North-east barbecue restaurant Meat Monsters is fast becoming one of the go-to places for foodies to visit in the region – and quite rightly so.
Offering authentic wood-smoked barbecue with a conscience, the Ellon-based eatery was founded by Alistair Hagen after his “fascination with barbecue had moved beyond just a hobby, through becoming a passion, into a kind of fanaticism.”
The business owner has spent years smoking low and slow, increasingly enjoying the process and science behind it, as much as the eating too, of course.
However, not only do Alistair and his close-knit team focus on the taste of their produce, but also on being a responsible and ethical business in the face of global challenges – particularly the climate.
With that said, we couldn’t wait to catch up with Alistair – who refers to himself as ‘pit boss’ – to hear all about the evolution of Meat Monsters.
We’re intrigued to hear about how you got into the meat industry. When did it come about?
It’s probably a familiar story. I was lucky enough to have a great job and see a bit of the world – I ran a large global operation for one of the oil majors. I learned early on in my travels that the best way to understand and integrate with the different cultures I encountered was through their food. So, I had many happy years going off the beaten track and enjoying authentic local food which was often better than anything I encountered in a hotel restaurant.
As part of that experience, I spent a good amount of time in America and had my first genuine taste of barbecue (not from a chain restaurant, but authentic wood-smoked barbecue) in Texas. I basically loved it from the get-go. I loved the ethos (low and slow), the sustainability (using the less desirable cuts of meat), and the science behind what was turning these tough bits of meat into poor man’s fine dining.
On one of my trips back from the states I decided to give it a go at home and I bought my first smoker for the back garden. The rest is history.
So when did you launch Meat Monsters?
It was incorporated in December 2017 – at around the time of some big organisational changes in my oil company.
I agreed to stay on for an extended period but eventually took voluntary severance in 2018. This gave me some working capital and we rolled up our sleeves and took the plunge. We started trading fully in early 2019.
You took quite the risk, but it’s clear to see the move paid off…
Honestly, at 46 I felt I still had 10-15 years left before retirement beckoned and I didn’t want to rinse and repeat the last 15 years, as comfortable as they had been. I had this overwhelming urge to work for myself. I thought at least I’ll get 100% of any reward, even if it was 100% of nothing.
The decision to give it a go on a professional basis was one of the riskiest in my life, using all the money from my voluntary redundancy and pretty much all our savings to build the smokehouse.
But my fascination with barbecue had moved beyond just a hobby, through becoming a passion, into a kind of fanaticism. I am obsessed with the pursuit of the perfect brisket.
Starting any food business is tough. But starting a food business whose principal ingredients are meat and fish is even tougher, given the cost of those ingredients.
Sustaining our food business through the unprecedented events of the last year requires a new type of mathematics to calculate just how tough it’s been.
Tell us a bit about your branding.
We wanted something short, punchy and unique to encapsulate what we were going to do and how we were going to go about it.
I grew up in Wales and have a great affinity for my home there. In Wales, there is a great deal of mythology about dragons and fire. I had this image of a cooking meat by dragon fire and smoke, and Meat Monsters was born.
It’s no mistake that the Meat Monsters’ tail in our logo is an exact replica of the dragon on the Welsh flag or that the Meat Monsters red matches the colour of the Welsh flag.
I am very proud of the brand. Please don’t get me started, I’ll start blubbering…
Before we get into the food, what would you like our readers to know about Meat Monsters?
That’s easy, it’s essentially stated in our Meat Monsters manifesto. The manifesto was written down before we even started our business plan, so our ethos, approach and even our tag line (‘authentic wood-smoked barbecue…with a conscience’) flows from the initial desire to be a responsible and ethical business in the face of global challenges, particularly on climate.
That and the fact that we make and sell food that is loved by us, our families, and friends. You can’t go wrong if that’s your ethos. If what you’re producing is not good enough for family and friends, then why on Earth would you offer it to the public?
The conscience part hopefully comes through our other commitments. All of our hot food takeaway packaging is compostable and has been from the very first item sold.
We are part of Vegware’s Close the Loop Scheme, built solar water heating into our operation – and are working on plans to add solar electric power as soon as is practicable to allow us to operate mostly off-grid – and the welfare of our meat is assured.
And we also do our utmost to use local, Scottish, UK and Irish producers and suppliers for produce, consumables and services – in that order.
Could you talk us through what the business offers and where you source your meats from?
Authentic Texas-style barbecue, so wood smoked brisket, ribs, pulled pork and poultry. We also cure and hot smoke our own salmon – Scottish of course!
In the past, we’ve used thousands of kilos of pork shoulder from Mossies (Moss-side Farm) in Inverurie, wagyu from the Highland Wagyu company, and beef from Udny and the outskirts of Ellon.
We are always on the lookout for anyone wanting to showcase their produce.
Supporting local is clearly very important to you.
The short answer is yes. There is a huge opportunity to benefit our local communities through the multiplier effect of a local supply chain.
Selling locally and supporting local producers is essential for the health of our community. It supports local jobs, increases business opportunities which in turn helps us thrive not just survive.
The concept of supporting local business has shot to the forefront of our national conscience in the last year or so, as folks needed to shop closer to home – it’s probably one of the key reasons we’ve managed to survive this brutal last 12 months.
That’s great to hear. What products are most popular among customers?
Crikey, that’s a tough one. Statistically, we sell more brisket by weight than anything else – thousands of kilos in the last 12-14 months. But in terms of individual menu items our Triple Tasty – beef brisket covered in our own cheese sauce and topped with two crispy onion rings in a Bread Guy brioche – is hugely popular. As is our B.O.E, the Bit of Everything – this includes some brisket, barbecue chicken and fries, topped with one of our ribs.
As for my favourite product, it’s got to be our brisket. It’s the king of barbecue cuts and the toughest to get right as an amateur barbecue enthusiast. To turn out so many great briskets day in and day out is a great source of pride from myself and the pit crew.
You must have a really hectic schedule…
It’s important to understand that I’m not a chef and Meat Monsters isn’t a restaurant in the traditional sense. This is a smokehouse and I’m the pit boss. Surrounding me are my amazing wife and pit crew.
Myself and my deputy pit boss, Jimbo, spend most of our time butchering, trimming and preparing all the meat, poultry and fish by hand.
We tend the smokers from dawn until dusk. When briskets can take anywhere from eight to 14 hours to smoke, you can’t avoid long days. Being a pit boss is not a job, it’s a lifestyle, with very little sleep and quite a bit of beer.
Would you say you have a close-knit team then?
If everyone was in the smokehouse at one time, we would have nine team members (soon to be 10). Running a barbecue pit takes a crew, so it’s naturally a team-oriented effort.
We are pretty tight regardless, but the impact of Covid-19 has been a hugely and surprisingly positive force in that respect.
When you work this closely with so few people you effectively form your own bubble. When you live in your house or in the smokehouse kitchen and nowhere else for 12 months straight, you can’t help but become family-like in your ways. Especially with my wife Pauline around, she’s the driving force behind our success and our cohesion.
The term den mother was never so apt. I can sum it up by simply saying this – in the last 12 months, the tougher it got, the tighter we became. I am truly, truly blessed to have these people in my life.
What have been the key highlights for you since launching Meat Monsters?
Still being here, despite everything. To know and see first-hand people going out of their way to support you – it’s a very special feeling. I wish I could personally thank every customer in Ellon, Peterhead, The Broch, Aberdeen and all parts between for keeping us going, you are very special people.
Also, to have newfound respect (actually awe would be a better word) for my wife Pauline. This is not a cliché, I would not be alive without her. I mean that in a very real sense.
Finally, running our Masterclasses. I get immense satisfaction sharing my experience and knowledge on how to start and sustain your own home smoking journey and the lifestyle of outdoor cooking. It’s great when alumni send me photos of them conquering previously difficult cooks or cuts of meat. I had some photos from one of our alumni smoking meat on a rig in Africa for his crew recently – fantastic!
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the business. What are your upcoming plans?
That’s difficult to answer quantitatively at the moment, with so much uncertainty about. In simple terms, we’d take still being here and serving great smoked meat to Ellon and the surrounding area.
However, I truly believe that if you’re not growing as a business you’re dying, so I am determined to expand our operation from its base in Ellon towards Aberdeen or Peterhead.
We’ve been looking hard at crowdfunding too, in relation to adding additional renewable energy sources for the smokehouse. After all, despite the coronavirus’s best efforts, our experiment to see if you can create a sustainable and ethical food business based around something we love continues.
For more information on Meat Monsters, visit www.meatmonsters.co.uk
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.