PSA: That pitmaster at the Franklin BBQ line changed my whole approach

Last summer I waited 3 hours in line at Franklin BBQ in Austin and ended up chatting with a pitmaster named Mike who was grabbing lunch on his day off. He watched me sauce my brisket and just shook his head, said 'you're covering up the smoke, not adding to it.' That one sentence made me stop using sauce altogether for the next 6 months. Has anyone else had a random pro call them out like that and actually take the advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

paigewood3d ago

Yeah I read that sauce hides good smoke work. Makes sense now.

faithrodriguez3d ago

Oh you're talking about that "hides good smoke work" part, @paigewood. Yeah that's the polite way of saying the sauce covers up half-assed firebox welding and bad airflow design. I've opened up enough smokers where the owner was bragging about the sauce only to find a weld that looks like a pigeon got sick on it. The sauce is a crutch, plain and simple. Fix the smoke first, then worry about the sauce. People get so hung up on the shiny finish they forget the guts matter.