BBQ is a divisive artform. Living in Austin, everybody has an opinion on what the best BBQ is. Some will swear it’s Valentina’s, others will swear its Stiles Switch. The truth is the king is still Franklin BBQ. This is coming from a guy who used to drive by Franklin BBQ and mutter “Who would wait in that line!”.
This is not new information or shocking to hear. It has however been commonplace to downplay the quality at Franklin BBQ. People don’t like the idea of a wait, and I cannot blame them for that. They might have cold leftovers and compare that to getting fresh brisket at another spot. Frankly I understand how people get sick of hearing about Franklin BBQ.
The Wait
We all fear the wait, why wait when we can go to any other place and be served immediately. However, my dad was in town and he loves smoking and Aaron Franklin. Having been the one to get him into smoking as a hobby, I could not say no when he wanted to go.
We arrived about
The couple behind us was visiting Austin and asked for some chill recommendations. We let them know about the LBJ Presidential Library, the Bullock Texas State History Museum, and my personal favorite, Peter Pan Mini Golf. Just spreading some of that Austin hospitality!
Two employee’s came and asked us what we were going to order so they could set expectations. I was seriously worried they were going to tell me that they were not going to have enough brisket. Thankfully this was not the case.
Around 10:45, they told us to put our chairs away and get ready to start moving. The longest part of the wait was inside as you were so close, yet so far. Finally, after waiting a couple of hours, we placed the order.
The Food
Not knowing when we were going to have the time to wait in line again we went all out. For two people, we ordered.
- 2 lbs of Brisket
- 1 lb of Pork Ribs
- 2 sausage links
- Serving of Potato Salad
- Serving of beans
- 1 Lonestar
- Two T-shirts
Altogether this ran us about $150 dollars, not that unreasonable but something you do not want to do every week.
After a five hour wait, we were hungry but more importantly, we were excited.
The meat was amazing. The star of the show, the brisket was perfect. Not too moist, not too lean. The bark was incredibly flavorful but not too salty like some brisket bark can be. I can see how people fall in love with the brisket here.
The Ribs were fall off the bone but not so much that they end up like a pile of mush. The sauce and rub they put on isamazing. I was expecting the ribs to be good, but not this good. A secret we all know in Texas is that Pork Ribs are better than Brisket.
The sausage was very “beefy” for lack of a better description. At first, I did not think much of the beef sausage. My girlfriend, however, had a leftover sausage and would beg to differ. I had another piece of it later and it was damn good. Get the sausage for later!
The sides were pretty good but no one goes to Franklin BBQ for the sides. They were very generous with the meat in the beans which is awesome. The potato salad was a
Overall, the food lived up to the hype. It was overall, the best BBQ I have ever had.
Behind the scenes
While we waited in line, one of the workers asked us if we would like to take a quick tour of the smokers. My dad’s eyes lit up with excitement. Truth be told, I was excited to see behind the scenes of the BBQ empire.
In the smoky room in the back there were four huge offset smokers. Talking to the employee back there, they said they do about 120 packer briskets a day. Some quick maths, a Packer brisket is around 8-12 pounds. At $25 dollars a pound, they are selling before costs $24K of brisket a day, amazing!
Is it worth it?
We all don’t have hours to spend waiting in line for BBQ. If you, have the time and want to have a unique experience I highly recommend waiting a least once. If you want to try the food without the wait, you can order ahead but just note there is a five-pound minimum.
Sounds amazing