LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 19: Jon Favreau and Roy Choi speak onstage at the Netflix FYSEE Food Day at Raleigh Studios on May 19, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)
It’s a barbecue bonanza in the sixth episode of The Chef Show, as Jon Favreau and Roy Choi team up with Aaron Franklin for all things meat.
In the sixth episode of Jon Favreau and Roy Choi’s The Chef Show, the duo meet up with Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue, to savour the culinary scene in Austin. Franklin had a cameo in Favreau’s 2014 film Chef, on which The Chef Show is based, and it is only fitting that he appear on the show talking about what he loves most—barbecue.
Austin Culinary History
The trio tuck into some breakfast taco as they discuss the culinary scene in Austin, and how it differs from Los Angeles. Breakfast tacos themselves are rather particular to Austin, not having gained the same popularity in LA.
Interestingly, the food truck scene in the city also differs from LA. Whereas the Kogi food truck, which shot Choi to fame, was a small mobile eatery, in Austin, most food trucks are essentially trailers, and they don’t have to move—they remain parked in their spots for as long as they want.
However, like Choi, when Franklin began, he had a tiny truck, and only one cooker. As his truck garnered more fame, he added more cookers and eventually opened up his own barbecue restaurant. It wasn’t smooth sailing, though. Franklin admits to having had more passion than skill at first but as he began to cook more, he learned how to adapt and how to work with the weather, the wood, and the cut of meat that he had to create a great product.
He is also a huge proponent of cooking barbecue the traditional Austin way, instead of the more new-fangled techniques. Favreau and Choi agree that it makes his barbecue taste delicious. We’re about to find out why.
Brisket
Favreau has taken up the monumental task of carving up a brisket, following Franklin’s instructions. Having seen this season of The Chef Show, we know Favreau’s knife skills are excellent, but does Franklin agree?
It isn’t long before Franklin is impressed by Favreau’s carving. He’s doing an excellent job of slowly carving off the fat, as well as the parts of the meat that are likely to burn in the cooker. There are a couple of moments when Favreau slices a bit too deep but for the most part, Franklin is full of praise for him.
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It is soon Franklin’s turn to carve the brisket. He slices up much large pieces than Favreau but they’re mostly clean slices. A lot of the brisket is being carved off but fortunately, those parts can be used for other dishes. Except for the fat, which is mostly thrown away. The end result is a perfect cut of meat that will cook beautifully and evenly.
Dalmatian Rub
The dalmatian rub that Franklin has made for the briskets beautifully coats the surface of the meats. He uses a more than generous dose, ensuring that every nook and cranny gets an even amount of the rub.
When it’s Favreau’s turn, Franklin is blown away. Favreau seasons his meat, taking pointers from Franklin about adding the rub to the sides as well as the top and bottom.
The meat takes six hours to cook. When the trio go to check on it, the scene is surprisingly reminiscent of Franklin’s cameo in Chef, something Favreau happily notes to Choi. And then it’s time to serve the meat.
At Franklin Barbecue, Franklin shows Favreau how to slice the cooked brisket before serving it to customers. It takes a couple of tries but Favreau picks up the skill very quickly, slicing with ease, and getting the meals out in timely fashion. The customers are more than happy, even coming back for more. Favreau is proving himself to be a jack-of-all-trades in the culinary sphere!
Tips for Home Cooks:
- When carving a brisket, you need to remove the fat in clean layers.
- Don’t throw away the parts of the brisket that can’t be cooked on the barbecue; use it to make sausage, burgers, chilli, or stew.
- Lean meats don’t absorb flavour the way fatty meats do. If your meat doesn’t have much fat on it, you may need to add more seasoning.
- For a barbecue, it is best to use kosher salt instead of regular salt as the rougher granules will help the brisket cook better than salt that smooths down its surface.
- To find out whether your meat is cooked in the barbecue, tap it with your knuckles. If the bark (the hard crust) cracks, that means its on its way to being done. If it still feels spongy, it has a way to go.
Final Thoughts
There was more history in this episode of The Chef Show than there was in the previous episode, but it was definitely fascinating watching the many steps of making a good barbecue. The care and precision shown by both Franklin and his protégé Favreau was mesmerising. They clearly demonstrated a love for their product with their knife skills.
Unlike in most of this season of The Chef Show, there wasn’t nearly enough of Choi in this episode, which was unfortunate. As a fellow chef, his thoughts on the barbecue process, particularly regarding carving up the brisket, would have been appreciated, but alas, he barely said a word and we are left to ponder what he was thinking.
An enjoyable episode nonetheless, even if there wasn’t nearly enough cooking as we would have liked.
The Chef Show is streaming on Netflix internationally.