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Ryan Lane owner operator of Lanes BBQ right here in Georgia has only been in operation for 10 years but is already gaining worldwide exposure. What started as a roadside catering business has transitioned into a big sauce and rub business. If you are looking into starting a rubs n sauces business this is the episode where the curtain is pulled back and you see what some of the biggest challenges are as well as how big you can get. Ryan was dropping gold nugget after gold nugget. He’s seen and started as a bbq guy but he’s striving to be the next Hunts or French’s in the kitchen of the world. From the label design to the sauce itself. It’s part of the process and to date he’s pealed back the curtain even further to help show the bbq lifestyle on a world scale rub n sauce brand, catering company and international sauce boss. How could you see the possibility of selling your locally made bbq sauce you used on your roadside stand on the weekends after doing it as part of the insurance policy change to soften the insurance changes with bbq sauce in Italy, Canada, Australia and others? If you step back and see the Australian market by itself and the ownership they take in Ryan’s business you’d never know some Georgia boy started the process for them to create the MASSIVE business they have in their own right. I fully intend to chat with the ownership down there this year…. To them taking delivery of their last premade in Georgia sauce to the Made in Australia sauce that is coming to them this year. It was less than an hour but I’m sure I have 6 hours of notes and 10 hours more to talk about with Ryan Lane and the LanesBBQ.com brand. It’s a service to people Ryan is good at and he’s fortunate to have it in a BBQ flavored version of vehicle with bbq people being so focused on just creating community and just trying to help out and do the right thing. BBQ family plays a large roll in getting started in your quest and if you don’t mess around and forget the bbq community you are destined to achieve the greatness you deserve.

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 ride it was still smoke stained in his mind. Hosting a small bbq and blues event eventually added more bands & transformed into Meatstock, a bunch of meat loving folks listening to bands on stages, watching bbq gurus put on bbq masterclasses, a strong man competition and so much more! I mentioned to Jay you’d have to be careful going to Meatstock as a bbq lover bc the many different overwhelming activities are likely to help you spawn a new hobby in addition to bbq spectatorship. But I personally believe the Meatstock folks have cracked the code on bbq competition cooking. So much to do so much to see and ppl want to see it, eat it and hear how they could do the same at home. Now for 2024 Meatstock will be held 5 times from New Zealand, through Australia out into Brazil. Quite the meaty event count for a child of a vegetarian, I’d say. When he mentioned he hadn’t heard or or had traditional bbq until he was 30 I got sad and felt sorry for him but when you see what he’s built so he can get great bbq without a 14 hour plane ride in his backyard 5 times, as a hobby; it goes from sorry to Straight respect for such a great event in his free time. Meatstock can be found on all socials, this year mark your calendars for one of the 5 spots to get your full of a great time at a bbq competition. And those that know about the competition not being good for a customer at a festival need to see it in person!

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 having on the show. We spent a short time with Noam but learned SO MUCH with regard to bringing a bbq product to market. In addition we even learned about partnering your bbq brand with others to spread bbq products further and faster. This won’t be my last conversation with Noam. I can guarantee it. In a few short years he’s garnered the attention and respect of the bbq community and gives back along the way. Plus that bbq bus is SWEEET! How do you get a ticket to ride? He’s living the bbq lifestyle and we love it. TrompoKing.com for yours!

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 wall. Why there’s a holiday on the books in Midland Texas with his namesake. Since moving his operation to Early, Tx Junior doubled down on starting a business and started two. The meat market and the restaurant work hand in hand being that there’s so much meat required for the bbq restaurant. Juniors Paydirt, and Rub for Grub are also available on site. It’s a wonder Junior ever sleeps.

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 with it or in it. “Yeah we always slaughter a hog every fall” but not this time. His only childhood memory of bbq wasn’t even actual bbq….it was a crock pot of meat and sauce with the false label of bbq. So to see and hear this Colorado kid making waves in the KCBS as well as winning the Jealous Devil cash prize had me curious. Levi Stoakes was a quick study entering bbq less than 9 years ago and bringing home giant checks now for Colorado Bulldawg BBQ. You see guys n gals in the Q game 15+ years and not accomplish these feats. Here we are less than 10, hunting for KCBS awards, winning points chases, hosting a tell all class. Some of the things that he’s done inside of the decade are nothing short of feats reserved for guys with double the time in the leagues. It’s fascinating to see the next generation of Pitmasters be born right in front of you. He’s already giving back with bbq classes. Come see him in action January 19-20th, his tell all class is sure to sell out!! Here’s tie link to get more information about the class: https://www.facebook.com/coloradobulldawgbbq?mibextid=2JQ9oc

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…. Cooking vegan on one of his new YouTube channels. He will also introduce a line of vegan seasonings. But of course that’s not enough with the travel, youtube, original rubs and seasonings. he had to partner with a guy to start a grill company. But there were still moments in the day that were bare… so enter the team building bbq Ted talks. Done to help build a greater team of employees which started at Nickelodeon with the SpongeBob people versus another group. Only with Harry could this be a thing. Harry Soo is a BBQ glacier. You see what he does on Facebook and YouTube but it’s just a very small part of Harry under the water you have the grill company the Ted talks the vegan inclusive barbecue, the travel. Looking forward to 2024 and reconnecting in person with Harry and Junior to cook some Hogs.

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 legends in their own rights turned his 15+ year bbq battle wagon into a food trailer. Where you can find him under the water tower. Nearly the whole food service industry thinks buying a fancy new trailer is the best way to get a mobile bbq business going. But the blood sweat and tears (of his business competition) was worth it it puts him set up with a paid for rig that doesn’t have him strapped for cash week in and week out. Maybe other could follow the same pattern. Find this and all our shows on Apple, Spotify, Google or TheSmokeRingSyndicate.com/podcast

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. Plus his heart tried to check out but he wouldn’t allow it to quit….. So we are headed back north to Quebec Canada this week to get the first word from Shawn on his recent bbq transition to what’s new in his bbq world. He’s hosting bbq classes as well as other food courses right from his outdoor kitchen. Full disclosure; we went deep on this one we speak weekly about so much positive in bbq and when you’re forced to transition or die its difficult at best. Lots of life lessons and tidbits to take from it. Trying to slow down the conversation enough to have it in a single episode was tough. We even chatted post episode. Just didn’t seem to have a final word to end with, we probably could have gone four hours chatting about the bbq lifestyle. TheSmokeRingSyndicate.com Un bon lit de charbons gardera votre cuisinière bourdonnant tout au long du barbecue en fumant pour ce qui semble être pour toujours. Je ressemble à Shawn Bevins à un bon lit de charbons, peu de pluie, pas de soucis ; il brûle toujours. J'ai rencontré Shawn pour la première fois après Hamrforge alors qu'il construisait Hellrazr. Nous avons parlé à l'époque de ses nouvelles sorties de grillades. Avance rapide jusqu'en septembre, nous sommes à genoux dans le plus grand cuisinier à l'air de train que j'ai vu, son cœur a essayé de vérifier, mais il n'a pas voulu le permettre d'arrêter... Nous retournons donc vers le nord au Québec au Canada cette semaine pour obtenir le premier mot de Shawn sur sa récente transition au barbecue vers les nouveautés dans son monde du barbecue. Il organise des cours de barbecue ainsi que d'autres cours de cuisine directement depuis sa cuisine extérieure. Divulgation complète ; nous sommes allés en profondeur sur celui-ci, nous parlons chaque semaine de tant de choses positives dans le barbecue et quand vous êtes obligé de faire la transition ou de mourir, c'est difficile au mieux. Beaucoup de leçons de vie et de petites choses à en tirer. Essayer de ralentir suffisamment la conversation pour l'avoir en un seul épisode était difficile. Nous avons même discuté après l'épisode. Nous n'avions tout simplement pas l'air d'avoir un dernier mot pour terminer, nous aurions probablement pu passer quatre heures à discuter du style de vie du barbecue. TheSmokeRingSyndicate.com

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 episode; but hey Ray… hint hint lol. But I digress, their loyal fans that push this brand into homes and businesses throughout the US. It’s fascinating how I have watched what was a one grill company turn into the bbq lifestyle brand and real life Disney World of Grills feel of a showroom in Augusta Ga. From designing a prototype to sourcing and manufacturing, distribution through the US. I had wanted to hear the story I watched unfold. Ray comes across as the same humble guy I watched online, gifting a father who lost his son a grill to building back a pellet cooker that didn’t even resemble his cooker which builds and built in ye fan base that does the advertising almost for them. Second half it was time to talk new cookers. I was enamored with the new grills, the model upgrades but the most interesting part was their pellet powered flattop smoker grill. Proof they are listening to the fans that built the brand. This year they introduced a whole handful of new grills one of which has never been done; a pellet powered griddle. Personally, can’t wait to see it in person. If you’ve enjoyed this weeks episode we’d appreciate a review a like a share.

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 BBQ rub, sauce and seasoning supply store. From there, he volunteered to help a local fundraising effort with his competition style BBQ. And what would you know but it was a hit too. Cooking is always been a passion of Shane’s and he’s taking his barbecue lifestyle to new levels it seems each year. He still does heating and air while running a BBQ supply store while catering Bbq. And now he started his journey into opening a BBQ restaurant as if he wasn’t busy enough I’ve known Shane for a good little while, and seeing some of the products that he puts out, I know if he puts his heart into it. He’ll be a raving success. We chatted about different barbecue restaurants in the area and what’s available. What’s going to set him apart. As well as what goes into Design and BBQ restaurant for him. Thoroughly enjoyed having Shane on the show and plan to be at the grand opening in 2024 when his new restaurant opens. You can find the Barbecue depot on Facebook as well as TikTok!

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 is having a big blow up with more food trucks n trailers than you can shake a stick at.

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 shake his hand as I’d known through social media. We just hit it off, I even scored his coveted chicken recipe! That kind of friend, a bbq friend. Get caught up on Mike now so you know the members of the food truck and trailer round table discussion episode releasing in the coming weeks.