Acknowledgments

Together, we’d like to thank a number of people without whom this book would not have been possible. On the book-team side, it starts with our dear literary agent, David Hale Smith, who will never turn down even an average steak and is as good in the boardroom as he is at the table. Next, we want to thank Aaron Wehner and Ten Speed Press for making this book happen. We were gifted with unbelievable support and effort from a team of massively talented people, beginning with our editor and good friend Emily Timberlake, who got us over the finish line with her energy, creativity, and humor. Having Elizabeth “Betsy” Stromberg, book designer and part-time art director extraordinaire, on the job ensured the book would look wonderful. Sharon Silva proved way more than a copy editor: her meticulousness, knowledge of food and cooking, and good taste greatly improved the final product.

Thanks also to Emma Campion, Serena Sigona, Karen Levy, and Ken Della Penta for making this book better.

Of course, we bow down to the great Wyatt McSpadden, who besides being at the very top of the photography game, gracing our work with his brilliant eye and camera technique, also knows so much about everything that he truly impacts the content of the text as well. He’s always on hand for a good pep talk, a good laugh, and a good hug, too. Thanks, Wyatt, you’re the best. You know who’s also the best? Jeff Stockton, Wyatt’s photo assistant, who was at most of the shoots, and Jeff’s moustache, which was also at most of the shoots.

We are indebted to Bryan Butler and Ben Runkle of Salt & Time in Austin, Texas. Their generosity with their knowledge and time was a huge asset to this book. We are also grateful to a couple of real—and really great—chefs, Adam Perry Lang and John Tesar, who shared their insights on beef aging and on cutting and cooking steaks and who have been so supportive in general. Another real chef, Matthew Van Orden, was instrumental at photo shoots, helping prepare all of the dishes from the book, keeping things clean, and teaching us some stuff along the way.

We considered ourselves lucky to have one Bryan Butler (the butcher) in the book. But in the end were we blessed with an unexpected boon: another Bryan Butler, this one the remarkable illustrator whose images brought clarity and artistic variety to these pages. Thanks, BBs!

Thanks to Joey Machado of B&B Charcoal, for keeping us well fueled throughout the year as we test cooked. And thanks to Scott Moody of PK, our favorite grill maker, for all of his support on this book and over the years.

And last but not least, as large a thank-you as we can muster to Alfonso Terrazas and his team at Creekstone Farms, which supplied most of our beef during test cooks and aging experiments. The quality of the beef we had to work with was simply astounding, and the generosity Alfonso and everyone at Creekstone showed us was, well, also simply astounding.

From Aaron

Man, there are so many people to thank for helping make this book possible, I could write a book just about that! First and foremost, I say a crazy big thank-you to my wife, Stacy, who has been there every step of the way. She does what’s needed, from making sure the house is presentable to finding me a fresh pair of jeans to take to an event, checking my underwear, and all the time giving me crap for everything. But seriously, because I get all the attention, no one has any idea of how essential Stacy is to everything we do. She works so hard, and there would be no Franklin Steak, Franklin Barbecue, or even Aaron Franklin as you know him without her. Thank you so much, Stacy.

Thanks to my coauthor, Jordan Mackay, who is not only a great writer, and a great friend, but also insanely passionate about food and the craft of cooking with fire. His excitement and talent have proven to be the perfect counterbalance for these projects. Thank you, Jordan! I’m looking forward to the next.…

Then, I’ve got to thank all of the people involved with Franklin BBQ and related enterprises. They keep the ship sailing smoothly while I run around doing things like this book. There are a few people I lean on most. Andy Risner, my right-hand guy at the restaurant, is just so reliable, so good to work with, and such a supertalented cook. Alex Cantos, my left-hand guy, keeps all other ships sailing smoothly. I’m fortunate to have found two highly skilled and reliable people I can really trust. Big thanks also to Miki and Julie at the restaurant for working so hard, keeping things organized, making guests happy, lending a helping hand when I need it, and always having smiling faces.

Last, much thanks to my mom and dad, who, in the process of feeding me and keeping me alive, introduced me to steaks at an early age. My dad has been grilling T-bones my entire life, and working on this book showed me how much that’s meant to me.

From Jordan

First and foremost, thanks to Aaron Franklin, great friend and compadre in meat books, whose endless reservoirs of humor and goodwill—not to mention his extraordinary expertise in so many areas—make him an absolute joy to work with, and yes, even when his schedule is almost impossibly busy.

I must offer infinite gratitude to (and for) my wife, Christie Dufault, who doesn’t love steak nearly as much as I do and prefers to eat plants, but nevertheless tolerated years of endless steak talk as well as a great deal of beef cooking and grilling. It’s over now, Honu. Perhaps.

I’ve got to offer a similar note to Aaron’s wife, Stacy, who has become a great friend over the years, but who also allowed me to be a constant presence in her house and in her social and family life for long stretches while I was in town working on the book.

Beyond those crucial people, I want to acknowledge many of the experts we consulted and who offered outstanding ideas, explanations, and often beautiful meat to try: Clifford Pollard and Kevin Cimino of Cream Co., who are going to change the meat world; Bryan and Katie Flannery of Flannery Beef, who shared lots of honest information and, more important, were such a pleasure to hang out with; John McLaughlin of McLaughlin Farm, who not only was a wonderful source for everything Highland cattle but also remained a warm and encouraging voice in my inbox throughout the writing; Jason Ross of First Light Farm sent amazing meat, as did Joe Heitzeberg of Crowd Cow and Cameron Hughes of Holy Grail.

Others joined me on or facilitated my research into all things steak. Toshio Ueno guided me around Japan’s beefy side and taught me a lot about sake along the way. Sancho Rodriguez went above and beyond in helping schedule and coordinate a week of steak eating in Basque Country, which proved a revelation. Thanks, too, to José Gordón of El Capricho, who floored me as much with his incredible passion and dedication as he did with his beef and cooking. My dear friend David Feldstein has been a frequent presence on the steak trail with me and shares the passion of exemplary beef and wine. Alyson Careaga, another dear friend, has been a constant source of encouragement and help, generously lending her immense talents and energy whenever I needed them. Ted and Andrea Vance were with me on some of the steak tour and survived far more beef than they’re used to eating. A shout-out as well to serious steakthusiast and great friend Ashley Santoro, who traveled far to eat steak with me. And a most profound and humble thanks to steak (and tartare) seeker numero uno Talitha Whidbee, with whom I have eaten more steaks than anyone over the years and who has given me so much along the way.

Last, I want to acknowledge the great writer Mark Schatzker, whose original book Steak was an inspiration and a guide and is an absolute must-read if you want to understand beef and steak at much greater depths than what you’ll find here (it’s also a brilliantly fun read). Connecting with Mark was an important moment for me in the writing of this book, as he shared his thoughts and opinions and helped me make some invaluable associations. Also, please read his life-changing book about nutrition and flavor, The Dorito Effect.