This Week In Barbecue

When did backyard barbecue become a luxury hobby? And is Michelin recognition really as straightforward as people think? This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch dig into the business, equipment, and culture surrounding barbecue. The episode opens with National Chicken Fried Steak Day, a five-pound chicken fried steak in Belton, Texas, and an idea for chicken fried bris...

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with hot news, hotter takes, and a full plate of food culture, restaurant business, barbecue craft, and internet foolishness. The episode opens with National Gumbo Day and a conversation about gumbo, roux, tradition, and why family recipes can turn into full-blown debates. Rasheed talks about making brisket gumbo with re...

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with hot takes, hotter news, and a full plate of barbecue business, food culture, pricing debates, and global flavor. The episode kicks off with National Taco Day landing on Taco Tuesday, thanks to Old El Paso, before turning into a full debate over the greatest food delivery mechanism: tortilla or potato. From there, Ra...

In this episode, we explore the vibrant community of barbecue, the importance of humility and camaraderie, and the future of barbecue culture. Join us as we share insights from a recent event that brought together legendary pit masters and enthusiasts.

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with hot takes, hotter news, and a full plate of barbecue business, food culture, pricing debates, and craft talk. The episode opens with Rasheed reflecting on running his first 5K, why the treadmill lies, and what the experience taught him about doing the work for real. From there, the show moves into White Chocolate Da...

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with a packed episode covering football season catering, holiday barbecue packages, National Biscuits and Gravy Week, Pizza Hut nostalgia, AI food creators, restaurant pivots, and a live Oreo tasting that gets way more serious than expected. The episode opens with football season and why this is the moment for barbecue b...

The episode starts with National Eat Outside Day, a follow-up to the pineapple-on-banana-split debate, and a thank-you to listeners for helping the podcast cross 5,000 followers and reach around 30,000 monthly listens. From there, Rasheed and James react to a UK article criticizing barbecue smoke, a Char-Broil electric grill recall overseas, and Sweet Smoke Barbecue announcing that it will close a...

Drought, high costs, herd reductions, plant closures, and questions over meat grades could shape the next era of barbecue. In this episode, we explore the evolving landscape of barbecue and food culture, the importance of business practices, and the impact of entertainment on traditional food experiences. Our guests share insights on industry challenges, community engagement, and innovative ideas...

In this episode, we explore the latest trends in thrifting, the impact of shrinkflation, innovative and questionable DIY cooking methods, and recent regulatory changes affecting barbecue events. Join us for hot takes, real stories, and insights into the challenges and ingenuity within the barbecue community. In this episode, we explore the cultural nuances of barbecue around the world, the importa...

In this episode, Rasheed and James discuss the challenges facing the barbecue industry, including restaurant closures, rising costs, and innovative dining concepts like nude dinners and Nitro Hog Barbecue's unique offerings. They also explore the broader implications for the future of barbecue and food entrepreneurship. In this episode, we explore the impact of economic shifts on barbecue and food...

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with barbecue news, hot takes, and listener questions that cover everything from streaming deals to event red flags. The episode starts with National Watermelon Day before moving into Netflix picking up barbecue content from Tastemade, including Backyard Barbecue Hero and Barbecue Smokeout . James recaps his trip to Bark...

This week on This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch are back with hot news, hotter takes, and a full plate of barbecue business, food safety, and culture. The episode starts with National Moon Day, then moves quickly into the Taco Bell and Taylor Farms lettuce outbreak, why Rasheed is washing every green himself, and the internet’s reaction to seeing beef priced at $24.99 per poun...

In this episode of This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and James Welch cover a wild mix of barbecue news, culture, business, and food-world questions. The show starts with National Mac and Cheese Day and National Nude Day before Rasheed recaps cooking live fire at Windy City Smokeout in Chicago, including jerk chicken, bourbon jerk lamb chops, outside skirt steak with jerk chimichurri, and a m...

Join us as we celebrate National Social Media Day and explore its impact on the barbecue community, from building connections to market opportunities. We also dive into current industry news, health tips for Pitmasters, and hot takes on grilling essentials. Bryan also opens up about a tough month of health issues, dehydration, lack of sleep, and the reality of pushing too hard in the barbecue busi...

This week’s episode looks at barbecue in motion: Ribby’s temporarily closing in Fort Worth, Broad Street Barbecue making a smart early move during World Cup traffic in Atlanta, Rodney Scott’s name being protected from lazy “comeback” narratives, and the business lessons behind how events and brands treat the talent they rely on. We also get into Missfits’ to-go strategy, the debate over limiting s...

A clean Five Guys bag might be one of the clearest signs of where the food economy is headed. In this week’s conversation, we get into spoiled meat, grocery packages coming in underweight, and why independent barbecue restaurants get punished for the same price increases customers accept from major corporations. We also break down how one YouTube feature created an overnight rush for Misfits Barbe...

We started this episode arguing about bathroom etiquette and ended up exactly where we needed to be: who gets credit in food culture, how private equity “steps on” the products you love, why scams and AI deepfakes are making trust expensive, and why small businesses get attacked for price increases while corporations get praised for layoffs. Then I break down why I pulled out of the Rocky Mountain...

Al Frugoni is bringing the Open Fire Meetup and the Open Fire World Championship to Memphis in May, and it’s bigger than most people realize. This episode breaks down how Open Fire started as a small influencer cook in 2021 and turned into a movement that now unites pitmasters, competition legends, and fans around live flame. We talk why open fire feels different, how the competition sold out fast...

This episode features Tiffani Perry discussing the upcoming Memphis in May barbecue event, highlighting new competitions, activities, and tips for attendees. It offers a comprehensive preview of the event's highlights, including the OpenFire World Championship, youth contests, international participation, and exclusive experiences. We break down the full experience: over 200 teams coming into...

In this episode of This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips and the crew break down the week in barbecue culture, food media, and the business side of what we all eat. We start with a wild Atlanta story, then get into cookbook season and the real question: do you actually have to cook to put your name on a cookbook? From there, we unpack the changing economics of food, including “deal” meals that e...

Hill City Chop House earned real recognition in Texas barbecue, but Dustin Martin made a decision most people fear: he closed the brick-and-mortar and went back to the trailer, catering, and private events. In this episode, we talk about why the economics of barbecue can make four walls feel like a trap, how a house fire pushed him into the restaurant lane in the first place, what the Texas Monthl...

This week’s episode runs through everything from National Tater Day facts to real restaurant industry news, including Sysco acquiring Restaurant Depot and why that should matter to every small operator. Then the episode turns into an Atlanta barbecue conversation about community, decorum, and what happens when a new player shows up throwing shade at the pioneers who built the brisket market in the...

Join us as Andy Eldridge from the Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate discusses the upcoming Syndicate Smoke Down 2026, a celebration of barbecue, music, and Texas heritage that supports youth in agriculture through scholarships and community programs. If you care about barbecue culture, food community, and events built around purpose, subscribe and watch the full episode. Drop a comment with your fes...

In this episode, we break down the economics of eating out: hidden costs, real margins, shrinkflation, and why rising prices are forcing restaurants to rethink “value.” From smaller fry portions to surging brisket costs driven by fuel and cattle prices, we talk about how menus are changing, including pivots toward proteins like pork or lamb just to stay afloat. Then we go beyond the plate and into...

In this episode of This Week in Barbecue , Rasheed Philips sits down with Meat Dave for a wide-ranging conversation about barbecue, stand-up comedy, health, community, and the reality of building a career in modern food media. They dig into Meat Dave’s weight loss journey, the connection between crowd work and live-fire cooking, the rise of social media in barbecue, the pressure of performance, an...