Slow Smoked at Mama Jean’s Barbecue

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Seek out decadent pork jowl tacos at this well-rounded Virginia barbecue joint.

Mama Jean's Barbecue Pork Jowl Tacos pc TK — Pork Jowl Tacos, Mama Jeans Barbecue

The plumes of savory smoke wafting above Mama Jean’s Barbecue are like a bat signal for top-notch, slow-smoked ‘cue in Roanoke, Virginia. Since 2018, Mama Jean’s co-owners, Madison Ruckel and his wife, Kelli, have served succulent pork spareribs, Texas-style brisket, and pulled pork, plus homey sides like smoked potato salad and fried brussels sprouts and sought-after specials like double cheeseburgers and birria tacos. Upgrading their vintage airstream trailer to a brick-and-mortar in 2025 has given Ruckel even more room to flex his creativity with the specials menu.

One special that’s become so popular it’s often on repeat is the crispy skin pork jowl tacos, a plate of porcine pleasure best enjoyed at the bar with a frozen cocktail (like a gin and tonic or frosé) or cold Tsingtao (Ruckel’s beer of choice). Periodically, Ruckel drives up to Autumn Olive Farms, a sustainable, family-owned farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, to source half-pig heads. He removes the jowls—a rich, fatty cut from the pig’s cheek that has excellent marbling, depth of flavor, and a tender texture—then reserves the remaining head carcass to make a tonkotsu-style broth for a ramen special. The jowls are dried, seasoned with a rub and salt, and left to marinate overnight. Ruckel smokes the jowls until they achieve what he describes as an overcooked, almost barbecue-like quality, which concentrates the flavor and imbues the meat with plenty of smoke. After crisping ’em up in a 400-degree oven, he chops the jowls and crispy skin and serves them on homemade beef-fat flour tortillas topped with diced onion, fresh cilantro, and a spicy salsa macha that’s kicked up with arbol, ancho, and chipotle chile peppers.

Ruckel calls the dish ridiculously rich—even though he started serving the tacos on street-taco-sized tortillas instead of six-inch ones—so plan to split an order so you can save room to try more dishes, and have an extra Tsingtao at the ready.

Where to Stay:

The Promissory

Book a stylish suite at The Promissory, a boutique hotel in downtown Roanoke housed inside the historic First National Exchange Bank building. Catch a concert at their performance venue, The Exchange, and drop by Suerte for Spanish tapas and wine by night.