[matched_content] (gentle music) Welcome to my world. (upbeat music) Two escargot, ponte, Frisee. – Two green salads. – Okay. Lamb chops. Steak, frites. Shouldn’t you be doing something. Two full fillet and a pepper steak. Come on, make the dessert. Chocolate tart, please. As a cook, tastes and smells are my memories. And now I’m in search of new ones. So I’m leaving New York City in hope to have a few epiphanies around the world. And I’m willing to go to some lengths to do that. I’m looking for extremes of emotion and experience. I’ll try anything, I’ll risk everything, I have nothing to lose. My fellow American’s, what is our one culinary contribution to the world that’s as original as jazz, baseball, rock and roll? That’s right, barbecue. Ribs fall right off the bone. It’s all ours. Even the French can’t do it. So what do I know about barbecue? Yep, that about sums it up for me. Good night, and thanks for tuning in. (static) I kid, I kid. Actually, it turns out there’s a barbecue debate more heated than the last presidential election. There is just no element of barbecue that’s not controversial. What could possibly be controversial about barbecue? The cooking unit, the meat, fuel, the seasoning, and the most elusive, the expertise of the chef. I grew up in the country sleeping on a tree limb 30 feet off the ground. It’s only natural that I wind up cutting trees down and cooking with them now. So, what does all this madness add up to? It’s the elusive barbecue triangle. Three regions of the U.S. locked in deadly battle over who does it the best. Kansas city? Kansas City is the barbecue capital of the world. Texas? Nothing beats Texas-style barbecue, but, you know, just be sure that you like it. And North Carolina. Everyone has they special secret, so we got ours. Never fear, I, your intrepid host, will investigate. I probably shouldn’t wear my white linen suit when eating here. – [Man] Yeah. First assignment, Kansas City. Serious, serious barbecue people. Kansas City is a microchasm of the barbecue world. While other regions specialize in specific meats, in Kansas City, they’ll cook anything, anyhow. If it moves, barbecue it. One thing I’ve learned, good barbecue is not always pretty. Welcome to Oklahoma Joe’s. Gas station, liquor store, convenience store, some of the finest barbecue in this country. If you want to get to the bottom of something, you start at the top. So, I make a dinner date with Carolyn Wells, executive director of the Kansas City Barbecue Society. What should I order here? My favorite menu item is the Carolina Pork Sandwich, which is a pulled pork sandwich with slaw on top, served with Bubba sauce. But their ribs are great. And I think they’re cooking up some burnt ends just for you. Burnt ends, beef brisket. What is a burnt end? A burnt end is the charred part of the brisket after it’s cooked that they used to throw away. Only in Kansas City, that I know of, had they really become menu items. Here, they collect them all week so they can offer them one night during the week. Oh wow. Now this is finger-licking good. Flavor up the ying-yang, it’s great. So, are there barbecue nerds? Absolutely. Complete with the plastic things in the pocket, with meat thermometers sticking out. Who makes the best barbecue? Well, Kansas City, of course. Hmm. A bold claim. In order to properly evaluate, I need to find someone in the trenches. A fellow chef. Ah, Sunday afternoon in Kansas. We’re here to talk about barbecue with the world-recognized grand master authority on the subject of Kansas City barbecue, Paul Kirk, known as the Baron of Barbecue. I’m searching for that ultimate barbecue. I’ve never found it. Paul Kirk is like a barbecue prize fighter-turned-manager. He won loads of international competitions and now he trains rookies. I decided to investigate, even if it means I gotta do a little work. Maybe get my hands sticky. It’s apron time for you. Jesus, am I putting on weight? [Paul] Okay, what I have here, three briskets. I wanna know which one you would pick and why. Like the feel and the look of this guy. Nice fat layer, nice confirmation in shape, and I’m expecting it’ll be a nice mix of fat and lean. So, how’d I do? Very good. I’mma show you how I trim ’em. And then I’mma let you trim the other one. I’m gonna try to trim down to a quarter to 1/8th of an inch of fat. – Now you get to do it. – Alright. Time to show Paul a little classically trained technique. Gonna take off some of this fat. I know what I’m doing, I’m standing back. See me eating, it’s something good. Stop me. Alright, boss, how’d I do? It hurts, doesn’t it? Okay, this is a knife, not a saw. (grunts) You’re going like that, you forgot the most important part. Right, the right angle. So, not a complete disgrace, but definitely rookie status. Okay, maybe I’ve been away from the kitchen a little too long. But not very good. Okay, we’re gonna season these up. Seasoning salt, celery salt, onion salt, garlic salt. That’s a basic rub. Now I tell my students, add your signature. Pick out three seasonings. Some examples of seasonings that people might use without being silly would be coriander? – Coriander? Oh. (Chuckles) – I saw that in your book. – No? – Oregano, cumin, all spice. Got that wrist action down better than I did. Now that I’ve shown Paul a thing or two, it’s time to put the brisket in the cooker. Oh, there he is. Now, how many hours we talking about. We’re talking probably, since it’s certified Angus, probably 14. (record scratching) 14 hours? I don’t think we’ll be seeing barbecue brisket on Iron Chef anytime soon. That’s one of the great things about barbecue is that it’s the absolute antithesis of fast food. It’s 15 hours. Nice and moist, juicy. That’s beautiful. See now, here’s a good smoke ring. Good color, good penetration. – It’s moist, too. – Yeah, it’s beautiful. And there’s bread, fix yourself a sandwich. Will do. Sauce or not sauce? [Paul] One with sauce, one without sauce. It’s simple. It’s perfect. Try a little with the sauce. Tough call. Oh, it is, really is, yeah. This stuff is so good, I’m ready to vote Paul Kirk into the White House. But it’s not all about the chef, is it? This does not look like a backyard grill. – It doesn’t? – Nah. Now, that’s an $8,000 pit. I design this and Klose Pits down in Texas built if for me. One thing I’ll say about David is, first of all, you go around all the different pits around. Look at the workmanship. So, we’re talking real craftsmanship here. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, $8,000 barbecues? This will require further study. Looks like I’m off to Houston, Texas. (country music) From Kansas to Texas. You’d think there’s some hard and fast rules, the individual way they do things in certain states. But I gotta tell ya, I’m getting pretty confused. But one thing I’m not confused about is who makes, who builds, designs, and constructs the best pits maybe in the universe? This is the man, Dave Klose. And what’s that grinding sound in the background? That’s of the making of… Just a bunch of guys making metal stuff, you know. It’s not safe around a welder. (metal scraping) [Anthony] No kidding. This place looks like an episode of Monster Garage in a bowling plant all rolled into one. If you think a pit is just a hole in the ground, think again. You know, I actually believe we make some of the highest quality and best engineered pits in the world. And I won’t stop, until I’ve made something out of everything in the planet Earth. You don’t wanna park a car next to us, trust me. Okay, so you’re in the market for a barbecue pit, and you show up here. Dave is willing to custom design a pit for your individual needs. You’re military kitchen coming up short on appliances? This is bullet-proof glass? Yeah, this is a phone booth that was in the war in Sarajevo three years ago. These and the car pits, where you build a car, a police car, into a barbecue pit or something. The danger of that is that you never know. You don’t know if the glass is gonna explode. Perhaps you’re tough on appliances and require a more durable model. This is solid. You make solid objects. I can actually fire a .357 Magnum in this. – You’ve tried that. – Yes, I have. I’ve shot clean inside. I’d do that. Maybe you’re a hungry cosmonaut looking for a Dave close encounter. I was working out at NASA for years. Administrator at NASA’s a woman. I told her I wanted a pit on the moon. She said, "Why?" "Why do you want a pit on the moon?" I said because when the Russians or anyone else land, I want them to see the worlds first Klose interplanetary grill. [Anthony] Maybe you desire a simpler model, but souped up with all the extras. Gas injected with a burner on the side. Very small smoke stack in it. Adjustable fire rack, ash pan. Maybe you’re thinking, "I’ve got too many kitchen appliances." "I need to simplify." Now, this is a 14-foot beer bottle. In the neck is an actual 3-gallon pony keg with a beer tap right here. You just take this too your house, pull up, light it, pull out a coupla cases of beer. The whole block will shut down and have a party. [Anthony] No matter what your needs, you never leave the lot without taking a test drive. These are sausage-stuffed and bacon-wrapped quail. These things are spectacular. Now this is the good stuff. This is my signature dish. This is actually eight to 10 count tiger shrimp that are stuffed with stone claw crab meat, wrapped with a malletized chicken tender, wrapped in maple smoked bacon, and soaked in Cabernet Sauvignon overnight. [Dave] This guy is full of surprises. I thought he was gonna pull out some carbonized hot dogs or something. This is an amazing dish. You cannot mess this up. If you do it bad, it’s incredible. If you do it right, it’ll take the top of your head off. Give that a shot. Damn, look at that. Oh Dave, this is amazing. [Dave] You gotta try this quail, though. [Anthony] Oh, you’re not kidding. [Dave] This is spectacular. Oh, it’s beautiful. This has gotta be illegal somewhere. Oh yeah, that’s way too good. Think I’m on the Atkins diet. That’s like all meat, right? I haven’t seen a vegetable in like three or four days. Man knows how to cook. It’s not just food, it’s not just a lifestyle, it’s a calling, and… It’s an illness. Well, at least I didn’t try cobra heart, you know. I heard that you tried… I heard that you almost got eaten by a lion in Africa. No, that’s next season. So, Texans can make barbecue pits. But can Texans barbecue? Dave says that he knows a place where they make some of the best ribs and brisket in the nation. So, yeah, where are we, Dave? Yeah, we’re at Roy Burn’s barbecue. It’s been here about 30, 35 years. Some of the best barbecue in Houston. I just want Tony to try it and see how real Southern hospitality and quality lasts, you know. Southern hospitality? Good lord, it looks like a decent sneeze would level this place. That doesn’t seem to stop the customers. People come from all over Houston, southwest side, east side, everywhere. They drive in traffic to get over here and eat this barbecue. That is definitely an endorsement. If you’re willing to suffer for good food… And he’s probably got a sauce that he wouldn’t give up if you put a gun to his head. Anyone got a gun? (Chuckles) Despite outward appearances, Burn’s barbecue is a large operation. They have a sizable staff and deep pits bursting at the seams with slow-cooking ribs and briskets. Those right there, be there for about, oh, five, six more hours. My choice is the ribs. I love the ribs. That’s my specialty. According to Roy, the secret to his barbecue lies in the fuel. Slow burning oak. Post oak, that’s the secret doing the slow. Hey, I’m sold. But you know what, enough food for two is good enough for us. – That’s real nice. – Beautiful. Oh man, this smells unbelievable. Alright, well thank you sir. Want sauce on it? – You want sauce on it? – Yes, please. Thank you, okay great. We’ll see them out front. Thanks, sir. We got two sample platters here. [Dave] Oh, that’s good brisket there, buddy. His ribs are delicious, man. Try some of that sauce. Yeah, believe me, I’ve been mopping. That is some fine eating. You got a mustard-based potato salad with pickles, it goes with the barbecue. What they call asymmetric flavors. Everybody I’ve met in Kansas City, and everybody I’ve met in Texas, they’re (bleep) damn intellectuals. I’m like always the stupidest guy in town, everywhere I’ve been so far. Well, I didn’t go through the 3rd grade for nothing. That was the worst nine years of my life. It’s an amazing rib. Roy really understands the business. The main thing is, I tell my customers to come back and tell me if it’s bad or good. So then I start looking for ways to change. Right. Well, you know, when you see cars lined up down the street, that’s a good tip-off, right. Limos, and Cadillacs will pull up here. Man, you never know who’s getting out. Burn’s place may not get a 30 for decor from the Zagats anytime soon, but Roy has mastered the golden rule. Make good food. So if you’re on a quiet rural road in Houston, and you see a huge line, get in it. You may just get to try one of the tastiest secrets in America. My barbecue investigation so far has introduced me to award-winning pit masters, and world famous barbecue hotspots. But most of America gets their barbecue from one place, their own backyard. In this case, we’re in the backyard of barbecue connoisseur John Lonergan. This is a strange and exotic environment for me. I have this overwhelming urge to put on an apron saying "World’s Best Dad" or "I’m With Stupid." I need a novelty apron. Nice and quiet. Nobody to bother you. Peaceful. Phone’s not ringing. This is the essence of barbecue. Sitting in the backyard, waiting for the ribs to cook, drinking beer, right. Think those ribs are just about done, too. You wanna go ahead and pop it open and take a peek? Of course I do. Rubbed with mustard and spices, these ribs cook for four hours. John pours on the slurry he made from Coke and brown sugar. Oh yeah, that’s delicious. And one hour later, the perfect ribs. I’ll get the plate out, and I’ll let you do the honors and chop up some ribs. Oh yeah. We don’t cook a lot on this show. I’m actually touching food on this episode. – Well you know, it’s good. – Putting me to work. All that beer you’re drinking, you gotta get some exercise. Thanks. You’re welcome. (Chuckling) So, we’re ready to go eat. Excellent. Alright. And we got some salad. Salad? Wow. I’ve forgotten what that is. Got something for you here. Way too nice of you. (laughs) Well, I kinda get my wish, don’t I? Okay, I put this right to work, yes? Yes sir. There’s a knife for you. Let’s see if you remember how to cut ribs. If I don’t stop working with food on this show, people are gonna start thinking I’m an actual chef. – I’m ready to eat. – Me too. If I remember, the dimly remembered past, I last saw one of these, I think this is called a salad. Dig in. (stutters) Literally falling off the bone. It’s terrible, here, let me take that from you. Keep your eyes on your own plate, buddy. When the meat and the bone come apart that easy, you know you got some good ribs. A true American experience. Real backyard barbecue. This is the barbecue story encapsulated, you know. Now, I can really say, I’ve been everywhere. Barbecue burnout. Culinary peril of the American south. Happily I find myself at the final stop of the barbecue triangle. Where are we? North Carolina, cradle of barbecue. Where most people will tell you it all began. (pigs squealing) okay, what’s the difference between Texas, Kansas City, and North Carolina barbecue? North Carolina it’s all about pig, pig, pig, pig, pig, pig, pig. And when you’re talking about Eastern North Carolina, you’re talking about nose to tail, everything but the squeak. During my travels, I hear about a joint called Mitchell’s, where they proudly specialize in whole hog barbecue. [Ed] Alright, let’s go, we’re going to the pit now. I’m introduced to proprietor Ed Mitchell, who promises to come clean on their entire operation. First step, trimming the pig. We’ll let Tony cut the feet. What am I thinking? I’m thinking an episode of the Sopranos I saw a few weeks ago. [Ed] (mumbles) cleaver. Getting good at this, huh? Every now and then, we get one like me, he’s a little healthy. He has a lot of fat glands. A lot of actors in Hollywood pay to have that done, you know, while they’re still alive. (laughing) Now this one, it got all the good stuff in it. – The tongue. – The tongue. – The brains. – The brains. – Eyeballs. – The eyeballs. – Thymus gland. – Yep.
