I Am all In Again.
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Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am all In Podcast one eleven productions, iHeartMedia Radio, iHeart Podcast one on one interview Luke's Diner episode with the one and Only Brandon her title Let Me tell you a little Bit about Brandon. He turned a weekend barbecue hobby into one of the Texas fastest growing barbecue brands. He launched her title Barbecue with his wife in twenty eighteen, starting with pop ups and a food truck, before opening their first restaurant in
Arlington in twenty twenty. Using his background digital marketing, Brandon grew up, sorry, grew the brand during the pandemic and beyond. Today, tot Oh Barbecue has four locations of partnership with the Texas Rangers and serves exclusive tailor Sheridan's Four Sixes Ranch Beef, solidifying Brandon as a rising star in the barbecue world. All right, so we just recapped season two, episode seven,
If Gilmore Girls Like Mother, Like Daughter. But we're gearing up for Father's Day, so let's talk a little bit of barbecue. If people at Star's hollow came to her Tato Barbecue. What would Lorelei and Rory order off of your menu, Brandon?
You know, probably the all hef platter that is like the most shareable popular platter I think in Texas barbecue. And it's got two pounds of meat, six different proteins. It's like an amazing sampler platter, and it has everything on it from brisket and pork ribs to port belly burn INDs, turkey, housemaid sausage, and then it comes with two sides, and I think our sides are honestly the the unsung hero of her Toddle Barbecue.
M that's you're killing me right now, man, I'm so great. You opened the physical restaurant just before the pandemic. What keep you going when the odds were stacked against new restaurants?
You know, that's all we've ever known is is chaos controlled chaos? I guess so. Having opened a brick and mortar a month and a half before we had to close our doors, we were tasked very early on with figure it out. And the day that we opened our brick and mortar, my wife and I actually found out that we were going to have a baby together. So that was this like deep motivation for me, not just as an entrepreneur, but as a new father.
You know.
I was like, well, whatever we do, we're going to do it for our little girl. So that's what's kept me going as our kids and it's it's been a huge motivating factor and everything that I do.
Oh yeah, yeah, haven't having children changes forever. Gilmore Girls has a lot of talk about comfort food. What's your personal go to comfort meal? Brandon?
Oh gosh, probably our hatch chili mac and cheese. It's like a little bit spicy, but it's got this really incredible cheese sauce and it has all the it just it feels like you're getting a warm hug every time you take a bite out of it.
Nice all right. So I'm seeing here that you weren't classically trained in a culinary school, but you've got a cookbook, a stadium deal, a national following. How's that feel?
You know? I never get used to it. I have a passion for serving people, and I feel like what we've done goes way beyond just the food. Everything that we've accomplished my wife and I together has a foundation of having kind of a servant's heart and wanting to just take care of people. So if you see us at the restaurants or at the ballpark, we're probably picking
up trash or bussing tables. We're very involved, and I think it's just been a huge blessing for both of us to be able to take care of people with our restaurants every day.
Wonderful, wonderful. Tell us about the four sixes and the relationship with Taylor Sheridan.
Yeah, one of my buddies who I've known for several years. He was Taylor's executive chef. He invited me to come to a cooking event at their ranch in Weatherford, and I drive over there one day and I'm halfway out of my truck and He's like, Hey, I need you to cook these rabbis, and don't screw it up. You're cooking for Bobby Flay. I was like, I had no idea what I was getting into. I just thought that I was there to help out and lend a hand. So I end up cooking these steaks for Bobby Flay
and all this other food. Matt Taylor we kind of hit it off and I did a couple more caterings for him at the Four Sixes later that year, and he was like, Hey, I would love for you guys to explore carrying our beef. I think he had just purchased a ranch like a year or two before that, and I think it's been a year and a half two years now that we've carried their beef exclusively, and we're one of the biggest users, if not the largest user of four six is ranch beef in the world.
It's a great product and it's a great story. I get to go there several times a year and cater for the cowboys on the ranch and do different special events there, and it's a really incredible place. There's nothing quite like waking up at four in the morning and drinking coffee with the cowboys.
You get to ride with them sometimes they take you out there.
No, I'm not a I'm not a cowboy myself, and I don't find myself on horseback too often, so I'm just fine cooking for them and keeping my two feet on the ground.
If you had to name one menu item after a Gilmore Girl's character, who gets what dish?
And why, oh my gosh, what are.
You giving Luke? What are you giving Luke, I.
Would say, Luke's getting a b frib. You know, it's it's like the Cadillac of Texas barbecue. It's a very burly bite of barbecue and it's got really just all the incredible flavor from the best part of the cow. It's like a two and a half pound b frib And I think Luke would be able to tackle that by himself.
Well, what about what about Kirk?
Oh? I'd say Kirk would probably would probably order the the slice turkey. That's like the the most underrated protein in Texas barbecue. And the turkey we top it with garlic butter. It's it's pretty phenomenal.
Right. How about uh hm Logan? Mmm?
I think Logan would probably want the the pork belly burn ends, right. That's that's our meat candy is what we call it. And it's got like the most savory, sweet, subtle bite of barbecue that you can find in North Texas.
Be bet.
Oh, that's a tough one.
Would have to be spicy.
Yeah, I was gonna say our haholapinion cheddar sausage, Right, we make all of our sausage in house, and it's got a pretty good kick. To it.
Boy, what a game compare compare the Killmore characters, Oh, Laura.
Oh, probably. So we have this dish that's called our our smoke fried half chicken.
Wow.
It's like one of the most popular bites amongst our female audience, and it's smoky and a little bit spicy and crispy. We fry it to order. I would say that the half chickens a way to go.
Okay, so howbuy? So you you know about TJ?
Right a little bit?
Yeah, what about TJ? What would he be? Oh? Michael, Ta Luise? What would what would what would TJ? Be?
Goodness? You know, I think some of our features that we do on the weekends that aren't like on the regular menu, right would probably you know, it'd probably uh be what TJ would go for. So we do this feature and it's got like a real text mex flair. That's what we're known for, is our text Mex fusion
with with Central Texas Barbecue. But we have this dish and we call it the these Smoked Carrots three Ways, And it's not something you would normally get when you go to a barbecue restaurant, right, It's like these massive carrots that are braised in beef tallow and then we we cut them up and we make like a Chipotle sauce out of it, and then we also fry the
skins on top. And it's like it's very unique and it's not something that you would get just on a regular basis walking into a barbecue joint.
Okay, how about we got it. We gotta do we gotta do tailor dozie show? What is what is he? What is he?
Oh? Man, probably pulled pork, you know, it's not something that no one wants pulled pork. Yeah, the pulled pork you yeah, exactly?
What about the town Troubadour? Oh, because that's a smooth cat man, it's a smooth character.
Yeah, we're running out of proteins here. I would I would say, are you know the The one dish we have that we're most known for is our smoked quail, and no one does smoke quail, right, And it's a very like neutral meat. It's not like gamey whatsoever. It's a very like just unique dish. We smoke it to order, we fry it, and it's it's really really just like a neutral protein that you don't normally see in a barbecue joint.
But we have it.
We have it every week. I love it.
I love it.
And you got me on the hot seat.
Man, No, no, no, you did. You did exceedingly well. I mean, I'm telling you, the meat comparisons are just genius. Let's let's talk a little bit about Father's Day. Someone's trying to cook for their dad this Father's Day, but they don't have a clue where to start. What what is your full proof, low stress recommendation for that?
You know, most Americans, most people have a pellet grill if they're cooking in their backyard, and it really takes out a lot of the guesswork whenever you're trying to cook at home. I have one in my backyard, and you know I cook professionally for a living. You just don't want to spend a lot of time having to manage of fire whenever you're trying to cook in your backyard for your family, or you don't want to set
your house on fire. Right, I think if you're trying to you know, Dad's trying to cook on Father's Day, a pork shoulder is probably the most versatile thing you can do. But if I'm going to cook I'm and I'm using a pellet, girl, I'm going to use I'm going to use a brisket, right, So that's that's my go to. I want to go to a brisk the brisket and throw it on the smoker the night before,
take out all the guessing game. You wake up and you know it's it's pretty close to wrapping and you get to do whatever you want with it at that point. And I'm just I'm a purist, right, I'm a Texan, So I love cooking beef. I love cooking brisket. That's what we're best known for. And I think if Dad's going to cook anything on Father's Day, it's going to be a brisket.
Okay, your kids ever get involved in the kitchen with you?
Oh? Yeah, My kids love it. They're eleven, eight, and four, and they all like to do different things. So my eight year old he runs food when we go to the restaurant. He likes to, you know, be touching tables and talking to folks. My four year old she wants to actually cook, So she has a little stepping stool and she'll get up there and cook with me sometimes. Pretty special.
Yeah, I cook with my boy all the time. He loves to help me out. Here we go. If you were to come into Luke's Diner, what would you order? Where would you sit?
Oh?
My gosh, basic diner food. It's a basic diner menu.
I'm a sucker for a burger, I really am. I like a good old fashioned burger.
Where would you sit?
Probably next to you, man, so we can sit there and chop it up.
Would you sit up at the counter?
Yeah?
Yeah, there you go. All right? Tell us about your your locations. Where are they?
So we started out underneath an umbrella looking out of my backyard, and we graduated to a food trailer about a year later. Did that for a year in the sweltering Texas heat, and now we have four locations across North Texas, six if you include the ballpark where the Rangers play, So we're the official barbecue the Texas Rangers.
We have two locations inside Gwell black Field, and then we have a location in Arlington that's the original, one in downtown Fort Worth, one in downtown Dallas that just opened, and one in Mansfield, which is just south of Arlington.
You're busy. You're busy, aren't You're putting in long hours aren't you.
We're out numbered now my wife and I are so good.
Well, look these are good problems to have, you know, it's so great. Well, congratulations on all your success. I love to talk to people that have these stories of you know, we started in our backyard and then now look at you know you're you're, you're a national brand. Continued success and appreciate the time. Brandon Hurtado, all the best to you and your family. You know. Also, I'd like to mention that Brandon Hurtado Haw's a cookbook too.
It's founder of Hurtado Barbecue. Brandon created Barbica, the first ever cookbook dedicated to text mechs and Mexican smoke cooked barbecue. Barbaricoa features everything from smoking meats and flame grilled tacos though I love tacos. A lot of great recipes in there, Maria tacos, pulled pork, carneitas, all kinds of stuff. You got to check it out. The cookbook is available now and we will see you next time on Luke's Diner. Remember where you lead, we will follow. Stay safe everyone,
do hey, everybody talk forgues. Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com