A little background.
Growing up in Springfield, MIssouri, the only good barbecue I'd really had was in my family's backyard. If you went to a "BBQ Restaurant", you received a chopped meat sandwich drowned in crappy sauce. served on a stale bun. That's how I remember it, anyway. Dad's grilled pork steaks and country-style ribs, along with mom's baked beans and potato casserole were all you really needed. Uncle Bob would make pork chops, marinated in his "Uncommon Bob's" secret recipe, which was always a treat when we would visit.
It wasn't until I got a little older and started hitting up Oklahoma Joe's (gas station location only), RJ's "Bob-Be-Que", and Woodyard in Kansas City not too far from where I lived at that time, that I started understanding what a BBQ Restaurant really was. My girlfriend (who has been my wife now for 16yrs) and I loved stopping in at Arthur Bryant's after walking around the American Jazz Museum, soaking in some valuable history. We would go to Gates and gladly get yelled at in line for plate of ribs and pulled pork. Jack Stack had the beans. Joe's had the ribs. At RJ's you could get a half rack of ribs with your biscuits & gravy on weekend mornings with a tall, spicy Bloody Mary. Genius.
KC was absolutely my first BBQ Love.
Enter St. Louis Barbecue., Austin Barbecue, and surprisingly, a smattering of Denver-area Barbecues. Raichlen's shows. Franklin's book...and his PBS shorts. Jeffery's babybacks and Weber Kettle Wizardry. So inspiring.
I've been grilling a long time. A very long time. Still am. But a while back, grilling led to smoking. It led to knowledge and creation and patience.. So here we are, Barbecuing. Barbequing. BBQing. B-B-Qing. And Bar-B-Qing. However you write it, we're doing it.
It wasn't until I got a little older and started hitting up Oklahoma Joe's (gas station location only), RJ's "Bob-Be-Que", and Woodyard in Kansas City not too far from where I lived at that time, that I started understanding what a BBQ Restaurant really was. My girlfriend (who has been my wife now for 16yrs) and I loved stopping in at Arthur Bryant's after walking around the American Jazz Museum, soaking in some valuable history. We would go to Gates and gladly get yelled at in line for plate of ribs and pulled pork. Jack Stack had the beans. Joe's had the ribs. At RJ's you could get a half rack of ribs with your biscuits & gravy on weekend mornings with a tall, spicy Bloody Mary. Genius.
KC was absolutely my first BBQ Love.
Enter St. Louis Barbecue., Austin Barbecue, and surprisingly, a smattering of Denver-area Barbecues. Raichlen's shows. Franklin's book...and his PBS shorts. Jeffery's babybacks and Weber Kettle Wizardry. So inspiring.
I've been grilling a long time. A very long time. Still am. But a while back, grilling led to smoking. It led to knowledge and creation and patience.. So here we are, Barbecuing. Barbequing. BBQing. B-B-Qing. And Bar-B-Qing. However you write it, we're doing it.
About the crew.
I'm Matt. Earl Todd is my middle and last name, respectively. It's a family name that my dad and son also share. I am not a pitmaster, because that is pretentious and self-absorbed. I cook, I barbecue.
My wife and daughter always help make our driveway barbecues fun and inviting, with a cooler of yard beer and the occasional lemonade stand greeting you. We love cooking, music, getting together with folks that aren't terrible, and being outdoors. All things that barbecue encompasses. ETB is literally my family, and they are all badasses.
My wife and daughter always help make our driveway barbecues fun and inviting, with a cooler of yard beer and the occasional lemonade stand greeting you. We love cooking, music, getting together with folks that aren't terrible, and being outdoors. All things that barbecue encompasses. ETB is literally my family, and they are all badasses.
Food.
I purchase the highest quality meat I can find--only USDA Prime and Choice, and local when possible. If I find some Wagyu, I'll let you know and we'll eat it. The first step in any good barbecue is to purchase good products.
My sausage is made in-house with my own recipe (after many trials and errors), as well as my sides, rubs, and sauces. Everything I prepare is a recipe I created, and I strive for it to be the best I've ever tasted. I don't cook for the masses, I cook for us.
I build fires in my offset smokers starting with charcoal and then add wood. The wood I use comes from Texas and/or MIssouri, typically, and is a combination of hickory, oak, apple, and pecan, depending on what is being smoked. My process is simple. Meat, seasoning, smoke, convection, moisture, time....fueled by coffee and music.
So what you're getting with this food is not a lot of flash. No injections, no secret tips, no push button machines that do the work for you, not a lot of sauce, and not a ton of fancy dishes. Just straight-forward, pretty damn good barbecue that I stay up all night cooking.
My sausage is made in-house with my own recipe (after many trials and errors), as well as my sides, rubs, and sauces. Everything I prepare is a recipe I created, and I strive for it to be the best I've ever tasted. I don't cook for the masses, I cook for us.
I build fires in my offset smokers starting with charcoal and then add wood. The wood I use comes from Texas and/or MIssouri, typically, and is a combination of hickory, oak, apple, and pecan, depending on what is being smoked. My process is simple. Meat, seasoning, smoke, convection, moisture, time....fueled by coffee and music.
So what you're getting with this food is not a lot of flash. No injections, no secret tips, no push button machines that do the work for you, not a lot of sauce, and not a ton of fancy dishes. Just straight-forward, pretty damn good barbecue that I stay up all night cooking.
About what the heck we're doing.
We started out a few years ago setting up in parking lots and side roads. Although our set-up was more of a "farmer's market" style, we had food truck ambitions. It was work.
With two little kiddos, 2+ years being erased due to Covid, and Covid's aftermath resulting in costs skyrocketing and customers being apprehensive, our model started to become un-fun. The work and cost wasn't making sense. So we rethought our model.
No more masses. No more BBQ Stand trying to be a Food Truck. No more business.
More fun. More freedom.
Cooking and having neighborhood barbecues right out of my driveway. Throwing a fundraiser for a comrade in need. Cooking for overworked teachers or Frontline Employees. Having a "Drive-By Ribbing" on a random Sunday. Celebrating a wedding or graduation with countless pulled pork sliders. Inviting folks to come be my guinea pigs when I come up with a new dish. Having a cooler full of free beer. Popping a lawn chair next to the smoker.
I'm not a business anymore--at least for the time being. I'm just some dude that really likes to cook for people and enjoy a cold beer in the driveway, so that's what we're doing. We are on a donation-only basis--if you want a rib and got zero dollars, no worries, I got you. I'm easy like Sunday morning.
Having a shindig and need some meats & sides? Contact us with what you're thinking about and we'll prepare it, deliver it (if you're somewhat close), and agree on a fair donation. Nothing fancy--We'll literally drop off foil pans of food and maybe some plasticware, you eat and enjoy, then throw everything away when you're done. Easy peazy, George and Weazy.
We're still trucking--maybe more so now than before. Just doing it a little differently. Having a little more fun. A little less stress. A little more freedom and simplicity. We'll see where the current takes us.
So swing on by and have a rib and a beer. Give us a buzz and have us drop of some meats. If you dig it, let's be friends.
With two little kiddos, 2+ years being erased due to Covid, and Covid's aftermath resulting in costs skyrocketing and customers being apprehensive, our model started to become un-fun. The work and cost wasn't making sense. So we rethought our model.
No more masses. No more BBQ Stand trying to be a Food Truck. No more business.
More fun. More freedom.
Cooking and having neighborhood barbecues right out of my driveway. Throwing a fundraiser for a comrade in need. Cooking for overworked teachers or Frontline Employees. Having a "Drive-By Ribbing" on a random Sunday. Celebrating a wedding or graduation with countless pulled pork sliders. Inviting folks to come be my guinea pigs when I come up with a new dish. Having a cooler full of free beer. Popping a lawn chair next to the smoker.
I'm not a business anymore--at least for the time being. I'm just some dude that really likes to cook for people and enjoy a cold beer in the driveway, so that's what we're doing. We are on a donation-only basis--if you want a rib and got zero dollars, no worries, I got you. I'm easy like Sunday morning.
Having a shindig and need some meats & sides? Contact us with what you're thinking about and we'll prepare it, deliver it (if you're somewhat close), and agree on a fair donation. Nothing fancy--We'll literally drop off foil pans of food and maybe some plasticware, you eat and enjoy, then throw everything away when you're done. Easy peazy, George and Weazy.
We're still trucking--maybe more so now than before. Just doing it a little differently. Having a little more fun. A little less stress. A little more freedom and simplicity. We'll see where the current takes us.
So swing on by and have a rib and a beer. Give us a buzz and have us drop of some meats. If you dig it, let's be friends.
Some kind words from customers. Much thanks.
"Earl Todd is the BEST BBQ I’ve ever had. Period! I can’t recommend Earl Todd highly enough, especially if you’re having a hard time finding authentic BBQ in the Denver Metro Area. You won’t be disappointed. "~ Scott & Regan Petersen, Denver, CO
"Earl Todd BBQ is the best in town, genuinely. Not only is the BBQ absolutely amazing, I know it is being made locally and with genuine passion for the craft. Matt is extremely easy to work with and very responsive. Whether it was catering or just pulling up to one of Earl Todd's pop up locations, I have NEVER been disappointed." - Emily Kingsley, Broomfield, CO
"Earl Todd BBQ is the best in town, genuinely. Not only is the BBQ absolutely amazing, I know it is being made locally and with genuine passion for the craft. Matt is extremely easy to work with and very responsive. Whether it was catering or just pulling up to one of Earl Todd's pop up locations, I have NEVER been disappointed." - Emily Kingsley, Broomfield, CO
