When you hear "melt in your mouth," meat might not be your first thought — but it should be. In Soweto, South Africa, Mpho Nkomo is serving Texas barbecue with township soul.
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00:00Would South Africans really swap their much-loved hot and fast braai for a low and slow barbecue?
00:08The braai is a heritage. It's more of the culture of Soweto and South Africa.
00:14But this is something different.
00:18Mpongkomo is Soweto's king of smoked meat, serving up Texas barbecue from his grandmother's backyard.
00:25Before we hear the story of former boilermaker, now turned barbecue pitmaster,
00:31what's the difference between a South African braai and a Texas-style barbecue?
00:36The braai is putting meat over a direct fire.
00:42And then barbecue, the meat doesn't see the fire.
00:45You're only cooking with smoke, smoke and heat.
00:49So, how did Mpongkomo become the brisket boss of the township?
00:53If you find the magic in something that you like, you're very lucky.
00:58I liked barbecue, so I kept on going.
01:01A lot of people laughed at me because they were ignorant.
01:05It was new to them, so they laughed at me.
01:07They used to ask me, what are you doing?
01:10One of my close friends used to ask me, what are you doing?
01:13Just go back to work and go look for a job.
01:16But because I was obsessed and I was sucked in barbecue, I believed that I would do this.
01:24After losing his job, Mpongkomo devoted himself to mastering the art of smoking meat,
01:29something he first discovered when a colleague brought a sample to work.
01:33After having smoked meat, it changed my life.
01:37I started doing barbecue after being laid off at work.
01:41And then I had a furniture business and then COVID hit.
01:45And then I thought, what's next?
01:48So, barbecue was something that I planned before, that I want to do this.
01:54So, I started barbecuing for my friends and family at my backyard.
01:58They would tell me that, why shouldn't I sell this meat?
02:03They enjoyed my food.
02:05And then that's when I started taking it seriously.
02:10How did he learn all of this?
02:13University of YouTube.
02:15And the experience I had, that little experience and the understanding of how this machine works.
02:23So, that's an advantage for me.
02:26And I'm a qualified polarmaker.
02:27So, I understood the science behind it and how it worked.
02:31My first, my first brisket, even my dog wouldn't eat the brisket.
02:36It was so bad compared to now.
02:40What's the verdict on Texan barbecue from his South African customers?
02:45Soft, melts in your mouth.
02:47Everything is just soft.
02:48Everything is cooked well.
02:49With his boiler-making experience, he even built his own smokers.
02:53This one, on my right, it took me like four weeks.
02:59Four weeks.
02:59And the orange one, it took me like five months because I was in a rush.
03:05I just wanted it to be perfect.
03:07With some meat spending around 16 hours in the smoker, surely this is a job that requires skill and patience.
03:14But, is this hours-long barbecue effort enough to rival a proudly South African braai?
03:21It's succulent.
03:23It's out of this world.
03:24There is no better way to enjoy meat than this.
03:28In addition to brisket, the meaty menu also boasts pork belly, ribs, sausage, and a number of American sides like mac and cheese.
03:37We operate only weekends because there's a lot of work and prep that we do during the week.
03:45So, Monday is our off days.
03:49And then from Wednesday to Tuesday, it's where we do groceries because now we don't use any meat.
03:57So, there's specific cuts that we travel for.
04:01Another reason is barbecue, it's not a South African thing.
04:06So, for us to operate during the week, there must be a demand.
04:13There's a lot of things.
04:15There's wood, there's expensive, and there's meat.
04:20So, just for us to light these things, it must make sense that we catch a big crowd.
04:28But barbecue takes time and expertise.
04:32The long hours, it's just a labor of love.
04:35Who would have thought that a boilermaker turned barbecue enthusiast could transform a neighborhood corner into the hottest spot in town?
04:45Phumpho, slow and steady has won the race.
04:48Would you wait hours for the perfect brisket?