I Got SCHOOLED by The Most Interesting Man in Texas BBQ
Go to and use code BEHINDTHEFOOD to get your free FÜM Topper when you order your Journey Pack today. They say Ara Malekian at Harlem Road Texas BBQ is the most interesting man in Texas BBQ. So I went there to find out who this mysterious man is – and here’s what I found. Watch the video where I got to taste all of this food and more here!: – or if you’ve already seen it watch next!
Welcome to Behind The Food TV! On this channel I document my journey to become a better cook. I travel to meet chefs and pitmasters at the top of their game – and somehow convince them to teach me the techniques that make their food special. I enjoy getting to know them, their families, and their communities – and I hope you enjoy it all just as much!
When I get home, I love to try these new techniques I’m learning – and I post those videos over on my new channel @EatMoreVegans along with my other BBQ experiments and tests – so if you’re looking for my BBQ cooking videos, they are all moving over there!
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Welcome to the I Got Schooled video series from Behind The Food TV (formerly Eat More Vegans Carnivore BBQ)! In this series it’s my turn to learn. The best chefs and pitmasters in the world have agreed to teach me…..and you the secrets that make their food so good! You can watch the whole series here:
🔴 If you liked this video, you’re going to LOVE these!:
🎥 I Got Schooled by the #1 Rated BBQ in Austin Texas
🎥 I Got Schooled by the Best BBQ Joint in East Texas
🎥 I Got Schooled by the Most Misunderstood Man in BBQ
🎥 I Got Schooled by The Best New BBQ Joint in Texas – Bar-A-BBQ
🎥 I Got Schooled by the Coal Miner Pioneering Eastern KY BBQ
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Chapters in this video:
0:00 The Most Interesting Man in Texas BBQ
2:36 Learning to cook
5:23 Preparing Octopus, Marinating Lamb
8:32 Exile from home – Coming to America
9:52 Seasoning & Smoking Lamb, Pork Shank & Octopus
15:57 Rising in Fine Dining
19:20 Thank you FUM
20:46 Trimming Brisket
25:03 Finding Home in Texas
28:37 Octopus Reduction, Seasoning & Smoking Brisket
31:18 Building Harlem Road Texas BBQ
35:22 Wrapping Brisket
37:26 Searing Lamb, Holding the Brisket
38:36 BBQ Brawl
44:10 Pork Shank & Curry Sauce
47:41 Ara’s Place in the Community
50:19 Tasting Everything We Cooked
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What was your favorite food we made? And your favorite part of Ara's story? Go to https://tryfum.com/BEHINDTHEFOOD and use code BEHINDTHEFOOD to get your free FÜM Topper when you order your Journey Pack today.
lost me the minute I saw no smoke ring on that brisket
Wow great example
WHAT A GREAT DOCUMENTARY! Sorry for yelling.
Freakin love Ericas brisket 🤤
This guy is bbq jesus
This is great television
I used the bed of onions to dry brine the rack of lamb for Easter. It worked great, not gamey at all. Made lamb lovers out of everybody in my family. 💪🏽
Also great content your creating here, keep it up
Most interesting maybe… but not the best food. Even the way he torches the lamb so close brings out a bitter gas flavor. He torches much to close. Ate his food a few times and I’m not very impressed. Had much better BBQ in Texas. Much much better.
You won't find me eating bbq octopus, or any bbq seafood..
Ara Malekian epitomizes what cooking with love means. The greatest thing about the BBQ community is that it is a true community of not just good cooks, but good people who care about each other, help each other, and pay BBQ forward by sharing their skills and their hearts with the world. By learning about the people of BBQ, we learn about more than just great food. We learn how to become better people ourselves. Al, this is your best production yet. The best just keeps getting better. Thank you for showing us the goodness behind the food.
Yea I don’t watch hour long shows on U tube but this is very good for me👍🏻
Fond memories of Ara going back to 2007 when he helped me sponsor and smoke BBQ for the Texas Fest – Impact A Hero weekend in Sugar Land, TX. Ara even at that time conducted a Masters Class on how to butcher and prepare the meats following a slow smoke on my Pitts-N-Spits smoker. Jim McMahon (famous/retired Bears QB) also attended and supported the event for our VETS. Needless to say the BBQ was a hit that everyone enjoyed. It was so gracious of Ara to volunteer his expertise and more importantly his time to make the event a success. Ara also had his own brand of cigars at the time!
What an amazing video! Ara is an artist and a gentleman! Thank you for sharing!
I'm excited to try Sumac! I never heard of it until this video. New subscriber here. This video just inspired me again to get back on my smoker.
I saw him eat a roaring silver back gorilla in one swallow,legend has it that you van hear the slow crying from the gorilla for a week untill it got digested.😮😮😮😮
These food contests shows are so unfair and rigged. I'm glad she explained it the way that she did.
Oh Man! I Want that pork shank. First time viewer and instant subscriber
Typical American a gun to serve barbecue ,if i saw that then nope where's the next restaurant
What an awesome Journey, thank you, and to Ara. This world would be a better place if there were more like you. You, sir, are an inspiration…
This man really is hella interesting. The freaking Shah?!
And he KNOWS his stuff. If you want to know if a chef is even worth half of his knife, the first question to him/her should be "What is a good natural tenderizer?" If they answer "Raw onions" and/or "Slow cooking" you know they at least understand the base of what they are doing.
What a great video. I need to watch this again. Must learn!
Need a trip to Houston too.
I always thought torching food lift a propane taste
He seems like a wonderful man. God bless you sir.
Awesome video! Great editing and content. Cant wait to eat Harlem BBQ. The owner is truly amazing!
I never thought about using sumac but will get some to see what I could do with it. This winter I been cooking squid a lot and trying to create different hot spicy sauces to dip in. I will try using wine to boil my squid before I smoke it and see what happens. Thanks for finding Ara! About how long did you guys smoke the octopus after it had been boiled up to an hour?
I would live out of my car just to learn from him
Really enjoyed this interview with YouTube.com/@chefaramalekian455 . It was great and one of my favorites. The production quality was top notch and Chef Ara seemed extremely down to earth and knowledgeable. Nice job guys! I learned a lot and I’m going to attempt to make this rub for lamb I’m cooking for the first time on a Kamado Joe for my family this weekend. I think I’m hearing the rub ingredients incorrectly. For anyone that caught what they were saying is it really 16 mesh and 30 mesh black pepper? There is a discussion about the large size of the pepper/butcher grind and then it’s compared to what’s used in pastrami. I thought butcher grind was large and 10 mesh, not fine and 30 mesh. Is the pepper really 16 mesh and 30 mesh?
And, it sort of looks like he’s using Maldon salt. Is that right?
Thank you, this was outstanding !
You had me at "dash of meth" 👨🍳
Where can I find the cooks name and restaurant??? No information in the show notes…
I actually watched this at work on nightshift 🤫. Came back to comment. Ara is someone I feel like I would connect with. Seems so genuine hearted and so down to earth. And he’s totally got me wanting to taste sumac now!! I’m so interested! Great video guys.
I live down the street from Harlem Bar b Que and it’s worth every penny. You have to get there early if you want a beef rib !!
You must be telling yourself why didn’t I think of this series context and presentation earlier. You always end up where you’re supposed to be. Congrats again of this series. Another cool part of Texas BBQ history. I live in houston and I’ve never heard of him before but I’m remedy that quickly!
Outstanding! Gotta buy me some sumac.
Congrats my friend on possibly the best video you have put out to date. They just keep getting better. Your Telling the story of how we all got here and to be honest I’m so proud to be a part of your journey to tell your story. You obviously are on a mission to learn and to become a better chef. The way you lean into the life and journey and also throw some interesting techniques and style of each person you interview is what makes your work stand out. Ara is someone that is so distinct from my own journey but I feel a connection to him as I did with Wayne Mueller, Bill Dumas and Ali. Your episodes teach me something every time. I can’t wait to one of these days get to meet these great people you’re interviewing. Thank you for what you do and on this particular video thank you to Ara for sharing and teaching. I’ve never wanted to eat pork shank so bad in my life as I did watching that video. I love lamb probably more than brisket but never cook it because in my rural area it’s just hard to get but I’m gonna be experimenting with the lamb and octopus for our Sunday staff dinners for sure. That Brisket wrap tech is great. Just an all around great video with tech and story. Keep doing what your doing Al and Ara I will come to Texas again soon and hope to get to shake your hand. Love ya big guy and can’t wait for your next adventure to air!! ❤❤
Awesome would love to meet him .