The Good Life – July-August 2021

ON THE COVER | JASON AAMODT
Favorite cut?
"New York Strip.
Dude, it's got the
right amount of
marbling, just fatty
enough to stay juicy,
and you get to eat it
all without risking the
giant heart attack…"
the top customer picks he sees week in and week
out. But not before a quick story on the injuries
he's seen over the years.
"Dude I've seen people's hands get caught
in saws, cuts that down to the bone, hands
in slicers, guys run over by cows," he said.
That one needed a bit more context: "So
my first job in this business was at a plant,
and one day a guy in the slaughterhouse
got trampled by a cow. And this dude
was as big as the cow."
So maybe the best tip? Keep your blades
sharp, but your eyes even sharper. On to
the meat of the story...
"Favorite cut? New York Strip," he said.
"Dude, it's got the right amount of
marbling, just fatty enough to stay juicy,
and you get to eat it all without risking the
giant heart attack… as much!"
What about the most popular product walking
out of the shop every day?
"Ribs, without a doubt. Still to this day, we take
the most phone calls on ribs," Aamodt said. "It's
the Wednesday special — been that way since
the beginning. That was the thing that started to
bring people in. Everything else is popular, but
those are what people call for on Wednesdays.
We cook two 250 pound batches a day now!"
And speaking of ribs, here's a tip you can put
to use immediately to improve your BBQ game:
always divide your cook into two. "If I buy one
rack, I always cut them in half and do one with
sauce and one without," Aamodt explained. "With
ribs, you can smoke, grill, bake… they're so versatile.
In the end, they're always kind of the same, but always
awesome and very forgiving for less experienced cooks."
20 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com