When I pulled up to Smoky Buns, in Round Rock, a suburb just north of Austin, on a recent Friday, I immediately recognized the silhouette of the food truck. Long before he was known as the Sausage Sensei, Bill Dumas fed me some of his early recipes from that window a decade ago, when it had the Smokey Denmark’s name painted on the side. Many of the best barbecue meals I’ve eaten were ordered from the vehicle after it was painted blue with the LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue logo in 2017. Jesse Escobedo saw the trailer for sale after LeRoy and Lewis moved into its brick-and-mortar last year. He admittedly lowballed co-owner Sawyer Lewis, but she eventually accepted. Now it’s home to Smoky Buns, which Escobedo opened last year.
“We wanted to make sure someone squeezed out every bit of love the truck had left to give,” Lewis told me when I asked about the transaction. Escobedo said there’s some sentimental value in knowing the barbecue tradition he’s carrying on, but he’s also a realist. “It’s old, but it gets me permitted, and it works for me,” he said. He saw the purchase as a way to repurpose an undervalued object into something that could bring happiness, much like the way his smoker transforms tough briskets into delicious slabs of meat.
The drive into the lot where Smoky Buns is parked is pretty rough, so watch for some serious potholes once you pull off Red Bud Lane. Find the sign that reads “MEAT” and you’re in the right place. Several picnic tables sit under a metal roof, which provides shade to diners and anyone in line. A few other parties were there with me when the window opened at 11 a.m. (Smoky Buns only operates Fridays and Saturdays for now).
A three-meat plate with one side is $27, and that will get you two spareribs, a slice each of lean and fatty brisket, and a link of sausage. I added on a few slices of smoked pork belly, which Escobedo seasons with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic. It’s smoked until ultratender and is best dipped in the avocado crema, one of two house-made sauces. The other is a classic tomato-based red sauce that goes great with the smoky ribs. Escobedo prefers to keep his ribs savory, so there’s no glaze or anything sweet on them. They could be smoked a little longer to get the centers of the racks more tender.
Escobedo uses Choice-grade briskets from McClaren Farms and seasons them with just salt and pepper. There isn’t a lot of space in his 250-gallon smoker, so three briskets are about all he cooks each day. The meat is smoky and has a great bark. The tops stay crunchy because he rests the briskets in the warmer using a foil boat that keeps the tops exposed.
The poblano–and–Oaxaca cheese sausage is the top seller at Smoky Buns. Escobedo said he was inspired to make it after watching Dumas explain his process in YouTube videos. “I feared it the most—now I enjoy it the most,” he said. When I visited, he was working on an al pastor sausage. It was grainy, and the filling didn’t have much structure. Escobedo said he thought the culprit was the pineapple he’d added, and I agreed—an enzyme in pineapple will continue to break down the protein even after the sausage is fully cooked. It’s one of those ingredients sausage makers generally avoid, and Escobedo said he might try a pineapple-based barbecue sauce to pair with the link instead.
Escobedo calls his style Texas barbecue with both Mexican and Asian influences. His wife, Tracy Chan, helped develop many of the sides. She added a few key ingredients, like diced cucumber, roasted corn, edamame, and furikake (a seasoning blend that includes toasted sesame seeds and dried seaweed), to a simple macaroni salad to make it memorable. The sweet Kewpie mayo that constitutes the base of the dressing helps too. Chan’s father is from China and retired from cooking in Chinese restaurants in Houston. He makes the smoked pork belly fried rice, which has become the most popular side. I loved it, along with the simple potato salad, which is creamy and well seasoned.
Barbecue has been a bit of a savior for Escobedo. He previously worked selling everything from mattresses to cybersecurity technology. When he was laid off in 2022, he knew he wanted to cook barbecue, but wasn’t sure how to translate a decade-long hobby into a business. “My wife believed in me,” he said, and she encouraged him to start selling barbecue on his time off. He smoked whole briskets and pork butts and sold them on Facebook Marketplace (a practice he continues when the food truck isn’t open). “It was something that gave me patience and slowed me down in a good way,” Escobedo said.
The couple started serving at pop-ups. The focus at first was “really good, affordable, quick, and easy barbecue sandwiches,” Escobedo said, so they named the business Smoky Buns. As customers started asking for trays, Escobedo added more sliced meats, and eventually ribs, to the menu. “I want to be able to give people what they want,” he said. Investing in a food truck seemed out of reach until he got the discount on his current trailer. Going all in on barbecue was the only choice after that. “It’s better to live than regret,” Escobedo told me.
The literal come-to-Jesus moment happened when Escobedo dedicated his life to God last year. He said his faith has kept him focused. “It has helped me. It has given me strength, especially during the slow days,” he said. He has also remained sober since last summer in an effort to improve his life and his barbecue. “I want to be the absolute best I can possibly be,” he said, and he’s getting closer to greatness one week at a time at Smoky Buns.
Smoky Buns
311 Highland Estates Drive, Round Rock
Phone: 737-241-9988
Hours: Friday–Saturday 11–4
Pitmaster: Jesse Escobedo
Method: Oak in an offset smoker
Year opened: 2024
