Jack Perkins' Slow Bone BBQ Causes Disturbance in the Barbecue Force

Robert Bostick

Jack Perkins preparing to use the dark side of the force to smite Daniel Vaughn.

A recent article on Culture Map has caused a small ripple on the Internet. Teresa Gubbins' story on Slow Bone BBQ, the upcoming restaurant from Jack Perkins, was filled with the confident, and perhaps cocky, language the burger-meister has become known for.

"You can master this process fairly quickly," said Perkins on cooking brisket, the cut typically thought by barbecue enthusiasts to be the most difficult. Perkins was also cited in the same article for his recent win at Meat Fight, a charity event that pitted four teams of Dallas chefs against each other to raise money for the National MS Society.

If you're still trying to figure out the Star Wars-themed headline, stick with me ...

I did not attend the event, but I was lucky enough to bump into Perkins outside of Maple and Motor while he was testing his equipment. Dubbed the "Death Star," Perkins' massive rig boasted a thermostat and automated dampening controls to regulate smoke and temperature. The machine allowed him to toss in his briskets, set up a fire, and essentially walk away. It even had a retractable smoke stack and was light years away from your typical restaurant smoke pit.

While cooking a couple of briskets good enough to beat chefs like Brian Luscher and Matt McCallister is certainly a big accomplishment, it's a far cry from being able to turn out enough meat to fuel a barbecue restaurant. Producing barbecue at that kind of volume with consistent results day after day is an even bigger task.

I wasn't the only one surprised by Perkins' confidence. Barbecue blogger Daniel Vaughn, dubbed the Barbecue Yoda by Anthony Bourdain, sent the following tweet shortly after the Culture Map article posted ...

The scoop on soon-to-open Slow Bone BBQ via @tgubbins. I hope Jack's smoked meat can match his bravado.

Slow Bone is supposed to open in late February just across the street from Off-Site Kitchen in the Design District. I'm sure Vaughn will have more to say some time after the restaurant opens, and something tells me some colorful dialogue will ensue. Till then I'll close with Perkins response to Vaughn's tweet ...

@BBQsnob @tgubbins Bravado: a blustering swaggering conduct ... a pretense of bravery. 2 the quality or state of being foolhardy. Blow me.