“Now I'm doing it full time.”— Nick Ince, co-owner, on CBC London Morning
When Nick Ince got married, he wanted real barbecue at the party — which meant renting a good smoker. There wasn't one to rent. Not in Canada, anyway.
Nick and his business partner Will Rempel were both working in oil and gas at the time, and a refinery is full of the kind of parts you need to build a smoker. So they built one. It worked. One thing led to another, and the one-time project turned into a full-time shop just outside Parkhill, Ontario.
Their co-workers thought quitting was crazy. They did it anyway.
What we build
Traditional.
Texas style.
Made in Canada.
Our goal is to promote and establish more Central Texas–style barbecue here in Canada. The methods are simple and they produce world-class smoked meat — but there's no shortcut. It takes time and patience.
So we build live-fire equipment only: charcoal and hardwood, no propane burners. Mostly traditional offsets, often compared to missiles or bombs. Standard in Texas. Uncommon here. We're trying to change that.
How we build
AutoCAD.
Math.
Then steel.
All designs start with AutoCAD and math. Everything is a calculated amount, and the baseline is always cook-chamber volume.
Cook chambers are reclaimed propane tanks. Not to save money — they look great, and the smooth inside corners move air properly for an even cooking surface. Frames get braked flat over a shim. Tanks get gouged, fitted, insulated and skinned. We overbuild in quality but keep things simple and uncluttered. Less is more.
Along the way
One smoker
led to another.
A few markers. The rest is on Instagram.
The wedding smoker
No rental worth having, so Nick and Will build their own. It works.
Bog Line Barbecue
The badge goes on the first pits. Commercial offsets for restaurants and caterers, mostly sold through Instagram.
Shipping overseas
Pits have gone all over Canada and coast to coast in the US. Four go to Europe — Germany — in one year.
On CBC
Nick talks big-time barbecues in small-town Ontario on CBC London Morning.
The Small Block
After hearing "no" one too many times, a 94-gallon backyard offset joins the line-up.
The first Smoke Show
Pits, hot rods, bikes and a beer tent at the Parkhill Fairgrounds — raising money for local schools.
Full circle
Wrenches
before welders.
Before the refinery, Nick pulled wrenches at Dalmar Motors with a guy named Albie — the one who got him into barbecue in the first place. They'd smoke jerk chicken behind the shop.
When Albie retired, Dalmar got him a Bog Line Small Block. When life comes full circle.
The shop culture never left. We're members of the East London Timing Association, Canada's favourite hot-rod club, and you can see it in every fender, pinstripe and tail light we put on a pit.
Heard about us
In the press.
Start here
Let's talk BBQ.
Tell us what you're cooking, who you're feeding and where the pit's going. We'll talk barbecue all damn day.