This article appeared in The Tyler Morning Telegraph newspaper many, many years ago, but the heart of the article is still true today. Clint Shockey and the Shockey family members have aged, but they still have a passion for barbeque! And, East Texas Smoker Company still builds amazing custom BBQ trailers and custom cook trailers. Since the article appeared in 2010, the company's product selection and the "bells and whistles" have increased and the customer base has expanded worldwide. Today, Clint still says "If you can dream it, we can build it." I thought you would enjoy this look back in time.
TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010
FRONT PAGE OF THE FOOD SECTION, by Leigh Vickery, Food Editor
SMOKIN' -- WE'RE HOT FOR TEXAS BARBEQUE
Shockey's Smokers are hot commodities
The East Texas Smoker Co. grew out of the Shockey family's love of barbecue. While in college, Clint Shockey, 33, built a barbecue smoker for his family but ended up selling it. "One thing led to another, and it hasn't stopped yet," his 37-year-old brother Heath Shockey said. The brothers grew up in Tyler.
While Heath Shockey attended the Texas State Technical College and worked in telecommunications and the food industry, Clint Shockey graduated with a business finance degree from The University of Texas at Tyler and started the business after college.
Clint Shockey's wife, Morgan Shockey, said her husband built his first barbecue pit as a hobby and decided to build a second one, making it better. He has continued to tweak them along the way, she added. Heath Shockey said that first one built in 2004 was a simple pit on a 6-foot trailer. Now, gone are the traditional smokers. They make pits on 20-foot trailers with Wi-Fi, satellite and stereo systems, televisions and hot water heaters. "You can log onto it by iPhone now," he said.]
FAMILY BUSINESS
Mrs. Shockey, 29, grew up in Tyler and has a degree in public relations from UT Tyler. She and Clint Shockey have been married for five years, have two sons and own the business together. She keeps the books and does a little bit of everything. Mrs. Shockey said working with family is nice because it means they are always "on your side and you don't have to worry about trust." Heath Shockey has helped with his brother's business through the years, but he officially came on board about six months ago, doing sales and operations.
"We all pitch in and do quite a bit," Heath Shockey said. Mrs. Shockey said her husband doesn't build the smokers anymore and has a more laid-back role now. They have eight employees. Heath Shockey said they have a "tight knit family"; and they cook something on their custom smoker weekly.
On Tuesday afternoon, he was smoking pork butts with the plan to eat as much as they can before Mrs. Shockey used the leftovers to make tamales, turning it into a three- or four-day meal, he said. Mrs. Shockey said her favorite smoked meat is pulled pork because it is one of the easiest meats to smoke, and the possibilities of what to make with the leftovers are endless. "You can go crazy with it," she said.
Heath Shockey said they travel somewhere with their smoker monthly, including to competitions, golf tournaments or other events. The Shockey family's smoker is 17-by-6-foot-11-inches. It has awnings, satellite, TV, a warming box, slide-out cutting board, stainless steel sink with a restaurant-grade facet, chrome wheels, hot water heater, 4-gallon Cajun fryer, 36-inch griddle and a Kicker stereo and sound system. The Shockeys have several customers who compete on barbecue teams, and they attend competitions all across the country, Heath Shockey said, adding that they sponsor some teams. When they enter into competitions, they enter in the Shockey name, not the business, he said. They compete with ribs, brisket, pulled pork and chicken, but Heath Shockey's favorites are pulled pork and ribs. "The thing I love about it is I can do something different every time," he said, adding that he can use honey one time and brown sugar the next.
GROWING BUSINESS
The Shockeys have grown the company from selling about 25 smokers a year to about 120 smokers a year, Mrs. Shockey said. Clint Shockey started it in a one-car garage as a hobby and made it into a business that has had to expand multiple times. When he wanted to turn his hobby into a business, she told him he was crazy, Mrs. Shockey said, adding that she never thought it would grow to where it is today. After moving out of the garage, they rented several ever-increasing spaces before buying the property outside of New Chapel Hill four years ago. Since then, they have had to add on to the shop every year as the business continues to grow. Heath Shockey said summertime is their busiest time of year, and they are booked with orders until August. Their clients are made up of people on competition teams and business owners who use them to cater events or cook for employees. Some businesses have bought rigs for multiple locations. Other people use the smokers recreationally, such as in their backyard, tailgating or parties. They have clients all across the country, as well as several in Canada and have shipped a smoker to Barbados, Mrs. Shockey said. "We specialize in bigger trailers," Heath Shockey said.
BELLS, WHISTLES
Mrs. Shockey said they can build something plain that is made to cook barbeque, or add all of the bells and whistles to be a showpiece. The custom smokers can run from $3,700 to whatever the customer wants, Heath Shockey said, adding that they did a bid for a $500,000 smoker. "We can get you every option you want known to man for under $50,000," he said. "If they want something on there, we'll make it happen." A stereo system doesn't help anyone cook, but a griller often wants his smoker better than the next guy's, he said. It's those extra bells and whistles that have "taken us above and beyond" making just smokers, Heath Shockey said. "That's where our company has truly turned." He said a 35-foot Gooseneck trailer is the biggest smoker they have ever built. They also construct 20-foot cooling trailers, used mostly by South Texas businesses to allow their oil field workers a place to get out of the heat, Mrs. Shockey said. The most unique custom order Mrs. Shockey has seen is a man who had them paint his pit trailer to look like a continuation of his duel-colored truck.
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