The focal point of this podcast episode centers on the intricate world of barbecue, as we engage in a profound dialogue with David Ehart, the Senior Director of Communications and Brand Marketing for Prairie Fresh. Our conversation traverses various dimensions of barbecue culture, including the nuances of meat selection and preparation, particularly emphasizing the advancements made in the evaluation of pork quality. Ehart elucidates the technological innovations implemented in their facilities, which have been meticulously developed over several years to enhance the marbling and overall quality of the meat. Additionally, we delve into the competitive barbecue scene, exploring the challenges and opportunities that arise within this increasingly expensive sport, as well as the importance of accessibility for enthusiasts at all levels. This episode not only sheds light on the technical aspects of barbecue but also reflects on the personal joys and experiences that accompany this culinary art form, culminating in Ehart’s poignant reminder to approach life with seriousness while maintaining an inherent sense of levity.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Speaker A:
Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.
Speaker A:
Hey, everybody, it's jt and this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:
It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:
Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:
That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:
Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:
Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:
I'm Jeff along with Leanne, and we've got David Ehart today with us.
Speaker A:
Am I saying that right?
Speaker B:
That is correct.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Senior director of communications and brand marketing for Prairie Fresh.
Speaker A:
If you haven't had Prairie Fresh ribs or any of their pork, I would recommend you give it a shot.
Speaker A:
It's really something.
Speaker A:
One thing you said in the real show before we get on with the after hours here, David, is when you said the FDA doesn't really rake the carcasses.
Speaker A:
You guys, do you have your own machine there?
Speaker A:
How long did it take you to design that technology to, you know, to find the marbling and stuff in the meat?
Speaker B:
It was in the works for a good three to four years.
Speaker A:
Was it really?
Speaker B:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:
And then we validated.
Speaker B:
So we brought in one plant at a time, and we validated each plant, and that was about a six to eight month process, even after we brought the equipment into the second and third plants each.
Speaker A:
Cool, cool, cool.
Speaker A:
All right.
Speaker A:
This is where we do lightning round.
Speaker A:
I don't know how you would best describe these questions and where they take us, but you'll figure it out.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker C:
They're all over the board.
Speaker A:
They're all over the board.
Speaker A:
So let's start with a relatively easy one.
Speaker A:
If you could cook for, then dine with a historical figure, David, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Speaker A:
They can be with us or long gone.
Speaker B:
Abraham Lincoln.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
I just think he was so pivotal in the way he shaped this country.
Speaker B:
And then I probably would serve him.
Speaker B:
I have to be Prairie Fresh pork.
Speaker B:
That's my favorite cut.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
You know, you're not the first person to say Lincoln, but you were the first person that actually gave a real good reason for it.
Speaker A:
As far as pivotal in the way he's shaping the country, most of them just found him fascinating, which is true.
Speaker C:
Or too thin and needed to eat.
Speaker A:
Too thin and needed.
Speaker A:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:
So anyway, if you started your career all over again, would you choose the same path?
Speaker A:
It's kind of a loaded question.
Speaker B:
Yeah, it is.
Speaker B:
And I haven't veered very far off, but I probably would because I'M I'm thrilled with where I ended up and the pathway that led to it.
Speaker B:
And sometimes it wasn't the most direct route, but I can't see myself any other place.
Speaker A:
Okay, that's easy.
Speaker A:
If Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for one day, just one day, but what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?
Speaker A:
And then once you decreed it, it was law.
Speaker B:
Jeez, that's a tough one.
Speaker B:
I think about that for a second.
Speaker B:
Oh, really?
Speaker B:
I hadn't even thought about that.
Speaker B:
So maybe something along the lines of, everyone always have fun with it.
Speaker C:
That's fair enough.
Speaker A:
Yeah, that's very fair.
Speaker A:
I'm sorry.
Speaker A:
For David, On a scale of 1 to 10, how much barbecue do you eat on a regular basis?
Speaker A:
And that can encompass just grilling or cooking outside on a flat top, charcoal, whatever.
Speaker A:
That's a broad definition here, but how much do you eat on a regular basis?
Speaker B:
About a five.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker C:
That's a lot.
Speaker B:
It is.
Speaker B:
Yeah, it is.
Speaker B:
It really is one of my favorite foods.
Speaker C:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:
What's one of the worst places you've ever had to cook?
Speaker A:
You know, pick up the tongs and the spatula and what's the worst place that David had to cook?
Speaker B:
I.
Speaker B:
Probably just a campsite.
Speaker B:
That's probably the worst.
Speaker B:
You know, I've been pretty fortunate.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
Was Chris.
Speaker A:
Lily, wasn't it?
Speaker A:
Leanne in the snow in his underwear with his kid?
Speaker C:
I think so.
Speaker A:
I think so.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
That's a different question anyway, coming down the line, David, if you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?
Speaker A:
You probably wouldn't be a hog because, you know, it's a fairly short lifespan.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
You know, I.
Speaker B:
But it's hard for me not to say a pig, because I'm so fascinated with them.
Speaker B:
And that came from growing up on the farm.
Speaker B:
I would spend hours out in the pig pen just with them.
Speaker B:
I just still fascinated with them today.
Speaker A:
Aren't they second only to, like, a dolphin in intelligence?
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
They're extremely smart.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Yeah, they are.
Speaker A:
I always thought they were funny, too, especially when they're little.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker C:
I wish they could talk.
Speaker A:
Didn't you ever watch Charlotte's Web?
Speaker A:
Come on.
Speaker A:
They can talk.
Speaker C:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled, barbecue or smoked?
Speaker A:
And I'm not talking about what you did in college.
Speaker A:
I'm talking about food.
Speaker B:
Yeah, I think it was a.
Speaker B:
It was probably a beef steak on the grill as a kid.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
Because, you know, a lot of beef, too.
Speaker C:
You.
Speaker A:
You said a minute ago about how many times you you much bar barbecue you eat, Is it mostly pork or do you integrate beef and chicken and fish or whatever?
Speaker A:
What's your ratios there?
Speaker B:
To be honest, at home, I will eat a lot more fish and chicken than I do pork because I eat a lot of pork here at the office.
Speaker A:
I'm sure, sure.
Speaker A:
If we put David's skills to music, what would the music be?
Speaker B:
Music be.
Speaker B:
Something fun like Uptown Funk or something like that.
Speaker B:
Sure.
Speaker C:
There you go.
Speaker B:
Sure, sure.
Speaker B:
Do you.
Speaker A:
What would be.
Speaker A:
I'll phrase it this way.
Speaker A:
What would be your suggestion for the biggest change that you think could or should be made regarding competitive barbecue?
Speaker B:
I'm not the first person to say this.
Speaker B:
I'm concerned about being accessible to everyone because it's become such an expensive sport.
Speaker B:
So can we get more the single meets or smaller cuts or something?
Speaker B:
That's first of all not as time consuming as expensive.
Speaker A:
Yeah, we lost your picture there, David.
Speaker B:
What happened?
Speaker A:
I don't know.
Speaker A:
It'll come back.
Speaker A:
It'll come back.
Speaker A:
When you go to a competition when.
Speaker A:
When you go to competition barbecue, what is there part of it?
Speaker A:
One category that your favorite.
Speaker A:
Obviously you're going to root for the pork division, but is there one in particular that you really, really like?
Speaker A:
Maybe it's desserts, because you won the award with a.
Speaker A:
With the rye pie.
Speaker B:
I am fascinated what they do with the desserts.
Speaker B:
I'm gonna go tell you.
Speaker B:
That'll be true pork ribs.
Speaker B:
I just.
Speaker B:
I'm not.
Speaker B:
I not a huge rib fan when it comes to eating them.
Speaker B:
I appreciate a really good rib, so I think that's why I enjoy seeing people do extremely well with that.
Speaker A:
You know who else likes desserts that.
Speaker A:
That lady with in front of the group?
Speaker C:
Desserts.
Speaker C:
Yes.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
We.
Speaker A:
We.
Speaker A:
When we were in Texas, what, three years now ago, we walked by and looked at, like, the meat behind us, some behind me there.
Speaker A:
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker A:
Off we go to the kids who are in baking out the desserts then.
Speaker A:
And we were.
Speaker A:
She went back to the same tent like five times.
Speaker A:
So, yeah, it was all good.
Speaker A:
David, what's one thing you miss about your 20s?
Speaker A:
I know you're only 31, so what's one thing you miss about your 20s?
Speaker B:
My ability to water ski like I used to.
Speaker A:
That kind of gone by the wayside a little bit.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Is it.
Speaker A:
Is it still water skiing or is it just water floating on?
Speaker A:
Being drugged behind a boat?
Speaker B:
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker B:
I hardly even get behind the boat anymore.
Speaker B:
I just.
Speaker B:
Other than jumping off the side.
Speaker A:
I got it, I got it.
Speaker B:
That was one of my passions when I was, when I was in my 20s.
Speaker B:
Barefoot, single ski, single slalom, solemn skier.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker C:
I was a water skier as well.
Speaker A:
I was a scuba diver, so there you go.
Speaker A:
I like to go beneath the water, not.
Speaker A:
Oh, and I like to fish.
Speaker A:
Anyway, what do you want to do when, if you ever retire?
Speaker B:
I would like to.
Speaker B:
This sounds a little crazy, but not get away from food.
Speaker B:
I think it'd be fun to like, do special events like jump in and cook either like for a cater or something like that that I could get, get to spend more time in the kitchen because I don't get to do that now.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
What's the hardest part of your job?
Speaker B:
Managing multiple tasks at once.
Speaker B:
We get hit with customer inquiries, consumer inquiries, just internal things.
Speaker B:
There's a lot going on.
Speaker B:
When we mentioned during the regular interview, I get about three to 400 emails a day.
Speaker C:
Oh, my God.
Speaker C:
So you have a team that handles that?
Speaker B:
Yeah, but it's hard to keep up with it.
Speaker B:
Email is definitely the hardest part of the job.
Speaker A:
Yeah, I, to me, I don't, I get two, 250 a day anymore.
Speaker A:
Probably 30 of them.
Speaker C:
A lot.
Speaker A:
Yeah, but probably about 30 of them are worth actually reading had and dealing with and the other.
Speaker A:
Either people want something or they want to.
Speaker A:
You know, I get a lot of emails from PR firms, want to be on the shows or something like that, but I found sorting through them takes a little more time.
Speaker A:
Some of them you can just dismiss out of hand because you recognize the, the person writing it and you know, they're from Madison Avenue or whatever and it's not somebody you deal with.
Speaker A:
Anyway, doesn't matter.
Speaker A:
What's your favorite movie?
Speaker B:
Oh, it's Easy to Kill a Mockingbird.
Speaker A:
Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker A:
If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, David, who would the hero be?
Speaker A:
Besides Leanne, who would it be?
Speaker C:
He's gotta be very careful.
Speaker A:
I know, I know, because we didn't.
Speaker B:
Talk about my ambassador list, so.
Speaker C:
Yeah, no, I, I, I retract the question.
Speaker C:
Sorry.
Speaker C:
That's unfair.
Speaker A:
Okay, let me rephrase it like this.
Speaker A:
If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes that was not in your ambassador program and that they lived in South Africa, who would it be?
Speaker B:
I would be an honor to find.
Speaker B:
I mean, I get to work with our ambassadors all the time, but it would be fun just to like, cook with them all the time.
Speaker B:
There's a lot.
Speaker B:
Oh, yeah, not there.
Speaker C:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
What do you think the barbecue skill that took you the longest to master.
Speaker A:
I mean, you've been to culinary school.
Speaker A:
You've got a very, you know, diverse background in food and in farming and all that.
Speaker A:
But there always seems to be one skill, whether it's particular cut of meat or whether it's the timing or whether it's the trimming or the temperature, whatever it is.
Speaker A:
What's one that you think it took you the longest to master?
Speaker B:
And I think I'm still mastering it.
Speaker B:
So I.
Speaker B:
If I have to deal with true.
Speaker B:
Like, live fire.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
I still struggle.
Speaker B:
Either it goes really well or it doesn't.
Speaker B:
And I still haven't completely mastered in a live fire situation.
Speaker B:
I love playing with it.
Speaker B:
I still played with it enough.
Speaker A:
I'm not sure.
Speaker A:
And Leanne will probably correct me on this, which is fine.
Speaker A:
I'm not sure everybody or anybody, I should say, 100% of the time Masters.
Speaker A:
Live fire.
Speaker A:
Leanne.
Speaker C:
I think there's a level that you get to that you understand it and how it works with all of the factors that are around it.
Speaker C:
And I do think that there's a knowledge level, but that's what's so cool about cooking with live fire.
Speaker C:
It's never the same.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker C:
And.
Speaker C:
And that's what's so intriguing about it.
Speaker C:
But, no, I don't think that anyone fully masters it, but I think there are people that fully understand it.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
No, I would accept that.
Speaker A:
So what is the best day for David Ehart?
Speaker A:
Contained for activities.
Speaker A:
Away from work.
Speaker A:
Away from work.
Speaker B:
Say that again.
Speaker A:
What is the best day for David?
Speaker A:
Contained.
Speaker A:
Okay with activities, but away from your job?
Speaker B:
For me, it's setting out on the boat, on the lake.
Speaker B:
Anytime I can do that, it's the only time I turn off.
Speaker C:
What lake are you near?
Speaker B:
So Lake of the Ozarks is about two and a half hours away.
Speaker B:
And I have a lake home at Lake of the Ozarks, so.
Speaker C:
Very nice.
Speaker A:
Do you fish?
Speaker B:
I do.
Speaker A:
Ah, there you go.
Speaker A:
What do you fish for there?
Speaker B:
Mostly crappie.
Speaker A:
Mostly crappy.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
All right.
Speaker C:
Good eating.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Dire Straits, AC DC or Billy Ray Cyrus?
Speaker B:
I have to say Billy Ray.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
Boxers or briefs?
Speaker B:
Boxer briefs.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker C:
Seems to be the thing.
Speaker A:
That seems to be the thing.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Especially if you're Chris Lilly cooking in the snow at the Jack or whatever it was.
Speaker A:
I don't remember.
Speaker A:
It was a funny exchange.
Speaker A:
That was a couple years ago, though.
Speaker A:
Sweatshirts or formal wear?
Speaker B:
Sweatshirts.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Worst concert you ever attended?
Speaker B:
I don't know.
Speaker B:
I haven't been to that many.
Speaker B:
I don't go to that many concerts, unfortunately.
Speaker B:
They've all been really good.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
If you could erase one mistake from your past, what would it be?
Speaker A:
And why?
Speaker A:
You're turning red there, David.
Speaker A:
I just want to tell you.
Speaker B:
Thought I'd pass about this for a second.
Speaker B:
One mistake that I could probably.
Speaker B:
The thing I regret the most is that I didn't take more food science classes in college.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Yeah, I could say that too.
Speaker A:
What's your idea of a dream menu?
Speaker A:
Oh, don't have to be 15 items, just.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Or a dinner or something.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
I. I love burn ends, even though it's not pork.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
So anything you put burn ends on is probably good with me and like a really good vegetable.
Speaker B:
I love a grilled vegetable too.
Speaker B:
I'm pretty basic when it comes to that.
Speaker A:
Uhhuh.
Speaker B:
And then obviously it has to have some amazing dessert.
Speaker B:
And it's probably some type of mousse based dessert.
Speaker A:
Ah, there you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
This is the one that usually makes people kind of go, oh, what would your last meal be?
Speaker A:
On death row?
Speaker B:
That's pretty easy, and it's a little bizarre.
Speaker B:
I love grilled liver and onions.
Speaker C:
Oh, you're.
Speaker C:
You're in a very small percentile.
Speaker B:
It was one of the things that I craved as a kid, my mom would make, and I still love it.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker C:
Did she put bacon in it?
Speaker B:
Yeah, I'm sure she did.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:
I never understood why people didn't like it.
Speaker B:
Wow.
Speaker A:
You know, you know, I.
Speaker A:
My mom made it, pan fried it right.
Speaker A:
And then put the onions in about the time she flipped the liver over and they would all meld together and all that.
Speaker A:
I always liked it.
Speaker A:
But a friend of mine in college, we went to some cafe and they had liver and onions and I ordered liver and noons.
Speaker A:
And his name was David, too.
Speaker A:
And he said, that's.
Speaker A:
That stuff tastes like dirt.
Speaker A:
I said, no, it tastes like liver and onions.
Speaker A:
It's really good.
Speaker A:
Now it tastes like dirt.
Speaker C:
Very unusual.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
So anyway, we have that in common, David.
Speaker A:
We have that in common.
Speaker A:
Last question here for you, buddy.
Speaker A:
This is your chance to deliver David E. Hart's message to the world.
Speaker A:
What would your message to the world be?
Speaker B:
Pretty simple never to be.
Speaker B:
To take yourself too serious about anything, but still give her a whole heart in everything you do.
Speaker A:
Nice.
Speaker C:
Very nice.
Speaker A:
Very nice.
Speaker A:
Where can people find out, David, this is.
Speaker A:
The interrogation is over.
Speaker A:
Where can people find out more about Prairie Fresh?
Speaker A:
And I should have done this in the regular show.
Speaker A:
You want to lay some web websites on them and stuff.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
So all our, we have our website, which is prairiefresh.com you can also go to seaboardfoods.com and get there as well.
Speaker B:
We're also on all the social channels of Instagram and Facebook, so we have a pretty strong presence on those.
Speaker B:
And our we're at Prairie Fresh on both those channels.
Speaker A:
Excellent.
Speaker C:
Perfect.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
David E. Hart, senior director of communications and marketing for Prairie Fresh, thank you.
Speaker A:
You've been a great sport, by the way.
Speaker A:
I appreciate it.
Speaker C:
Very good.
Speaker C:
Very informative.
Speaker A:
Yes, really.
Speaker A:
So we'll be back next week with another edition of After Hours.
Speaker A:
And we want to thank David for again putting up with us today on the regular show and then After Hours here.
Speaker A:
So, David, again, thank you.
Speaker A:
And for Leanne and myself, we will be back next week abusing another witness.
