BBQ Interview Series - Kevin’s BBQ Joints
A BBQ Interview Series by Kevin’s BBQ Joints focusing on personalities in the BBQ, meat and food world. We dive deep into their history, current projects, and more importantly their passion for BBQ and meat.
Listen on:
Episodes
Monday Jul 13, 2020
Monday Jul 13, 2020
In this episode I get a chance to talk with Bryan Flannery from Flannery Beef in Marin, California. They specialize in high quality, USDA Prime Holstein Beef.
See all things Flannery Beef here: https://www.flannerybeef.com
Check out Flannery Beef on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/FlanneryBeef
Follow Flannery Beef on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/flannerybeef
We go into the history of Flannery Beef. From his father being a butcher at a single butcher shop with 80 butchers to moving their operation to San Rafael where they have their aging rooms(just added a computerized aging room that sounds incredible), packing, shipping, and production. We discuss in detail how Katie built the online business and how they came to work with restaurants and their connection to the wine world(Robert Parker rates their beef at 100 points). We discuss DRY versus WET aging in detail so if you've ever wondered about that you get a quick education(you also find out which method he prefers).
We talk about his transition to more of a back end roll with Katie running the operation and how they primarily use meat from Holstein cows. Again, Bryan goes into detail discussing the difference in marbling, texture, and overall flavor between Angus and Holstein(super interesting). Most importantly we discuss the care and detail that goes into every shipment, be it for the home customer online or for a restaurant. Hand cutting every order. It's remarkable and a testament to their top notch customer service. Lastly we chat about their various burger blends of which they have 3. It's important to note that while they are serving prime beef, the pricing is affordable for that price range.
Check out their gift boxes here: https://www.flannerybeef.com/butcher/gift-boxes.html
Buy a gift certificate here: https://www.flannerybeef.com/butcher/gift-certificates/gift-certificate.html
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
Wednesday Jul 08, 2020
In this episode I get the chance to chat with Michael Johnson Jr. from Cen-Tex Smokers in Luling, Texas.
Check them out(and follow them) on Instagram here; https://www.instagram.com/centex_smokers
See them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/CenTexSmokers
This one is great because he is so early into his pit building career. He has always had a passion for BBQ AND has been welding since he was 5 or 6(yes, that early on). His dad is taught him early on(and later he went to welding school) and is still his parter in the production of pits. They build the pits on his dad's property. His first big break was a pit for Ronnie Killen and then Big Moe Cason. He also has a 500 gallon on tap for a guy in Las Vegas and will be doing another pit for Ronnie. We go into welding in depth, his passion for hard work, how he got to where he is today and what you can expect regarding lead times, new projects and ideas, and why you would want to lean towards him to produce something for him. He's a great guy who was incredibly fun to chat with and I imagine the same would hold true if you worked with him.
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
In this episode I chat with Scott Schaefer, the Director of Special Events at The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana. Essentially a national park contained on private property.
See all things The Resort at Paws Up here: https://www.pawsup.com
Follow The Resort at Paws up on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/theresortatpawsup
Check them out of Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TheResortatPawsUp
The property is 60 square miles or 37,000 acres. The property has been the site of a working Angus ranch for over a century (and still is one), and the family bought it approximately 25 years ago. It features 6 camps, 38 different homes, and they are working on an island and an adult's only resort. To visit you fly into Missoula.
This was recorded early into the pandemic, right before Montana Master Grillers(this year Sheldon Mason and Evan LeRoy). We talk about Scott's background, how he came to work at The Resort at Paws Up, but mostly we chat about the property, it's history, and the incredible events(BBQ and live fire) that are put on year round with the likes of Charlie McKenna, Andy Husbands, Wayne Mueller, Sam Huff, Erin and Patrick Feges, and many, many more.
Some of the Upcoming Events and links to past events:
Pitmaster - July 10th - 12th Featuring Chefs and Authors Chris Hart and Andy Husbands https://www.pawsup.com/events/cookbook-live/pitmaster
Live Fire Legends - July 10th - 12th
https://www.pawsup.com/events/live-fire-legends
Featuring Chefs and Authors Chris Hart and Andy Husbands
https://www.pawsup.com/events/live-fire-legends
Campire Chefs - August 20th - 23rd
https://www.pawsup.com/events/food-and-wine/campfire-chefs/chef-patrick-feges
Montana Master Grillers (2020) https://www.pawsup.com/events/montana-master-grillers
Live Fire Legends (2020) https://www.pawsup.com/events/live-fire-legends
From the Archives, Montana Master Grillers (2019) https://www.pawsup.com/events/2019/montana-master-grillers
Montana Master Grillers (2021) https://www.pawsup.com/events/2021/montana-master-grillers
Video for Montana Master Grillers https://vimeo.com/332242583
If you are a chef or pitmaster interested in participating in one of these events you can email Scott here: sschaefer@pawsup.com
His episode on Eat More Barbecue podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-resort-at-paws-up/id1416444264?i=1000461882625
Find the resort on the map here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Resort+at+Paws+Up/@46.9169794,-113.434776,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xea52da2857ff3070?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyjr60sbrqAhVDj54KHd1BDFwQ_BIwFnoECBMQCA
Request a brochure: https://www.pawsup.com/contact-us/request-brochure Sign up for newsletter at the bottom of the page
Sunday Jul 05, 2020
Sunday Jul 05, 2020
In this episode I am lucky enough to chat with Drew Brahs from Harper Barbecue in Costa Mesa, California.
See Harper Barbecue on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/harperbarbecue
Info on their Hibatchi Grills(https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgla17B0O-/)
11 x 15 - $ 350
16 x 18 - $ 450
16 x 36 - $ 800 (the largest with 2 grates AND a flat top)
Current lead time as of airing for pits on trailers is 8-10 months and 4-5 months on backyard pits(you should check via DM though). They will be launching the website shortly with our hibachis and fire pits, so continue to follow them on Instagram for updates.
My conversation with Drew was great. This was essentially 'the unintentional business that became this...' He and his partner Brian have been cranking out pits for the likes of The Offset Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/theoffsetbbq/) who bought Harper's first pit on Craigslist, Helberg Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/helbergbarbecue), Herc's Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/hercsbarbecue), Holy Trinity Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/holytrinitybarbecue), Breakwater Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/breakwaterbarbecue), Republic Craft Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/republicue_), 3rd Degree BBQ(https://www.instagram.com/3rd_degree_bbq/), Neighbors BBQ(https://www.instagram.com/neighbors_barbecue), Heritage Craft Barbecue( https://www.instagram.com/heritagebarbecue/), Johnnys BBQ(https://www.instagram.com/johnnysbarbeque), and Horn Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/hornbarbecue).
He grew up in the Costa Mesa/Newport area and worked in a fish market in the early days(gained a ton of knowledge through this), went to military school, then through a number of detours started welding pits, which turned into this business. He goes in depth about their upcoming brick and mortar(opening around mid 2021) which sounds incredible. Along with insane Central Texas style there will be smoked fish on the menu as well as smoked oysters(he's bee a fisherman his whole life). Also, he is planning on having steak nights and a creative bar menu on the days they are open into the evening. Right now they are shooting for being open 4-5 days a week. Cool Facts: History of costa mesa https://www.costamesaca.gov/about/history
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
Sunday Jun 28, 2020
In this episode I get the chance to chat with Rebecca King from The Bad Jew.
The Bad Jew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebadjew
The Bad Jew website: https://thebadjewla.com
The Next Pop-Ups for The Bad Jew: https://thebadjewla.com/pop-ups
Rebecca King's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccakooking
Rebecca moved to Los Angeles 3 years ago from Cleveland to do commercial real estate, but her true passion is cooking. She talks about purchasing 'On Vegetables' by Jeremy Fox and how she would go to his restaurant(seeing all of the farms listed on his menu) and used those menus to recreate dishes(by shopping at her local farmer's market). She calls this 'menu reading'.
The concept of The Bad Jew is to do pastrami and corned beef with PORK. She threw herself deeply into learning about pickling, brining, and fermenting and connected with Danny Gordon from Flatpoint Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/flatpointbarbecue) to learn how to smoke meats(this is where I first met Rebecca who was working with Danny and his crew) Rebecca truly shows the power of hard work, hustling, and being a sponge for learning about everything she is passionate about. Be sure to stop by one of her pop-ups or a house party when that is a thing again.
Check out Melody Wine Bar(https://melodyla.com) and their 'Porkstrami crushers'.
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
In this episode of From Behind the BBQ Front Lines I talk to Nick Solares, Host of Meat Life(https://www.youtube.com/meatlife). This was recorded 6 weeks into the pandemic and I wanted to check in to see how he was doing, and see how things were in New York(both in general and the overall restaurant and meat scene). We get into the climate, how things will be after this is over(or mostly over) and what it's like to live around 3 major hospitals in New York City and to bike around with no one outside. We discuss Pat LaFrieda(https://www.lafrieda.com), Gold Belly(https://www.goldbelly.com), Rocker Brothers Meat & Provisions(https://rockerbrosmeat.com), John Tesar(https://johntesar.com), Joe Jr., and that Nick's spirit animal is a hot dog.
Check out Meat Life on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/meatlife
See Nick Solares on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Nick_Solares
Otto Wilde Grillers: https://www.ottogrills.com/shop/grills/
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Monday Jun 22, 2020
In this episode of Behind the BBQ Front Lines I talk to Tyler Harp from Harp Barbecue in Raytown, MO. This was recorded a few weeks ago when he was still popping up at The Antler Room(https://www.theantlerroomkc.com), but he is now BACK at Crane Brewery(http://cranebrewing.com) in Raytown, Missouri Saturdays 11AM - Sold Out.
Prior to COVID19 he staged at Helberg Barbecue(https://www.helbergbarbecue.com) and Bodacious on Mobberly(https://bodaciousmobberly.com) and got new pits from Harper Barbecue(https://www.instagram.com/harperbarbecue).
We talk about the Kansas City barbecue scene, what he is doing during COVID, and about what is coming soon.
Check out Harp Barbecue on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/harpbarbecue
See Harp Barbecue on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/harpbarbecue
Monday Jun 22, 2020
Monday Jun 22, 2020
In this episode I chat with Simon Majumdar(https://www.simonmajumdar.com), the Host of the Eat My Globe Podcast: Things you didn't know, you didn't know about food(https://www.eatmyglobe.com/about-eat-my-globe-podcast). He is currently up to Season 4 and we get deeply into the podcast itself and the work and prep that goes into it. Some of my favorite ones are the History of Gin, History of Beef(it's in two parts), History of Cheese, and the 'Last meal served on the Titanic'. Who am I kidding though, the are ALL worth listening to and I promise you, listening will make you smarter. We also go into what a Gentleman Amateur is,
Guy's Tournament of Champions, Chef Carl Ruiz, Anthony Bourdain, bread making, growing scallions in water, his morning walks. how things are similar now to when bubonic plague hit Europe, how restaurants are being resourceful, what it might look like when restaurants do open up again, the National Theatre in London(https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/nt-at-home), and everything in between. I dare say you'll get smarter listening to this too.
Charities:
Guy's Restaurant Relief Fund: https://rerf.us
Golden Rule Charity: https://www.goldenrulecharity.org
Convoy of Hope: https://www.convoyofhope.org
See all things Simon Majumdar here: https://www.simonmajumdar.com
Check out Simon on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/simonmajumdar
Follow him on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/SimonMajumdar
