Single Tree Nation sits down with Terren Williams, owner and pitmaster of Slow Fire BBQ in Savannah, Georgia — a culinary-school-trained pastry chef turned Texas-style barbecue obsessive who's redefining what wood-fired barbecue looks like on the Georgia coast. In this episode, Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells get one of the most story-rich conversations the show has had this year. Terren walks the guys through his path from Savannah to Powder Springs, Georgia — where his first taste of "barbecue love" came in the form of Johnny's BBQ hickory fries during two major breakups — through culinary school and a career as a pastry chef, into a stint running the second location of Mashama Bailey's James Beard Award–winning restaurant The Grey. Then COVID hit, he got let go, and he spent the pandemic DoorDashing and soul-searching until his nephew slid him some capital and told him barbecue was his calling. Terren also gets deep into what real Texas barbecue is — his first Smitty's Market experience in Lockhart with fires on the floor and brick pits that singed his leg hair, cooking at the LA Food Bowl with Pat Martin standing right behind Aaron Franklin's setup, and the week he spent at Truth BBQ with Leonard Botello being shown everything from meat sourcing to fire management. Plus the philosophy behind Slow Fire — sustainable sourcing, low country flavors woven into Texas-style barbecue, garlic-infused tallow, and educating a Savannah market where most competitors are still gas-assist steel pits and sauce-heavy rib shacks. The conversation covers the craft in real detail: brisket sourcing, wrapping and resting philosophy, garlic-in-honey fermentation, house-made Asian BBQ sauce on Brussels sprouts, the "Mac Crunchies" topping (ground Chili Cheese Fritos and Ritz crackers in brown butter), and why Turkey might be the most underrated cut in barbecue. Plus Charlie's now-legendary rants about the one-star review from the lady who ate every single rib clean off the bone, and the one-star from someone complaining that outdoor seating in coastal Georgia in summer is hot. Also in this episode: Charlie's new t-shirt idea "Hot, Fresh, and Fully Rested" born live on the air, why he got denied for the license plate HOECAKES by the state of Tennessee, and the Ernest-from-Burnt-Bean ghost story callback. ⏱ Chapters: 00:00 – Cold open: motorcycle license plates and the HOECAKES denial 07:16 – Meet Terren from Slow Fire BBQ in Savannah, Georgia 09:00 – Toast POS and why every restaurant should be using Davo for sales tax 14:10 – First BBQ love: Johnny's BBQ hickory fries in Powder Springs, Georgia 17:15 – "Hot, Fresh, and Fully Rested" — a t-shirt is born 20:30 – Moving back to Savannah in 2019 and the Texas barbecue awakening 21:20 – Smitty's Market in Lockhart: fires on the floor and the real deal 24:00 – The rise of craft barbecue: Michelin stars, James Beard awards 25:30 – Garlic-infused tallow and imparting flavor into every rib 27:00 – Educating customers on what real barbecue actually is 29:15 – Sweet tea, Sonny's, and the Southern barbecue nostalgia problem 30:00 – Slow Fire's name, the slow food movement, and Savannah's barbecue desert 33:15 – LA Food Bowl: cooking with Pat Martin, standing behind Aaron Franklin 36:00 – William Darney's pastrami from Hometown BBQ and Pat Martin's rub recipe 39:40 – COVID, The Grey, and getting let go 41:15 – DoorDashing, soul searching, and the nephew who believed 44:00 – The community of barbecue and mentorship at Truth BBQ with Leonard 47:15 – The one-star review from the lady who ate every rib clean off the bone 51:00 – The one-star review about outdoor seating being hot in Savannah 52:20 – What to order first: brisket, turkey, and Saturday oxtails 54:30 – Low country flavors, boiled sausage with Georgia shrimp 57:00 – Mac or Beans segment and the Mac Crunchies reveal 59:15 – Tomahawk pork chops and the new menu direction 1:00:00 – The new location: 410 East 37th Street in Savannah 1:03:20 – Pastrami Reuben Thursdays, brisket smash Fridays, oxtail Saturdays 1:04:15 – Ethiopian berbere-rubbed pulled lamb gyros 1:05:20 – Friday Feel Good: never stop learning (Mike Rowe) Connect with Slow Fire BBQ: 🍖 410 East 37th Street, Savannah, GA 📅 Currently open Thursday–Saturday 📸 Instagram: @slowfirebbq 🎙 Single Tree Nation — real conversations, single takes. Hosted by Charlie Eblen and Derry Wells. 🌳 Part of the Spread The Positive Network. 📻 Every Saturday morning on ESPN 94.9 The Fan from 8–9 a.m. 📧 charlie@singletreebbq.com | 📞 (615) 307-0120 👍 Like, share, and subscribe so you never miss an episode. #SlowFireBBQ #SavannahBBQ #GeorgiaBBQ #TexasStyleBBQ #CraftBarbecue #TruthBBQ #FranklinBBQ #SmittysMarket #TheGreySavannah #PastryChef #BBQPodcast #PitmasterInterview #SingleTreeNation #SpreadThePositive #NashvillePodcast #LowCountryBBQ #Oxtails #WoodFiredBBQ
