Brisket Lab pre-sells 2500 lbs of Brisket for $60,000 in 48 hours in New York City.

Grillman · 07-02-2012, 11:40 PM

This story is from the New York Times and Gizmodo. Links are at the
end of the post.

By JOHN LELAND

Published: May 25, 2012

DANIEL DELANEY, 26, decided recently that he wanted to smoke and sell brisket, bringing small batches of what he called real Texas barbecue to New York.

Mr. Delaney, a New Jersey native who produced a video podcast about street food called VendrTV, had already held a few supper-club nights for 20 people in his Brooklyn apartment, charging $45 for admission. In another era, Mr. Delaney might have tried to start a restaurant or a wholesale product line. Instead, on April 21 he posted an offer to his social media contacts, inviting them to register for a limited supply of handcrafted barbecue, $25 a pound, to be served at unspecified events in the future.
“I needed it to feel cool, and I’m not a cool person,” he said. “It had to feel underground, secretive, exclusive.” So he stressed the brisket’s scarcity, urging people to pay now for a product that did not yet exist, from a chef with very little track record. He expected about 300 people to sign up.
Instead, he got 4,300 registrations in a little over a week, selling more than a ton of meat. “I took in $60,000 in 48 hours,” he said — enough money for him to hold 25 or more events, then graduate to a pop-up, or temporary, restaurant. “I’m not a religious person,” he said, “but that was a godsend".

Link to complete story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/ny...anal.html?_r=1
Also:
http://delaneybbq.com/brisketlab
and:
http://delaneybbq.com/blog

Fishawn · 07-03-2012, 12:24 AM

Interesting..... Thanks for posting it... Still hope for us "backyard" guys I guess ?

el_matt · 07-03-2012, 12:56 AM

Awesome story. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Matt

JS-TX · 07-03-2012, 12:59 AM

Only in NY.... I hope it was good at least.

tish · 07-03-2012, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JS-TX

Only in NY.... I hope it was good at least.

Ditto. Doesn't specify if he was any good at brisket, or not. "... from a chef with very little track record."

jacksedona · 07-03-2012, 03:00 AM

in nyc people will pay thru the nose for anything not surprised but thanks for posting hard for me to believe 45 dollars to eat a pound of brisket -where was this held?

http://thebarbecuemaster.net

Mdboatbum · 07-03-2012, 04:16 AM

Nothing's been held yet. It was all "pre orders". Another example of style over substance.
“I needed it to feel cool, and I’m not a cool person,” he said. “It had to feel underground, secretive, exclusive.” So he stressed the brisket’s scarcity, urging people to pay now for a product that did not yet exist, from a chef with very little track record. He expected about 300 people to sign up."

luke duke · 07-03-2012, 02:04 PM

That's John Mueller's old pit that Aaron Franklin ended up with and, apparently, sold to this guy.

The_Kapn · 07-03-2012, 02:09 PM

The free market system at it's best here.
Ingenuity and Imagination to Inovate.

Dude will rise or fall based on his performance.
That is what makes (or made) America great.

TIM

deepsouth · 07-03-2012, 03:03 PM

sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. if this guy is good, he should make a mint.

caliking · 07-03-2012, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepsouth

sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. if this guy is good, he should make a mint.

He will probably make a pile, even if he isn't that good... actually he already has, and we don't even know yet if he is *any* good!

Sounds very much in keeping with NYC trends.

danieldelaney · 07-05-2012, 02:15 PM

Hi All - I've been a quiet lurker of the forum for years now, and never really had much to contribute. But, now that you're talking about my project, I thought I'd chime in with a Thank You! for sharing it on the site. I'm really hoping New York goes for what we're doing in the long fun. But, the product is key, and only time will tell.

If any of you make it up to NY during the summer and would like to attend one of the events, please do drop me a note. My email is daniel [at] delaneybbq [dot] com

Again, thanks for sharing!

Dan

landarc · 07-05-2012, 02:22 PM

Actually, underground dining of all manner has been around for a while now, everything from wine dinners to BBQ has been happening out here and in many cities while nobody has paid attention.

The pit is certainly well pedigreed.

Twelvegaugepump · 07-05-2012, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danieldelaney

Hi All - I've been a quiet lurker of the forum for years now, and never really had much to contribute. But, now that you're talking about my project, I thought I'd chime in with a Thank You! for sharing it on the site. I'm really hoping New York goes for what we're doing in the long fun. But, the product is key, and only time will tell.

If any of you make it up to NY during the summer and would like to attend one of the events, please do drop me a note. My email is daniel [at] delaneybbq [dot] com

Again, thanks for sharing!

Dan

Congrats Dan. Props to you. I wish you well. Care to share the story in your own words with us brethren? What prompted you to start this? How did you go about actually fulfilling this large of orders? Any pictures to share?

danieldelaney · 07-05-2012, 05:12 PM

Surely! For around 4 years I had been traveling the country with some buddies, making short videos about street food for a series called VendrTV. I had grown up eating at Mom & Pop shops, and it's what I had always been attracted to. So, while on the road, we looked for those places. Often down South that meant BBQ, and we ate tons of it. When I was filming an episode at the Roadfood Festival in New Orleans I got to try Louie Mueller's brisket, which was the pivotal moment for me. I had no clue beef could taste so good. Later on that journey I tried Franklin BBQ, and kept exploring options in Texas.

Sometime, about a year ago, I realized that what I really wanted to be doing was making food, not just making video about it. I knew I wanted to do something that would be pretension free, and that everyone would like. And also something that was less about innovation, and more about iterating and refining on a craft. And, I guess the biggest motivator was just that I missed eating what I ate in Texas. It's just not up here. I had been doing small BBQ supper club events with a tiny little smoker on my balcony in Brooklyn, and was really enjoying it, but knew I needed to get more series if this was to be for real.

So, after South by Southwest I got some wood and a smoker, hauled it up to New York, and needed to figure out what to do next.

The whole concept behind Brisketlab seems exciting, and very posh, perhaps, but it's really just the solution to some problems:

1. I wanted to be able to use this massive smoker and near to full capacity to get a true sense of what it takes to iterate and improve.
2. I wasn't sure if this smoker would legally fly in NYC and I didn't want to get in trouble.
3. I wanted people to commit, and not flake out on me after I cooked hundreds of pounds of meat.
4. Basically, I wanted to be able to write 'Beta' on a food project, which is actually super hard to do in New York. Figuring out a way to practice, criticism free, is a rare offering.

So, we put up a 'coming soon' page for Brisketlab that laid out the fact that space would be limited (didn't want to over commit), and that the events would be underground (again, wasn't sure about code)... and used a platform called LaunchRock.com to get it out there. Basically, the platform builds in incentive for folks to share. Our incentive was that the person who shared the page with the most friends got a whole brisket for free. People reacted well, and in 7 days we had 4,300 people pre-register.

We then built a website where people could purchase meat by the pound, which they'd redeem at the events we'd host through out the summer. Of the 4,300 people, 1,200 managed to sign up before we sold a total of 3,200 lbs and sold out.

And now we're doing it. We're using good beef, nothing but wood, salt and pepper, and time. And so far so good. Folks are enjoying the product, I think, which is great - and we're learning a lot along the way, constantly making tweaks and changes. If all goes well, we'll be producing some serious brisket at the end!

I have photos on our blog at http://delaneybbq.com/blog if you are interested.

Happy to answer any other questions anyone might have.

Best,
Dan

07-02-2012, 11:40 PM	#1
Grillman is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 07-05-09 Location: Aurora, Colo.	Brisket Lab pre-sells 2500 lbs of Brisket for $60,000 in 48 hours in New York City. This story is from the New York Times and Gizmodo. Links are at the end of the post. By JOHN LELAND Published: May 25, 2012 DANIEL DELANEY, 26, decided recently that he wanted to smoke and sell brisket, bringing small batches of what he called real Texas barbecue to New York. Mr. Delaney, a New Jersey native who produced a video podcast about street food called VendrTV, had already held a few supper-club nights for 20 people in his Brooklyn apartment, charging $45 for admission. In another era, Mr. Delaney might have tried to start a restaurant or a wholesale product line. Instead, on April 21 he posted an offer to his social media contacts, inviting them to register for a limited supply of handcrafted barbecue, $25 a pound, to be served at unspecified events in the future. “I needed it to feel cool, and I’m not a cool person,” he said. “It had to feel underground, secretive, exclusive.” So he stressed the brisket’s scarcity, urging people to pay now for a product that did not yet exist, from a chef with very little track record. He expected about 300 people to sign up. Instead, he got 4,300 registrations in a little over a week, selling more than a ton of meat. “I took in $60,000 in 48 hours,” he said — enough money for him to hold 25 or more events, then graduate to a pop-up, or temporary, restaurant. “I’m not a religious person,” he said, “but that was a godsend". Link to complete story. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/ny...anal.html?_r=1 Also: http://delaneybbq.com/brisketlab and: http://delaneybbq.com/blog __________________ ........................

07-03-2012, 12:24 AM	#2
Fishawn is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 08-09-10 Location: Olympia, WA	Interesting..... Thanks for posting it... Still hope for us "backyard" guys I guess ? __________________ 22 & 2-18 WSM's-3 Weber Kettles-Smokey Joe-Silver C -Weber Q-CookShack Smokette

07-03-2012, 03:00 AM	#6
jacksedona Take a breath! Join Date: 03-11-12 Location: phoenix,arizona	in nyc people will pay thru the nose for anything not surprised but thanks for posting hard for me to believe 45 dollars to eat a pound of brisket -where was this held? http://thebarbecuemaster.net __________________ alan weber smoker,one touch,go anywhere,masterbuilt

07-03-2012, 02:09 PM	#9
The_Kapn Moderator Emeritus Join Date: 04-08-04 Location: Marianna, FL	The free market system at it's best here. Ingenuity and Imagination to Inovate. Dude will rise or fall based on his performance. That is what makes (or made) America great. TIM __________________ "Flirtin' with Disaster" BBQ Team (RETIRED) FBA and KCBS Cook and Judge. Former owner of a WSM, a Smokey Joe, a Charbroil Commercial gasser (junk), the legendary "StudeDera", a FEC100, a Fast Eddy PG500, and Sherman the Wonder Trailer. Now cooking with a Yoder YS640 Proud Pellet guy cooking on real wood.

07-03-2012, 03:03 PM	#10
deepsouth somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 04-21-10 Location: Biloxi, MS	sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. if this guy is good, he should make a mint. __________________ Out for now.

07-03-2012, 12:56 AM	#3
el_matt is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 12-08-09 Location: Turlock, California	Awesome story. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Matt

07-03-2012, 12:59 AM	#4
JS-TX is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 02-17-10 Location: San Antonio, TX	Only in NY.... I hope it was good at least.

07-03-2012, 04:16 AM	#7
Mdboatbum Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 02-07-12 Location: Washington, DC	Nothing's been held yet. It was all "pre orders". Another example of style over substance. “I needed it to feel cool, and I’m not a cool person,” he said. “It had to feel underground, secretive, exclusive.” So he stressed the brisket’s scarcity, urging people to pay now for a product that did not yet exist, from a chef with very little track record. He expected about 300 people to sign up."

07-03-2012, 02:04 PM	#8
luke duke is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 01-16-10 Location: Dallas, TX	That's John Mueller's old pit that Aaron Franklin ended up with and, apparently, sold to this guy.

07-05-2012, 02:15 PM	#12
danieldelaney Found some matches. Join Date: 07-04-11 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Please join! Hi All - I've been a quiet lurker of the forum for years now, and never really had much to contribute. But, now that you're talking about my project, I thought I'd chime in with a Thank You! for sharing it on the site. I'm really hoping New York goes for what we're doing in the long fun. But, the product is key, and only time will tell. If any of you make it up to NY during the summer and would like to attend one of the events, please do drop me a note. My email is daniel [at] delaneybbq [dot] com Again, thanks for sharing! Dan

07-05-2012, 02:22 PM	#13
landarc somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 06-26-09 Location: sAn leAnDRo, CA	Actually, underground dining of all manner has been around for a while now, everything from wine dinners to BBQ has been happening out here and in many cities while nobody has paid attention. The pit is certainly well pedigreed. __________________ me: I don't drink anymore Yelonutz: me either, but, then again, I don't drink any less SSS

07-05-2012, 05:12 PM	#15
danieldelaney Found some matches. Join Date: 07-04-11 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Surely! For around 4 years I had been traveling the country with some buddies, making short videos about street food for a series called VendrTV. I had grown up eating at Mom & Pop shops, and it's what I had always been attracted to. So, while on the road, we looked for those places. Often down South that meant BBQ, and we ate tons of it. When I was filming an episode at the Roadfood Festival in New Orleans I got to try Louie Mueller's brisket, which was the pivotal moment for me. I had no clue beef could taste so good. Later on that journey I tried Franklin BBQ, and kept exploring options in Texas. Sometime, about a year ago, I realized that what I really wanted to be doing was making food, not just making video about it. I knew I wanted to do something that would be pretension free, and that everyone would like. And also something that was less about innovation, and more about iterating and refining on a craft. And, I guess the biggest motivator was just that I missed eating what I ate in Texas. It's just not up here. I had been doing small BBQ supper club events with a tiny little smoker on my balcony in Brooklyn, and was really enjoying it, but knew I needed to get more series if this was to be for real. So, after South by Southwest I got some wood and a smoker, hauled it up to New York, and needed to figure out what to do next. The whole concept behind Brisketlab seems exciting, and very posh, perhaps, but it's really just the solution to some problems: 1. I wanted to be able to use this massive smoker and near to full capacity to get a true sense of what it takes to iterate and improve. 2. I wasn't sure if this smoker would legally fly in NYC and I didn't want to get in trouble. 3. I wanted people to commit, and not flake out on me after I cooked hundreds of pounds of meat. 4. Basically, I wanted to be able to write 'Beta' on a food project, which is actually super hard to do in New York. Figuring out a way to practice, criticism free, is a rare offering. So, we put up a 'coming soon' page for Brisketlab that laid out the fact that space would be limited (didn't want to over commit), and that the events would be underground (again, wasn't sure about code)... and used a platform called LaunchRock.com to get it out there. Basically, the platform builds in incentive for folks to share. Our incentive was that the person who shared the page with the most friends got a whole brisket for free. People reacted well, and in 7 days we had 4,300 people pre-register. We then built a website where people could purchase meat by the pound, which they'd redeem at the events we'd host through out the summer. Of the 4,300 people, 1,200 managed to sign up before we sold a total of 3,200 lbs and sold out. And now we're doing it. We're using good beef, nothing but wood, salt and pepper, and time. And so far so good. Folks are enjoying the product, I think, which is great - and we're learning a lot along the way, constantly making tweaks and changes. If all goes well, we'll be producing some serious brisket at the end! I have photos on our blog at http://delaneybbq.com/blog if you are interested. Happy to answer any other questions anyone might have. Best, Dan