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Some of the nation’s most accomplished pitmasters are veterans. Here are three of the very best:
Feges BBQ, Houston, Texas
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For Patrick Feges, the road to barbecue began in Ramadi, Iraq, when he was severely wounded in a mortar attack in November 2004.
While recovering from his injuries and being medically discharged from the Army, “a fellow soldier gifted me his old smoker,” Feges told AARP Experience Counts. He fell in love with cooking on the Brinkmann smoker and decided to go to culinary school in Austin.
He and his wife Erin, a former executive chef and sommelier, opened Feges BBQ together in 2018. Feges, who is self-taught as a barbecuer, is known as the “whole hog guy.” He said: “At the 2015 Houston BBQ Festival, I cooked my first whole hog. I've been doing them ever since. As far as I know, right now we are one of two barbecue restaurants in Texas that serve whole hog every day.”
Feges makes a point of sharing his success, offering free meals every Friday to all veterans, now serving up about 70 free meals per week. And he’s not the only pitmaster giving back.
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Veterans BBQ Camp, Mount Juliet, Tennessee
As a Marine, Frank Magana oversaw convoy security through dangerous routes in Iraq, clearing roadside bombs in Fallujah and elsewhere in Anbar province. “After I came back from my second tour, I couldn’t relax. You train yourself overseas to always be alert, and I couldn’t let go of that,” he told AARP Experience Counts.
“I wanted to be around people again, but I didn’t feel that comfortable out in public. So, I found a way to have them come to me instead by doing barbecues at my house.”
After lots of positive feedback, he invested in a food truck, The Hearty Hog, which ended up winning “best in the county” in the Nashville area for three years in a row.
“One day I was like, ‘I’m going to teach veterans how to barbecue,’” he recalled. “It helped me to get back to my extroverted, past self, so I thought it might help others as well.”
In 2020, Magana held the first Veterans BBQ Camp, providing three days’ camping with free smokers and cooking gear donated by companies.
Veterans learn how to do rubs, make sauces, butcher hogs and operate a wood smoker, slow cooking ribs and Boston butts. The fourth day is open to the public, with live music and sampling stations at each grill.
“A barbecue isn’t just about the food,” he said. “It’s a soulful gathering, with people hanging out.” His goal is to take the program nationwide, offering retreats every month and focusing on disaster relief.
Smith’s Smokehouse, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Rashad Smith served in the 82nd Aviation Combat Brigade and retired from the Army in 2020. Stuck at home during the pandemic, he spent time in the backyard trying to recreate the delicious brisket he’d once tasted in Texas. After plenty of trial and error, he finally succeeded and bought barbecue plates.
Rashad and his wife Saadia began doing outdoor pop-ups in the Raleigh area, adding smoothies to the mix and selling out regularly. They opened Smith’s Smokehouse in Wake Forest in 2022. Smith describes the barbecue he makes as “Smitty-Style,” a reference to his Army nickname.
It’s a departure from the typical pork and vinegar-based sauce style of North Carolina. Smoked oxtail, one of their most popular dishes, was inspired by the Caribbean influences of his Florida upbringing. It’s served on the first Friday of every month.
“Once my cousin asked me, ‘You ever thought about putting ox tails on a smoker?’ And I was like, ‘Nah, but you know what, that sounds next level, man!’
“Back home we’d put it in a pot with chicken broth and let it simmer low. All I did was create that same effect but put it on a smoker. It softens up and does a draw back from the bone so the meat just comes off effortlessly."
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