Pitmaster Smoke School is in Session

If your idea of summer perfection includes smoke curling through the air, a cold drink in hand, and friends hovering around the grill saying, “How did you DO this?” then clear your calendar.

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Pitmaster Smoke School 2026 is coming to Pensacola, and it’s your chance to go from enthusiastic backyard griller to full-on BBQ royalty.

Hosted by Pensacola EggFest, this isn’t a watch from the sidelines kind of class.

It’s a hands-on, hair smells like smoke education led by a crew of pitmasters who have cooked and won on some of the biggest BBQ stages in the world.

Smoke, Skill & Serious Cred

The Pitmaster Smoke School is led by the Pensacola EggFest crew, a team with years of competition experience and nearly a decade of elite training under legendary pitmaster Big Moe Cason.

As part of Team Moe Cason, these pitmasters have walked the stage at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and The Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue, which is basically the Super Bowl and the Masters of BBQ.

But here’s the part we really love at Local Pulse: This crew has helped raise and donate over $1 million to local charities through BBQ and their #GoodFood for a #GoodCause mission.

When you attend Smoke School, 100% of proceeds benefit local nonprofits, including Ronald McDonald House, Hadji Shrine, and Shriners Hospitals for Children.

So you’re leveling up your brisket and doing good. That’s a win-win with BBQ sauce on top.

What You’ll Learn (and Actually Use)

This class is built for real-world cooking whether your goal is competition BBQ or just being the most requested cookout host in your friend group.

You’ll see demos on Big Green Eggs and GMG Pellet Smokers, but the techniques apply to any setup: Big Green Egg, Weber kettle, pellet smoker, offset stick burner, drum smoker, you name it. If it makes smoke, the knowledge transfers.

As a Pensacola Eggfest team member put it, “When you’re competing against the absolute best teams in the world, the knowledge, intensity, and precision, it’s just different.”

Now that difference is coming to your backyard.

You’ll learn the full process, from selection to slicing, for these BBQ hall-of-famers:

Brisket
Flat vs. point, fat management, seasoning and injection basics, wrap timing, doneness cues, resting, and slicing for tenderness.

Pork Shoulder
Building bark without drying it out, managing long cooks, pulling techniques, and keeping every bite juicy.

Ribs
Trimming for uniformity, texture targets, wrap timing, and clean slicing—no mushy ribs allowed.

Chicken
Bite-through skin, moisture balance, and finishing techniques that work on any grill.

These are competition-proven methods, simplified for backyard cooks. And you’ll be tasting and evaluating every finished protein. Because research is important.

Bonus: The Butcher’s Holy Trinity 🥩

Featuring Kevin Green of The Butcher Shoppe as your guide, you’ll dive into three often-overlooked cuts every pitmaster should master:

• Tri-Tip
• Picanha
• Hanger Steak (aka The Butcher’s Cut)

You’ll learn how to select, season, cook, slice, and serve these crowd-pleasers for maximum flavor, perfect for weeknights and show-off dinners.

A Little International Flavor

Cofounder Doug Jolly, the crew’s globetrotter, recently helped serve BBQ feasts to thousands of Marines in Okinawa, Japan, and taught live-fire techniques at the International Food Festival in Doha, Qatar in January 2026.

One Doha demo, featuring Tri-Tip and Picanha cooked on a tailgate-style kettle, had Steve Harvey and audience members losing their minds. Adaptability, folks. That’s pitmaster energy.

Sauces, Finishes & Feel

You’ll also cover:

• House-made sauces
• When to sauce (and when not to)
• Balancing sweet, heat, acid, and fat
• How to confidently create your own sauces at home

The Smoke School philosophy is simple: This isn’t about one grill or one recipe.
It’s about managing fire, understanding the process, and developing feel, so you know why things work, not just what to do.

There’s Food & Beer

Included with your ticket:

• A BBQ lunch prepared by the pitmasters (with homemade sides and extras)
• Cold beer from Pensacola Bay Brewery
• A copy of the Pensacola Eggfest #GoodFood Cookbook to take home

BONUS for Eggheads 🥚

Pensacola EggFest is also hosting a closeout sale on a limited number of brand-new Big Green Eggs leftover from November’s event.

These are deeply discounted, lower than demo pricing, and all proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House of Northwest Florida and the Hadji Shrine, supporting Shriners Hospitals for Children. There are only a few, and they will go fast.

Final Verdict: Should You Get Your Ticket?

If you’ve ever wanted to:

• Cook with confidence
• Understand BBQ at a deeper level
• Support incredible local charities
• And maybe earn that “King of the BBQ” title this summer

Pitmaster Smoke School 2026 is calling your name. Follow the smoke to this link: https://bit.ly/PitMasterSmokeSchool2026

Local Pulse Community Voice:  Jerold Hall