Hey there I'm Aaron this is BBQ with Franklin
and today we're going to talk about something a little bit different than
the norm
we're gonna talk about the future barbecue with a buddy my name Daniel Vaughan
he's a writer a fellow barbecue nerd
So let's talk about the future barbecue. What do you think the future barbecue is?
I think the trend is really to go back to the old ways of doing things. It's not
about new technologies its it's going back to you know
steel cookers and piles of wood. At least for the people who wanna be taken
seriously who
wanna get the respect of the, I guess, the barbecue nerds is that they understand
that they've gotta go back to cooking with wood. I think we've kinda moved past
like evolution a barbecue and like people just opening up BBQ joints just to make money. Like you...
I'll go by rotisserie - oh it was just an oven you don't need any talent like
I think people are evolving you know back to the
to the way it used to be kinda you know back to the future if you will
well and and really I see that happening in Texas
I still think that if go around the country there's plenty of places who
still think that
as long as i buy this machine that does it for me I can open up a barbecue joint
do things just fine. You know if you go into North Carolina the
true true cue.. true barbecue fans there
lament the whole idea oh that most to the new place is there are just put in
an electric cookers
in Texas and i were really lucky that that those new places are cooking with wood.
yeah we are very lucky right here because we have good word
yes, well we have good beef to and I and i think thats
that's probably one of the other biggest trends I've seen is some of the new menu items
that keep showing up on barbecue menus. If you look around at your
Instagram accounts or whatever you're generally going to see those giant beef short ribs
everybody loves a beef rib! They love the beef rib. They love those the big bone
the pound and 1/2 of meat
that comes with it but you know if you look back just
five years ago, ten years ago there weren't a whole lot of places doing those at all
and it seems like
pretty much every new place that opens has that on the menu
yeah I mean they're really fun it it's a shame that they don't make any money
yeah I wonder what the longevity of a beef short rib is
I mean obviously a place can't stay open just selling beef ribs.
Well so let's look at another
menu item that might be the future. Nearly every restaurant that I go to that has
just opened up
has pulled pork on the menu and most of them the didn't have it
I mean you go to Louie Miller in Taylor
a place that is all about barbecue tradition. They've got baby backs now.
but they've got sweet and spicy baby back ribs and they've got pulled pork on
the menu a place like that that's
thats you know over 50 years old. yeah. who feels like they've got to make those
innovations to stay competitive
I would think most of...Do you think that's what it is though?
I mean, I've done baby backs here
just because I'm tired of cooking spares
you know "like oh let's let's run is a special for fun" so I wonder if it's more like
because somebody feels that they need to do
different cuts of meat to stay competitive or if they're just tired of cooking the
same stuff everyday
or maybe they need to..maybe they need to evolve
create that new menu item that can make up for the losses and the beef ribs
how can all these new barbecue places opening up like insure their future as a barbecue place
why think one other thing is just making sure that they they do the cooking on
principle you know. That they are
using wood. They are you know creating that
hate to use the word artisanal but in barbecue..in barbecue it actually fits.
It's crafty.
It is a craft, it does take considerable amount of time and skill
and experience to do it right. For the future of
all these barbecue joints is really consistency. Can they
consistently cook the same same way every day
as they grow and cook more more can they still consistently put out a good product.
I can speak first hand that that is a really hard thing to pull off
yeah and can they consistently run a business. To run a business you can't
just get tired and decide to close
Yeah. I mean you gotta have some consistency. I didn't want to wear pants this morning
but I had to put them on anyway.
That's right, exactly. I mean, come on. It's hot out here.
You've got a successful barbecue place going here would you have any tips for
the guy or girl who has their money saved up and wants to open a barbecue joint.
yeah the biggest thing is if you don't have it
don't spend it. You know how many people try to open up a restaurant in
say I need this much money for the Kitchen. I need this. Don't spend it.
Barbecue is simple.
It's simple by nature. It's meat and fire that's pretty much all you really have
to have. So start small.
Start small and when you can afford the to make improvements - make them.
You eat more barbecue than probably anyone I know. If you had tips to someone that
was going to open up a BBQ joint
what would you say? I think would repeat what you said: Just keep it simple
A few menu items and do them well before you start expanding menu. There is no need to
have ten options when you start and then go somewhere where there's
not nearly as much competition as somewhere like Austin or New York City.
go to..go to some of those smaller big city or
even some of the smaller cities here in Texas and open those up. Sounds like a plan.
Well thanks a bunch for talking, good chattin. Thanks for having
I