Meatopia

[JoeSalop]

Marcus, i am going with my sister, just waiting for her to get the tickets for my birthday. Looking forward to it! Esp Aaron franklin.

[Steve]

Marcus, I need some good pictures.

Unfortunately Meatopia clashes with Upton Cheyney Chilli festival and as torn as I was the yellow seven pots won me over.

[Pooky]

So, decided to bite the bullet and go yesterday - The draw of trying Mr Franklin's Brisket was too much!

It was a great day out - Obviously, with any 'new' event there were a few teething troubles, i.e. huge queues for some of the stands as the day went on, which was a shame as it meant missing out on some of delicious food on offer. Also, it wasn't cheap - On top of the ticket price, buying the tokens for food/beer etc really added up - It worked at at £4.50 per portion which wasn't terrible value (although some stands gave bigger portions than others), but obviously if you wanted to try lots of things it became quite pricey.

Highlights were:

John Bar-B-Q Shack's Maple & Wild Turkey glazed applewood smoked ham (great portion size as well!)
Grillstock's Smoked Tri-Tip
Duck & Waffle's Korean style Pigs Head with Truffle 'slaw
BBQ Whisky Beer's Smoked Beef Short Rib with squid ink Kimchee and Pickles
Seeing legendary Italian butcher Dario Cecchini's pig butchery demonstration - The speed and precision with which he butchered a whole half pig was incredible, talking about what he does with each cut (he uses everything) and then he made Porchetta with the side - Luckily they had some which he'd prepared earlier - Absolutely delicious!
And of course, Aaron Franklin's Brisket - Mind-blowingly good - Luckily we got there early and got to try it before the queue became ridiculous and he eventually sold out.

We got to speak to him once he'd finished - A really top man and interesting hearing about his pits and the differences he'd found between the British Briskets and the Grass-fed monsters he uses back in Texas - He was even nice enough to give me the few left-over sheets of his magic red butchers paper which he uses to wrap the briskets in - Can't wait to try it out on my next Briskie!

So all in all, a great, if pricey day out - I'd definitely go again, but would advise getting there right at the start to beat the queues.

[JoeSalop]

I would agree with most of what you've said there. Was a good day out, we got there about 12 and i made my sister have franklin's brisket for breakfast cos i wanted to make sure i didn't miss it!!

the queues got very big later about 4ish. Missed out on Almost Famous' burger due to the queue. Also missed the ox heart bun because they ran out pretty early.

Really enjoyed Grillstock, BarBQue Shack and BBQWhiskyBeer the most. Everything we had was ace tho!

[aris]

Do you know if Franklin used local brisket, or did he bring it in from the US?

[joker smoker]

local but he said he would try to ship his own next time

[tommo666]

I think elsco as one of the main sponsors supplied most of the meat.

[joker smoker]

East London Steak Company did supply the meats and very good they were too.

[aris]

East London Steak Company did supply the meats and very good they were too.

Apparently not good enough for Mr Franklin

[joker smoker]

British brisket is a very different beast to its American cousin . It looks, cooks, holds and tastes different. I like the taste of British brisket provided there is enough fat on it which sadly is not often enough. We do have the opportunity here in UK to buy USDA briskets via Freedown foods in Battersea and I would strongly recommend them so that you can make a choice as to which you personally prefer. Either way, good results are possible.