Austin Daily Photo: Quick Field Report:Scrumptious Chef Pop Up Three Little Pigs And East End Wines

Jul 15

posted by RL Reeves Jr in Austin Daily Photo

Of all my harebrained schemes, I'd have to say breaking in a new {to me} smoker by throwing a hundred pounds of meat on it, and going for broke ranks right near the top.

As one might expect, some of the briskets came out like beefy butter and others, well, they did not come out like beefy butter. I noticed while I was slicing that some were just gorgeous and juicing like Hell when I was wielding my knife hand. Others, particularly the parts that folks who like the lean/dry side of the brisket, were less fortunate/wet.

One of my favorite things to do in the whole world is to sit up all night next to a smoker filled with meat, drinking and wool gathering. Last night however, was a mite rough. I loaded the pit in a pounding rain storm, things cleared up, a second pounding rain storm ripped through and then finally at 4 am the mother of all thunder and lightning storms rolled over East Austin. It was quite the spectacle but definitely not conducive to pit management.

We'll be taking the lay of the land over the next few days to see if pop up number 2 will happen. It was incredible to see dozens of people eating and socializing at the event. Many thanks, hope you got fed real good and had a good time doing it.

img courtesy of Ryan over at the http://foiegrashotdog.blogspot.com/

real deal Austin food news and reviews: https://twitter.com/RLReevesJr

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This entry was posted on July 15, 2012 at 7:17 PM. There are currently 10 comments. Print this entry. Download attachment.

     

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• #1 by CarterB on 7/15/12 - 8:48 PM

  

  Thanks, Chef, we enjoyed hanging out today. The brisket we had was tasty but wasn't rivaling Franklin down the street. :) The beans were nice and spicy. I think for a first whirl on a smoker in tough weather, you did mighty fine. Hope you do it again.

• #2 by poryorick on 7/16/12 - 5:53 AM

  

  You were hammered when we stopped by early, so I missed getting your attention before we took off. I'll second Carter's critique; it was a valiant effort in less than perfect conditions. The warning on those beans wasn't an overstatement, and I loved the chunky slaw. Looking forward to your next outing.

• #3 by rl on 7/16/12 - 9:07 AM

  

  thanks for the kind words y'all. We were in the weeds for a good solid 2 hours so the socializing aspect {my favorite part} was not on the menu. Hoping to do another one and am open to any suggestions as far as menu, time of day, day of week etc. RL

• #4 by Alan Sudo on 7/16/12 - 5:26 PM

  

  I saw you working your butt off back there. Hope it turned out to be worth your trouble.
  Nice job on the food, and I was even able to put a little leftover pork into a tortilla with some guacamole for a delicious lunch today.

• #5 by Ryan Schierling on 7/16/12 - 8:07 PM

  

  I'll echo the brisket comments, but will add that those porky beans and vinegary slaw were the finest I've had in a while. They both actually surprised me. Bbq sides are too often over-thought or severely under-thought, but these were perfect old-school accompaniments to solid fatty brisket and what felt like a backyard picnic. As far as suggestions go for future Sunday lunches go, I say... on Sundays, for lunch. Too many trailers are closed and I don't fight with brunch lines.
  
  As a funny aside, a father and daughter sat down at the table we were at. The daughter asked about what was in the beans, if there was pork in the beans, "because I don't want to eat the beans if there is pork in the beans..." Dad explained that there wasn't pork in there. Maybe some chicken stock. Definitely no pork in the beans.
  
  Ah, the lies we tell to get kids to eat things.

• #6 by rl on 7/16/12 - 8:17 PM

  

  Man we were humping it out back there to make sure the line[s] never got too long, wish everybody would've stuck their head in the trailer to at least say howdy so I could put a face to a name or avatar.
  On a side note, I can't recommend staying up for 36 hours without sleep. I feel like I got ran over by a truck a full day later.
  We're going to take stock on the whole affair over the next few days and decide whether we'll do another one or not. Will keep everybody posted. RL

• #7 by rl on 7/17/12 - 10:23 AM

  

  The scrappy little kid sister of Austin food news: Eater, got wind of the closure http://austin.eater.com/archives/2012/07/17/pacham...
  
  slingshot in backpocket.check.pigtails flying in the breeze.check.date with Fraggle Rock and a box of Bugles with easy cheese.check.

• #8 by Addie Broyles on 7/18/12 - 12:28 PM

  

  Sorry we missed it, R.L.! Looking forward to next time.

• #9 by rl on 7/18/12 - 1:47 PM

  

  hoping to do a soul food menu next time.rl

• #10 by rl on 7/18/12 - 1:49 PM

  

  anyone with thoughts on a possible soul food menu for early August? Pan Fried Chicken n gravy, green beans with bacon and onions, mashers, sweet potato casserole for dessert. Suggestions?