Smokin Bros Barbecue

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 8 to 8.25/10 and Yes. Tucked along HWY 85 in the small town of Eaton, sits Smokin’ Bros Barbecue. Driving up, you can see their food truck and pits in the back of this non-descript commercial looking property, giving you insight into their initial beginnings as a food truck/caterer. That said, as soon as you step inside, you are greeted by a friendly staff and some light casual rock music playing, with a faint smell of smoke in the air. Sitting down, we were waited on by several staff and received great customer service from all of them, and who additionally let me pop out back to take some photos of their smokers (they stick true to their KC roots, by using American Barbecue Systems Smokers, which are made outside of Kansas City.) We order the large 3-meat and side platter, along with a half rack of ribs to make sure we got the full experience. Once the food came, the presentation was fantastic and came delivered upon bright red trays and butcher paper, with pickles, jalapenos, and pickled onions on the side. In terms of the food, Smokin’ Bros has a high floor for its flavors across all of their options, but didn’t have anything that was the best of the best either. That said, we thoroughly enjoyed the jalapeno cheddar sausage, the pulled pork, and several of the sides such as the okra. While not necessarily worth making a trip to it on its own, if you are in the area, or about to head across the Midwest or north to Wyoming and find yourself craving some BBQ, this is one the last good options available for a long time

Date Visited: 2/16/2026

Address: 241 S Elm Ave UNIT 3, Eaton, CO 80615

Day of the Week: Monday (President’s Day)

Time of Day: 11:38 AM. Open at 11:30 AM

Owner: Brantley, Gavin, & Les Maitland (Brothers)

Website: https://www.smokinbrosbarbecue.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 2017

Number of People in Line: 0, but 7 came in after us

Regional Style of BBQ: Kansas City

Total Cost: $84 with tip. Ordered the 3 meat platter with 3 sides and a half rack rib platter with 1 side. Came with brisket, pulled pork, and jalapeno cheddar sausage for the mains, and then had fried okra, mac and cheese, coleslaw, and cheesy corn to go along with 4 Shiner Bocks for the two of us

Type of Wood: Hickory and applewood

Type of Smoker: American Barbecue Systems rotisserie smokers

Type of Seasoning: Kansas City style, so several blends

Best Dish: Pulled pork or Jalapeno cheddar sausage

Best Sauce: Kansas City All-Purpose

Best Side: Fried okra

Interior Description: Smokin’ Bros goes for a traditional BBQ aesthetic, with red painted walls and corrugated steel welcoming you in as step foot into the building. With several TVs and beer signs aligning the walls, it also has a somewhat sports bar feel to it, but certainly creates a warm and fun environment for adults or families thinking of visiting, in addition to also having a very friendly staff

Pro Tip: Make sure to get the jalapeno cheddar, pulled pork, and the okra

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and others it appears

Description: The brisket had a 1/2 inch red ring around the entire piece and was thickly cut into three pieces, each appearing to be from the flat. It had decent bark, but nothing too crazy to it and while tender and well cooked, it needs more smoke and seasoning to it, especially for the pepper. Gives more of a steak than brisket flavor, which while enjoyable, is not the typical flavor I’m searching for from a brisket. Unfortunately, it was slightly dried out too. Would get again, but not a must have if stopping by

Pork Spare Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Unsure, but dry rubbed and sauced

Description: Diving in, the ribs were dry rubbed with maybe a little bit of sauce added at the very end for a bit of sweetness to it. Decently cut for the thickness to reach rib and not too thinly trimmed either. Not quite fall off the bone, as they still hugged the rib a little bit, but decently tender with some tooth to each bite still. They had an enjoyable seasoning and smoked flavor to them, but needed more of each. As far as the blend, they did have a nice fat-to-meat ratio to them in, similar to the brisket. They were solid, but not best of the best. That said, probably worth ordering again if stopping in Eaton, as options get very limited very quickly north or east of here

Pulled Pork

0/10 Ranking: 8.5/10

Seasoning: Unsure

Description: Very moist pulled pork, but with a little bit of bark too. Some of the juiciest pork I’ve had in awhile, while also still having a little bit of a bite to it; somehow keeping its structural integrity intact. No sauce added or needed, but could use some more smoke flavor and seasoning to bump it up the rankings. Best meat of the day though and would order again

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

0/10 Ranking: 8.5 to 8.75/10

Description: They served the sausage sliced up and they had a nice creamy texture to the interior, without being mushy. Light snap left to the casing as well, and good balance of heat being cut by the cheese with the jalapeño and cheddar combo. Would get again. This or the pulled pork for the best meats we had

Sauces – Didn’t review, but they have several options and the Kansas City All-Purpose was our favorite of what we tried

Sides – Coleslaw

0/10 Ranking: 8.25 to 8.5/10

Description: Super crunchy slaw, with white and red cabbage and carrots mixed in. Seasoned over the top as well, it was a very light coleslaw, almost to the point of being dry, but had a nice snap to it and cuts the meat fattiness well. Would order again

Sides – Fried Okra

0/10 Ranking: 8.5/10

Description: They had a light breading with a little bit of seasoning to them. Crunchy and almost perfectly cooked, with a nice bite on the outside, but still juicy and moist inside. Would absolutely get again

Sides – Mac & Cheese

0/10 Ranking: 8 to 8.25/10

Description: Elbow macaroni with a super creamy sauce. Cooked a little past al dente, but enjoyable overall. Not a lot of layers to the flavor, and could use some salt and pepper, but an approachable mac to order for the table

Sides – Creamed Corn

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Description: A very wet corn sauce, but the kernels still had some bite to them. Sprinkled with seasoning which adds to the flavor, it was good and enjoyable, but not a must order to have either, as it was a little too watery. That said, this is somewhat unique side for a Colorado BBQ option, so feel free to add as a side for a shakeup, however, not a must try