Meat Talk, Episode 2 – All about HAM!

Evan and Matt talk about ham, one of the most misunderstood and least respected cuts of meat in all of Barbecue-dom. In this episode we discuss:

  • The difference between country and city ham.
  • Evan gets hype when Matt reveals something he hates paired with ham.
  • How ham ties in to one of Evan and Matt’s favorite TV shows.
  • Anecdote from Matt about misconceptions of ham at a party.
  • Tons more, so check it out 😉

If you have any ham questions, be sure to leave them below in the comments and we’ll answer them on our next episode.

Now, click “play” and let’s talk meat!

Meat Talk, Episode 1

Welcome to the first episode of Meat Talk!

In this episode we discuss chicken wings, our favorite places to get wings in and around Austin, Texas, sauces, and pretty much everything else involved with the humble yet delicious chicken wing.

What are your favorite wings? What kind of sauce do you like most? Tell us your thoughts in the comments on this post!

One quick note: this is our first episode and, in addition to it being a bit long, we may also have all been sipping a few libations. So, bear with us as we really hone in on our podcasts 🙂

 

BBQ Guru PartyQ

There isn’t a long list of products that I’ve purchased that have revolutionized my life. Without a doubt, the BBQ Guru PartyQ is certainly on that list.

The PartyQ is, quite simply, a temperature controller. It regulates the cooker temperature by controlling the flow of oxygen to the coals with the use of a small fan. More oxygen, the cooker gets hotter. Less oxygen and the cooker cools off.

Unlike other temperature control products (like the DigiQ or pitmasterIQ), the PartyQ is battery powered which means it’s portable. That’s an extremely attractive feature for me since I like to take my Weber Smokey Mountain around with me everywhere I go.

I should mention that a ~9 hour cook drained 8 AA batteries easily. In the future I’ll likely replace the batteries every 4 hours on the dot in addition to using only Energizer Industrial batteries since they seemed to perform better than the regular ones. Additionally, I admit that it was extremely cold (started the day at a balmy 8ÂșF) and it’s possible the cold contributed to decreased battery performance.

During the cook I was super nervous about the cooker temperature, checking it maniacally every 20 minutes. I used the Minion Method which normally has me tweaking dampers all day to adjust for wind flow. However, with the PartyQ I did almost nothing. It was glorious! My WSM held 250ÂșF (121ÂșC) pretty much the entire time without issue.

Using the PartyQ was beyond a pleasure; in fact, it was one of the best barbecue cooking experiences I’ve ever had. With hardly any effort, I turned out some of the best brisket I’ve ever made.

HouBBQ 2014: A View From The Other Side Of The Table

Last year, I went to the Houston Barbecue Festival as a ticket holder and had a blast. In fact, last year’s HouBBQ was one of the primary motivators for really getting BrisketMan off the ground.

This year, however, I went a completely different direction. I wanted to experience the festival from the other side of the table.

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House of Cards, Valentine’s Day & Barbecue

It’s time for a confession: I love watching binge TV. I don’t love it quite as much as barbecue, but still I adore it.

And there is no TV show more binge-worthy than House of Cards. You haven’t heard of House of Cards? It’s a Netflix original show starring Kevin Spacey who plays a member of Congress trying, at all costs, to increase his power and influence.

But, what does this have to do with Valentine’s Day?

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Win $75 To An Epic Barbecue Joint

Yes, you read it right. Go to a barbecue joint from my Barbecue Tour Guide between 1/17/2014 and 1/26/2014 and you could win $25 $50 $75 to any joint off the list.

Robert Strickland, the man behind Come and Brisket, has also chipped in $25. That brings the total purse to $75!

Clark Wimberly (@clarklab), fellow barbecue fanatic and WordPress genius, kicked in an extra $25! So, that brings us to a whopping $50 to spend at the barbecue joint of your choice.

Here’s what you do:

  • Take a picture of yourself (yah, a selfie) at any barbecue joint from my barbecue tour guide.
  • Tweet it to @BrisketMan and add the hashtag #BrisketMan
  • On Monday, 1/27/2014 I’ll randomly pick a winner who will receive $25 to any restaurant in my guide.

If there are less than 30 entries, the contest is off. So everyone you know who eats barbecue the next two weekends needs to enter.

Good luck!

Essential Barbecue Tours In Austin And Central Texas

Right now, Austin is the center of the barbecue universe. As Texas style cooking becomes more prevalent across the country, folks are looking toward Austin and Central Texas as the example for perfection.

Many chefs, connoisseurs and barbecue lovers flock to Austin to take barbecue tours. They arrive with a list in hand and adventure in their heart. The only problem is that they quickly realize that all inclusive lists are overwhelming. It’s quite difficult to have a plan for touring barbecue joints if you don’t know the area really well.

Here’s where this page comes in handy. I have made a number of suggested tours for the area. You’ll find map links and descriptions of each joint below.

Tour Index

  1. The Old Faithful
  2. The Austin Changeup
  3. East of Austin Loop
  4. Hill Country Drive
  5. Saturday Classics
  6. East Austin Crawl
  7. The Salt Lick Finish
  8. The Franklin Hail Mary
  9. New School/Old School

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