Texas Barbecue Restaurant Manager Says Thief Stole Almost $3K Worth Of Brisket

[Sugar Cookie]

Alison Clem, the general manager of la Barbecue in Austin, Texas, said that 20 briskets were stolen by someone who jumped a fence at around 4 a.m. and ran toward the smoker, according to FOX 7.

Clem said that she thinks the thief had been planning the theft.

“We’re kind of speculating that he’s been watching. You know, somebody that used to cook for us possibly. We haven’t had a turnover in our house since we’ve been here, so it wouldn’t be current. So, that’s also kind of strange that he knew.” Clem said.

She said the incident was caught on camera and went on for around 15 minutes.

“One of my strongest guys back there can barely lift 10 briskets in a box, and [the thief] lifted them over his head. So, I really just think that it was planned.” said Clem.

The cost of the meat, according to Clem, is $3,000 when seasoning and labor is factored in, she said.

Clem also said that while it’s the seventh or eighth time that the restaurant has been broken into, it’s the first time that meat has been stolen.

Texas barbecue restaurant manager says thief stole almost $3K worth of brisket

A Texas barbecue restaurant is out nearly $3k after a thief makes off with the goods in a brisket heist.

nypost.com

"I can only speculate that he possibly works for a food truck or a restaurant. I don't know, even throwing a party. I have no idea," Clem said.

Texas barbecue restaurant manager says thief stole almost $3K worth of brisket

A Texas barbecue restaurant general manager says that almost $3,000 worth of brisket was stolen on Thursday morning and thinks the theft was planned.

www.foxnews.com

 

[Satanica]

Bastard! If the asshole normally can't pay attention, then someone will notice if he suddenly is flush with briskets. Still trying to wrap my head around the thought of a brisket worth $150.

 

[Hermy]

Bastard! If the asshole normally can't pay attention, then someone will notice if he suddenly is flush with briskets. Still trying to wrap my head around the thought of a brisket worth $150.

Speaking of flush, he's going to be purchasing an inordinate amount of toilet paper.

 

[BuffettGirl]

Dude, shoulda waited until they were cooked, just sayin'...

 

[McDanel]

Dude, shoulda waited until they were cooked, just sayin'...

He stole them out of the smoker.

 

[BuffettGirl]

He stole them out of the smoker.

Normally, the big pieces of meat go into the smoker around 4AM, or early in the morning, to get ready for the lunch rush. Seemed to me they'd be mostly raw still...

 

[thuumpr]

Yum!

 

[Alxprkrkrls]

Normally, the big pieces of meat go into the smoker around 4AM, or early in the morning, to get ready for the lunch rush. Seemed to me they'd be mostly raw still...

I would say earlier than that! I usually smoke a brisket around 13 hours and then let it rest for 2-3 hours. I have a big green egg and I bought the king of Austin bbq’s cookbook. If you ever have the chance, Franklins in Austin TX. It’s the brisket of the gods.

 

[Symmachus]

Brisket is a quite tasty meat. I do not buy/eat it very often though due to price concerns, because it is usually perhaps one of the pricier meats. Mmm brisket!

And somebody has the unmitigated gall to steal $3,000 worth of it from a good and honorable restaurant! No brisket should ever be stolen in such an ignominious fashion!

Someone feels very insecure about their own meat...

---

With that said, one website I discovered recently is that of Corky's BBQ. This is a chain of restaurants located in both Arkansas and Tennessee, with one location in Mississippi; and, if I am correct, the Arkansas locations are owned by former NBA player Joe Kleine. While there are limited places where you can eat there in person, one way that they get around this is that you can mail order things such as pork, chicken, beef, BRISKET, ribs, barbecue sauce, seasoning, and more. The perishable foods are advertised as able to be frozen for up to a year (although, unofficially, I am sure they can go longer).

---

With that said, who can resist brisket if given the option?

And there is such a thing as vegan brisket, too! See:

 

[Brillig]

And there is such a thing as vegan brisket, too! See:

No. There's no vegan brisket. That's vegan soy protein loaf.

It's like the ongoing argument my vegetarian friend and I have. One year when we were doing Thanksgiving together and I was cooking the turkey (which the rest of her family would eat), she came in with a Whole Foods bag, and inside was a container with a thick, brown liquid. I asked her what it was. She replied "vegan gravy". I asked her if it was made from real vegans. She said of course not. I responded that it wasn't real gravy if it wasn't made from meat juice. I said it could be "vegan Thanksgiving sauce", but NOT gravy. The argument has never been resolved.

 

[McDanel]

When vegan "turkey lunch meat" spoils, it turns olive green.

I view these meat substitutes with the same jaundiced eye I apply to bologna. It's more processed than lunch meat!

 

[Satanica]

I'm pretty sure everyone can guess my stance on this as a native Texan.

 

[Inferus]

 

[BuffettGirl]

I would say earlier than that! I usually smoke a brisket around 13 hours and then let it rest for 2-3 hours. I have a big green egg and I bought the king of Austin bbq’s cookbook. If you ever have the chance, Franklins in Austin TX. It’s the brisket of the gods.

I'm dying to get to Austin to check out the foodie scene, and of course to hit up the legendary Franklins. But that line... I'd have trouble with the line. I'm not fond of feeling all pressed in, but I'd suffer through it at least once.

 

[Metalfan]

I didn't know there was BBQ in Texas.

 

[Alf]

I didn't know there was BBQ in Texas.

There's St. Louis style, Carolina style . . . and Texas style. All three of them are food of $DEITY but Texas style takes some doing to beat.

--Al

 

[BuffettGirl]

There's St. Louis style, Carolina style . . . and Texas style. All three of them are food of $DEITY but Texas style takes some doing to beat.

--Al

There's also Memphis and K.C. barbeque. And there's some Pacific Northwest flare emerging on the BBQ scene too.

 

[Alxprkrkrls]

I'm dying to get to Austin to check out the foodie scene, and of course to hit up the legendary Franklins. But that line... I'd have trouble with the line. I'm not fond of feeling all pressed in, but I'd suffer through it at least once.

It’s not bad, you’re outside for most of it and there’s a guy coming around with beers. The line itself is a party! Austin is a really fun city with an eclectic food scene and population.

 

[Symmachus]

No. There's no vegan brisket. That's vegan soy protein loaf.

It's like the ongoing argument my vegetarian friend and I have. One year when we were doing Thanksgiving together and I was cooking the turkey (which the rest of her family would eat), she came in with a Whole Foods bag, and inside was a container with a thick, brown liquid. I asked her what it was. She replied "vegan gravy". I asked her if it was made from real vegans. She said of course not. I responded that it wasn't real gravy if it wasn't made from meat juice. I said it could be "vegan Thanksgiving sauce", but NOT gravy. The argument has never been resolved.

Interesting commentary there. So you point out that the phrasing of "vegan brisket" or "vegan ________" basically acts as the vegan-friendly answer to the otherwise meaty or vegetarian food, and is not and cannot possibly be the food itself, instead serving as a mere impersonation. Which, yeah, that's totally true.

As you said that, it does get me to thinking about the divisions between original food vs. copycat food with alternate ingredients, and you are right. "Vegan brisket" is simply shorthand for "vegan substitute of brisket", therefore making it not brisket in the literal sense.

I have tried a few meat-alternative foods, and it is hit and miss. Some are genuinely good, with grains and plants that give its own flavor and benefits apart from meat; others are vaguely meat-flavored hockey pucks. I appreciate you making the important distinction between the two.

And now, who the hell knows where we're headed with this lab-grown stuff...

 

[Satanica]

Exactly. Why even bother to make the stuff try to pass as the real thing? You either want meat or you don't. If you have to have something that fakes it, I don't think you're really al that committed.