Photos by Elizabeth Gelineau
When Sean Miller received an email from “The Office” star, Brian Baumgartner, with an offer to be included in Baumgartner’s soon-to-be-published barbecue cookbook, Miller thought it was spam. But he decided to respond. Much to his surprise, the email was real, and Baumgartner wanted to include not one but three of Miller’s recipes in the book. After the cookbook was published, Baumgartner even sent him a signed copy of the cookbook with one more surprise: Miller’s pork belly recipe was featured on the cover.
A native of Spanish Fort, Miller did not set out to become the viral pitmaster that he is today, with over 20 million views, 1 million likes, 120,000 followers — and counting. As a child, Miller was exposed to your typical “dad grilling,” hamburgers and hot dogs in the backyard, but never smoked meat. In 2011, a friend gave him a $50 R2-D2 smoker from Home Depot and showed him what Miller calls a “Swiss cake roll of meat” filled with bacon and sausage. Immediately, Miller thought, “I want to do this.”
Born with a math brain, Miller had originally planned to study electrical engineering at Auburn University. Instead, he ended up in Chicago at Moody Bible Institute, earning a Master of Divinity. Since 2006, he has worked for a nonprofit where he currently serves as the assistant regional director overseeing 30 nations in the Caribbean. This career path landed him and his family in St. Kitts in 2012 for over two years and later in Turks and Caicos for over a year. “My time in the Caribbean is definitely part of my story with barbecue,” he says. “When we moved overseas, my wife and I quickly learned that grilling out was a big part of island life. A lot of the local residents were using converted water tanks retrofitted into a grill. They were making their own charcoal that you could buy for $20 a bag at the store. I had to learn how to cook directly and indirectly on these converted water tank grills. We weren’t cooking brisket, but I learned how to cook other types of meat with Caribbean seasonings and Caribbean processes. Those experiences are part of my journey.”
When Miller and his family returned to the US in 2015, they first settled in Montgomery, where Miller realized that he had no real hobbies, so he bought an electric Bradley Vertical Smoker and, as he puts it, “I started nerding out.”
He created his own barbecue masterclass of sorts, learning from Aaron Franklin in Austin by watching his shows on PBS as well as scouring online message boards and YouTube channels. “The best advice I ever received was, ‘The best way to make good brisket is to make bad brisket,’” he laughs. “I’ve made thousands of pounds of brisket, and that advice has proven true. Every brisket is unique. A pork butt is a pork butt, chicken is chicken, but brisket depends on the individual cow, what it ate…it’s a snowflake. It’s also the most challenging cut to make because it requires knowledge, and you learn as you’re doing it. There’s so much to consider: the bark formation, the intramuscular fat rendering. It’s truly a scientific process.”
Eventually, he needed a creative outlet for his growing hobby. He had been posting things on his personal social media account, but he wanted to separate his hobby from his personal life, so he created an Instagram account solely for his smoking adventures. “The Instagram barbecue world was super supportive,” he recalls. “At first, I mainly used it for pictures and food photography. But then I started experimenting with Insta reels and figured since I already created the content, I should go ahead and crosspost it to TikTok. And that’s when it went nuts. I did not intend to create a following, and I was not expecting it at all. My first post had like 30 comments, and then my posts started going viral, and it kind of just accidentally exploded.”
But the sudden attention did not change Miller, or his methods, at all. “I’m very selective about participating in sponsorships,” Miller admits. “I want to retain my authenticity, so I will only partner with a brand if I actually use their product. If I wouldn’t buy it, I will not post it. Being real is more important than getting paid. I know I could leverage it more, but I just want to focus on being myself.”
This genuine approach has rewarded Miller in other ways, with higher quality brands reaching out to him that are a better fit, and it’s allowed him to stay true to his mission. “For me, the goal is simple: backyard barbecue,” Miller says. “My dream is to have a food truck trailer, a pull-behind barbecue trailer that I could set up in downtown Mobile or at the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival, just two or so times a month. There are so many challenges behind the scenes in restaurants, and these challenges are infinitely compounded in the barbecue industry. You can’t hire just anyone to help cook. Either you do it all yourself, or you would need to train someone for hundreds of hours. So much of barbecue is cause and effect, making judgment calls. Every single bite should be juicy and tender, with good bark and great flavor. I’m very passionate about that and not willing to compromise on it.”
The Millers made their way back to Spanish Fort in 2020, and for now, Miller mostly cooks for neighbors, friends, family and their church. Occasionally he does private, in-home cooking events, and he’s even participated in a few smoking tutorials. “Say somebody gets a new Traeger for Christmas, and they have no idea what to do with it, but they just want to cook smoked meats on the weekends for their family,” Miller says. “I’ve gone with them to the butcher and taught them how to select the meat and then did a pitmaster class with them at home. I’d love to do a larger scale class, for people who just want to learn how to make barbecue. That’s really my passion: to show others that they can do this too. When I see someone with a $1,200 smoker that’s never been used, it kills me. There’s no reason to be scared of it. Anyone can do this.”
While Miller is generous with his knowledge and passionate about sharing his hobby with others, there is one secret he will never reveal. “I will freely give you any other recipe, but not my brisket rub. I’ve never given away more than half of it, and I never will.” And with good reason: Miller has worked hard for years to get it right, and he had the toughest of critics tasting every bite. “My wife is from Texas, so the standard was always high,” he explains. “My goal was to get my brisket as good as it is in Texas. I even exclusively use post oak wood splits, because that is how it’s done in Central Texas.”
But while Texas might be his inspiration, Alabama barbecue is his motivation, which is why Miller’s byline reads “Redefining Alabama barbecue.” “In the barbecue world, Alabama barbecue tends to be looked down upon by the big dogs in Texas, Kansas City and the Carolinas,” he admits. “Most people only think of Alabama white sauce. While it is a contribution, I’m hit or miss on it. There are some great pitmasters here and a great barbecue history but no nationwide respect. I want people to consider us as equals, not the younger brothers. I want Alabama to be known for fantastic barbecue.”
Anyone who witnesses Miller in action at home sees firsthand the passion and intention behind his motto, as well as the impressive four grills lined up in work stations like soldiers standing at attention. “I really want five, but my wife and I had to come to a compromise on deck space,” Miller laughs. His current setup includes his main man, a 120 gallon custom offset smoker that he found on Facebook marketplace and had customized by a local welder in Pensacola (complete with a welded “Sean’s BBQ” sign), a Weber charcoal grill and two different pellet smokers. While the dream is still a pull-behind trailer smoker, he also has his eyes on a Weber griddle to complete his backyard smoke show. Why so many? “Each grill serves a specific purpose,” he explains. “At the end of a long day with three kids, you just need to use a pellet smoker. They are more precise than other smokers and offer more flexibility. The main smoker is for the weekends when you have more time and you will be around the house to keep an eye on things.”
At home, Miller is a self-proclaimed “minority in a sorority,” the lone male with his wife and three daughters, so it’s easy to see his need for a hobby. But he might have his oldest daughter to thank for his success. “My daughter filmed all of the videos that have over 1 million views, including the one with 11 million+ views,” he says. “My first viral video was only 11 seconds, just me peeling membrane off ribs with a catfish skinner. Another viral video was the pork belly cinnamon rolls, 3.6 million views. While I really don’t believe there’s a rhyme or reason for my social media success, my 15-year-old videographer is the common denominator in my most watched videos.”
And while Miller’s social media stardom has created unexpected common ground for he and his daughter, he is more interested in the effects of his labor offline. “It is a core belief of mine that great food brings people together, and personally, I think barbecue does it best,” Miller says. “If you look back over thousands of years of history, you see people gathering together around food. It’s a common uniter of people. With barbecue, you can also bring people into the process. ‘Hey, can you hold this platter while I pull the meat off?’ Or ‘Hey, can you watch the smoker while I go grab a drink?’ You kind of thrust other people into a communal cooking environment where everyone is a part of it. When the meat isn’t ready on time, extra time together is created while you all wait in anticipation of the same thing. And it’s a core memory when the meat is really, really good. It becomes a shared memory.”
It’s evident that these aren’t just pretty words reserved for TikTok or Instagram. You can hear the passion in his voice when he talks about his craft and you can sense the generosity, not just in sharing meals with others, but also in sharing his knowledge of this specific cooking method that he has come to love and revere. He wears a smile in the kitchen as naturally as his apron, and he has an ease about him that makes something as complicated as smoking meats seem approachable.
But after one bite, it’s obvious that his craft is anything but simple. You can feel the evenness of the bark he was so meticulous in laying the foundation for, and you can taste the smoke and char from the fire he so carefully maintained for six hours, the meat to fat ratio suddenly making sense and fully appreciated. The seasoning cuts through exactly the way he said it should, bursting with hints of garlic, salt and something with just enough kick to keep things interesting. And it all comes together to perfectly complement the sweetness of the sauce, which is tamed enough by the seasoning and smoke to not overpower the care and precision that went into every single step leading up to this bite.
Miller is quick to point out that the meat he uses was provided by William Stitt of Bill-E’s Bacon, a top three rated bacon in North America made right in Fairhope. He also uses Key’s Southern Spice, another local product made in Fairhope. Despite his (unintentional) fame in the barbecue world, Miller proves he’s still a local guy through and through, lifting up others from his community to share in his success.
“During my time overseas, I ate at a local restaurant in Haiti, and there was a sign on the door that said, ‘Nothing brings people together like good food,’” Miller recalls. “And I’ve really carried that with me everywhere I go and especially in what I do now with this hobby. We live in such a divisive time, but really good food brings us together; it gives us something in common to share. Everybody has to eat. We might as well share those meals together. That’s something we’ve lost as a society, showing up at each other’s houses, sharing simple meals together untied to a special event. Food has the ability to reconnect us, but BBQ has that ability even more so. You don’t cook a 16-pound brisket for 20 hours and then let it rest for 3-4 hours just for yourself to enjoy or just for your small family of four. You cook it to share it with others. You cook it to spend time with others, to enjoy together. That’s the intention.”
Pork Belly Burnt Ends
As featured in Brian Baumgartner’s “Seriously Good Barbecue Cookbook”
Serves 7 • Time 6 hours
Best served as an appetizer on toothpicks for easy grabbing, or as a main with your favorite sides, these sweet, salty, smoky bites are sure to steal the show at your next gathering. As Sean says, “Smoke on!”
2 large foil baking pans with lids
8-10 pounds skinless pork belly
Barbecue seasoning of your choice
Avocado oil, or binder of your choice
Spray bottle of preferred liquid (water, bourbon, apple cider vinegar, etc.)
Barbecue sauce of your choice
Plenty of wood splits for the fire
1. Heat your smoker to 225-250ish. Have a stack of wood splits nearby because you will need to add a wood split every thirty minutes.
2. Square off your piece of meat, trimming off fat and skin if you couldn’t find skinless pork belly.
3. Cut the meat into 2 inch strips and then into cubes. For the cubes, you want a 75-25% meat to fat ratio, and you want the sides to be smooth so the bark will form evenly.
4. Generously apply a binder of avocado oil so the seasoning will stick really well to the meat.
5. Very generously season with your favorite barbecue rub of choice. Sean uses Key’s Southern Spice from Fairhope. You want there to be enough seasoning to cut through the barbecue sauce that will be added later on, so that you can taste the seasoning and smoke. Use your hands to make sure all of the cubes are covered. As Sean says, “If it doesn’t look good going into the smoker, it’s not going to look good coming out.”
6. Space out the cubes of meat on the smoker, allowing for 1-2 inches in between each so that there is enough air flow to create even bark.
7. Keep an eye on the smoke. White, billowy smoke signals dirty smoke, and dirty smoke means there is not enough oxygen or good airflow. When barbecue comes out of a smoker with this type of smoke, the meat will appear brownish in color and briny-ish in taste. What you’re looking for is thin, wispy smoke that is mostly clear but with a blueish tint.
8. Insert a water pan into the smoker to provide a barrier and help provide moisture.
9. Use your spray bottle to spritz the meat every hour with the liquid of your choice (water, bourbon, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, etc.) to keep it moist.
10. After 3 hours, remove the cubes and place them in a foil pan. Generously cover in your favorite barbecue sauce and toss. Place the lid back on the pan and reinsert in the smoker.
11. After 2-3 hours, remove the pan from the smoker. They should be completely bite-tender and ready to eat.
12. Serve and enjoy!
What is bark?
Bark is a caramelized crust that forms on the outside of barbecue meat as a result of a chemical reaction between the meat’s proteins and the sugar and spice of the rub combined with smoke.
