Matt register

Forged in Smoke

He’s a pitmaster and chef. Father, husband, and family man. Hunter and angler and cookbook author. His love—and knowledge—of all things Eastern North Carolina runs through his life like a scuppernong vine.

And believe this: Eastern North Carolina Ambassador Matt Register can cook up a storm. He married Jessica Talerico, fourth-generation North Carolina barbecue royalty. Their restaurant, Southern Smoke BBQ in Garland, NC, is a pork nirvana. Their catering service, South Catering, brings an elevated approach to the richest traditions of Southern cuisine. Matt has appeared on The Today Show, is a regular in the Charleston Food & Wine Festival, and Saveur magazine named his collard chowder one of the 100 best recipes in America. 

You want to talk pork, oysters, Duke’s mayonnaise, redfish, or why a smoked cherry sauce on a sauteed wood duck breast is a modern manna from heaven, then you'd better clear your calendar and pull up a chair. Maybe check on Jezebel first. That’s the giant smoker Matt built with Jessica’s Uncle Shawn, and she goes through split white and red oak like nobody’s business.