When Andrew Peña’s job as a refinery inspector in Corpus Christi was paused during COVID-19, he went looking for a smoker. He found one nearby via an online ad and hauled it back to his driveway. Peña had been grilling steaks and ribs since he was twelve, but smoking brisket became his new challenge. By mid-2020, he was confident enough to sell his barbecue for preorders on Facebook. Needing a name and a logo, he sketched one out for Full Send BBQ. “It means one hundred percent. Don’t take shortcuts,” he explained. “What you put into it is what you get out of it.”
Peña started dating a woman named Desirae Hill, who happened to be a great cook. They’re no longer a couple, but they became a barbecue duo serving out of their driveway. They graduated to pop-ups and serving smoked meats out of a local bar. They wanted a place of their own. “Instead of driving around and pulling the pit, I needed somewhere to be stable,” Peña said, so they found a short bus and an empty lot to lease in downtown Corpus Christi. After bringing in a shipping container retrofitted with a restroom at one end and storage space at the other, they laid some turfgrass and opened in August 2023.
I stopped in on a recent Friday at opening time, and Peña showed me around the pit room while Hill finished writing the day’s menu on a whiteboard. Mesquite wood was stacked by one end. Peña wanted to use the local wood he grew up cooking with instead of Central Texas post oak. “I want to be true to the area,” he said. “It’s really respected when you can perfect [smoking with mesquite] and it’s not overwhelming.” The wood is prevalent in Texas but has a reputation for producing smoke that’s too strong for the long cooks required for large cuts, like brisket. Peña disagrees. “Don’t neglect [the firebox], and it will be steady,” he said. “Oxygen is its best friend.”
Peña then joined Hill in the trailer to prepare trays for my order. They urged me to come again on a Saturday, when they serve smoked pork belly, duck, or oxtails, or on a Sunday, when they smoke beef cheeks and beef ribs. When Peña finished slicing and plating the barbecue, Hill brought the trays to one of the many picnic tables on the synthetic lawn.
The mesquite smoke on the brisket was perfectly balanced. The fatty slices were very juicy, and the lean slices were buttery tender. I loved the simple seasoning mix of salt, black pepper, and garlic. Peña used the same mixture on a huge chicken quarter that had just come off the smoker and was piping hot. The skin was crisp, but the meat could have spent some more time becoming tender on the smoker.
Hill shreds some of the brisket for her dirty rice. The menu normally includes Puerto Rican rice (Hill has familial ties to the Cherokee Nation, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico), but this diversion is a success, with bold flavors that pair spectacularly well with the savory black beans. Hill also makes tart collard greens with plenty of ham hock, as well as some of the eggiest potato salad I’ve had—I loved it. The star side, though, was the pasta with a rich sauce made from a three-cheese blend.
Desirae Hill and Andrew Peña.Photograph by Daniel Vaughn
With all the brisket Peña was smoking, there was plenty of trim to be utilized. He learned to make sausage, but not enough for the business. Full Send smokes the raw sausages produced by Nathan and Josh Kolenovsky at Boarri, a local meat market. They make a recipe using Oaxaca cheese and green chiles rather than the standard cheddar and jalapeño. The links are spectacular, with juice bursting through the snappy casings with every bite. Peña’s spareribs are also impressive. There’s a hint of sweetness in the mahogany bark but also plenty of salt and pepper. I alternated each bite of smoked meat with bites of thick, sweet strands of pickled red onion and tart pickled cucumbers—both made in-house—as crunchy palate cleansers. (The only item Peña and Hill don’t make themselves is the white bread.)
I noticed a few other details at Full Send that made the experience more memorable. Hill doesn’t leave the music to some algorithm to choose. She carefully curates an eclectic playlist that hums through the outdoor speakers on the lot. I love a Robert Earl Keen tune, so when “Corpus Christi Bay” came on as I waited for my order just a few blocks from said body of water, I felt like I was in the right place. Some R&B, alternative, and classic-rock tunes were also sprinkled in. When another Keen song, “Barbeque,” hit twenty minutes later, I was mid-bite into that brisket, and everything felt right with the world.
I asked Peña if his job at the refinery ever became available again after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. “I can always go back,” he said, “but I’m in too deep.” He and Hill are on a mission to serve the best barbecue in Corpus Christi, and they’ve got to keep the mesquite fires burning. “Even though the money’s way better” at his old job, Peña said, “I’d rather be happy doing what I love.”
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the relationship between the business partners and to include the name of the sausage supplier.
Full Send BBQ
411 Taylor, Corpus Christi
Hours: Friday–Saturday 11–2, Sunday 11–3
Phone: 361-371-2015
Pitmaster: Andrew Peña
Method: Mesquite in an offset smoker
Year opened: 2023
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