Horn Bar B Q- Is it worth the hype/cost?

lefty

lefty

Well-known member
https://www.hornbarbecue.com/

This place and the Man have a cult like following. The Matt Horn is a legendary pitmaster.

His shop in located the same space, once inhabited by Brown Sugar Kitchen. I have read that people wait in line for multiple hours just to get a taste of his barbecue.

After reading so much about him, I am very curious. I went to his website to preorder some brisket and ribs and I got a case of sticker shock :wtf. $120 for 1 slab of ribs?!?!!?!?!?!?

I put 2 lbs of brisket in my Cart and that came to $60. $30/lb is reasonable, but then I put 4 Hot Links in my cart and that came to $30!!!! :wtf

I really want to support the man, but those prices are a little insane, unless I'm reading the website wrong?!???

If it was closer to me, I would happily go there and buy a few sides and the brisket-- but I really want to try some of the ribs too- but $60 for a HALF Slab is a bit outrageous.

Have any of you eaten there? Is it worth the cost?
 
Agent Orange

Agent Orange

The b0y ninja
I dunno, but I made a set of baby backs over the past weekend that were pretty damn good. It didn't cost me $120, thats for sure. I'm not a legendary pitmaster by any means, and all the recipes I make were created by other people. But prices these places charge is the reason why I got my own smoker.
 
lefty

lefty

Well-known member
Mods-

I somehow created a duplicate thread, would you be so kind and delete one?

Thanks
 
lefty

lefty

Well-known member
Agent Orange said:
I dunno, but I made a set of baby backs over the past weekend that were pretty damn good. It didn't cost me $120, thats for sure. I'm not a legendary pitmaster by any means, and all the recipes I make were created by other people. But prices these places charge is the reason why I got my own smoker.
Click to expand...

I can relate. You can buy two slabs from Costco for $35 and smoke 'em yourself.
 
R3DS!X

R3DS!X

Whatever that means
Gorilla BBQ in Pacifica right when they open is the closest thing California has to good and affordable BBQ.
 
M

Matty D

Well-known member
Neighbor threw down for a Saison Smokehouse spread for the Superbowl. Everything was super tasty. I agree that the wings and ribs were "good but not blow my mind." Just real solid with excellent texture, the right amount of smoke, and interesting but not too crazy rub and sauces.

Gotta say though, the pastrami brisket pretty much did blow our minds.
Like a cross between the best BBQ brisket and Katz's pastrami. Super tender and fatty, absolutely melt in your mouth, amazing. 10/10 would hit again.
 
berth

berth

Well-known member
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that folks have different opinions when it comes to something like BBQ.

Went to a BBQ Cookoff event at the fairgrounds one day, and, categorically, the vast majority of it was some of the worst stuff I've ever had. And these were "seasoned" competitors. Folks who had been there before, done it more that once.

So.

Either the judges judged on something completely different from what I enjoyed as BBQ, or these people were plumb off their rocker "pushing the envelope"...or something.
 
HappyHighwayman

HappyHighwayman

Warning: Do Not Engage
Matty D said:
Neighbor threw down for a Saison Smokehouse spread for the Superbowl. Everything was super tasty. I agree that the wings and ribs were "good but not blow my mind." Just real solid with excellent texture, the right amount of smoke, and interesting but not too crazy rub and sauces.

Gotta say though, the pastrami brisket pretty much did blow our minds.
Like a cross between the best BBQ brisket and Katz's pastrami. Super tender and fatty, absolutely melt in your mouth, amazing. 10/10 would hit again.
Click to expand...

This is the only item that really stood out. I can make the rest.

BBQ is not supposed to cost a fortune...especially pulled pork.
 
jafo

jafo

I act my shoe size
Lefty, you only live once, you can't take it with you etc etc.

i vote for you to spring for it links and all and report back, that way you will save me the $$$ and hassle

I'm mostly disappointed when i try overpriced/overhyped things, but at the same time glad i scratched that itch
 
fraz

fraz

Well-known member
lefty said:
https://www.hornbarbecue.com/

This place and the Man have a cult like following. The Matt Horn is a legendary pitmaster.

His shop in located the same space, once inhabited by Brown Sugar Kitchen. I have read that people wait in line for multiple hours just to get a taste of his barbecue.

After reading so much about him, I am very curious. I went to his website to preorder some brisket and ribs and I got a case of sticker shock :wtf. $120 for 1 slab of ribs?!?!!?!?!?!?

I put 2 lbs of brisket in my Cart and that came to $60. $30/lb is reasonable, but then I put 4 Hot Links in my cart and that came to $30!!!! :wtf

I really want to support the man, but those prices are a little insane, unless I'm reading the website wrong?!???

If it was closer to me, I would happily go there and buy a few sides and the brisket-- but I really want to try some of the ribs too- but $60 for a HALF Slab is a bit outrageous.

Have any of you eaten there? Is it worth the cost?
Click to expand...

I haven't been to his place though I do know a decent amount about BBQ and have tried a LOT of different cook techniques including the pros.

I will say that Aaron Franklin's place in Austin, TX is indeed worth the wait in line and high price. I do consider him to be the gold standard of briskets. While people say yeah I can go to Costco and buy/cook/whatever... let's get a reality check. You are NOT doing what these pros do. You're not prepping, seasoning, smoking, wrapping, resting, controlling temps, feeding fireboxes, sourcing and sizing the right kinds of wood, etc. If you are, you are in a very tiny percentage of people who know what they are doing.

Another thing to consider on brisket. You get 2 of them on a cow, period. Then once you get them you have to trim majority of fat and crappy meat to prep properly. Once you start adding in all the overhead of materials and staff, and rent... the per pound price at commercial joints goes through the roof. Kinda the nature of the beast. Some of the other meats are spendy due to overhead and availability too. Heck we got a dinosaur beef rib and they hare freakin huge and expensive.

Source: My best friend and neighbor has 4 smokers and has been studying and developing his techniques for years and I have been fortunate to have been QA department :) We also spent hundreds of $$ just on food on a couple recon missions to Austin to taste test and learn. Got some great behind the scenes access to talk directly to smokers at Franklin's, Terry Black's, Valentinas, and a couple more. Serious knowledge dump and yummy at the same time.

So when I go to a real BBQ place now, I expect to throw down my wallet... or don't go. Hell there was a place in SJ (Smoking Pig) I paid like $36... FOR LUNCH. But I wanted to try the fare and see how they stacked up. I give it a big "meh".

But I do understand the price to play is what it is. That dude running the smoker is knowledgeable and has to stick around and tend fire and his time is worth money. The cost of meat, materials and overhead are one thing. Just consider brisket can be from 10-16 hours to cook, ribs 3-5 hours, and so on. Not like other restaurants where they can whip up a steak or a meal in minutes.
 
mikev

mikev

»»───knee───►
Smoking Pig is horrible.


Best BBQ I've ever had was Pappy's in St. Louis. Holy fuck those burnt ends
 
E

ejv

Untitled work in progress
I feel like BBQ is pretty personal. There are many variations and most places I have been to have been able to do at least one thing very well even if it isn't necessarily my favorite BBQ item. I learned to go with the local recommendation if they make one.

This had me thinking about the last BBQ I had and it was a year ago this week while in Nashville for a work. Tried 3 different places. One we went back to. It was all very good but not top notch.
 
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