MEET THE MEATLES

The Barbecue General takes no prisoners.

Those of my Esteemed Readers who have been enjoying the stories of our recent Meaty Adventures will be pleased to meet Wylie and Janet, that fine couple whose idea of a “modest appetizer” is a couple of slabs of smoked barbecued ribs.

Wylie, AKA the Barbecue General, takes his meaty business seriously, and if it is not already abundantly clear from my earlier post, let me restate it: his smoked ribs are as good as any I have ever eaten.

While I have not had one of Wylie’s smoked briskets, I suspect that his only serious competition is located in the World to Come, where SWMBO’s father Bill has been smoking briskets with Moshe Rabbenu for the past nineteen years. Bill introduced me to real Texas barbecue 28 years ago, back when I was a newly-arrived Yankee boy who thought to “barbecue” meant to throw a piece of meat on a charcoal grill.

I would give my left nut to see a cookoff between Wylie and Bill today. Alas.

As you can see from the picture, Wylie and Janet are not your average backyard Weber grill people. They compete - and win - at the national level, and they’ve even made a brief appearance on the Food Network.

But I’ll put my Jewish-style braised brisket up against anything Wylie and Janet can throw at me. Sure, it’s like comparing apples and oranges (now, there’s an original turn of phrase!), but who gives a crap?

Because when my brisket goes up against Wylie’s, who wins? We both do.

Urp!