The Story

"Where Backyard Smoke Became a Family Legacy"

Slim Piggins BBQ didn’t start in a restaurant. It started in the backyard—right next to a beat-up smoker, under a string of lights, with laughter in the air and the smell of hickory hanging thick.

It began with two brother-in-laws, Justin and JD, and a beat-up old Weber kettle grill that had seen better days. Held together with rust and hope, it was just enough to get the coals hot and the ideas cooking. Every weekend, they’d fire it up in the backyard, chasing that perfect bark, that melt-in-your-mouth brisket, that one rib that made you close your eyes and nod like you’d just seen the light.

Every weekend, they’d gather around that little grill, testing rubs, tweaking sauces, and chasing the perfect bite. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to light a spark.

And Gary, Justin’s father, saw it.

A lifelong pitmaster in his own right, Gary recognized the passion in those backyard sessions. So he stepped in—not with advice, but with something better: his original, handmade pig roaster, built decades earlier from an old heating oil barrel. It was raw. It was rugged. And it was exactly what they needed to level up.

They learned the art of low and slow—how to be patient, how to let the smoke do the talking, and how to coax bold, mouthwatering flavor out of every cut of meat. That old barrel didn’t just cook BBQ—it forged a bond, a craft, and eventually, a business.