Smoke Ring Syndicate

How do you make a Meatstock? If you said you take the child of a father who doesn’t do much cooking & a mother who is vegetarian, you win! Jay Beaumont, cofounder of Meatstock didn’t have the traditional southern bbq eating upbringing you’d imagine a meat party planner would have for sure. Jay made a pilgrimage at 30 to the US of A and had our traditional smoked brisket. Even after a 14 hour plane...

Noam W owner of the Trompo king brand joins the show. I remember watching the brand become. Several years ago the introduction of a product that was kind of semi-foreign to most Trompo cooking vertical stacked meats. Over the years the brand has grown and I thought it was time to get the full story as well as his bbq lifestyle journey son tape. Noam was a great guest that we hope to continue havin...

Dreamers can dream he makes shit happen. Junior is going on years of experience, catering, his competitive bbq trail, his tv career building two restaurants. And never accepting status quo as good enough. The American dream is alive and well at Juniors. A chance meeting in 2018/19 led to friendship with this guy. And when you meet him and work aside him you’ll see why he had the quote up on the wa...

Levi Stoakes the husband half of a husband wife team sits down at the pit this week. Sitting down and being still isn’t something that comes easy to this young bbq man. Especially after putting 70,000 miles on your bbq gear in a year. Wow that’s gunna be rough on the trade in value….. but I digress. I always like to know where folks get their love of bbq, & in a great many cases the guests grew up...

Aside from being a dynomite roommate, Harry Soo is the concept of BBQ in human form. BBQ is about community family and just a great time. Harry devotes, much time, energy, as well as blood, sweat and tears to the BBQ community. I’m fortunate to call him a friend. But since our chat in 2020 much has changed. It’s time to catch up and see what’s going on with Harry Soo. Harry is going Vegan…. Cookin...

This week were joined by Swamp Boys owner operator Rub Bagby. His decades of competition bbq didn’t satisfy his bbq bug. We catch up with Rub and his newest venture, not just retired. A few school years past since his retirement and Rub is back in the trailer weekly. This time with a little different perspective and goal in mind; feeding the masses. Rub with the help of some of his other local bbq...

A good bed of coals will keep your cooker humming along smoking bbq for what seems like forever. I liken Shawn Bevins to a good bed of coals, little rain, no worries; it’s still burning. I first met Shawn after Hamrforge while he was building out Hellrazr. We spoke around the time of his new grill releases. Fast forward to September 23 we are knee deep in the biggest train looking cooker I’ve seen...

This week I sat down with Ray Carnes Owner /operator of Recteq Grills. We chatted about what got him into bbq, and his influence of smoked meats. How a failure wasn’t fatal to him. A smaller car lot that couldn’t survive the financial constraints of 2008-2009 turned into what their fans claim to be; the best pellet cooker on the market. They have a customer in me. Which this is not a sponsored epi...

The BBQ depot, owner operator, Shane Biddy is in the house joining us this week from Gainesville Georgia. Shane, a heating and air technician by trade started his life in BBQ as a sponsor for a friends, barbecue competition team. Shortly there after he found himself at the competitions and cooking with his former sponsored team. And just when you thought he couldn’t get busier, he started a local...

The first installment of BBQ trailer trash round table. We sat n chatted with Jeff Mike and James about some of the ins and outs of food truck/trailer work. Deciding on the truck layout, getting the portions required to not sell out but not waste all your profits. Some of the tricks of the trade. Mike in St Pete FL and Jeff in Ootawah, Tn chat about requirements in food truck or trailers. Ootawah...

Mike Silverstein of M&M BBQ and Tampa Pig Roast join us at the pit this week to chat all things trailer trash………. Lol tongue in cheek of course. The getting to know Mike episode before our round table discussion. Find out the about illegal fuel, and why food trailers are superior to trucks. We met Mike in person while he was catering an event in the area we were vacationing. I called to speak and...

Something that started with a middle Georgia Good ol boy has grown. Thad Estes purchasing the Stump Smokers brand has blossomed into a sizable operation with him at the helm. Thad started out like most bbq guys n gals competition bbq. He’d began building a name for himself in the competition world when the opportunity to own his favorite smoker brand. Their smokers built right here in Georgia by h...

Quick!!! Turn on the subtitles, Boston’s son, John Maguire, a.k.a. Johnnie Mags host of the Pit Life BBQ Podcast joins us at the pit this week. We ended up chatting all things barbecue podcast his history. Think Facebook live without guard rails…. What started from a drunken night by the bbq pit turned into a podcast that’s 5 years in and counting. Mailman by day podcast host by night Johnnie Mags...

The Sausage Sensei Bill Dumas is at the pit for this weeks episode of the Smoke Ring Syndicate. Bill is a master in the art of sausage & has been for decades. Starting as a young boy as free labor for his dad graduating into the sausage maker for a local bbq joint eventually curating sausage recipes and skills for several *not publicly named* bbq joints in Texas and beyond. After his most recent v...

This week or joined at the pit by Ashley Henson from Old School with Mark and Ashley. He is also part of the founding team of Faith & Fire a nonprofit that works with the high school BBQ association, as well as other organizations in getting stake church and Bbq church into competitions across the country and eventually the world. Ashley is also a SCA steak cooker, hoping to make it to Texas again...

I didn’t expect to learn what I learned from this episode. I thought a check in to see how Shawn was from his recent professional loss. But wow… From the charcoal ashes rises my Canadian friend Shawn Bevins. What’s that saying you can’t keep a good man down?!? He’s the poster child for keep going, you’re not done just yet. After being hammered by life and to hell, he’s back and taking flight. A hu...

Rob Arocha by weekday a crane operator & by nights and weekends a battle tested BBQ Pitmaster. He’s competing nearly 40 weeks a year out of the available 52, throughout the Longhorn state. He’s already checked some of the big comps off the list to do, and he’s not finished. Bullhorn BBQ was born out of tailgating, and turned from the pig skin to pig butts; plus the briskets, chicken and ribs. From...

Have you ever eaten squirrel? Cooked it? Cooked 20-40 of the little furry things in a high pressure world championship competition setting?!? That’s what Joe has built… Joe “Squirrel Man” Wilson joins us at the pit to chat about what could be considered the event of the season in Arkansas, the World Championship Squirrel Cookoff.

Oldest BBQ sauce in GA? The USA? The world?!? We’ll find out chatting with Mrs Griffins Barbecue owner Roland and his right hand man Josh on this weeks episode of The Smoke Ring Syndicate. Find all the things on all the episodes at TheSmokeRingSyndicate.com I learned quite a lot and there’s definitely more to know. This Georgia based BBQ sauce has been doing it continuously since 1935. How’s that...

Brad Vollmar is seeing someone…. His mistress is the favorite for pitmasters everywhere … We had a great chat about all things bbq. His journey into competing and his newest venture… the bbq sauce business, it’s not the easiest course to make happen with the cost, the breakage etc. Getting it onto the shelves is easy…. Letting it leave the shelf is a whole other animal. Listen into our candid conv...

The one and only Phil the Grill is in the studio this week. We chat about the beginning of Phil Johnson’s bbq career and heading to be Phil The Grill through his TV appearances on bbq shows across the USA & Canada. From his humble beginnings to the vast bbq footprint he’s created and still creating. He’s done just about it all. Food truck, catering, restaurant, TV appearances, BBQ rub business. Vo...

When it comes to all the great bbq guests I’ve had on my show over the last 46 episodes they all had one thing in common. They were once a beginner. This week we hit pause on big bbq celebrity’s and focus on where they started…. At the beginning. Having different social media groups of varied levels of skill I tend to have the conversation with beginners more often than you think. Which is fine wi...

Speedy BBQ lifestyle? Yeah speedy. Let’s see….start competition bbq in 2012, Reserve Grand Champion 10 competitions later…. That’s just the beginning. Maxes out available points for the entire year in KCBS… in July! Who does that? Travis does. Fast forward to 2018, Famous Dave joins the picture and Travis goes to work with FD. FD assisted Travis in opening his first restaurant. Going through the w...

Jay Ducote Some Louisiana flavor on the show this week Jay Ducote joins us at the pit to chat about his life and times in food and his food lifestyle. Early on with season two of Master Chef, various awards and distinguishing awards in food and food prep. From his time on Food Network Star in 2015; staring in various kitchens, to his returning to Best Bobby Flay and winning against him in 2019. No...

David Bosco drops by the pit to chat this week for Smoke Ring Syndicates 44th episode. He is a two time world championship BBQ competitor, with more than 100 grand in reserve grant championships. He’s got his name in lights in the Oklahoma BBQ Hall of Fame. David also was on the hit TV show BBQ Pitmasters five times including two on All-Stars edition. David got his start in his adult life as a but...