Arby’s may “have the meats,” but Winters has something better: Big Sexy Meats. This savory enterprise is just getting started and made with all the home-grown ingredients that make Winters’ businesses oh-so-sweet.
Kaplan Smith and Kyle Ward are brothers with a passion for food. They’ve cooked at family gatherings, cooked for others on numerous occasions over the years and the results were always the same – people love what they whip up. One day, after Smith bought a rather oversized smoker, the brothers began cooking up a business plan.
“He came home one day with this smoker and we thought we can’t just put one brisket on there, we can’t be trying a bunch of food if we’re cooking for ourselves. We have to share with people,” Ward said about the namesake and start of the brothers’ barbecue business. “The name works well too because we both pride ourselves in big meat. Prime rib, pig, al pastor on a rotisserie. It’s something we’ve both killed it at.”
Challenges — like with any startup — have been an undeniable a-la-carte for Smith and Ward’s business. The brothers, however, take every challenge in stride and put in the work needed to serve up plate after plate of delicious passion.
“Cooking is the easy part and we both enjoy that, and since we’ve sold some trays we’ve gotten better at the coordination and timing of everything,” Smith said talking about the process. “It’s a lot of prep work pickling onions, making sauces and candying jalapeños. It’s a week-long process then you factor in the cleaning. We love talking to people and laughing and enjoying conversation with customers, but the logistics and cleaning are my nightmare.”
While some argue to never go into business with family, Smith and Ward aren’t really in business, rather, enjoying time with one another and cooking great food. Of course, it’s natural for brothers to get beneath each other’s skin, but the Big Sexy Meats crew hold no grudges, works through difficulties and holds steadfast to why they began this whole thing — having fun.
“We’ve learned a lot just by doing it. The first time we made sausage it tasted great, the second time we had some hurdles with the ribs, but we learn every time we do it and from those hurdles,” Ward said. “From grinding the meat, to packing it, to trimming the brisket to seasoning the meat. It’s a learning process and the more you do it the better you get and feels normal.”
Barbecue joints are known for their staples and stick to it. Big Sexy Meats, however, is always pushing boundaries and experimenting with different meats and flavors that coincide with their fan-favorites.
“We’re always trying to do some traditional Texas stuff as far as brisket because it’s rare to find out here, but we want to challenge ourselves making new things and creating new sausages and whatnot,” Smith said explaining their flavorful trail-blazing creations. “We have staples that’ll always be there, but we want to make new items and let people taste something different.”
If any skepticism about Big Sexy Meats exists, it’s worth knowing their pop-up at Hooby’s Brewing on Saturday, Oct. 9, completely sold out in a little over two hours.
From pop-ups to parties and everything in between, Big Sexy Meats is ready to serve. The best way to view their mouth-watering dishes — and to reach out for inquiries — is to visit their Instagram page @big_sexy_meats.
