Born and raised on the streets of Brooklyn, Piggy Smallz, also known as The Notorious P.I.G. started barbecuing at a young age. He started experimenting with Ribs and Chicken as a teenager and, not long after, befriended Sean “Piggy” Combs. His debut recipe “Ready to Eat” was a smash hit and his long running feud with TuPIG Shakur helped to shape his career.
Alright maybe I should tell how Piggy Smallz BBQ really started. Going back to my childhood I have always loved food, especially food I cooked. Growing up in an Italian household I learned by watching my Mom and Dad cook. Italian food was always my passion and the grill (as I called it because that’s all we had) was not my best area.
Then one day back in 2002 I went to Disney World and while walking through the park I came upon a giant smoked turkey leg. I thought it was one of the greatest things I had ever tasted. I knew it was going to be a long time before I would get back to Disney so I had to figure out a way to make this on my own. When I got home the first thing I did was research everything I could about smoked turkey legs. I bought a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker and my journey to becoming a pitmaster began.
Over the years my passion for BBQ grew beyond just smoked turkey legs and I have experimented with just about every meat, brine, rub, mop, sauce, smoker, grill, etc that you can imagine. A few years ago I decided to get some friends together that shared my passion for BBQ and we entered our first KCBS BBQ competition in 2015.
It was a heck of a learning experience that first time but as a team we have improved with every competition. Our team of myself, John Hayes, Edward Ingram, and Justin Miller look to continue competing in several contests a year and you can check out our schedule to catch up with us.
Please enjoy our site as many of the recipes you see have been the result of many attempts before I felt good enough about the end result that someone would truly want to make it over and over. Many of our recipes have videos to walk you through making some great BBQ and we are working to continue to grow our page. Also check out our shop where you can purchase many of the items we use for both BBQ at home and at competitions.
And one more thing…
People always want to know where the name came from. Well I was a teenager in the 90’s and besides owning “Ready to Die” and “Life After Death,” I may have been known to stand up at a party and do my best version of “Mo Money Mo Problems!” So the name just seemed to fit and if you come around our tent at competitions you may get treated to some of Biggie’s greatest hits.
~ Greg Gudis
