Master Blend Family Farms Pitmaster Ronald Simmons

[00:00:00] What you want, when you want it, where you want it, this is the Mesh.

[00:00:08] Master Blend Nation, your man is back in the house.

[00:00:13] That's right, Ronald Simmons from Master Blend Family Farms made the trip to the Mesh

[00:00:18] Studios in Hickory for this special episode of our Carolina Pit Master Series.

[00:00:24] Thanks to our partnership with the Carolina Barbecue Festival,

[00:00:26] we get to welcome him in fun fashion,

[00:00:29] and he rewards us with some great details about his farming business

[00:00:33] and his rapidly growing media empire.

[00:00:36] He also gives us a big reveal for what he'll be serving at this year's festival April 6th

[00:00:41] in Charlotte's Victoria Yards.

[00:00:43] I promise you don't want

[00:00:45] to miss it.

[00:00:46] Get your tickets while they last at CarolinaBBQ.org and you'll sample Ron's BBQ Delight

[00:00:51] as well as all the good stuff from 15 other pitmasters.

[00:00:55] Ron's got a story to tell both in our conversation and in his other media adventures.

[00:01:01] Be sure to check him out at MasterBlend Farms dot com.

[00:01:04] Find him on Instagram

[00:01:05] under master blend family farms. And you definitely want to see his YouTube channel. Again, that's

[00:01:10] master blend family farms, LLC. You can see Ron in action all around North Carolina. You

[00:01:16] might even see some video from his visit to the low and slow barbecue show. That's a visit we're excited to share with you right now. Oh, yes, Magic and the making.

[00:01:30] Alright, we're so excited to have Ronald Simmons back with us from Master Blend Family Farms

[00:01:35] on the low and slow barbecue show.

[00:01:37] Ronald, welcome back.

[00:01:38] What was that?

[00:01:39] It was a big mic.

[00:01:40] Man, so excited to have you.

[00:01:41] And today we've got a super special episode that gonna be live from the Mesh.tv studios.

[00:01:48] And I gotta say Ronald, I rolled out the red carpet

[00:01:51] for you, my man.

[00:01:52] Hey, bro, you crushed it.

[00:01:53] Everything is immaculate in here.

[00:01:55] The sausage rolls are busing.

[00:01:57] I love the flavor in them.

[00:01:58] The mac and cheese from Keith Hennings.

[00:02:00] Oh, man.

[00:02:01] Yeah, yeah.

[00:02:02] Well, let me just give it a quick rundown.

[00:02:04] And first, let me say we don't do this for everybody, Ron.

[00:02:06] Now, you're so special to us

[00:02:08] that we wanted to do that for you,

[00:02:10] but I've got Chiggers Own Chicken

[00:02:13] with Buxton Hall Rub.

[00:02:15] Elliot Moss was the man for Buxton Hall for many years,

[00:02:17] so I got his special rub on the chicken.

[00:02:20] I've got Keith Hennings, Macaroni,

[00:02:22] and she's his special recipe from Black Powder Smokehouse.

[00:02:25] I've got none other than Master Blend Family Farms sausage rolls, and I don't know that I did it

[00:02:30] as good as your daughter does, but I think it passes. And I've also got Benny Wafers from

[00:02:37] Hannah Raskin shared those with us. She's the creator of the food section,

[00:02:41] and that is none other than Miss Emily Megett's special recipe from

[00:02:45] Gullah Gucci home cooking. She's the queen of Edisto Island. These are her cookies and again,

[00:02:50] I'm sure they're not as good as hers but hey, it was my first time trying to bake something

[00:02:54] right. It was spot on. Give me the magic spot. Alright, for sure. Yeah, well, hey, I'm glad you

[00:02:58] enjoyed it but we're going to jump into the podcast now. Big thanks to all those folks.

[00:03:02] Remind everybody the recipes for these food items

[00:03:06] you can find on the low and slow blog at lowslowbbqshow.com.

[00:03:10] But right now it's Ronald Simmons of the low and slow barbecue show and Ronald just

[00:03:14] to remind our audience where are you from and how did you get into smoking meat low and

[00:03:19] slow?

[00:03:20] Oh man.

[00:03:21] So look, we come from Duplin County Stomping Proud, man.

[00:03:23] It's Kennethville, North Carolina doing it.

[00:03:25] And I'm just a chip off the block.

[00:03:27] So my grandparents, I watched them,

[00:03:29] and I'm just trying to make taking one notch up.

[00:03:31] You know what I mean?

[00:03:31] Sure, sure.

[00:03:32] And your grandparents did it.

[00:03:34] I can remember you telling us that whole hog stall.

[00:03:37] And now you're into the farming business.

[00:03:39] Just quickly, how did you get into the farming?

[00:03:41] And which came first?

[00:03:42] The pit master or the pig farm? Yeah.

[00:03:45] So I definitely have to say that the farm is what spawned everything.

[00:03:49] Okay.

[00:03:50] I learned a lot of lessons out there, a lot of cool lessons and then I learned how to

[00:03:54] step my level up a little more as I continued meeting different pit masters.

[00:03:59] So it's been pretty cool.

[00:04:00] Yeah, definitely.

[00:04:01] Well, I want to talk about the pigs in the pig farm because we talked a little bit about

[00:04:04] your pit master. Tell me about your pigs. the pig farm because we talked a little bit about your pit master

[00:04:05] Tell me about your pigs what what what if you're what are you raising out there at master blend? So I'll do it at master blend family farms

[00:04:12] We we have the Dirks the Berkshires and the Chester whites the Dirks is the signature that we always use for like our logos mascot

[00:04:19] That was the genetics that was necessary in order for us to do the farming

[00:04:24] Dad, he's like listen if you're gonna have h to have hogs, they got to be durocs.

[00:04:27] So we got a few of them red ones out there.

[00:04:29] Yeah, definitely.

[00:04:31] What do you enjoy about the, the pig farming?

[00:04:34] What I enjoy now about the farm is being able to go out there, get the work done

[00:04:38] and just watch the sunset.

[00:04:40] Yeah.

[00:04:40] We were out on the farm yesterday, man, and we were wrapping up, getting everything

[00:04:43] rotated.

[00:04:44] Spring is getting ready to break. So we're getting ready to shift them to open pastures,

[00:04:48] and let the other stuff regenerate. And then we're also getting ready for the gestation period for

[00:04:54] some of the South. So it's pretty cool. I love the most of relaxation out there when the sun's set.

[00:04:59] Yeah, nothing quite like working hard all day on the farm and then looking back at what you did

[00:05:03] and enjoying the sun. Oh yeah, definitely, definitely.

[00:05:06] Yeah, so tell me, I know your animal welfare approved and that's an important part of the

[00:05:10] farm.

[00:05:11] What does that mean?

[00:05:12] So being animal welfare approved basically means that we raised the livestock with no

[00:05:16] growth hormones or steroids.

[00:05:19] They're out on open pasture, so it's the term we use called free range.

[00:05:22] Okay.

[00:05:23] That's basically where they have an overwhelming amount of vegetation they can graze.

[00:05:29] And then, you know, basically it's a cycle from one season to the next.

[00:05:32] So you're letting that piece of area drop and regenerate and you putting them on something

[00:05:39] that's already flourishing and ready to go.

[00:05:41] Okay.

[00:05:42] What kind of vegetation are you on?

[00:05:43] Are you having to rotate those types of crops

[00:05:45] or just a raw grass?

[00:05:46] Or what are you doing with the vegetation?

[00:05:47] So basically with the pasture,

[00:05:49] you'll look at like radishes,

[00:05:50] you'll look at different oats, some of my wild clovers.

[00:05:54] All of that stuff is what helps enhance

[00:05:56] the marbling into the meat and how they're raised.

[00:05:59] So like when we get these inch and a half slice pork chops,

[00:06:03] got nice marbling when you slap it on the grill,

[00:06:05] you put a nice sear on it.

[00:06:06] And let it just sizzle in there,

[00:06:08] a aroma spreads into the neighborhood

[00:06:10] and then you got magic when it's time to plate it.

[00:06:12] You got all your neighbors coming over for pork chops,

[00:06:15] what you got, right?

[00:06:16] Well, tell me, you know,

[00:06:18] that's a couple of the little tips in the animal,

[00:06:20] where will Fair Peece and the rotating the crops

[00:06:22] that they're eating on.

[00:06:23] But what do you feel like sets your pork and your farm operation apart from similar

[00:06:27] business? And I know there's a lot of hog farms down East.

[00:06:30] Right. Right. I think what has been able to make it different for us is just being able

[00:06:35] to get out in different settings and to talk with farmers in here their sides of how agriculture

[00:06:40] is. And so farmers is a community. So basically you're learning something from your neighbor.

[00:06:45] Your neighbor may learn something from you with me being,

[00:06:48] you know, a rookie still.

[00:06:49] I'm 12 years in the game, but you know,

[00:06:52] the people that I look up to,

[00:06:53] they're 30, 40 years in the game.

[00:06:55] So what I'm becoming exposed to,

[00:06:57] they've already known and so they share some insight with that.

[00:07:00] Yeah, do you feel like they're selfish with that insight?

[00:07:02] Are they just trying to help another guy out?

[00:07:04] No, bro. So the cool thing about the farming community is it seems like where we're

[00:07:08] from everybody's lending a helping hand to give you a leg up. It's been super cool. And you'll

[00:07:14] notice different components with different aspects from the industry as a whole, but it's like any

[00:07:18] of the technology just available on one spectrum of it. It's easy to get it whenever you have a

[00:07:23] network. So you always growing your network. Yeah, cool. Network is definitely important. Well,

[00:07:27] we had you on the show here back at the end of 2023. And I know you've had some things going on

[00:07:32] since our last conversation. First of all, tell me about the best of North Carolina showcase for

[00:07:37] the council estate governments. Wow. Tell me what was that all about? And what was it like kind of

[00:07:41] being there with the big wigs of government? So we do it like this, shout out to all of the farmers, the producers, the commodity

[00:07:48] specialists that we, that were involved with that project.

[00:07:51] I think it's been phenomenal, it's resonated well with the council of state government.

[00:07:56] Basically what we were doing, we had constituents from all over the country coming to Raleigh,

[00:08:01] and we wanted to give them an experience of what they could see as far as agus associated, even down to seafood.

[00:08:07] Yeah.

[00:08:08] So shout out to Cass Tharn, Southern Breeze Seafood.

[00:08:11] They're always, they've established a reputation for always rendering fresh seafood, right?

[00:08:16] And we were able to cook the swordfish, the bacon wrap scallops.

[00:08:20] We were searing them and then we were plating them and putting out there for everybody.

[00:08:23] And I think it went very very well

[00:08:26] Everybody seemed pleased about it. Yeah, and um, you know shout out to the master blend gang for pulling it together

[00:08:31] You know, they always represented it was awesome. Yeah, definitely. How much time do you spend trying to prepare for a big event like that?

[00:08:37] So with with that one we it was crunch time. So we only had about

[00:08:41] Let me see two months to prepare for that. Okay. And with it being short notice, you know, we were basically able to reach out,

[00:08:48] call in some favors. Everybody felt good about it. And shout out to my dude, Matt. So Matt,

[00:08:54] he was like one of the key components. We're facilitating it from the department side. So

[00:08:58] it was super cool, man. But yeah, the team put it together and everybody that attended,

[00:09:03] I think they had a blast.

[00:09:05] Yeah, well, so what are some other things you've been up to in the last 34 months?

[00:09:07] Oh, bro.

[00:09:08] So it's been crazy.

[00:09:10] So we just we got a call recently from the gang for the smoke sheet.

[00:09:13] So we're going to be building something together with them in Charlotte in a couple of weeks.

[00:09:18] Shout out to North Carolina A&T.

[00:09:20] So they've made us the headliner for North Carolina Small Farms Week. Greensboro, North Carolina, March 27th.

[00:09:27] Cooperative Extension, Love You Guys, A&T, Aggie Nation, Love You Guys.

[00:09:31] But then we also have a guest appearance at Cast Iron Kitchen in Porter's Neck.

[00:09:35] Wow.

[00:09:35] Next week.

[00:09:36] So that's going to be hot.

[00:09:38] That's beers, burbins, and barbecue.

[00:09:41] Shout out to Chef Petty.

[00:09:43] He just had a nice appearance with Guy Fieri.

[00:09:45] Right.

[00:09:46] And we're gonna go down there

[00:09:47] and bring a little magic to the Puerto Neque area

[00:09:49] for everybody to attend.

[00:09:50] Yeah, fantastic.

[00:09:52] You know, a lot of exciting things going on.

[00:09:54] Don't know really how you get it all done,

[00:09:56] but I know that the sponsors are a big part of that.

[00:09:58] So tell me about your sponsorship partners.

[00:10:00] I see you got Kubota and Kingsford.

[00:10:02] How do you get involved with those guys

[00:10:03] and how important are they to your success?

[00:10:05] So so the importance of the relationships with those brands are phenomenal

[00:10:10] We just wrapped up a cool demonstration with Kingsford

[00:10:13] Bringing families together over fire with food and Durham at the headquarters. It was insane

[00:10:19] So that video is about to drop it's amazing. Yeah, shout out to my doo Paul

[00:10:23] He's always putting the magic together, but um, you know kaboda and what Kingsford what resonates with us and our

[00:10:29] Relationship is they're always bringing quality and putting that ahead of everything else

[00:10:33] So whenever we're able to grab the charcoal's the brickheads

[00:10:36] Yeah

[00:10:36] If we grab the pellets in the smoker and we get it there

[00:10:39] We know that we're gonna get a nice sear. Mm-hmm. We get the temp where it needs to be when it comes to kaboda

[00:10:44] They're always keeping us with reliable equipment. Sure. So, you know, you're gonna get a nice sear when we get to temp where it needs to be. When it comes to kaboda,

[00:10:45] they're always keeping us with reliable equipment.

[00:10:47] So you're on the farm, you gotta move trees

[00:10:50] that might've fallen, you go ahead and get in that M65.

[00:10:53] And bro, you snatch a chain to it, you can make it happen.

[00:10:56] So shout out to them, we would not be where we are

[00:10:59] had it not been for the relationships with them.

[00:11:01] Yeah, definitely.

[00:11:02] Hey, and you're talking to a Kingsford lifer,

[00:11:04] I've always used it.

[00:11:05] I only use it.

[00:11:07] None of the match or the gas fueled stuff.

[00:11:09] Just pure Kingsford.

[00:11:11] That is where I'm at.

[00:11:12] My sister sounds a little kid.

[00:11:13] My dad used Kingsford.

[00:11:14] You know, he put it on the grill.

[00:11:15] He built a little pyramid, you know,

[00:11:17] and he got it lit up.

[00:11:18] Now we're moved on to the chimney.

[00:11:20] So we've advanced a little bit today.

[00:11:22] Always fooled with Kingsford and love that.

[00:11:24] So I also want to talk about another one of your sponsors.

[00:11:26] And I know he's important, Jack Nails and the dynamic duo.

[00:11:30] So remind our audience how you got connected with Jack

[00:11:33] and started touring the state and visiting businesses

[00:11:35] and spotlighting what they've got going on.

[00:11:37] So look, so the cool thing about Jack Nails,

[00:11:40] so Jack Nails, he's a big mentor to me.

[00:11:44] With the agency that we collaborate with.

[00:11:48] With Jack, he's always willing to get on the road

[00:11:51] and boogie, right?

[00:11:52] I met him about 10 years ago

[00:11:54] and literally the first time I saw him,

[00:11:56] I was like the energy coming off of him,

[00:11:58] I was trying to pick up, I was trying to learn.

[00:12:01] And so anytime that we go anywhere,

[00:12:04] I'm always trying to have

[00:12:05] him with me. And look, and I'll cover lunch just so I'll have some time with him where

[00:12:09] I can learn some of what's going on and how to move when it comes to corporate America.

[00:12:14] So that dude, he's amazing. Shout out to Jack Nils. You are amazing. And again, you know,

[00:12:20] when it comes to him, like we don't even plan to schedule where we're going. Okay. You know,

[00:12:24] we hit a city and he's like,

[00:12:25] hey, what you doing?

[00:12:26] I'm like, bro, let's go eat.

[00:12:27] He's like, cool.

[00:12:28] You know, and it happens like that.

[00:12:30] So last weekend we were at Noble Smoke down in Charlotte,

[00:12:34] North Carolina.

[00:12:35] And watching their smoke room, watching the team

[00:12:38] broke incredible.

[00:12:39] They got a lot of nice stats.

[00:12:41] Talk about, yo, shout out to Sweet Lou.

[00:12:43] My dude, yo, shout out to her.

[00:12:44] Yeah, yeah, Sweet Lou lose. Lewis Donald definitely.

[00:12:47] Well, so he's with the Jax with the North Carolina Department

[00:12:50] of Agriculture. And I know that it got to be in C is a big part

[00:12:54] of that. So, you know, what has the got to be in C program? So

[00:12:57] they got to be in C program is something that I've had the

[00:12:59] privilege to honor to be associated with. And what we do

[00:13:02] is you have some superheroes

[00:13:05] that are in this agency. Their goal is to go across the state of North Carolina and highlight

[00:13:10] producers and highlight anyone that's making a big impact in the industry from agribusinesses

[00:13:15] from products that's made in North Carolina. Wines, like it's the elite of the elite.

[00:13:21] Sure. And the cool thing about the team there is that they're always figuring out ways and resources that'll be beneficial to your farmers of all sizes from all walks

[00:13:29] of life. And so to be associated with them and to be like one of the guys that's trying

[00:13:34] to do to contribute to the movement that they're the impact that they're making in North Carolina

[00:13:39] is like a big deal. Commissioner Troxler, shout out to him as well. Very phenomenal young man.

[00:13:45] Yeah, yeah, definitely.

[00:13:46] So again, Batman and Superman, the dynamic duo,

[00:13:49] they're going all over the state.

[00:13:51] Some promoting the got to be NC program.

[00:13:54] When you go to a restaurant, you said,

[00:13:56] you don't give them a heads up, any kind of woman?

[00:13:59] Are you guys just rolling three or four deep

[00:14:02] with the cameras rolling?

[00:14:03] How do they respond to that?

[00:14:05] So, with any time that the cameras are going, we do go ahead and try to lay out an agenda,

[00:14:10] get all the approvals and get all the stuff signed.

[00:14:13] But basically what we try to do is highlight when it comes to these restaurants, places

[00:14:17] that we've never been to, we try to make all of our followers aware.

[00:14:21] Yeah.

[00:14:22] In this city, we're going to eat at this restaurant.

[00:14:24] What you think about it, check it out.

[00:14:27] And basically it's just our way

[00:14:29] of contributing to the culinary scene,

[00:14:32] getting any exposure to any of the restaurants

[00:14:34] that want that attention.

[00:14:36] And the goal for us is when we go to these different

[00:14:40] restaurants, these different brands and business owners,

[00:14:43] as we continue to climb and success,

[00:14:45] we wanna take them with us.

[00:14:46] You know what I mean?

[00:14:47] So if people ask, hey, where's the cool place to eat, man?

[00:14:50] Look, North Carolina baby,

[00:14:51] we got all the nice barbecue joints.

[00:14:53] You wanna check us out?

[00:14:54] Yeah, for sure.

[00:14:55] And now, so I got chicken and mac and cheese

[00:14:57] and sausage rolls and cookies.

[00:15:00] But I don't want everybody rolling up into my house.

[00:15:03] This is just for Ronald and his friends,

[00:15:05] and the low and slow barbecue show gets.

[00:15:07] Wait, wait, you don't want to open up a drive

[00:15:09] through on the side of the house, bro.

[00:15:10] Boy, I got my hands full.

[00:15:12] My hands are full of other things.

[00:15:14] Although I know some people, but if I'm a business,

[00:15:17] can I, is there a way for me to get on your agenda

[00:15:20] coming around?

[00:15:21] Yes, absolutely.

[00:15:21] So if you're wanting to be on the channel,

[00:15:24] first and foremost, with God to be in sea,

[00:15:26] you need to be a member.

[00:15:28] And what that means is that you're tapped in

[00:15:30] and we're making sure that your profile is set up nice

[00:15:33] where when people are interested in your product

[00:15:35] and your services and what you do,

[00:15:37] it's easy to find you.

[00:15:38] So like, make sure you have a website

[00:15:41] and make sure you have some type of content

[00:15:43] going through your social media channels. From that, it goes into the

[00:15:46] process of just putting it into the schedule. And so when we dial

[00:15:50] it into the schedule, so I personally stay booked like six

[00:15:53] months out. Wow. Right. And I have to do that to give everybody

[00:15:57] the attention that it is or when we initiate the process. But in

[00:16:01] saying that any of the events going on across the state with the

[00:16:03] agency, it gives you the opportunity to be right up close and personal with potential buyers.

[00:16:09] Yeah.

[00:16:10] The flavor showcase that was in Concord, this week, these businesses that may not have had the platform, you can get a competitive price.

[00:16:18] You go there, it's at the Embassy Suite and bro, it's like over 140, a hundred and 40 vendors last week

[00:16:25] in front of big brands, big names, big buyers,

[00:16:29] that's looking for that next hot thing

[00:16:31] to bring into their retail space.

[00:16:33] So it's your chance to get your product

[00:16:34] into stores, restaurants, big name businesses.

[00:16:37] Yes sir, big names.

[00:16:38] Cool. So let's take a little bit of a turn.

[00:16:41] You mentioned Sweet Lou and Lewis Donald,

[00:16:43] and I want to talk about the Carolina Barbecue festival. How did you get hooked up with those

[00:16:46] guys?

[00:16:47] Oh, man. Yo. So look, I'm from day one when I met sweet, sweet Lou, it came through a relationship

[00:16:53] with Brian Furman. So Brian Furman is one of the Kings in the ATL. Yeah.

[00:16:57] Comes the barbecue. And so I connected with Brian and we were joljacking about different

[00:17:01] things that were happening in the season. And he was like, Hey man, you need to check out my man, sweet Lou.

[00:17:06] So I was like, well, bro, before I go check out sweet Lou, we got to go dive into his

[00:17:10] restaurant.

[00:17:11] Sure.

[00:17:12] Yeah.

[00:17:13] And so I ordered the brisket, the boss lady ordered the chicken.

[00:17:15] She's like, Oh my God, he's chicken is crazy.

[00:17:17] Right.

[00:17:18] And so then we started exchanging contacts and I was like, yo bro, do your thing.

[00:17:22] You know, I mean, I just want a picture with you.

[00:17:23] Mm hmm.

[00:17:24] And he was like, yo bro, we can do better than a picture man. Jump on board

[00:17:27] We get this Carolina barbecue festival thing right off and so from there man

[00:17:31] It's just been he'll call a I got this idea what you think and I'm like yo bro. I love the idea

[00:17:35] Let's tweak it a little bit. He's like bet. Let's make it happen

[00:17:38] Yeah, so we're grinding the mix we're getting in the mix with Keith Hennings in the mix and sweet little bro

[00:17:44] Like it's just magic upon magic.

[00:17:46] Yeah.

[00:17:47] And it's growing every year.

[00:17:48] I know they've got some other guys, Brandon Shepherd was down there last year.

[00:17:51] He'll be back again.

[00:17:52] Elliot Moss is coming as well as Jake Wood.

[00:17:55] All these guys we've talked to and we're going to have them on the podcast as well.

[00:17:59] Super excited to have them run.

[00:18:00] It's just a cool thing.

[00:18:01] And again, it's another opportunity to kind of put a spotlight on North Carolina products.

[00:18:06] Now, Brian and Jake and some of those guys

[00:18:09] dealing there in South Carolina,

[00:18:10] but again, there's North Carolina products involved.

[00:18:13] Yeah, well, we'll see.

[00:18:14] I love, so Lew and his team to be able to come up

[00:18:17] with an idea and then resonate it with the city of Charlotte,

[00:18:21] but then the actual mission.

[00:18:23] So barbecue relief, like that's a phenomenal

[00:18:26] organization that has been able to make an impact for individuals across the country,

[00:18:31] right? And I love the presence that's felt, you know, as they go from state to state,

[00:18:36] it's like you always have those stakeholders in the barbecue industry, the standing beside

[00:18:41] the barbecue relief movement, man. So shout out to that game for pulling that together. Yeah, definitely. Scott Jarrett and Hickory is part of that

[00:18:48] operation barbecue relief and they do a regular thing in Hickory soup kitchen. Yeah. Stan

[00:18:52] on Stan Hayes, the CEO, we had him on the podcast. They've got some super cool things going

[00:18:57] on at their camp. OBR there at the lake of the Ozarks. So I mean, that's part of it too.

[00:19:01] Really supporting, you know, the barbecue for a cause.

[00:19:05] And of course there's, there's folds of honor

[00:19:06] and hungry heroes as well.

[00:19:08] But what's it mean to you to be able to support these things?

[00:19:11] Well, you know, for us it's always big.

[00:19:13] You never know how far your effort goes, right?

[00:19:17] So the cool thing is if you're making an effort

[00:19:19] and you collaborate with individuals

[00:19:21] that are already ahead of that movement,

[00:19:23] then it makes it that much more heartfelt, if you will. And so I've always loved all of the charitable ideas that

[00:19:30] come with the organizations we work with, because it allows us to make a bigger impact overall,

[00:19:36] right? And I look forward to seeing what is to come when it comes to the barbecue relief team,

[00:19:42] man. They're doing the big thing.

[00:19:43] Man, they got something cool this year.

[00:19:45] April 5th and 6th is the festival.

[00:19:47] And on the 5th, the barbecue relief gang and the hungry heroes,

[00:19:50] they're gonna make the food for all you pitmasters.

[00:19:53] I saw that, yeah.

[00:19:54] And then y'all gotta work Saturday, but Friday, it's food night.

[00:19:57] There's gonna be music, you know.

[00:19:59] They're gonna be serving it up too.

[00:20:00] Tell me, what is Master Berlin Family Farms

[00:20:03] gonna bring to the barbecue festival

[00:20:05] share. So we're getting a little while with it this year. We're going to do some Canadian

[00:20:08] bacon wrapped chicken breasts, right? And so basically what that looks like is we're going

[00:20:12] to go ahead and smoke it over the charcoal, the Canadian bacon, put the wrap on it with

[00:20:16] the toothpick. Oh, but then we're going to take it over the top with that khaki,

[00:20:20] lanky barbie. Yeah. Shout out to the page and the team and Love what you guys are doing. Yeah, love the Kakalaki sauce, too.

[00:20:26] That's another favorite of mine.

[00:20:28] I like to make my own cheer wine for Ryan.

[00:20:30] It's a little bit off of theirs.

[00:20:31] I like to have a little more spice in mine.

[00:20:33] But love the Kakalaki sauce.

[00:20:35] Not sure about the gold.

[00:20:36] You know, but the regular Kakalaki is definitely worth it.

[00:20:41] Hey, everybody.

[00:20:42] John Reap here.

[00:20:43] And I'm with Lauren Weaver of the Hickory Smokehouse and

[00:20:46] we have partnered up and we have come up with what we think is the best barbecue sauce

[00:20:53] in the world.

[00:20:54] It's called John Reap's Hickory Smokehouse, South in your mouth, barbecue sauce, but

[00:21:00] don't just take our word for it.

[00:21:02] Listen to what other chefs are saying. So this holiday season, reap the benefits.

[00:21:34] Sop it up, let your taste buds rise again and put a little south in your mouth.

[00:21:41] We got it in hot. Yeah. Thanks, Lord.

[00:21:53] Sad. Now I want to take you into secret time and we talked about all these recipes we've got before us here, you know, but

[00:21:56] I want to talk about Ronald's secret. What time do you wake

[00:22:00] up every day to get all this stuff going? So so typically

[00:22:03] three 34 o'clock. That's when I'm moving.

[00:22:05] That's former wake up time.

[00:22:07] Yeah. That's about average.

[00:22:08] And I feel like if I'm moving at that time by eight or nine o'clock,

[00:22:11] I'm already ahead of everybody just waking up at seven and eight o'clock.

[00:22:14] You know what I mean?

[00:22:15] Yeah. So, so when do you go to bed?

[00:22:17] How much sleep are you going to sleep early?

[00:22:19] Yo, so don't be understanding.

[00:22:21] I typically go to bed around seven 38 o'clock.

[00:22:23] Yeah.

[00:22:24] It depends on if the boss lady has missions for

[00:22:26] Right, so each day I get an assignment check checklists of things

[00:22:31] I need to get accomplished and basically what I do if I can get it knocked out on the farm in by 630

[00:22:37] Yeah, by 730 quarter to 8. I'm lounging for a second, you know

[00:22:43] To the band yeah, looking for a second, you know. Just like me. Yeah. Head to the bed. Yeah, looking for a nice move.

[00:22:45] How often are you sitting there either gawking at the TV

[00:22:48] or something else you're sitting in your recliner and...

[00:22:50] Shh.

[00:22:51] Nah, nah.

[00:22:52] Before you even get to the bed.

[00:22:53] Most of the time I don't.

[00:22:55] A lot of times I'm always thinking about the next move, right?

[00:22:58] So a lot of things that we've been able to accomplish,

[00:23:00] I'm super grateful for.

[00:23:02] But my imagination goes wild when we see what we just accomplished

[00:23:06] right so figure being able uh last I think last week we were in Durham we were able to cook for

[00:23:12] Kingsford yeah the leadership team so that's 250 plus members from the organization and we're

[00:23:19] able to give them our personal side of what it means to be smoking, firing food.

[00:23:25] And after accomplishing that, you know,

[00:23:28] the team they come together, they high five and Sarge,

[00:23:30] Mr. Matthews, the ladies, Ms. Tress and mom,

[00:23:33] they all come together, they high five.

[00:23:35] And whenever the momentum shifts off,

[00:23:38] I'm thinking, yo, what's the next move?

[00:23:40] How can we do this again?

[00:23:41] Yeah.

[00:23:42] Times two.

[00:23:43] And so I stay plugged in like that.

[00:23:45] Right.

[00:23:46] You know what I mean?

[00:23:47] Memphis and May is getting ready to come up.

[00:23:48] Oh yeah, yeah.

[00:23:49] So you know, we brainstorming on what the schedule

[00:23:51] is going to look like, right?

[00:23:52] Yeah.

[00:23:53] And I'm just looking forward to what's coming in 2024.

[00:23:56] So you've talked about a lot of places that you've been.

[00:23:59] Have you got an idea for how many miles

[00:24:01] of North Carolina road you burned up last year?

[00:24:04] I mean, Keenan's built a hickory alone. I mean, that's a pretty good haul. idea for how many miles of North Carolina road you burned up last year.

[00:24:07] I mean, Keenan's built a hickory alone.

[00:24:09] I mean, that's a pretty good haul.

[00:24:10] I mean, you're going to a lot of these places. How, how much are you driving and how far you have an estimate?

[00:24:13] Yo, I don't, man.

[00:24:15] We might do if I was to ask Paul, he might give me a more precise number,

[00:24:20] but I'm thinking we might do 10,000 miles a year, you know, just

[00:24:26] traveling. Yeah. But like I said, it's cool to be able to sit with people that

[00:24:31] and we bounce ideas off each other. We learn from each other. So the media

[00:24:36] individual in the mountains over the mountain winery over over the mountain

[00:24:40] vineyard. I was rapping her and she's super awesome.

[00:24:45] She's innovative and she's always thinking of the next move.

[00:24:48] Like what other products can we produce

[00:24:50] from these grapes that we grow?

[00:24:51] Right.

[00:24:52] So it's like being able to see them

[00:24:54] and I may be able to give some insight

[00:24:56] in a process that'll take them to the next level.

[00:24:59] So that's pretty much the goal for me.

[00:25:02] If I can help one farmer across the state and they figure out another power move and it doesn't matter from the coast to the mountains wherever it is

[00:25:10] Sure, like I'm game, you know what I mean, but I just want to see the industry make it

[00:25:14] You know, I think the statistics is saying it's around two thousand two percent of the general population is it was for feeding America

[00:25:22] Mm-hmm, and so to be able to inspire someone else to tip

[00:25:25] it in our favor, what is more producers. That's ultimately what I'm looking at, because we

[00:25:30] don't want to be facing an issue where there's a shortage of supply food.

[00:25:34] That's right. That's a real problem. What role and how important is your family to what

[00:25:38] your success and your farm is doing?

[00:25:40] So the cool thing about the role of the family is that I live now through my kids.

[00:25:47] There was a time I couldn't believe that, right?

[00:25:50] So I'm literally dealing with a lot of the things that I didn't get a chance to do when

[00:25:54] they were younger.

[00:25:55] I'm trying to do it now.

[00:25:56] Like last Friday, I went to lunch with Squirrel at her job.

[00:25:59] I had never been to my daughter's job and they eaten lunch with me.

[00:26:03] So we went to Bahama Breeze downtown Raleigh.

[00:26:06] I'm like, yo, let's get it.

[00:26:07] Booboo, booboo.

[00:26:08] And she's like, you're here.

[00:26:09] And everybody's geeking out.

[00:26:11] What did she sit down and eat with you?

[00:26:12] Or did she have to come and work?

[00:26:13] Yeah, so it was pretty much like,

[00:26:16] all right, dad, you got 30 minutes.

[00:26:17] OK.

[00:26:18] And I'm like, OK, cool.

[00:26:19] She was like, OK, you got 15 minutes.

[00:26:20] I was like, for real, she was like, yo, dad, you got five

[00:26:23] minutes.

[00:26:24] We got to go.

[00:26:24] And I was like, oh my god. She's on the job. Yeah, she was like, yo, dad, you got five minutes. We got to go. And I was like, Oh, my God,

[00:26:25] telling the job. Yeah, she's grinded. That man super proud of the

[00:26:28] kids. Yeah, but outside that you got family that support you in

[00:26:31] the farm to reference the boss lady. And I know Paul's kind of

[00:26:34] the extended media family. Well, it's like, um, so with the team,

[00:26:38] those that have gotten helping us helped us arrive at this moment,

[00:26:43] we're at now. I try to keep him with me

[00:26:45] Mm-hmm. I feel like when it comes to the success the only way is successful for me is that they're able to experience it as well

[00:26:53] Right because it's no fun if I'm talking about you know

[00:26:56] We just took this flight. We're going to do by mm-hmm, and it was just me so it's like anywhere that I can take the team

[00:27:02] We go on the road is it's like yo They experienced it. I try to tell them a million times

[00:27:07] Thank you for everything that they do. Yeah, and I'll and they be clowning my mom and dad

[00:27:11] They always look down there like dude. We're proud of you

[00:27:13] You know and I think with them so being 89 and 87 today is dad's birthday by the way, right?

[00:27:19] So he's 89 today. Well, he can't travel on planes like it used to, right? But being able to

[00:27:26] show him what we did. So showing him the videos to YouTube channel, the catalog, he's looking

[00:27:31] and he's like, bro, I'm proud of you. I'm like, dude, it's hard to get his approval.

[00:27:36] Sure. Like any dad. Yeah. You feel me? So it's like when you get that, it's like, okay,

[00:27:41] this is major. And I'm pointing in the right direction when I get as approval.

[00:27:45] So it's like, okay, let's do that again.

[00:27:46] Let's figure that out.

[00:27:47] So he's living a little vicariously through you

[00:27:49] and at the same time, you know,

[00:27:50] like you're doing with your own young people,

[00:27:52] he's getting to experience it, you know,

[00:27:54] without kind of being there, right?

[00:27:56] He gets to enjoy it as well.

[00:27:57] All right, you've been very generous with your time.

[00:27:59] Had a lot of good talk and conversation here.

[00:28:01] I gotta get into some nitty gritty here secrets.

[00:28:03] What is your favorite barbecue restaurant?

[00:28:06] Oh, wow.

[00:28:08] Yeah.

[00:28:09] I know I'm putting you on the spot.

[00:28:12] Yeah, yeah.

[00:28:13] Well, I'll say one of my favorites.

[00:28:15] Okay, so before I even say this,

[00:28:19] everybody's doing an amazing job

[00:28:20] in the restaurant scene just for the record.

[00:28:24] One of my favorites thus far has been on John G's.

[00:28:28] And it's only been because, so, you know,

[00:28:32] Gary, he's been such an awesome friend

[00:28:34] prior to all we've been able to do.

[00:28:38] Can I name two?

[00:28:39] He would name it.

[00:28:40] Okay, okay, so look, my other one,

[00:28:41] so I'm a big fan of Keith Hennings.

[00:28:43] This dude has turned up.

[00:28:45] I love everywhere that he goes.

[00:28:47] The way we're there, we get together.

[00:28:49] Like his energy is popping.

[00:28:50] So I really love it.

[00:28:52] Can I name one more?

[00:28:54] Okay, nevermind, nevermind.

[00:28:55] David, David, we wanna hear it.

[00:28:56] Because if I haven't met him, I need to meet him.

[00:28:59] And I'm so proud to also know Garin,

[00:29:01] and we've had John G on the show back in the pit master.

[00:29:04] Look forward to seeing him at the first one. And it did want to surprise you, a lot of the people that we proud to also know Garin, and we've had John G on the show back in the pit master. Looked forward to seeing him at the first one.

[00:29:05] And it won't surprise you a lot of the people

[00:29:07] that we talked to also mention Garin and John G.

[00:29:10] And after they say that, the next thing they say is,

[00:29:12] he's been such a good help.

[00:29:14] He's been such a good friend.

[00:29:15] And it sounds like that's all the pit master, right?

[00:29:17] It's not just him, but it's also Keith

[00:29:19] and who you're getting ready to mention now.

[00:29:22] Well, it's like just seeing their growth, right?

[00:29:25] The first time I met Elliot Moss.

[00:29:26] Yeah.

[00:29:27] Bro, I flipped, because he's like a celebrity, right?

[00:29:30] I profile love it.

[00:29:32] Brendan Shepherd, I love where he started Unbelable Beginnings,

[00:29:36] where he's at now.

[00:29:37] Aaron Franklin, big, big fan,

[00:29:39] just because of him taking out time signing books

[00:29:42] and allowing us to bounce ideas.

[00:29:43] So I love like the barbecue community bro next level man that you have some Titans in the barbecue scene bro

[00:29:51] They're Titans and they're celebrities, but they're all pretty down to earth like Ronald

[00:29:55] Yeah, yeah, yeah down the earth be down to earth, but but it's like bro

[00:29:58] There the deal. Oh my dude Jake. So so Lawrence barbecue. Yeah, I mean

[00:30:04] Your Lawrence. I mean my dude, Jake. So Lawrence Barbecue. Yeah. Hey, bro, your Lawrence.

[00:30:06] I mean, my man, Jake was your, um, he's major, you know, heavy hitting.

[00:30:10] Um, I love his energy.

[00:30:13] Um, I look forward to seeing what he's coming up with.

[00:30:15] His imagination is crazy. Definitely.

[00:30:17] I love it, man. Yeah.

[00:30:18] They got something cool.

[00:30:19] They're at the research triangle.

[00:30:20] We've had him on the podcast talking about some of the things that tacos he does.

[00:30:24] Oh, the breakfast he does. And he's got some cool stuff happening.

[00:30:28] We'll see Jake is cool because he live on the edge with it. Yeah. He pushes it. He pushes

[00:30:34] the edge. He's not on the edge. He's finding new edges out there. Yes. Jake, yo, love what

[00:30:39] you're doing, bro. Yeah. Okay.

[00:30:41] You're giving it, Mike. Here it is. Low and slow slow to showdown. And I know you've been through

[00:30:46] this before. I've got some new ones for you. So I've got some car balls. I'm going to throw

[00:30:50] out some of the regulars. I'm going to throw you some car balls too. And I know the answers

[00:30:54] to some of them like gas charcoal pellets or wood. So I got to stand with the charcoal.

[00:31:02] Just because of it's like each time with the charcoal,

[00:31:05] I think that we've done the best we can do,

[00:31:09] something new pops off and it's like,

[00:31:10] oh wow, so the charcoal hands down.

[00:31:13] Do you feel like you get the same flavor

[00:31:15] with the charcoal as you would using oak

[00:31:17] or hickory or pecan or one of those things?

[00:31:19] Again, I know, I love charcoal,

[00:31:21] but how do you still get the wood flavor?

[00:31:22] Well, I'll give you some insight on something we just tried.

[00:31:26] We started using some on cherry wood.

[00:31:29] And we were running the cherry wood on one of the hot cookers.

[00:31:32] So grill billies and windale is the ones that told me about it.

[00:31:36] They were like, bro, you need to try this.

[00:31:37] Bro, we so we did it with the ribs.

[00:31:40] We did it with the ribs.

[00:31:41] We tried it with the wagoo burgers.

[00:31:43] Yeah. Oh my God.

[00:31:44] So so if I'm going to run a close second, I'm gonna say the cherry wood. I really love it

[00:31:49] Yeah, that that we got from what there's nothing saying you can't use both right right get the charcoal out there

[00:31:54] And then flavor it with some wood on there play the game definitely so oh wow your favorite pork cut

[00:32:01] My favorite pork cut and I don't even want to say the ribs.

[00:32:05] My favorite pork cut has been the whole boneless pork loin.

[00:32:11] I love it.

[00:32:12] Okay.

[00:32:13] So I like to get bananas with it.

[00:32:15] Shout out to my dude Chad Blackwater.

[00:32:17] So he showed me this idea about, it was on January of last year.

[00:32:21] We took a whole boneless pork loin.

[00:32:23] We're going to say it's 12 pounds.

[00:32:25] Okay.

[00:32:26] And we trim it and we basically,

[00:32:29] we parade it to where it opens up like a rectangle,

[00:32:32] like a sheet. Okay. Yep.

[00:32:33] You sprinkle your lemon juice, your pecans in it,

[00:32:36] some roasted pecans, a little bit of cinnamon.

[00:32:39] And then some chives, you roll it back up

[00:32:43] and you use the butcher twine. Yeah.

[00:32:45] And bro, we lay it on the grill and we just let it catch smoke, right?

[00:32:49] Wow.

[00:32:49] And you know, he's always said that whenever we cook it over the smoker,

[00:32:53] they put it in a pan.

[00:32:54] So you all them, the driplets that render.

[00:32:56] Oh yeah.

[00:32:56] Yeah.

[00:32:57] You can keep that.

[00:32:57] That's the sweetness.

[00:32:58] That's the secret, right?

[00:33:00] And you letting it go back over it.

[00:33:02] And then when you pull it out and it's done, so you cook it for about 53 minutes,

[00:33:07] pull it out, let it rest.

[00:33:08] Let it rest for about 45 minutes.

[00:33:10] Okay. Yeah.

[00:33:11] So now anything that is lost is starting to pull back.

[00:33:14] Sure. Yeah.

[00:33:15] Oh, God. Yeah.

[00:33:17] And then whenever you plate it and display it,

[00:33:19] so everybody that's there to eat,

[00:33:21] they see it and you start slicing it

[00:33:23] and it looks like a cinnamon roll.

[00:33:25] Oh yeah.

[00:33:26] I think it's a world.

[00:33:26] All the goodness on the inside, yeah.

[00:33:29] Yeah, everybody freaks out over it,

[00:33:30] so that's one of my favorite cuts.

[00:33:32] Okay, so you kind of jumped to the next one,

[00:33:34] but if that wasn't it,

[00:33:36] what's your favorite way to prepare pork?

[00:33:38] So, okay, my favorite way to prepare the pork,

[00:33:41] so I like cooking the St. Louis ribs.

[00:33:44] Okay. With, well I like cooking the St. Louis ribs. Okay.

[00:33:45] With, well, I'm Shirley Seasoning.

[00:33:47] So my auntie, man, so she has this concoction.

[00:33:51] So it's got a little chili powder in it.

[00:33:54] They're like, bro, it is,

[00:33:55] it's got a little garlic powder in it.

[00:33:57] It is like, pow, it's your face.

[00:33:59] Yeah.

[00:34:00] And so we go ahead and wash the ribs, we trim them up,

[00:34:03] we pour the membrane off of it, we go ahead and sprinkle it. We we trim them up, we pour the membrane off of it,

[00:34:05] we go ahead and sprinkle it,

[00:34:06] we let it sit a little while.

[00:34:09] Like you let that sit for like,

[00:34:11] you say okay we're gonna let it sit for half a day.

[00:34:13] So it's like to the bone and bro,

[00:34:16] and then when you set it in the smoker,

[00:34:18] you don't even put the pressure on it.

[00:34:19] You're not trying to crank it high,

[00:34:21] you run it about 245 to 240.

[00:34:24] Okay. And you just let it man, You run it about 245 to 240. Okay.

[00:34:25] And you just let it man, they let it do its thing.

[00:34:27] And the smoke is beating it up man.

[00:34:29] You know what I'm saying?

[00:34:30] Yeah.

[00:34:30] And then after an hour you pull them in your rapping.

[00:34:35] And then you put it back in there

[00:34:37] and let it get beat up a little more heat

[00:34:38] for another hour.

[00:34:40] When you pull that out and you cut it,

[00:34:42] so you trying to cut it, you need a good knife

[00:34:45] because your meat coming off the bone.

[00:34:46] You know what I'm saying?

[00:34:47] But I love preparing that

[00:34:49] because I like seeing that process from start to finish.

[00:34:52] You know, popping the pack open, washing it up

[00:34:56] and then you get that finish and everybody looks at it

[00:34:58] and it's dry.

[00:35:00] Because you know, some things,

[00:35:02] so like with the sauce, you can get some sauces,

[00:35:04] you can dap it up and it may compliment it,

[00:35:09] but some cuts don't need that much compliment.

[00:35:11] Right, right.

[00:35:12] You know, so that's the best,

[00:35:14] my favorite of how to prepare something.

[00:35:15] Excellent, well, let me tell you,

[00:35:17] Dylan Cook at Fort Grove BBQ told us,

[00:35:19] you don't have to take the membrane off.

[00:35:21] Now I found that hard to believe.

[00:35:23] Yeah, yeah.

[00:35:24] But he says that's what he does,

[00:35:25] that's his secret and he'll stand by.

[00:35:27] Everybody else says, no you're crazy,

[00:35:28] but whatever, so give that a try sometime when you get it.

[00:35:32] So when I was starting out,

[00:35:36] like I can relate to what he's saying

[00:35:37] because when I was starting out,

[00:35:39] I didn't know what I know now.

[00:35:41] So I didn't know I needed trimming

[00:35:43] and make it pretty for presentation. I didn't know to pop the membrane off. So I just went on I needed trimming and make it pretty for presentation.

[00:35:45] And then know to pop the men and brain off.

[00:35:47] So I just went on the edge, you know what I mean?

[00:35:50] But now, you know, just because of trying some new ideas

[00:35:54] and wanting to give the best rendition,

[00:35:56] I try to do all that I can do to give the best experience

[00:35:59] to those that eat, you know.

[00:36:01] Cool, okay, so your favorite sausage, loose or stuffed? Oh, man. So, so,

[00:36:08] so it depends, man. So like if we're making some dip, so the boss lady makes an awesome dip.

[00:36:13] And with this dip, she'll go. So I like the bulk, so the loose, that's how you sauce it.

[00:36:19] But the boss lady, she likes like the old school sausage, this super hot breakfast sausage.

[00:36:26] And it's bulk, so it just breaks loose.

[00:36:28] And you stare it in all this vell-veated cheese.

[00:36:31] You can bro.

[00:36:32] Yeah.

[00:36:33] So I guess I gotta say, if we're making that dish,

[00:36:36] I love it loose.

[00:36:37] You like it loose, but if you have it stuffed,

[00:36:40] what is your favorite stuffing that's not meat?

[00:36:43] Oh, dude, that's different.

[00:36:44] Yeah, cause you know, Lewis is doing some stuff

[00:36:46] and John G's doing some stuff for there.

[00:36:48] They're putting some stuff in some sausage.

[00:36:50] So what do you want to have in there?

[00:36:52] So I tried his jalapeno pepper.

[00:36:54] Bro, that's crazy.

[00:36:57] We've tried the cheddar cheese in a sausage.

[00:37:00] So like give me a chorizo sausage with the cheddar cheese.

[00:37:02] Okay.

[00:37:03] Cause that's like, you know. Sure.

[00:37:05] Like a lot of times you can use sausage

[00:37:07] to actually season the entree

[00:37:08] instead of it being the main portion of the entree, right?

[00:37:11] So I think with the chorizo, some cheddar,

[00:37:15] like that's gonna be crazy because it's in your face.

[00:37:17] Right.

[00:37:18] Yeah, good.

[00:37:19] Okay.

[00:37:20] So what's your favorite side dish?

[00:37:22] So we've tried it a few different ways. One of the some of the successes

[00:37:27] we've had is like the summer pasta salad. So big chunks of ham, some some cucumbers

[00:37:33] and peppers and pasta salad for a cool serving item. Yeah. Summer day. The other thing that

[00:37:39] I've loved. So we have these on red, what's she called the bacon, the red cheesy potatoes.

[00:37:46] Okay. Bro.

[00:37:48] Yeah.

[00:37:49] Oh my God. Because you look at it and you're like, yo, I gotta have it. You got chunks

[00:37:52] of bacon bit in it. And you know, I live on the air. So we put some Canadian bacon in

[00:37:57] it. Right. And then, and the reason that I like those, those potatoes is because when

[00:38:01] you plate it and you have your shreds of cheese on it, and you want like three or four different grades of cheese

[00:38:06] and it's melon.

[00:38:07] Yeah.

[00:38:08] And so when you pull it off, it's real stringy.

[00:38:10] I didn't mean to go so detailed.

[00:38:12] That's good.

[00:38:13] You can't get wrong with cheese.

[00:38:15] Right.

[00:38:16] You can't go wrong.

[00:38:16] Too much is never enough.

[00:38:18] Yeah.

[00:38:18] You know what I'm saying?

[00:38:19] Sure.

[00:38:20] Okay.

[00:38:21] So the best Carolina barbecue style, Eastern, Western,

[00:38:23] or the South Carolina mustard

[00:38:26] Right now I got to stick with the East man. So

[00:38:29] That's okay, but like I've been seeing a lot of cool

[00:38:32] A lot of cool stuff coming out of the West and the South

[00:38:35] Yeah, um South Carolina like said so like Brian Furman doing this thing

[00:38:39] Um, but I'm gonna stick with what we were custom to the east. That's right. You grew up on that

[00:38:42] It's generally gonna be your favorite. So is it better sauce with or without?

[00:38:47] Yo, so I'm loving to go without, you know,

[00:38:51] if we're gonna smoke a whole hive,

[00:38:53] you got it good and seasoned up and everything.

[00:38:55] And you just pop off a piece off the grill.

[00:38:58] Hey man, you don't always need the sauce.

[00:39:00] That's right. If the meat's good, you don't need sauce.

[00:39:02] Right, right.

[00:39:03] The right smoke on it.

[00:39:04] Yeah, you can't lose with that, baby

[00:39:06] Gasser breaks

[00:39:09] All gas, bro

[00:39:13] All gas no great

[00:39:17] All right, so last one it's important is barbecue of barber now

[00:39:21] barbecue is a now

[00:39:29] you a barber now barbecue is a now and that my friend is the lowdown from the man the pit master Ronald Simmons from master blend family farms Ronald thanks so much for coming to

[00:39:33] Hickory and being part of the low and slow barbecue shit I might thank you guys so much

[00:39:37] for this man it was a fire man I love it love everything definitely we'll have to do it

[00:39:40] again if nothing else we'll see at the Carolina barbecue festival, April 5th, Victoria Yards

[00:39:45] in Charlotte.

[00:39:46] Oh, baby, it's going to be hot, man.

[00:39:48] Make sure you get your tickets, man.

[00:39:49] Get plugged in.

[00:39:50] It's going to be hot.

[00:39:53] You've been listening to the low and slow barbecue show on the mesh.tv network of podcast.

[00:39:59] Be sure to visit us online at lowslowbbqshow.com.

[00:40:03] You can learn about the Carolina Barbecue Festival and

[00:40:06] the other pitmasters participating in this year's event at LowslowBBQShow.com. You can

[00:40:12] also hear from Operation Barbecue Relief CEO Stan Hayes as well as other pitmasters

[00:40:18] like Dylan Cook from Fort Grove Barbecue, Keith Hitting from Black Powder Smokehouse,

[00:40:23] and our food journalist friend, Hannah Raskin

[00:40:25] from the food section.

[00:40:26] You heard all the recipes in today's show.

[00:40:29] Remember, these great Carolina pitmasters will all be at the Carolina BBQ Festival April

[00:40:34] 5th and 6th at Victoria Yards and Charlotte.

[00:40:37] Visit LowSlowBbqShow.com for all the details or get your tickets at Carolina BBQ Fest,

[00:40:44] CarolinaBbq Fest.org.

[00:40:47] If you like what you hear in the low and slow BBQ show follow us and subscribe in your

[00:40:51] favorite podcast stream.

[00:40:53] Please consider giving our show a 5 star review and hope you know that helps other people

[00:40:58] find us.

[00:40:59] You can also help other people find us by sharing the show with all your friends.

[00:41:03] Special thanks to Ron Simmons

[00:41:05] and the team at Master Blend Family Farms. Thanks as well to our producer Andrew Moose and the whole

[00:41:10] team at the Mesh.tv Network of Podcasts. Most especially, thank you for listening make it low and slow.

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