Rule is, if you don't see any bbq sauce anywhere, don't even ask. It is believed that the meat should stand on its own, and disrespectful to even ask. It's like if you spent your entire day cooking a meal, and the moment someone sits down to eat, they ask for some salt. I had this problem with my in-laws earlier on, as I used to ask for soy sauce before even tasting their food, which meant to them that they didnt season well and didnt do a very good job cooking. It's that personal.
It is seriously and truly considered disrespect. It's like going to a steakhouse and asking the head chef to cover your fliet mignon in ketchup.... ... only worse. Those pitmasters spend over 12 hours working to cook the briskets so that they taste fantastic by themselves. To put sauce on them is to detract from the flavors that they have worked so hard to infuse into the meat. How would you like to bust your ass cooking over a fire for 12 hours to create unique flavor in a food, only to have the person eating it hide the flavor with a sauce? DO NOT ask them for sauce. ... or forks... ... or wet wipes.... If you want a diverse menu with kid-friendly stuff, go somewhere else. If you want average bbq that needs sauce, go somewhere else. These places are NOT for that. They are there only for those who are looking for the best BBQ on Earth made not just by professionals, but from families that have spent generations developing their cooking methods. It's simple. It's pure. It's BBQ. There is no wi-fi. There is only BBQ.
It's supposedly eeeevil to put sauce on "great bbq" because "only people trying to hide bad bbq are going to put sauce on it". I think it's dorky. One example would be today when I had a piece of shoulder clod from Lockhart Smokehouse. It was on the dry side. At that point, I was screwed because, you guessed it - no sauce. I would've died trying to chew on shoe leather with nothing to put on it to make it taste better. Luckily I only tried a small piece. I like places that give you a sauce and you can put it on there if you want.
That's not your fault, though. If the BBQ is not great, apply sauce. I use sauce on brisket at various restaurants around Houston. It's not that the BBQ is "bad".... it just isn't GREAT. For normal bbq, sauce is fine. For truly great BBQ, sauce is a big no-no.
2 years ago I went through N Carolina not only did they have an odd tasting bbq sauce on the pork sandwich it also had a scoop of coleslaw between the meat and bread. If a Texan is traveling in the other foreign states look under the bun before taking a bite, always tell them sauce on the side, and always keep a bottle of good sauce in your ice chest when traveling. Sometimes you just have to cover the taste of some places so called bbq.
Tried to get some franklins this morning. Sold out by 845 am. Kept on driving to Lockhart. Ate some brisket and ribs at Smitty's. Both wer off the charts good. Moist and tender and full of flavor. Then we went over to blacks. Bought more brisket and ribs. Compared to Smitty's the the brisket and ribs were both dry and the ribs were tough. I got moist cut at both places and Blacks just wasn't in the same ballpark.
Been standing in line at Franklin's since 10 am. I was the 28th person in line an hour before opening. Can't wait to try it. Update to follow.
Nevermind didnt see that it was clod... Thats just a ****ty cut to grill.. you gotta braise that mofo
For those of you who don't want to spend time waiting in line at Franklin's, try John Mueller's on South 1st. They just re-opened as a trailer after a long hiatus (Franklin used to work there) out of Austin and are, in my opinion, just as good. No one knows about them yet, though, so the lines are nice and short, even around noon.
Good stuff man. Say what up to Aaron - damn nice guy. The brisket is extremely tender there, even the extra lean stuff.
Brisket top notch. Tasty and moist without being overly fatty. Ribs perfectly cooked and seasoned. All three sauces tasted good so if I would have needed some I could have used it... But the meat didn't need anything. If it wasn't the best I've ever had it was certainly in the ballpark with all of the other greats (haven't had snows yet)
Apparently, my favorite BBQ site had a Franklin vs. Snow's battle. I thought Snow's would lose for sure because it had to survive a 1-2 hour drive to Franklin and then a wait in line while at Franklin, but it seems like pretty much a wash. You can't go wrong at either joint. They did note that the dominant flavor at Snow's was the salt. That's exactly what I noted. I'm not a huge fan of a ton of salt and actually thought that was the biggest negative I had with Snow's. It's still the best brisket I've ever had : http://fcg-bbq.blogspot.com/2011/09/franklin-barbecue-vs-snows-bbq.html
went last week. Got prime rib and brisket, both excellent. very similar to one in Taylor. interesting choice of sides, squash, chipotle slaw.
