Photo by Paul Sedillo
Back in the summer of 2010 I headed down to New Orleans to shoot an episode of VendrTV, my web video series about street food, about Jane and Michael Stern's annual Roadfood Festival. At the time I didn't realize how piviotal that day would become for me, because it was the day that I met Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX. Why was it impactful? Well it was easily the best barbecue I had ever tasted in my life. In fact it redefined barbecue for me, as I had no clue anything smoked for so long could taste so good. The brisket Wayne served to the hungry crowd on Royal St. still stands as as the benchmark of truly great Texas brisket in my eyes. Wildly juicy with a deliciously rich and savory bark, and a nice bite from the black pepper, Louie Mueller's brisket is the standard all should shoot for.
Brisket from Louie Mueller Barbecue
So, you can imagine my excitement when, following Texas Monthly's story on Brisketlab, Louie Mueller's 3rd Generation owner Wayne gave me a call. I had talked kindly of his operation in the interview, and he called to learn more about what we were up to. Since that call, he's been actively encouraging and supporting my vision of bringing Texas BBQ to NYC. Naturally, I was beyond excited when he offered to fly up and hang out with me during a lab!
Today's the day! Wayne will be flying into New York this afternoon, and will be hanging out while we smoke the briskets that will be served at this Wednesday's Brisketlab at Boxee Studios in Chelsea. I'll post some photos of the smoke this upcoming week.