Matt Pittman fried his first turkey in the red parking lot at Texas Stadium on Thanksgiving more than 25 years ago, long before anyone outside his tailgate circle had heard the name Meat Church. Pittman, who was not born in Texas, spent years working at the stadium itself, delivering water to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders for four years and once applying for and getting a job as an usher. Today he holds a title that sounds almost too good to be true for a guy who got his start flipping meat for college friends in a parking lot: official pitmaster of the Dallas Cowboys.
From Stadium Jobs to Season Tickets
According to WFAA, Pittman worked at Texas Stadium for five years before eventually quitting that job and buying Dallas Cowboys season tickets instead, choosing to watch games as a fan rather than staff them. It was in those parking lots, cooking alongside college friends during games, that he developed the skills that would eventually define his career. The University of Texas at Arlington graduate, who finished his degree in 1997, spent nearly 25 seasons tailgating with his Phi Delta Theta fraternity brothers at Cowboys games, according to Phi Delta Theta.
That tailgate reputation eventually earned him the title of king of Dallas Cowboys tailgates, honed in the parking lots of old Texas Stadium, per the UTA Magazine interview with Pittman. He is known for his holiday cooking, and the connection to the team has carried into the locker room itself: Pittman prepared the turkey that Cowboys players celebrated with after a Thanksgiving win, with tight end Jake Ferguson running off the field with the bird while shouting “Freedom!” Jerry ate turkey legs in the locker room, per WFAA's reporting on the celebration.
A Side Hustle That Outgrew the House
Meat Church began about 12 years before publication, when Pittman was a young father spending more time at home and started sharing his cooking on social media, according to WFAA. The brand formally launched as a side hustle after Pittman appeared on the TV show BBQ Pitmasters in 2014, the UTA Magazine interview notes. In its earliest days, Meat Church ran out of Pittman's own house in Waxahachie, as detailed by Texas Monthly.
Pittman eventually retired from his corporate job at age 44 to focus solely on barbecue, the same UTA Magazine piece reports. The company's growth has been described two different ways: Texas Monthly reports Meat Church surpassed $1 million in total sales four years after launching, while the UTA Magazine account states the company eclipsed $1 million in sales within three years. Either way, the business now offers seasonings and recipes that have built a loyal following of backyard cooks nationwide, becoming what WFAA describes as a nationally recognized barbecue brand.
By the Numbers
The scale of that growth shows up in the figures. Meat Church has more than 1.2 million YouTube subscribers, according to the Chronicle's coverage of the brand's newest storefront. Despite that reach, the company runs lean, with only ten employees and $20 million in sales last year, per Phi Delta Theta's profile of Pittman. Meat Church also sells products.
Meat Church's classes have drawn a following well beyond Texas. A barbecue class brought students from sixteen states, Canada and Italy, Texas Monthly reports. Pittman has also cooked for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, other professional athletes and country musicians, according to UTA Magazine, and he competes on the national barbecue circuit, including the Houston Rodeo World Championship, Memphis in May and the American Royal, he told the Dallas Observer.
A New Home in Downtown Waxahachie
Meat Church's roots remain planted firmly in Waxahachie, where the brand recently opened a new supply store at the former Boyce Feed Store, as reported by Chron.com. The three-acre space is triple what the company had at its former Main Street location, and it now carries barbecue seasonings, meat products, equipment, supplies and merchandise, the same report states. WFAA describes the Meat Church Feed Store as located in downtown Waxahachie, occupying a revitalized building with deep roots in the city, and drawing barbecue enthusiasts who travel hundreds of miles along with visitors from across the country.
Pittman said some Saturday visitors tell him they flew in from Wisconsin just to see the store, according to WFAA. He also said the feed store's renovation is a source of pride and serves the Waxahachie community. The Cowboys connection runs through the ownership ranks too: Stephen Jones, also a Phi Delta Theta member, serves as the team's executive vice president and CEO, per Phi Delta Theta's reporting.
Pittman shows no signs of slowing down. He plans to continue building the brand without easing off anytime soon, WFAA reports, a pace that has carried him from landing an usher job at Texas Stadium to preparing postgame meals for the Cowboys.
