Southern Thunder BBQ Cooking School

Established in 2014, we've taught over 3,000 students from around the globe the fine art of smoking and grilling.

Come join us in Atlanta for a fun, hands-on experience that’ll take your BBQ skills to the next level.

Scroll down to see our classes

  • BBQ With the Pros

    Learn to smoke brisket, ribs, pork butts, and chicken in one hands-on 10-hour day.

    You will spend the day cooking over 250 lbs of meat, shoulder-to-shoulder with us Pros. There will be plenty of time to interact with us instructors and our pitmaster, and ask questions. We guarantee you will have a lot of fun and probably make some new friends. For sure you will leave with the skills you need to be a great brisket, rib, pulled pork, and chicken cook.

  • Grill With the Pros

    Whether you're grilling in your backyard, out in the woods, tailgating before the big game, or cooking up a storm at a family picnic, this class is your ticket to becoming the go-to grill master. In this fun, fast-paced, and flavor-packed 4-hour session, you'll get hands-on experience with a wide range of grilling styles and gear.

    We’ll fire up charcoal, pellet, gas grills, and even Dutch ovens—so you can learn to cook confidently on whatever you have at home (or at camp).

  • Grilling and Wine Pairing

    Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary date night? Want to learn great grilling techniques? How about learning to pair the perfect wines with grilled foods? The BBQ Pros at Southern Thunder Cooking School have cooked up a special hands-on Grilling & Wine Pairing class just for you.

  • BBQ Masters (Whole Hog) Class

    Learn how to cook a whole hog and throw a legendary BBQ party in one day!

    Even if you are not interested in cooking a whole hog, you will have a blast watching students do it, and maybe you will change your mind once you see our simplified method that takes only 8 hours from start to finish. Plus you can invite your friends to help us eat it at our end-of-day banquet.

    There is a lot more to the class that will help every serious BBQ cook up their game.

    And finally, if you are going to be cooking for a group or event you need a plan and our manual has a very comprehensive guide to do just that.

  • Kids Cooking and Grilling

    Spend time with your child while they learn lifetime cooking and grilling skills from a championship BBQ team.

    Ages 10-14,

    3 hours, Including meal (10:00 AM to 1:00 PM or 4:00PM to 7:00PM

    Your child will learn how to prepare and cook a variety of delicious and healthy dishes on or gas charcoal grill using modern methods that will guarantee perfectly cooked results every time. We also cover food safety, knife skills, healthy choices, sauces and rubs, and much mo

  • Competition Boot Camp

    COMPETING IN A BBQ CONTESTY IS WAY MORE FUN THAN YOU THINK!

    We will help you form a competition team and then do a dry run under our guidance. Our “Comprehensive Guide to Competing” manual included

    Other classes provide recipes and timelines but that's not enough. You need a practice run before competition day to iron out the kinks in your team. You also need actual BBQ judges to critique your entries so you have a real shot at winning some prize money.

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