Former Fayetteville firefighter Bobby Brinson can handle the heat.
The grill master has competed in over 150 barbecue competitions, has plenty of trophies in his workshop, and owns and operates Vicious Pig, one of Cumberland County’s busiest food trucks.
Customers who know what he’s doing line up at his serving window long before his shop opens, hoping to grab a plate.
Brinson says his food sells out quickly – in less than an hour he serves 60 pounds of pork, 14 racks of ribs, 12 pounds of burnt ends, 20 pieces of chicken, 15 pounds of potato salad and 10 pounds of baked beans – while his wife, Morgan, checks out customers.
“You open a window, sell everything and feel like you’ve been in a damn kickboxing match,” he said Thursday at his home in Stedman.
Brinson, 49, who played on the South View High School golf team in the 1990s, cooks meat over a wood-fired smoker and makes his own barbecue spices and sauces.
The Hope Mills native said he is best known for his pork ribs, which are coated with a special blend of spices, smoked for about two hours, glazed with a mixture of honey, brown sugar and maple syrup, wrapped in foil and smoked for about two more hours.
The grill master said he doesn’t cook by time or temperature, but by feeling.
“Everyone wants ribs that fall off the bone, but in the culinary world that means they’re cooked way too long,” he said. “The desired texture in ribs is like a stick of butter at room temperature.”
While meat and potatoes have been Brinson’s staple since he opened the truck in early 2022, he also makes collard greens, coleslaw, barbecue tacos and smoked apple caramel pie.
The self-taught chef recently put together a festival menu that included barbecue nachos, smoked street corn, sausage dogs, bright leaf hot dogs and a barbecue “sundae” made of pork, beans and coleslaw in a cup.
Vicious Pig started with barbecue competitions
Brinson said he often grilled burgers and steaks for his fellow firefighters during his 30 years of service with the Fayetteville Fire Department.
He later became interested in barbecue and learned it through YouTube videos and cooking classes. In 2013, he began competing in barbecue competitions under the name Vicious Pig up to 25 times a year, mostly in the Southeast but sometimes as far away as Texas, he said.
These days, he competes in about 10 competitions a year, hosts his own Southern Barbecue Network-sanctioned “Vicious Pig BBQ Throwdown” every fall on his 5-acre property in Stedman, and serves on the committee for Fayetteville’s Black BBQ Cook-Off.
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It’s easy to tell that Brinson loves his craft. The Vicious Pig trailer, which has a perfect hygiene rating, is immaculate. Recipes and detailed schedules with instructions starting as early as 3:30 a.m. are neatly organized in a binder.
He admits, however, that when he leaves the red and black trailer, the last thing he wants to eat is grilled food.
“When I leave a competition, the first thing I do is go to McDonald’s to get a fish fillet sandwich,” he said, giggling.
Brinson is a chef, caterer, food truck owner and father
In addition to competing and running the food truck, Brinson caters weddings, corporate events and parties, is a chef for the Veterans Golfers Association in Pinehurst and is a father to his three children, ages 4, 17 and 18.
“I wear three hats,” he said. “Actually, four, because I’m also a cool dad.”
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Brinson is a welcoming and open guy and said that at heart he is a grill master with a passion for barbecue.
“I have experience with this and I’m a grill guy,” he said.
The details
Phone: 910-635-7617
Contact: [email protected]
On the Internet: facebook.com/fearthepig
Hours: Vicious Pig can usually be found at First Bank, 2818 Raeford Road, on Wednesdays from 12pm-2pm. Check Facebook and Instagram for updates.
