Retired Sheriff’s Deputy Turns to Barbecuing

Learn how retired sheriff’s deputy Vince Wade started a second career in retirement.

Story and photos by Gerald McLeod

 

What could be more fun than starting a second career as a barbecue pitmaster?

After working for more than 20 years with the Travis County Sheriff’s Department, Vince Wade retired at the age of 48 in 2017. He worked with TCDRS Member Services to time his retirement so his benefit would comfortably replace his take-home pay from the county.

Then he concentrated on building his barbecue catering business, Big Vince BBQ.

“At first I was going to go full blast,” Vince says. “But then I considered if I really wanted to work that hard in retirement. Right now, I get as busy as I want.”

Good food and family have always been important to Vince and his wife, Courtney. Both grew up in Beaumont where meals were a time to socialize.

“I like sharing my food,” he says. “I like other people to taste some good, down-home, backyard-style barbecue.”

For most catering jobs, Vince prefers to keep it simple. He offers the holy trinity of barbecue — brisket, sausage and ribs — but will add chicken on request, plus side dishes.

“I basically barbecue every weekend,” Vince says. “When I worked for the sheriff’s department, I did a lot of weekend festivals. Then people started hiring me to do events. From that point, I started putting myself out there as a caterer. It was on the side, but I built up a nice following.”

Barbecue is Life

Vince came to barbecuing late in life. He grew up with barbecue, seafood and Cajun food as the three major food groups.

“I didn’t know how to barbecue until I got married,” he says. “My father-in-law, Mr. Raymond Ambres, taught me how to barbecue. He’s the best I know.”

Barbecue from Southeast Texas tends to have more of a spicy Cajun influence than smoked meats from other areas of the state.

“A lot of people just use salt and pepper, but I like to add different stuff to it because I don’t want my brisket to taste like everybody else’s brisket.”

Vince says the secret to a great smoked brisket is starting with a good piece of meat without too much fat. Then he trims it, so it cooks evenly.

“Number three is the seasoning,” he says.

Vince builds his dry rub starting with TexJoy Steak Seasoning. The Beaumont spice has been a staple in kitchens around the Golden Triangle for generations. “I grew up on TexJoy,” Vince says.

Using the steak seasoning as a base, Vince adds red pepper flakes, a pinch of brown sugar, cumin and other spices to make the flavor unique.

Holy Smoke

The artistry of cooking a brisket continues once the meat moves to Vince’s vertical smoker, which can hold 10 briskets at a time. He prefers mesquite wood for its strong wood flavor, but mixes in post oak because it burns hotter.

Watching the temperature is key, he says. He starts with the smoker between 255 degrees and 270 degrees . Once the brisket has a good bark, he lets the temperature drop and wraps the meat in butcher paper until the internal temperature reaches 207 degrees. It can take 10 to 12 hours to get it just right.

Vince says the pandemic has reduced the size of his catering jobs, but the number of reservations has increased. That’s okay with him. Barbecuing is his passion, and he doesn’t want it to become work. He has a part-time job as a bailiff for the Round Rock Municipal Court.

“When people were stuck at home during the lockdown, I would put together pans of smoked Cajun chicken with jambalaya and let my neighbors and regular customers know [they were available],” Vince says. “I got a lot of orders for those.”

At Thanksgiving, he smoked more than a dozen turkeys for customers.

“I love to barbecue,” Vince says. “And I could talk about barbecue all day.” “The beauty of barbecue is everybody has their own way of doing things. No two people barbecue the same way. I’ve changed my methods over the years because you learn as you go. It’s all good.”

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