Soweto’s smoked meat master makes waves

Standing with his apron smelling of smoke and spices, Mpho Nkomo, 31, has become a name synonymous with the art of smoked meat in Soweto.

Operating in the modest backyard of his family home in Chiawelo, the bright orange smoker stands proudly at the centre of the small driveway, its steel body bearing the marks of countless hours spent perfecting the art of smoking meat.

The aroma of slow-cooked meat has become a distinct feature of the mouthwatering platters that have made Something Smoked Roadhouse BBQ a local sensation.

Something Smoked Roadhouse BBQ

“My first brisket was so horrific that no-one could stomach it,” he recalled.

The early mistakes only fuelled his passion to master the craft.

In 2019, Mpho was retrenched and without a steady income, he ventured into entrepreneurship, starting with a custom furniture-making business.

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The venture faced significant challenges and by 2021 it took a severe hit, eventually leading to its failure.

But Nkomo’s creativity and determination wouldn’t allow him to give up.

That same year, he decided to build a smoker from scratch and immerse himself in the art of smoking meat.

Art of smoking meat

Inspired by his background as a boilermaker, he designed the smoker and began experimenting.

“We used to braai almost every weekend.

“I often manned the braai stand and it became a tradition among our circle of friends, without knowing a seed had been planted,” he said.

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It was during one of the braais that a friend introduced him to various cuts of meat and the idea of smoking them.

“My friend brought a platter of various cuts of meat to change our menu and that was the first time I was introduced to smoked meat.

“The idea stuck with me and after tasting it, that day changed my life.

‘That day changed my life’

“I posted on social media my dream platter with a smoker behind it, cementing the idea of the new vision of the business,” he said.

Each week, the meticulous process begins on Tuesday when he sources the meat.

The following day he starts preparing the meat, cooling it as needed.

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Thursdays are dedicated to slow cooking, with some cuts like brisket, taking up to 16 hours in the smoker.

Nkomo’s curiosity led him to learn more through TV shows like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, which helped him hone his skills.

“I have always been curious, my interest in smoking meat grew from the shows and I started researching. “When we first started, people in the township were unfamiliar with smoked meat.

People were initially unfamiliar with smoked meat

“We began with pig heads and I made a lot of mistakes, which allowed me to learn the various meat temperatures and styles of cooking,” he told Saturday Citizen.

“It took a while to convince people, but they later warmed up to it.

“It’s not a braai, it’s very different and that’s what I love, offering a unique taste which is different from what people are accustomed to,” Nkomo said.

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He runs the business mostly on his own, with occasional help from his family on busy weekends.

“I learned everything on the street. It is reaffirming when people come from outside the province to try this crazy idea and have it sell out, because there was a point where we had little to no sales,” Nkomo said.

He hopes to expand into a fully fledged restaurant to accommodate the growing number of customers and turn Something Smoked Roadhouse into the “Amazon of BBQ”.

‘Amazon of BBQ’

“I used to think I’d go back to being a boilermaker, but now I see that I can make slow food fast and take it outside of Soweto. I hope to soon get investors, get a grand space and give back to the township economy – the people who made it possible for me to be where I am.”

He added: “Every time I look at the smoker, I instantly learn something new. I didn’t go to culinary school or have a business background.