“Everything Smoking” with Brian Bray of Fatty Calf BBQ
Hosts John Moulton and Sean Gowing fire up the mics for a meat-filled, no-filter deep dive into the world of competition BBQ with Brian Bray, welder-by-day, pitmaster-by-passion, and reigning champ of Glenrock’s Fall Fest smoking competition with his team Fatty Calf.
This episode is pure barbecue nerd heaven.
The Highlights
How it all started – Brian didn’t set out to become a competition guy. It began when his brother-in-law Austin roped him into building a massive stick-burner out of a 300-gallon air tank for a church catering gig. One cook for 250–300 people later, the bug bit hard. That homemade trailer smoker is still their main rig years later.
Stick-burner vs. pellet grill – Brian is unapologetic: “There’s nothing wrong with a Traeger for the backyard… but real wood smoke tastes different. You can tell hickory sticks from hickory pellets every time.”
The science of smoke – Detailed talk on airflow, convection waves inside the cooker, collector designs, double-stacking the smoke stack to beat Wyoming wind, and why you want thin blue (almost invisible) smoke, not big white clouds of “dirty smoke.”
Competition war stories – From the early days of Fall Fest in the dirt lot to KCBS events in Casper (28–30 teams crammed downtown in 100°+ heat), and why Brian still prefers the laid-back Glenrock vibe.
Chicken is the real pain – Brisket and pork butts are straightforward. Competition chicken? You’re shaving fat off the underside of the skin, squaring it up, re-wrapping thighs like origami so a judge can take a perfect bite that cuts clean. “It’s a process.”
People’s Choice > Ribbons – Brian lights up talking about winning the crowd at Fall Fest. “When regular folks tell you it’s the best bite they had all day, that means way more than a judge’s scorecard.”
Fall Fest feedback & future plans – More meat next year (way more), shorter lines, maybe a quick presentation class for teams, a new “cook’s choice side dish” category (cheesy smoked potatoes, anyone?), and possibly a Cook’s Choice award voted on by the pitmasters themselves.
Bonus recipe drop – Raspberry–cream cheese jalapeño poppers wrapped in bacon. Sweet, creamy, spicy, smoky perfection. Brian says they disappear every family cookout.
Vibe Check
The chemistry is spot-on: John and Sean keep it loose with Wyoming trivia (everyone bombed the Yellowstone size question), cold beers, and constant laughs, while Brian drops knowledge bombs like a guy who genuinely loves feeding people and geeking out over fire.
At just under an hour, Episode 2 is the audio equivalent of standing around a smoker at 2 a.m. with good friends, swapping stories and stealing bites off the cutting board.
Stream it now on the Elevate Glenrock website or wherever you get podcasts. If you’ve ever wondered why competition BBQ people are absolutely obsessed… this is the episode that’ll get you hooked.
Want to sponsor an episode or come on as a guest with John and Sean?
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
