The MeatEater Podcast Ep. 812: The Best Grub in Texas
Dec 25, 2025
Jesse Griffiths, a Texas chef and owner of Dai Due, shares his passion for sourcing local, seasonal ingredients. He discusses his commitment to using everything from nearby farms to create dishes, including turning wild hogs into flautas. The conversation dives into unique cooking techniques, like slow-cooking audad meat and making pastrami from local ingredients. With insights on everything from rendering fats to creating in-house breads, Jesse emphasizes the connection between food and community in Texas.
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Radical Locality As A Culinary Ethos
- Jesse frames Dāi Də̄ as a restaurant that serves Texas food sourced from Texas ingredients year-round.
- He prioritizes locality and seasonal buying even when it complicates menu consistency and costs.
Buying Truckloads In Season
- Jesse buys truckloads of seasonal produce like citrus and pecans the moment they're available to lock in true locality.
- He sometimes receives unsolicited items like feral hogs or mushrooms and selectively accepts them for the restaurant.
Wild Boar Flautas And Sourced Tortillas
- The flautas on the table were made with shredded wild boar trapped in the Hill Country and processed under inspection.
- Jesse even calls tortilla purveyors to confirm their corn source to maintain Texas provenance.