When in doubt... Pig In! Pig Out!
Bio
In 1993 Ron Cochran, a welding supply salesman, heard an ad for a local bbq contest. He was immediately intrigued by the idea and with only two weeks until the contest set out to build a smoker. A customer donated a 12 feet long, 24 inch diameter section of 1/2” wall pipe and with the gracious backing of his employer, Wichita Welding Supply, construction began.
During construction the curiosity drew many questions from Ron’s coworkers about how this huge piece of pipe would make a smoker. In mild frustration he wrote “Pig In” on one end and “Pig Out” on the other and jokingly explained “you put the pig in here and it comes out there”. With two busy weekends and one all nighter the smoker was finished the morning before the contest.
Ron Cochran went to that first contest having never cooked much bbq but had an idea about what he felt good bbq should taste like. This combined with a sometimes unbelievable knack at “winging it” he cooked on the brand new smoker and out of five categories he won a 1st, a 2nd, a 4th, and a 5th place ribbon. It was only the fifth category, lamb, that he didn’t realize counted towards Grand Champion and the only category did not enter that kept him from winning the whole contest the first time out.
Having almost won this first contest struck deep in Ron’s already competitive nature. He soon was entering bbq contests as often as possible and his initial “luck” showed more to be natural talent as the awards kept coming in. After only a couple of years on the rapidly growing bbq circuit Pig In! Pig Out! was ranked 7th in the country.
During the first few years on bbq competitions more and more Ron found himself cooking for others on weekends he wasn’t competing. Soon people were requesting catering and food for holidays and the home kitchen was understandably inadequate not to mention the messes it left for his supportive wife Pam.
It was late in 1995 when Ron found what he believed the perfect location. The building was Originally a Tastee Freeze built in 1948 and was located across from Lynwood Park at 1935 S. Hydraulic. He opened Pig In! Pig Out! BBQ in April of 1996 first employing his wife Pam and his two daughters Shelbie and Jillian.
The rest as they say is history....
Legacy Lives On
Since Ron's untimely passing in 2001 his son Derek has continued Pig In! Pig Out! BBQ down a careful path of evolvement.
Derek has maintained the original rub recipe and cooking processes and the only changes to his father's legacy have been made in the name of improved quality or to expand the once limited menu.
Our Mission
The PIPO mission is to provide our customers with world class bbq that is cooked fresh daily with a level of attention that sets us apart from our competition.