 01:01:38,920
It is time grab a bite. 
Right, run me through it again. 

1363
01:01:39,400 --> 01:01:43,080
All right, so we've been playing
around a lot with twice firing 

1364
01:01:43,080 --> 01:01:46,480
or multiple cooking techniques 
on like one protein. 

1365
01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:51,080
So this is basically like a slow
smoked chicken thigh and then 

1366
01:01:51,080 --> 01:01:53,040
finished hot and fast to crisp 
up the skin. 

1367
01:01:53,600 --> 01:01:55,880
And then I treated kind of like 
a chicken wing I saw set up 

1368
01:01:55,880 --> 01:01:59,160
nice, throw some herbs on there 
and like big boy wings or just 

1369
01:01:59,160 --> 01:02:01,520
pick it up and get several bites
instead of trying to gnaw 

1370
01:02:01,520 --> 01:02:02,800
through a little bitty wing. 
So. 

1371
01:02:03,080 --> 01:02:04,080
Bone in. 
Bone in. 

1372
01:02:04,200 --> 01:02:05,440
All right, let's go. 
Right. 

1373
01:02:05,440 --> 01:02:07,120
There's a bit of a weird 
tradition we do on the show 

1374
01:02:07,120 --> 01:02:07,960
here. 
Yeah. 

1375
01:02:08,080 --> 01:02:09,560
We cheese our food. 
Oh, I love that. 

1376
01:02:10,560 --> 01:02:12,160
Cheers. 
Juice, drop it off there. 

1377
01:02:18,400 --> 01:02:21,680
That is so, so juicy. 
That'll do for a chicken wing. 

1378
01:02:24,160 --> 01:02:26,600
That shits on a chicken wing. 
So a chicken wing should be. 

1379
01:02:27,760 --> 01:02:31,000
This is amazing. 
This is just a chicken thigh. 

1380
01:02:31,240 --> 01:02:34,160
It's about the most basic of 
proteins as you can get, right? 

1381
01:02:34,160 --> 01:02:35,920
I mean, look at that juice. 
Drop it off my hand. 

1382
01:02:36,080 --> 01:02:37,520
Yeah, it's destroyed in the 
studio. 

1383
01:02:39,440 --> 01:02:42,160
There are only two times I've 
ever had food where I feel like 

1384
01:02:42,160 --> 01:02:46,080
someone has elevated very basic 
protein, and one of them was 

1385
01:02:46,080 --> 01:02:47,840
Ernest Cervantes at Meat Stock 
last year. 

1386
01:02:47,960 --> 01:02:51,160
He did a drumstick. 
A plain old drumstick, right? 

1387
01:02:51,160 --> 01:02:53,000
Tijuana chicken. 
Fucking amazing. 

1388
01:02:53,000 --> 01:02:55,520
Yes do. 
And this is fucking every bit is

1389
01:02:55,520 --> 01:02:56,480
good. 
Thank you. 

1390
01:02:56,560 --> 01:02:59,720
It's just such a protein that 
everyone would just overlook. 

1391
01:02:59,840 --> 01:03:02,040
Yeah, and you elevated it. 
Well, thank you. 

1392
01:03:02,040 --> 01:03:05,520
I think it's important that you 
try to find little gems in 

1393
01:03:05,520 --> 01:03:07,440
hidden places. 
I've always loved chicken thighs

1394
01:03:07,440 --> 01:03:08,960
so. 
Chicken wings have barked. 

1395
01:03:09,280 --> 01:03:10,600
The thing is, you ate like a 
chicken wing. 

1396
01:03:10,600 --> 01:03:11,800
It's just a really big chicken 
wing. 

1397
01:03:12,680 --> 01:03:14,920
I think thighs are going to have
a moment in the next year or 

1398
01:03:14,920 --> 01:03:16,160
two. 
You'll see them all over the 

1399
01:03:16,160 --> 01:03:21,320
place. 
All right, all right, that was 

1400
01:03:21,320 --> 01:03:24,320
sensational. 
I mean, a lot of people can cook

1401
01:03:24,320 --> 01:03:26,920
really good meat well, true, but
there's a certain amount of 

1402
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:30,200
finesse and skill that it takes 
to cook something as basic as 

1403
01:03:30,200 --> 01:03:32,640
chicken thigh and make it that 
fucking tasty and juicy. 

1404
01:03:32,720 --> 01:03:34,320
Thank you. 
All right, well, look, it's been

1405
01:03:34,320 --> 01:03:36,080
a pleasure to have you here in 
the studio. 

1406
01:03:36,080 --> 01:03:37,440
You're going to be at Meat 
stock. 

1407
01:03:37,440 --> 01:03:39,200
You're cooking in Fire Kitchen 
at Sydney. 

1408
01:03:39,200 --> 01:03:42,280
So we're honoured to have you 
here for you personally the next

1409
01:03:42,280 --> 01:03:43,760
few years. 
What's on the horizon? 

1410
01:03:44,280 --> 01:03:48,160
Well, continued travel, cooking 
abroad, I like to think of 

1411
01:03:48,160 --> 01:03:52,560
myself as a BBQ ambassador. 
If you will hopefully grow or 

1412
01:03:52,560 --> 01:03:56,160
continue to grow our businesses.
I I love what I do so there's no

1413
01:03:56,160 --> 01:04:00,520
retirement for me I, I want to 
cook food till the day I die. 

1414
01:04:01,240 --> 01:04:04,840
I want to be with friends and 
family and new friends and new 

1415
01:04:04,840 --> 01:04:09,120
family and and cook and create 
and grow and just keep living a 

1416
01:04:09,120 --> 01:04:12,280
great life and that's it for me.
Well, you're doing it well so 

1417
01:04:12,320 --> 01:04:13,000
far. 
Thank you. 

1418
01:04:13,000 --> 01:04:15,080
All right. 
It's a pleasure to have you here

1419
01:04:15,080 --> 01:04:17,720
in Port Macquarie and in 
Australia too, right. 

1420
01:04:17,720 --> 01:04:19,520
I know it's been on your bucket 
list for a while. 

1421
01:04:19,600 --> 01:04:22,680
Yes, it has myself and my 
beautiful wife who supports all 

1422
01:04:22,680 --> 01:04:26,240
my crazy endeavours in life. 
This was the number one place 

1423
01:04:26,240 --> 01:04:27,960
for her to visit if we ever had 
the chance. 

1424
01:04:27,960 --> 01:04:31,080
And I said hey, we might be able
to go to Australia and she's 

1425
01:04:31,080 --> 01:04:33,680
like, all right, let's go. 
No push back. 

1426
01:04:33,960 --> 01:04:35,400
It was great. 
Awesome. 

1427
01:04:35,400 --> 01:04:38,800
Alright, we'll see you at meat 
stock in Sydney and thanks for 

1428
01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:39,640
coming on the. 
Show indeed. 

1429
01:04:39,640 --> 01:04:41,360
Thank you for having me. 
See you next Tuesday.