Southern Pride of Texas
BBQ Tips & Techniques
22 articles on smoker care, BBQ tips, industry news, and more.
What Burger King, Dunkin', and White Castle Are Telling Us About Where Smoked Protein Is Headed
Fast-casual chains are betting hard on smoked flavors. Here's what that means for commercial operators watching the t...
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What Your Smoked Meat Actually Costs (And Why Most Operators Guess Wrong)
Ray breaks down real costing math for commercial BBQ operations, from yield percentages to hidden labor costs most pi...
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Smoking at Altitude: What Changes Above 5,000 Feet and How to Adjust
High-altitude smoking demands real adjustments to time, temp, and moisture. Here's what mountain operators actually n...
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Altitude Will Humble You: What Mountain Operators Need to Know About Smoke and Thin Air
How elevation changes smoking temps, cook times, and moisture loss — practical adjustments from 30 years of working w...
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Nine Drinks From the National Restaurant Show That Actually Made Me Stop Walking
Ray's picks from the NRA Show floor — beverages that paired well with smoked meats and ones that didn't live up to th...
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What I Actually Saw at the Restaurant Show: Back-of-House Is Getting Smaller, Not Simpler
Ray's observations from the 2024 Restaurant Show floor on how operators are rethinking kitchen layouts, equipment fle...
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Altitude Changes Everything: What Mountain Operators Actually Need to Know About Smoke and Time
High-altitude smoking demands real adjustments to time, temp, and technique. Here's the operational math from someone...
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Running Overnight Cooks Without Losing Sleep (or Yield)
Practical protocols for managing 12-hour overnight cooks in commercial rotisserie smokers — from temp staging to reco...
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Shake Shack's Bad Quarter Is a Warning for Every Operator Running Thin Margins
Beef costs and unpredictable weather crushed Shake Shack's earnings. Here's what commercial BBQ operators should lear...
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Dry Heat vs. Moist Heat Smoking: Why Your Chamber Environment Matters More Than Your Rub
How chamber humidity affects yield, bark formation, and cook times across different cuts — and how to control it with...
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Subway's $5 Value Menu Is a Canary in the Coal Mine for Commercial BBQ Operators
What Subway's 15-item value menu tells us about the restaurant industry's cost pressures — and why BBQ operators need...
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Why Your Choice Between Low-and-Slow and Hot-and-Fast Is Really a Labor Cost Decision
Breaking down the real operational math behind cooking method selection for commercial BBQ—yield, labor, throughput, ...
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