Smoke(less)

Making great BBQ is easy. You just need a little patience… right?

This week on Smoke(less), Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge and Vic Barry respond to the claim that anyone with a cheap offset smoker and a little patience can make great barbecue.

The guys get into the huge difference between cooking a brisket in the backyard and producing consistently great BBQ for hundreds of customers every day then tackle another argument that refuses to go away: why has barbecue become so damn expensive? F

rom rising beef prices and restaurant costs to tiny margins, fuel, labour and the pressures facing independent BBQ joints, they explain what customers rarely see behind the menu price.

Plus, they offer advice to a listener getting ready to launch his own BBQ operation, talk about protecting your sanity from online reviews, and finish with Plate or Hate, including a brisket cheesesteak and a brisket cooked on the other side of the Atlantic.

Think BBQ is easy? Grab a $200 Facebook Marketplace smoker and show us what you’ve got.

🔥 PLATE OR HATE: Cooking something you're proud of — or something you want the guys to tear apart? Post it on Instagram and tag @smokeless_podcast for a chance to be featured on the show.

New episodes of Smoke(less) every week.

What started as a backyard BBQ in Dallas has grown into something nobody could have predicted.

This week on Smoke(less), Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge, and Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue sit down with Alice Laussade, founder of Meat Fight, the brilliantly weird BBQ fundraiser that has now raised more than $4 million for the National MS Society.

Alice tells the story of how Meat Fight grew from a small backyard cookout into a full-blown annual event involving incredible BBQ, giant pig races, carnival games, Meat Bike, Meat Hike, Project 13 and plenty of wonderfully strange ideas along the way.

But behind all the madness is something much bigger. Alice’s brother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and Meat Fight has become a way of supporting people living with MS, from providing specially adapted bikes to helping fund MS research at UT Southwestern.

There’s also the small matter of a kidnapped glitter pig, ransom demands and one of the stranger ongoing mysteries in BBQ.

It’s a conversation about BBQ, family, community, doing good, and how something that started in a backyard can become far bigger than anyone ever intended.

The Backyard BBQ That Raised $4 Million | Alice Laussade

Before Texas BBQ became a global phenomenon, Wyatt McSpadden was already there — camera in hand, documenting the people, places and traditions that helped define it.

For decades, Wyatt has captured some of the most iconic images in Texas barbecue, from the old-school joints of Lockhart and Taylor to the rise of a new generation that would completely transform the scene.

In this episode of Smoke(less), Wyatt joins Nick Pencis, Justin Fourton and Wayne Mueller to look back at an extraordinary career behind the lens. He shares stories from photographing legendary BBQ joints, climbing onto a semi-trailer to get the perfect shot, documenting Aaron Franklin before anyone could have predicted what was coming, and the photographs and memories that mean the most to him.

Wyatt also opens up about his battle with cancer, why photography became so important during his recovery, photographing everyone from Willie Nelson to Beyoncé, and what happens to a lifetime of work when the photographer behind it is no longer around to tell the stories.

This isn’t just the story of a photographer. It’s the story of someone who witnessed — and preserved — a remarkable era of Texas BBQ history.

🔥 New episodes of Smoke(less) every week.

Subscribe for conversations with the pitmasters, personalities and people shaping BBQ.

#TexasBBQ #BBQ #WyattMcSpadden #SmokelessPodcast

Why are so many Texas BBQ joints closing? Is the Texas BBQ Boom Over?

Texas BBQ has experienced an incredible boom over the last decade, but lately some well-known restaurants have been shutting their doors — and this week, Nick Pencis, Justin Fourton and Wayne Mueller ask whether something bigger is happening.

Is Texas BBQ simply too expensive? Have we reached peak BBQ? Is the market oversaturated? Or are great pitmasters discovering that making incredible barbecue and running a successful restaurant are two very different things?

The guys get into rising beef prices, labor and operating costs, shrinking disposable income, the impact of social media and changing customer habits, and why even getting onto a major BBQ list may not have the lasting impact it once did.

They also discuss whether the Texas BBQ boom has already peaked, why restaurants need to focus on “peak operation” as much as “peak food,” and what today’s aspiring BBQ restaurant owners need to understand before signing a lease.

Plus, we answer your questions — including why three of the biggest names in Texas BBQ don’t even have smokers at home.

Featuring:

Wayne Mueller — Louie Mueller Barbecue

Justin Fourton — Pecan Lodge

Nick Pencis — Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q

And Plate or Hate is back, where some of the biggest names in Texas BBQ review YOUR BBQ. Tag us on instagram to get featured!

What do you think? Is this just a difficult moment for restaurants, or has the Texas BBQ boom actually peaked? Let us know in the comments.

Before Jess Pryles became one of the biggest names in live-fire cooking, she was living in Australia, bouncing between careers and travelling to Texas whenever she could. Eventually, she realised her life back home was essentially “on pause” while she waited for the next trip.

So she made the move.

In this episode of Smokeless, Jess joins Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue and Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge to talk about finding the thing she was genuinely passionate about, moving halfway around the world to pursue it, and building the career and Hardcore Carnivore brand that followed.

Jess also gets into becoming a certified meat scientist, why she felt she needed that extra credibility, the reality of being a woman in a male-dominated industry, burnout and the relentless pressure of social media, hunting in Texas, building Hardcore Carnivore, and why being told she can’t do something usually has the opposite effect.

Plus, Jess takes us inside her new book, Prime Cuts. A culmination of around 15 years of learning, cooking and teaching people about meat.

This is Jess Pryles beyond the recipes, rubs and BBQ videos - and the story of what can happen when you finally find your thing.

What BBQ advice actually matters and what’s just hype?

This week on the Smokeless Podcast, Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue and Vic Barry get into the questions backyard cooks actually want answered.

What should you buy if you want to start smoking brisket and ribs? Are expensive pits really worth the money? What’s the one meat that’s almost impossible to screw up? Which BBQ trick is completely overrated? And what happens when even experienced cooks get it spectacularly wrong?

The guys talk Weber kettles, overpriced smokers, beef tallow, pork shoulder, BBQ sides, guilty pleasures and some of their worst cooking disasters, including a brisket that ended up being thrown into a river.

Plus, a surprise call to Jordan Jackson for his backyard smoker recommendation, and a look ahead to our upcoming episode with Jess Pryles.

Got a BBQ question for the guys? Send it our way and don’t forget to send us your best (or worst) cooks for Plate or Hate.

Subscribe to the Smokeless Podcast for honest conversations about BBQ, the people behind it, and everything that happens around the fire.

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Thinking about opening a BBQ restaurant? Watch this first.

One listener from Oklahoma wrote to the Smokeless Podcast with a dream: to build a BBQ brand and eventually open his own restaurant. But after listening to the show, he started questioning whether opening a restaurant first was actually the right move.

In this episode, the guys give their honest advice on how they’d start all over again in today’s BBQ industry.

Hosted by:

• Wayne Mueller – Louie Mueller Barbecue (Taylor, Texas)
• Justin Fourton – Pecan Lodge (Dallas, Texas)
• Nick Pencis – Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q (Tyler, Texas)

In this episode:

🔥 Should you start with a restaurant, food trailer or pop-up?

🔥 Why building a reputation matters more than opening a building

🔥 The biggest mistakes aspiring pitmasters make

🔥 Why today’s BBQ industry is riskier than ever

🔥 The hidden costs behind rising barbecue prices

🔥 Wayne’s trip to Slovenia to teach Texas barbecue

🔥 Listener questions on thermometers, restaurant service and more

Whether you’re dreaming of opening your own BBQ joint, cooking in the backyard, or you’re simply obsessed with great barbecue, this episode is packed with practical advice from three pitmasters who’ve built some of the most respected names in BBQ.

👇 We’d love to hear from you.

If you were starting a BBQ business today, would you open a restaurant… or start smaller? Let us know in the comments.

📧 Send us your questions:

[email protected]

📸 Follow the Smokeless Podcast:

Instagram: @smokeless_podcast

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you never miss a new episode.

Sam Jones returns for Part Two with Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue and Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge.

This time, the conversation heads deep into the wild places barbecue took them. Sam and Wayne look back on cooking in Maui, spending time at Shep Gordon’s house, feeding Willie Nelson and somehow finding themselves surrounded by chefs, musicians and stories that still feel impossible years later.

Sam also talks about stepping out from his grandfather’s shadow, building his own name within the Skylight Inn legacy and why opportunities outside the restaurant mattered, even when the people back home could not always see the value.

There is also the story of Sam being handed a microphone in front of thousands of people, singing a cappella to a packed Chicago crowd and proving why nobody should ever tempt him with a hot mic.

Part Two is funny, nostalgic and full of the kind of stories that could only happen when barbecue becomes a passport to a completely unexpected life.

Subscribe to the Smokeless Podcast for more conversations with the people shaping barbecue.

Follow Smokeless on Instagram: @smokeless_podcast

Sam Jones joins Nick Pencis of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue and Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge for a conversation about life, barbecue, friendship and the real cost of success.

In Part One, Sam opens up about the serious health scare that nearly took his life, the lasting impact it has had on him and why it forced him to look differently at his work, his family and the years he spent constantly travelling.

He reflects on the rise of Skylight Inn, watching his daughter grow up while he was on the road, the friendships forged through barbecue and why every opportunity now needs to offer either an emotional return or a financial one.

And because this is still Sam Jones, there are plenty of unbelievable stories along the way, including the time someone managed to set an entire barbecue trailer on fire with four bags of charcoal.

This is Part One of a deeply personal, funny and honest conversation with one of barbecue’s greatest pitmasters and storytellers.

Subscribe to the Smokeless Podcast and join us next week for Part Two.

Follow Smokeless on Instagram: @smokeless_podcast

Is pouring beef tallow over brisket actually making it better—or just making dry meat look juicy for the camera?

In this episode of the Smokeless Podcast, the guys call out one of BBQ’s most performative trends, break down the real uses for beef tallow, and explain why dumping it over sliced brisket might be more theatre than technique.

They also get into the BBQ rules they no longer believe, the problem with following YouTube advice too literally, why chicken deserves more attention, and whether food influencers and paid reviews can still be trusted.

Plus, Stanley’s AI ordering assistant joins the conversation as the guys debate what AI could mean for restaurants, staff and the future of the industry.

Topics include:

• Is brisket tallow becoming a crutch?

• The right way to use tallow in BBQ

• BBQ myths that need to die

• Why pitmasters should use the wood available to them

• The return of affordable cuts and smoked chicken

• Food influencers asking restaurants for money and free food

• AI answering phones and taking restaurant orders

• Why the BBQ community remains so tight-knit

Tell us in the comments: does tallow genuinely improve brisket, or is it just being used to fake juiciness?

Listen to the Smokeless Podcast on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Follow Smokeless on Instagram: @smokeless_podcast

Send your questions to: [email protected]