Austin’s Franklin Barbecue is making a few changes in the coming months, according to an interview owner Aaron Franklin did with Eater National this week. In the detailed interview, Franklin touched on changing up the space at Franklin Barbecue and wanting to add beef ribs, whole pork chops, and ribeyes to the limited menu as well.

“I’m thinking [the restaurant changes will] happen in about a month. We’re going to build an actual smokehouse in the back part of the kitchen. We’re going to add a walk-in cooler so we can order a lot, a lot more food. We’re going to be able to cook a lot more food. There’s also a window near the kitchen which I hope will shorten the line a little. The goal is to have two lines at some point,” Franklin said.

As to whether or not an expansion will change the quality of his highly regarded barbecue, Franklin said no way: “Right now, the problem is that we have to get the briskets off the smokers so we can cook a ton of ribs. The smokers are so crowded that it affects the food and the process. They don’t cook the same way when there’s so much meat on them. Now, we’re going to have a lot more cookers and a lot more convection. I think everything will get better.”

Tagged: Aaron Franklin, austin, barbecue, bbq, Franklin Barbecue, Layne Lynch

There’s nothing like a bandwagon. No sooner did Food & Wine and Bon Appétit fall all over themselves to give Austin a whole lotta love than StarChefs.com (an online magazine for chefs and culinary insiders) decided to hold one of its four national awards ceremonies in Austin this year.  Their editorial board scoured the landscape for the top talent in Texas’ capital city (and in San Antonio, too) and recently announced more than a dozen winners in nine categories.

As a result, in February, a gaggle of the hottest chefs in Austin and San Antonio are going to be in one place at one time, offering samples of their best bites. And there will be some choice wine and cocktail sips too.

Here’s what you need to know: The tasting will be held on Tuesday, February 21, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Driskill Hotel. Tickets are $85 for regular admission, $125 for VIP, and can be purchased online at starchefs.com/tickets or by calling 212-966-7575.

So, is StarChefs.com on the mark as far as their choices go? In my humble opinion, absolutely. They considered around 60 candidates (which they found through talking to local media and doing their own research, followed up by in-person tastings and interviews).

OK, it’s time to cut to the chase. Who won?

In the chefs category, it’s David Bull, Congress; Ned Elliott, Foreign & Domestic; Aaron Franklin, Franklin Barbecue; Bryce Gilmore, Barley Swine; Rene Ortiz, La Condesa; Paul Qui, Uchiko; Quealy Watson, The Monterey, in San Antonio; Andrew Wiseheart, Contigo.

In the pastry chefs category, it’s Plinio Sandalio, Carillon; Philip Speer, Uchiko. In the sustainability chef category, it’s Michael Sohocki, Restaurant Gwendolyn, in San Antonio. In the hotel chef category, it’s Josh Watkins, Carillon. In the artisan category, it’s John Bates and Brandon Martinez, Noble Pig. In the restaurateurs category, Tyson Cole, the Uchi group; Jason Dady, Bin 555, Tre Trattoria, Two Bros. BBQ Market, all in San Antonio. In the sommelier category, it’s June Rodil, Congress. In the mixologist category, it’s Jeret Peña, The Esquire, in San Antonio.

The host chef is  Jonathan Gelman, Driskill Grill. (By the way, the photograph is from a StarChefs.com  gala held in New York last year.)

Tagged: Aaron Franklin, Andrew Wiseheart, austin, Barley Swine, Bin 555, Bon Appetit, Brandon Martinez, Bryce Gilmore, Carillon, Congress, Contigo, David Bull, driskill grill, Food & Wine, Foreign & Domestic, Franklin Barbecue, Jason Dady, Jeret Pena, John Bates, Johnathan Gelman, Josh Watkins, June Rodil, la condesa, Michael Sohocki, Ned Elliott, Noble Pig, Paul Qui, Philip Speer, Plinio Sandalio, Quealy Watson, Rene Ortiz, Restaurant Gwendolyn, san antonio, StarChefs.com, the Monterey, Tre Trattoria, Two Bros. BBQ Market, Tyson Cole, uchi, uchiko

Editor’s Note: The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival is almost here! Each day until then, we’ll be talking to one of the featured pitmasters, with questions from TM staffers, esteemed BBQ experts, Twitter followers and you, the readers of this blog.

Today we bring you Aaron Franklin, 33, of Franklin Barbecue in Austin. For more info, visit their page on TMBBQ.com.

Photo Courtesy Franklin Barbecue Facebook/Jeff Stockton

What is your heat source?

Fire and post oak. We have two stacks. One stack is a year old, and the other is about two years old. We alternate between them.

You’ve become popular so quickly. Does that newfound fame ever make you nervous?

Yeah, it does make me really nervous. The more people know about a place, the more critical they are of it. You always wonder how to increase volume and keep the quality up when everybody is already searching for something to be wrong with it. It’s a little nerve-racking. We just hope for the best.

Where did you learn your barbecue knack from?

Honestly, I’d say in the backyard. Stacy and I have backyard barbecues every month, and I’d use my friends as guinea pigs.

I remember you telling me your family was involved in the restaurant business?

My family had a barbecue place for about three years when I was about ten. Later on when I was really getting into barbecue and getting nerdy with it, I ended up getting a job at John Mueller’s BBQ on Manor Road. I worked the register there and didn’t do a whole lot. I wanted to see if I liked it enough to pursue that kind of thing.

You’re self-taught. Is good barbecue something you can be taught, or is it more of an innate thing?

I don’t think you can teach someone how to do good barbecue. It takes so much experience to roll with punches and all of the different variables that come up. It’s not the kind of thing where you could work at a place for a year and all of the sudden know how to make great barbecue. It takes time to develop a sixth sense for it where it becomes something that you know exactly what’s going on. (more…)

Tagged: 23 pitmasters, Aaron Franklin, austin, brisket, Franklin Barbecue, Layne Lynch, Texas BBQ, Texas Monthly BBQ Festival