It appears the art of cooking food that is as old as fire is now in the midst of a delicious resurgence. We are talking about “smoked” meats and whether you are a home cook or a professional chef, this trend is catching on across the country.
“I have been grilling since I was 13 and now, I get to do it for a living. It’s great,” said Steve Cook, co-owner of Wild Fig BBQ in Summerlin.
The Story of Brisket: Joint Owners & Their Hungry Customers
Cook, who runs the popular patio-styled BBQ joint located near Dell Webb and West Lake Mead, said he and his partner Daniel Schneider are seeing the growing popularity of smoked meats firsthand. Their business currently sells about 1000 pounds of briskets a week. Known for some of the best BBQ in Summerlin, they keep busy.
“People love their BBQs and smoked meats. And we really cater to that,” said the Chicago-born Cook who has worked behind the grills from Florida to South Carolina to Las Vegas. “One reason for the popularity is that more people are now eating high protein like Keto. But to be honest, smoked meats just taste great and our customers keep coming back.”
Cook says at Wild Fig, aside from serving up all the great dishes from pulled pork sandwiches to their three meat plates, the team takes pride in teaching guests the art of cooking including grilling tips and tricks. Cook says he’s not surprised if he ends up giving BBQ cooking classes in the future.
A Close-Knit Group: Why BBQ Thrives Here
“What’s cool about the BBQ community is that we share everything. We share our recipes with our customers and because we do that, they end up tweaking them and then showing us new ways to do things. It’s really cool.”
Here in Southern Nevada, smoked meat lovers aren’t just finding them at restaurants anymore. They are starting to cook barbeque delicacies right in their own backyard. One local grill expert says the big reason is because Americans have more access to a wide variety of "smokers” than ever before.
“Smokers have been really popular, especially in the last four to five years, and pellet grills in particular,” said Omid Mahban, owner of BBQ Concepts in Las Vegas. “We operate a premier outdoor kitchen design and manufacturing company, but we also sell lots of grills and smokers. They are really in high demand.”
The Power of Wood Pellets: BBQ Concepts’ Grills and Their Tech
BBQ Concepts is Southern Nevada’s platinum dealer for Traeger, a national brand that has become synonymous with pellet grills. And according to Mahbad, it’s the ease and versatility of these products that make them so popular. He said it’s been great to see his customers, especially men, now making it a competition on who can best smoke their meats.
“These new grills are Wi-Fi enabled so you just set it and forget it. You turn them on to a set temperature and just let the grills do the work,” said Mahban. “I see lots of my friends using them and I would never cook as much as I do, if I didn’t have a Traeger. My friends think I am a chef, but the grill does all the cooking for me. The flavors from the wood pellet are not overwhelming and everything you cook tastes better.”
What’s in an Outdoor Kitchen?
Mahban supplies his grills to Southern Nevada’s home renovation experts like Alan Schrimpf, the founder and owner of Southern Vegas Valley Contracting (SVVC). Schrimpf said during the pandemic one of the most popular home renovation trends is adding customized outdoor kitchens and quite a few of his customers are requesting ones fitted with a smoker.
“People love outdoor kitchens, you can do anything outside now and don’t have to get all the smell of the food inside,” said Schrimpf. “You can change your entire cooking experience just by adding a smoker. And it’s not just the flavor of the food, the smoker manufacturers have all the apps and so many recipes online that the grilling experience becomes so much easier."
Schrimpf, who has more than 30 years of experience as a general contractor, said a big part of his job is helping clients envision a new ambiance for their living space. He says outdoor cooking has become a lifestyle that has even encouraged a “friendly” competition among neighbors.
"I am seeing a lot of competition between my neighbors, men in particular,” said Schrimpf who lives in Summerlin. “One of my neighbors has even gotten to the point of bringing over his smoked food to me in a nice custom-take out container. The pride he takes in the process really shows the joy he gets from smoking meat.”
When it comes to customizing your home kitchen with a smoker, customers now can choose what they want according to their budget. Schrimpf said an accessorized outdoor kitchen can start at $12,000 and run up to $30,000. But for customers who are serious about outdoor cooking and want to make it their lifestyle, they are willing to pay the price.
For Omid Mahban, he also doesn’t expect his business to slow down especially with the BBQ summer season just around the corner.
“It’s not just Traeger, the Green Mountain grills are also very popular. We offer our guests a variety of products and this trend of smoking meat is here to stay. We see this passion in our store every day.”
Why Some of the Best BBQ in Summerlin is Here to Stay
And for the passionate barbeque man like Steve Cook, he’s inviting all the smoked meat lovers of Southern Nevada, both men and women to come experience what he and his partner bring to the table daily.
“We started in 2017 as a catering operation and it’s now grown to what it is today,” said Cook. “The BBQ cuisine keeps evolving which is really exciting. Twenty to 30 years ago, briskets were considered low grade, but now because this meat has been cooked in such a masterful way by so many grill masters, the quality and the demands have really changed. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the future of smoked meats, but they are not going away anytime soon.”
Ready to show off your skills behind the grill? Follow us on Red Rock Lifestyle Media’s Instagram and Facebook pages to learn more about our first digital contest to find the best grill master in the Red Rock area.
