From Pit to Plate: Smoke Lab Shares Beef Education

By: Kayla Jennings

Many of life’s special moments are marked by cuisine. In Texas, barbecue happens to be center stage for many of those. Whether it be a wedding, graduation or a backyard party, a Brisket with all the fixings is a mainstay.

That familiar aroma of wood nestled in a smoker is exactly what met 25 attendees entering the Texas Beef Council (TBC) office for the sixth Ultimate Beef Loving Texans Smoke Lab led by expert grill and pit master Jerry McPherson. 

With the advent of renowned barbecue competitions and television shows, the popularity of this culinary culture has skyrocketed. To take advantage of the rise in popularity, TBC launched the Ultimate Beef Loving Texans Smoke Lab last year and has hosted more than 145 participants since. 

“Barbecue is hot in Texas, and there is a public interest in learning to smoke, particularly how to smoke Brisket,” said Adriana Mora, manager of consumer marketing at TBC.

The Menu

The four-hour program takes guests through barbecue history, beef cuts, quality grades, types of smokers and wood, tastings and hands-on cooking. Regardless of skill level, all participants walk away with something new to apply at home. 

“The knowledge of the various cuts and quality grades was valuable,” said a recent Smoke Lab attendee. “Learning about flavor profiles given off by the various woods and seasonings used was also very valuable.”

McPherson shared one story of how a participant had never tried Picanha before. Now two months later, he has prepared five and noted it as one of his favorite cuts for the smoker. 

“That’s our story,” McPherson said. 

He shared this program capitalizes on an existing interest to broaden the knowledge and skills consumers need to create the best eating experience with beef — and in turn, increase beef demand. 

“Smoke Lab positions Beef Loving Texans as experts in smoking beef, adding credibility and clout to the brand,” Mora added. 

Toward this goal, McPherson shared practical tips to make smoking meats at home achievable for everyone in the audience — regardless of the tools they have. He walked participants through selecting their beef at the grocery store all the way to using everything from a kettle grill to an offset smoker for preparation.

These practical tips are exactly what Smoke Lab attendee and Central Texas rancher Gabe Jennings appreciated about the experience. Not only did he walk away with newfound knowledge for his own backyard barbecue, but he also noted ways to encourage his direct-to-consumer beef customers in their own culinary journey. 

“Jerry made beef approachable for everyone there,” Jennings said. “He did an excellent job of showing that beef provides a great eating experience for all budgets and skill sets by keeping just a few simple principles in mind.”

Ultimately, the excitement of barbecue drew consumers in and provided an ideal platform to share beef’s story and answer questions about producers and their role in bringing the product to the plate. 

Beyond Smoke Lab

The program’s unprecedented popularity is producing results. Through strategic partnerships with Austin-based social media influencers, the waitlist for Smoke Lab has skyrocketed to more than 700 eager registrants. 

“The November 2024 Smoke Lab class sold out in just 2.5 hours, driven by the buzz created by influencer social media posts,” Mora said.

In total, the social media campaign accumulated 139,800 views across all platforms, with the highest performance coming from one particular Instagram post — which garnered 131,000 views alone. The influencers averaged 41 comments per post, indicating solid audience interaction and significant engagement. 

As this summer’s Smoke Lab concluded, the in-person engagement was just as prevalent. When McPherson opened the floor to questions, one of the first was about what other programs Beef Loving Texans offers to learn more about cooking beef — a promising signal of consumer beef demand. 

To read more about the Ultimate Beef Loving Texans Smoke Lab or other Beef Loving Texans initiatives, visit BeefLovingTexans.com. 

Kayla is a mom of two and no stranger to the beef industry. She and her husband reside in Mason, Texas raising cattle and enjoying the ranching way of life. She is a proud partner of Texas Beef Council as we reach producers across Texas.