Fort Worth-area pitmaster ready for Bobby Flay, TV role on Food Network’s ‘BBQ Brawl’
The little barbecue shed in Denton County is about to be famous.
Smiley’s Craft Barbecue, the work of a former Austin pitmaster bringing craft barbecue to first Ponder and now Roanoke, will be in the spotlight at 8 p.m. Mondays this summer on Food Network’s new season of “BBQ Brawl.”
Smiley’s pit boss Brendan Lamb is one of 12 “barbecue stars” nationwide teamed with chef-hosts Bobby Flay, Michael Symon and Eddie Jackson for 10 weeks of smoking and grilling to compete for the title “Master of ‘Cue.”
Lamb spent years in California trying to make it as an actor before coming home to become a pitmaster in Austin and now in Roanoke in a brewery at 206 N. Oak St.
So — of course — Food Network has discovered him through barbecue posts on Instagram.
“I got this message one night saying, ‘Would you like to be on Food Network?’ “ Lamb said.
“”I’m on the show with mostly trained chefs — French chefs, bakery chefs ... I didn’t even go to cooking school,” he said.
Smiley’s began as a nondescript trailer and shed on Farm Road 156, then moved last year to the brewery in Roanoke.
“We were open three weeks before the pandemic and had a line out the door every day,” he said. “Then — nothing.”
Crowds have picked back up Thursdays through Sundays for Lamb’s brisket, bacon burnt ends, fried potato “brisket balls” and secret-menu items such as a “brisket sundae” of mashed potatoes topped with brisket, corn, beans, Fritos and barbecue sauce.
A prime-time weekly Food Channel show will get Lamb the attention he otherwise couldn’t get in Roanoke, although Texas barbecue fans find him.
He’s in Roanoke because “Babes Chicken was my go-to place all the time growing up,” he said. “My mission is to have my own place in Roanoke.”
Obviously, “BBQ Brawl” isn’t spilling any secrets about how Lamb finished in the contest.
The show’s publicity says two rounds of challenges in each episode test skills “along with how well they work together as a team.” while judges Carson Kressley, Rodney Scott and Brooke Williamson decide which team failed and which competitor was the “weakest link.”
The season premiere is a special 90-minute show from Austin.
Viewers “are going to see what everyone’s got,” Lamb said.
“Everybody brings out their big flavors. You’ll see me trying to impress the three captains.”
He’s the “keep it simple” guy on the show, he said.
“Some people overthink barbecue with their 15 different spices,” he said. “I want the meat to shine through. I just try to get good beef and add salt and pepper.”
He had to adjust his recipes.
“I cook my barbecue in 16 hours — the longest I had to cook anything on the show was four hours,” he said.
The first episode of “BBQ Brawl,” “Introduce Your ‘Cue,” will show at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. June 14, noon and 9 p.m. June 17 and several more times over the network schedule.
Smiley’s is open for lunch and dinner Thursdays through Sundays, with specialty items such as burnt ends or brisket balls running low by early afternoon; 817-675-2656, facebook.com/SmileysBarbecue.
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
