Friday Find: Daniel Vaughn Shares All on Flightless Bird Podcast

Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn, one of the most important barbecue voices in the country, outlines a day in the life of a barbecue reviewer.

Flightless Bird is a podcast where New Zealand-born host and journalist David Farrier explores various American customs through the lens of a curious outsider.

In this episode from earlier this year, David meets up with Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn to live a day in the life of a barbecue reviewer. That means a barbecue road trip to four of Vaughn’s favorite barbecue joints. Starting in Austin, David and Daniel visit Micklethwait Craft Meats in Austin, City Market in Luling, Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, and finally, Distant Relatives back in Austin.

Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly shares what it’s like being a professional BBQ critic with the Flightless Bird podcast. (Photo by Ryan Cooper)

Along the way, David gets a primer on American (and specifically Texas) barbecue, learns what it means to be a pitmaster, and even dispels the myth that Texas don’t like barbecue sauce. After a full day of barbecue, where he experiences profuse meat sweats and almost gets sick, he ultimately earns the respect of Vaughn due to his “intestinal fortitude.” Which is just about the highest form of praise coming from a professional barbecue eater.

Listen to the podcast here:

Note: The barbecue part of the episode starts at 27:00 after some introductory discussion on New Zealand food customs.

Monk
Co-Founder, Barbecue Bros