CEBUANOS are no strangers to barbecue. In fact, there are countless barbecue joints dotting the island. But what about smoked barbecue? It’s a nuanced form of cooking, one that we don’t see a lot of here, save from a select few like Noob Survival Co., who has made promoting this craft its advocacy, pushing for quality over anything else.
Having a shared passion for the great outdoors, Tom Galang and Emman Maranga started a survival and bushcraft channel in 2012 that chronicles the duo’s adventures, making vlogs mostly of open fire pits and backyard feasts. Being newbies to the experience, they called their channel Noob (an abbreviated form of “newbie”) Survival Co.
Through recommended videos on YouTube, Galang and Maranga started watching videos on smoking barbecue—a process wherein pieces of meat are placed in a closed chamber and left to cook slowly—and instantly got hooked. Taking what they’ve learned in school, they made their own off-set smoker, put some meat in and gave the smoking technique a try.
Their initial attempt yielded mixed results: some were charred, while other pieces turned out better than expected. That was just the beginning of Noob’s foray into smoked barbecue as they eventually decided to kickstart a business in 2016, with the help of friends Khevin Martinez and Dexter Dy; thus, FEAST by Noob Survival Co. was born.
FEAST by Noob Survival Co. specializes in smoked meats which include pork ribs, local chorizo, chicken and burnt ends (which are cut from the pork shoulder)—the first two being the bestsellers so far. These come in boxed sets that are great for casual gatherings with family and friends and are especially perfect during the parties this holiday season. Each box also comes with sides: mashed potatoes and coleslaw made from scratch using only the freshest local organic produce.
A list of ingredients is readily available on the Internet with a quick search but according to Galang, what truly makes the barbecue is the fire that you have to take care of for six to 10 hours.
“The secret to making good smoked barbecue is fire management,” Galang said.
More than just for profit, Noob aims to serve proper smoked barbecue and do it with integrity.
“Smoking barbecue is our passion. We love making this food from scratch. It’s fun! We also like to keep it exclusive to people who can understand more about smoked barbecue and so far, we’ve pinpointed our niches,” explained Galang.
Noob operates on Facebook and Instagram primarily but the company does plan on opening a brick-and-mortar store in the near future and even expanding into lifestyle items. For now, the guys behind Noob happily serve lovers of barbecue, delivering one box of smoked meat at a time.