Meet Judith Covarrubias, Loro’s 5’1” Pitmaster Who Smokes 1,200 Pounds of Brisket a Week

There’s a certain stereotype for Texas pitmasters, a look, a stature and a smell. Burly, a little greasy. Perhaps they walk like their knees hurt. But, as it is wont to do, Loro Asian Smokehouse, a culinary mashup of Central Texas brisket and Asian cuisine in Old East Dallas, is breaking stereotypes.

After graduating, she started quite a ways back in the pecking order as a line cook at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. She moved to Oak, where she worked with chefs Jason Maddy and Brian Zenner. Year after year she worked her way up the line. Eventually she earned a spot at Uchi, first as a prep then as a head prep cook under the James Beard Awarding winning chef Tyson Cole.

Before Loro opened, Covarrubias packed up for a two-week stint at the original Loro in Austin to learn the ins and outs of the smokers and the pace she'd need to keep at the restaurant: a"stage," as they say in the culinary world. When she got back to Dallas, Loro's chef de cuisine Mike Perez didn't have time to waste. “I came back and chef Perez was like, ‘So, are you ready to take over the whole thing right now?’ Yes, chef.

Silver vents above the smokers are free of even a smidge of grease; cleaning them is a job that requires crawling atop the smokers, which Covarrubias boasts is easier for her thanks to her small stature. On the way out of the room after leading a tour, she sees a paper towel is dangling out of its receptacle above the sink and pauses just long enough to push it back into place before leaving the room.

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