Barbecue Showdown’s Meat Papi Has Joined Forces With Outfit Brewing

Luis Rivera Rodriguez’s first backyard smoked brisket came out perfect. He thought it was easy. Too easy. And maybe too good to be true. Turns out, it was. Rodriguez’s second, third and fourth briskets ... well, let’s just say they didn’t turn out as well as the first.

But Rodriguez kept at it, honing his craft one smoked brisket at a time. Eventually (after a TikTok post), he attracted the eye of Netflix’s Barbecue Showdown, a competition-based barbecue reality series. When they DM’d him, Rodriguez didn’t think it was real (nor did his mom).

“I thought it was a scam,” Rodriguez said, laughing. “And when I told my mother I was going to be filming for Netflix, she didn’t believe me. She cried when she saw me on the show.”

You can find Rodriguez, aka “Meat Papi,” on Season 3 of the series, where he competes for a $50,000 grand prize. You can also find him in person at one of our favorite breweries, Outfit Brewing.
The key connection that paved the way for Rodriguez to land at Outfit was his friendship with Outfit operations manager Zack Flagg. And with many breweries these days offering standout food options to set themselves apart, the team at Outfit felt this was a component they were missing.

Recently, Outfit and Meat Papi himself treated influencers and press to a glimpse of what Outfit’s food will be like going forward. And the early returns were (very) promising.

Brisket and lechon (Caribbean-style pulled pork) were served the following ways: brisket-stuffed arepas with Venezuelan cabbage and Meat Papi’s from-scratch sauces (aside from the white crema), plantain tostones topped with brisket, yuca croquettes topped with brisket or lechon, “Papi” bowls of Latin rice (with either brisket or lechon) and Venezuelan cabbage, brisket by itself and cups of fire-roasted elote with sweet peppers, cilantro and brisket.
It was all good, but the brisket (as good brisket tends to do) stole the show. On a scale grading brisket tenderness from one to 10, this brisket would’ve broken the scale.

Rodriguez was born in Venezuela and raised on the south side of Chicago, and the influences of each can be seen in his cooking as he fuses a variety of flavors in his dishes.

“I pay homage to Venezuelan, Mexican and American cooking. I’m Venezuelan, but I consider myself an American. I’m a little bit of everything,” said Rodriguez.

“I had a good government job before this, with benefits and everything. I’ve risked all that because of how deeply I believe in this. I want Dallas to be my new home. And as much as I loved being on the show, being on television wasn’t my dream. My dream is to serve my food to people like you all. This is my Thanksgiving.”
Outfit Brewing, 7135 John W. Carpenter Freeway (State Highway 183). BBQ hours Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.