About Us

Rick Mysse picked up a smoker in the early 2000s. A friend dragged him to judge a BBQ competition in Southern California and told him he should enter the next one. So he did. He and his son Luke showed up to Stagecoach's BBQ Festival with a brisket recipe he'd been working on in the backyard. They took first place.

That win changed everything.

Rick went all in. Weekends turned into road trips. Truck packed with wood, rubs, and coolers full of prime brisket. Competition after competition across the country. He didn't just compete. He dominated. Over the next four years, Rick racked up 300+ trophies, multiple grand championships, and perfect scores that most pitmasters spend a lifetime chasing.

But the road takes a toll. 120-hour weeks. Sleeping next to smokers in parking lots. Missing holidays. Rick loved the craft but wanted something different. Something permanent. A place where the same people could come back every week and taste what competition judges were scoring perfect tens.

In 2022, Hickory & Spice BBQ opened at the corner of Tustin Ave and Meats in Orange, California. The name of that intersection isn't a coincidence. It was meant to be.

The brisket smokes for 24 hours. Every single one is prime grade, hand-selected. The bark is thick, dark, and peppery. The inside is pink and juicy, melting the second it hits your tongue. This isn't reheated cafeteria meat with sauce poured over it. This is the real thing, cut to order.

The pork spare ribs pull clean off the bone. The pork belly burnt ends are crispy, sticky, and gone by early afternoon most weekends. The house-cured pastrami is sliced thick with a peppery crust that rivals the best BBQ restaurants in the country. And the onion rings? Hand battered in panko and dusted with what the staff calls "fairy dust." Rick earned the nickname "Lord of the Rings."

Hickory & Spice BBQ is open Thursday through Sunday. Sometimes they close early because they've sold out of everything. There are no reservations. You show up, you get in line, and you eat some of the best BBQ in Orange County. That's the deal.

Rick still wakes up before dawn to tend the smokers himself. The regulars know everyone by name. First-timers usually become regulars by their second bite.

Some of his 300+ trophies are on display. But Rick doesn't talk about them much. He'd rather you taste the brisket and decide for yourself.

We cater, too. Corporate lunches, office parties, weddings, birthdays, backyard cookouts, and everything in between. Packages start at $35 per person across Orange County, from Tustin and Anaheim to Irvine, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, and beyond.

Hickory & Spice BBQ 2143 N Tustin St, Suite 6 Orange, CA 92865 (714) 202-5458

Thursday through Sunday, 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Or until the meat runs out.