- After losing his mining job and failing at furniture, Mpho Nkomo found success smoking meat Texas-style.
- Something Smoked only operates on weekends, dishing up brisket, ribs and American-style sides.
Mpho Nkomo didn’t let retrenchment or a failed steel furniture business stop him. Instead, he fired up a smoker and brought Texas barbecue to Chiawelo, Soweto.
Nkomo, a qualified boilermaker, first planned to build a braai stand. But he decided to do something different — he built a smoker and launched his business in his grandmother’s backyard.
He called it Something Smoked Road House Barbecue, a nod to the house’s location on Chris Hani Road.
“We are different because we do authentic Texas barbecue,” said Nkomo. “We are true to what they are doing in Texas, from the meat and the sides. We don’t compromise and do pap and chakalaka.”
Unlike South Africa’s usual shisanyama, where the meat is grilled hot and fast, Nkomo smokes his meat low and slow with no direct heat.
Brisket is cooked for 16 hours and left to rest for another 12. Spare ribs are smoked just enough to leave a bite mark. Other meats on the menu include pork shoulder, pork belly, beef ribs (also known as baby backs), rib tips, short ribs, turkey drumsticks, chicken and smoked sausages stuffed with cheese or pork.
And it’s not just about the meat. The sides bring the American flavour home. Customers get mac and cheese, Mexican street corn (also called elotes), potato salad, coleslaw, pico de gallo — similar to salsa — and a Texan bean salad known as barbecue pit beans or “Texas caviar”.
Something Smoked only runs on weekends from Friday to Sunday — perfect timing for anyone needing a delicious break from the week.
Pictured above: Mpho Nkomo serves up smoked ribs and brisket in his Soweto backyard.
Image source: Supplied by Mpho
