Remember your first bite of Texas brisket? Kareem El-Ghayesh certainly does.
In fact, that first bite was so inspiring that he moved from Egypt halfway across the globe to pursue his newfound passion for Texas-style barbecue in its home state.
After winning over customers to his smoked meats truck, KG BBQ, El-Ghayesh is now hoping to win over the judges in the newest season of “Barbecue Showdown,” premiering, appropriately enough, on July 4 on Netflix. He is one of nine pitmasters vying for a grand prize of $50,000.
El-Ghayesh joined the Standard to discuss the show and his barbecue business. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: I understand Netflix claims tens of thousands of barbecuers applied. It’s quite an accomplishment to get selected for this show. I understand your barbecue stood out in large part because of how you infuse it with flavors from back home. What is it? A little bit of Egypt by way of Texas?
Kareem El-Ghayesh: I found my deep love for barbecue on a random visit to the U.S. back in 2012, when I came here to visit an Egyptian friend. I tried barbecue and it just captivated me. I fell in love with it, and I’ve changed my whole life around to pursue this passion.
I quit my job and left my country and moved here to cook barbecue for a living. I trained under so many pitmasters here in Austin, and I got the inspiration from working with some of them and seeing what they do with barbecue and the fusions they create to fuse my own food. I really think that the future of barbecue is moving toward fusion.
» WHERE THERE’S SMOKE: Check out stories from Texas Standard’s ongoing barbecue series
What do you infuse in your barbecue that makes it different? I mean, when I think of Egyptian cuisine, I often think of dishes like shawarma, for example.
Egyptian cuisine is highly underrated. A lot of it is what you think of in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisines like the fresh breads, the fresh salads, pickles, tahini, yogurt, lots of garlic, herbs and mint – all of these lighter, brighter, fresher notes that really complement barbecue, because barbecue is quite rich, you know. You can eat it and, like, you don’t really crave it for a while.