Meat Moot smokes low and slow, and its cleaver-flipping ‘butchers’ steal the show
|
Posted By: How May I Help You NC on January 03, 2024 Burbank is the first U.S. location of a rapidly expanding Middle Eastern zabiha halal smoked meat empire. by Mike Sula aprons hoist hunks of wobbling flesh aloft like sacrificial offerings. Stationed before a bank of smokers—meat vaults loaded with parchment-and-tinfoil-swaddled briskets, beef ribs, and lamb shoulders—they slowly tug glistening bones from steaming muscle, smiling as it collapses. The meat smacks against wooden cutting boards, quivering under downpours of salt and spice and ropes of cascading honey. You approach the counter with your phone held high. A meatman casually flips his gleaming cleaver into the air, snatching it as it tumbles down, and guides the blade toward its first cut. Suddenly a forkful rises over the glass partition toward your gaping gob. If you approve of this smoky lagniappe, you’ll order it by the pound, take a seat, and wait for the feast to arrive. This is how you dance when you walk through the glass doors of this strip mall storefront in south suburban Burbank. It’s the first U.S. branch of Meat Moot, an Istanbul-based barbecue chain with 17 locations all over the Middle East. Even if that sounds unusual, there are a few things about this experience that might seem familiar. By barbecue, I don’t mean Turkish or Arabic-style barbecue, typified by kebabs or thinly sliced shawarma, cooked by direct heat. The meat is zabiha halal, slaughtered in accordance with Islamic dietary law, and no pork is served. It’s strictly lamb and beef—brisket and ribs in particular—and that’s only one of the ways it resembles Texas-style barbecue. Meat Moot’s performative carnivorism also might ring a bell if you’re acquainted with the Insta-antics of Salt Bae, and to a lesser extent Cumali Adigüzel, aka “Knife Man,” both erstwhile Turkish butchers turned steakhouse clowns. But it all probably goes back to chef Eyad Abu Al-Hasan, a Palestinian butcher from the hilltop Arab city of Kafr Qasim about 12 miles east of Tel Aviv. Chef Eyad studied the art of low and slow barbecue in Texas before returning home and opening his first restaurant, applying Middle Eastern marinades and seasonings to meat and cooking it over hardwood lump charcoal for up to 16 hours in his own proprietary smokers. He also probably pioneered the spectacle. His chefs—the Levantine analogue to Fogo de Chão’s knife-wielding Brazilian gauchos—dance the dabkeh and offer their guests “meat kisses” amid blazing propane pyrotechnics. “Now everyone’s copying him,” says the amateur meat smoker behind the YouTube channel Halal Digest. “Middle Eastern people love hosting and treating their guests so well and generously, based on our beliefs and duties in Islam—to treat them the best we can. But, yeah, they took it to another level.” Eyad, known as the “King of Smoked Meat,” has branched out to more than 15 locations around the Middle East and operates a restaurant management and franchise consultancy out of Dubai called Smoked Meat World, helping others do the same. Eyad-butcher-style—went through a 45-day to two-month training period in Istanbul. The marinades and secret seasonings that rain down upon each chunk of meat are consistent from branch to branch, as is the practice of offering unlimited amounts of rice, soft drinks (no alcohol), side salads (seven), and sauces—14 of them in all, from chimichurri to honey mustard to tahini. “Moot” is an Arabic slang term, something along the lines of “to die for.” Yet, all the variety might help to obscure the fact that the flavor profile across the menu’s seven cuts of meat is a bit repetitive, and absent any hint of wood smoke, though Musleh says they smoke with a variety of fruit woods in addition to hardwood lump charcoal. The meat is masterfully cooked though, particularly the fattier cuts like lamb neck, shoulder, and ribs, which hold up better on the board than the top seller—brisket, which can dry out. I didn’t get to try the other most popular cut—beef ribs—because it sold out before I’d arrived. And that’s the gamble one takes on a visit to Meat Moot. They don’t take reservations, and cuts often sell out before closing. I made two long journeys to Burbank before I successfully got dinner and a show. It might get easier for some folks, though, as Empire Meat Moot continues to spread. Musleh says they’re working on opening a Michigan branch, and though the dashing CEO Abdullah didn’t make it here for the grand opening, “We are bringing him very soon.” Meat moot smoking 4.6 (616) · $$$$ Restaurant · Burbank, IL Closed ⋅ Opens 12 PM Dine-in· Takeout· Delivery Meat Moot NJ 4.8 (251) · $$ Barbecue · Paterson, NJ Closed ⋅ Opens 12 PM https://www.instagram.com/meat_moot/ https://m.facebook.com/meatmoot https://twitter.com/meatmoot_sa https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Rev... https://www.tiktok.com/@meatmoot1 https://chicagoreader.com/ ImagE Clayton Hauck for Chicago Reader If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
How May I Help You NC
Management, See Moss Interactive Bellarmine University class of 2021 Member Since January 2011 |
Comments
More From This Author
Latest Polls & Voting
 |
What is the Best Chocolate Milk?taste test 8 different types of chocolate milk in a head-to-head bracket tournament to determine which is the best of them all.
What is the Best Pizza?  • What is the Best Pizza?
What ...more
How May I Help You NC • 355 Views • March 1st, 2026 |
 |
스마트 잠금 장치: Yale의 저렴한 솔루션빠르고 컴팩트하며 기능이 풍부합니다
L2 Lite는 독창적인 작동 & ...more
How May I Help You NC • 378 Views • September 27th, 2025 |
Popular Polls & Voting
 |
Vote on Which HBCU Homecoming We Should Attend!HBCU Connect will be taking a few road trips this year during homecoming season and since there are so many options to consider in a roughly 6 week homecoming bonanza frenzy in October and November, w ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 53,529 Views • August 1st, 2011 |
 |
THE HBCU TRIVIA GAME - PLAY NOW TO WIN!QUESTION #1: Dr. Leroy Walker was one of the most successful track and field coaches in the United States. He produced 111 All-Americans, 40 National Champions and 12 Olympians. In 1976, he became the ...more
How May I Help You NC • 35,267 Views • November 26th, 2012 |
 |
HBCU TRIVIA GAME TIME! HERE IS QUESTION #2...QUESTION #2: Which HBCU was the first to have a fully implemented doctoral program in the field of nursing?
_______________________________________________________________________________
HOW ...more
How May I Help You NC • 34,905 Views • November 26th, 2012 |
 |
Does the BLACK COMMUNITY wait too late to promote college to its YOUTH?As a parent of two, I was perusing a Parenting magazine and couldn't help but notice the numerous ads for preschool "prep" schools that boast of their impressive alumni. I was discussing with a friend ...more
Joan E. Gosier HBCUkidz.com • 24,004 Views • August 17th, 2010 |
 |
Last Week to Vote For The 2018 HBCU CONNECT Fall Scholarship Finalists Videos!Every Semester, HBCUConnect.com likes to offer a $1000 scholarship to one of our members to help out with books, tuition or room and board.
Please help us vote for the best video submission from ou ...more
Reginald Culpepper • 18,603 Views • August 1st, 2018 |
