Southern Pride of Texas
Recipes & Cooking Guides
40 articles on smoker care, BBQ tips, industry news, and more.
What the 2025 Fast-Casual Winners Actually Got Right About Smokehouse Programs
Ray breaks down which fast-casual chains scaled BBQ successfully in 2025 and what their equipment choices reveal abou...
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The Quiet Exit: Why Independent Restaurants Are Disappearing and What It Means for Commercial BBQ
Independent restaurants are closing faster than they're opening. Here's what's actually driving the decline and how s...
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When the Numbers Get Ugly: Equipment Decisions That Actually Protect Your Margins
How commercial BBQ operators can protect margins during economic uncertainty through smarter equipment choices and op...
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Your Menu Is Either Making You Money or Costing You Money — Here's How to Tell
Menu engineering for BBQ operations: yield math, protein selection, holding economics, and the pricing decisions that...
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What a Manhattan Flagship Opening Tells You About Your Own Kitchen
Philippe Chow's new Midtown restaurant runs high-volume service with precision. Here's what commercial BBQ operators ...
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Pork Belly Burnt Ends: The Full Commercial Breakdown from Cube to Cash Register
Production-scale pork belly burnt ends with real yield percentages, food cost math, and pricing strategy for high-vol...
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Brisket Flat vs. Whole Packer: The Math That Actually Matters for Commercial Kitchens
Breaking down yield, food cost, and holding time between brisket flats and whole packers for high-volume restaurant o...
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What a Denver Restaurant Operation Gets Right About Sustainability — And What It Means for Your Smoker Kitchen
High-volume BBQ operations can learn from restaurants treating sustainability as non-negotiable. Here's how that tran...
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Why Value Menus Are Dominating QSR Traffic — And What It Means for Your Smoker Schedule
Value menus are driving QSR visits more than ever. Here's how commercial BBQ operations can capture that traffic with...
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Whole Hog on a Commercial Rotisserie: What 22 Years of Service Calls Taught Me About Getting It Right
A practical guide to whole hog cooking in commercial rotisseries—prep, timing, temperature management, and presentati...
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What Restaurant Brands Actually Get Right (And What Equipment Has to Do With It)
Jack Gibbons' brand-building principles applied to BBQ operations — and why your smoker choice shapes everything from...
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What 34 Restaurant Founders Actually Got Right—And What Your Smoker Room Can Learn From It
Ray breaks down what production kitchens can steal from the industry's most creative founders making the 2026 power l...
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