ABOUT US
Simply put ... MeatBoneZ was born in the backyard of creator and founder Jeff Thalrose.
In 2015 after an amazing summertime barbecue at Jeff's house packed full of family and friends, Co-founder and longtime friend, Corey DiGiovanni had a vision of the rest of the world needing to experience the same mouthwatering flavors of Jeffs barbecue. Shortly after this Jeff and Corey began on a mission as partners to introduce the MeatBoneZ brand of sauces, rubs, and marinades to every griller and aspiring pit master around the globe!
From sauces to rubs, all made from scratch, each bite of protein that takes on the MeatBoneZ authentic flavor, takes you on a journey to the deep south and even Texas.
Building the MeatBoneZ brand focuses on quality of product, while helping people step up their craft by giving them the ammunition they need to churn out amazing food, creating bonds and life long memories with family, friends, and perfect strangers through unforgettable flavor.
OUR FOUNDER
Jeff Thalrose took an early interest in cooking when he was in his early teens. His Aunt Yetta would always cook big meals for family get togethers and functions. He was always amazed on how she could cook with such amazing flavor. Aunt Yetta was always willing to show him how it was done.
At just 13 years old, Jeff was allowed to cook the Thanksgiving turkey at his Grandmother’s apartment in the Bronx. Everything tasted great, it was cooked to perfection!
Throughout the years, Jeff would cook here and there for family and friends, but it wasn’t until the late ‘90’s while going to the annual Lake George, family Labor Day weekend vacation, that Jeff realized barbecue was his passion. It started with slow cooking spareribs on an old, beat up charcoal grill. They came out great, so he kept practicing and the smoker collection started growing. It didn’t take long before he was smoking restaurant quality briskets!
JEFF & COREY
The two actually attended the same school, but it wasn’t until a few years later that they officially met.
Corey played guitar in a band called “Big Guns.” Jeff was working as the house lighting director for a popular club called “The Chance.” (early 90’s) Jeff was so impressed with the style and energy that Corey brought to the stage that he made it a point to meet him later that day.
Fast forward a year or so, Jeff started doing lights for Corey’s new band, “Psycho High.” Jeff enjoyed working with the band and soon became their guitar tech. The band went through a format change re-named themselves, “Pound.” During those times, Jeff and Corey were attached at the hip. They did everything together from band gigs to mountain biking to vacationing to stuffing their faces full of good food!
Corey was no stranger to barbecue and cooking. He had traveled the country and tasted barbecue from all over. Corey made Jeff realize that he wasn’t just an average backyard BBQ cook. Corey saw the potential in Jeff and brought this incredible knowledge, energy and drive to the table! It wasn’t long before Corey convinced Jeff to start a business and cater events.
MEATBONEZ BARBECUE IS BORN
The first official MeatBoneZ event was BBQ paired with wine! A local winery in the Hudson Valley New York, called Tousey Winery was one of the first of many successful events that they did together. Not long after that, Jeff and Corey were attending a music event together and met an old friend, Lynne, who, at the time, worked for the March of Dimes. After they told her what they were up to she asked them to provide food for one of her charity events. They agreed and with only one official event under their belts, they prepared for days and wowed a crowd of thousands with brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. An incredible success!
SMITHFILED FOODS & JEFF THALROSE
After several local events Jeff's reputation began to grow, and in 2016 he was contacted by a company called “Foodmix,” (thanks to Corey and his wife Jill) who was looking to interview a Pitmaster for tips and industry perspective. That interview opened the door to an amazing experience for Jeff. Foodmix invited Jeff to participate in an innovation lab for Smithfield. He had the honor of cooking with some incredible pit masters and chefs including Melissa Cookston (Memphis Barbecue Co) and Ernest Cervantes (Burnt Bean Co). These were seasoned veterans, not only in the BBQ world, but the TV world as well. Jeff, being the rookie with no professional training, held his ground and cooked with pride while being humbled by the greatness that surrounded him. It was one of Jeff’s greatest learning experiences.
MIXON SMOKERS
& COMPETITION BBQ
Things were getting busy, so Jeff and Corey decided to take a trip to Connecticut and visit the Myron Mixon smoker plant to look for another rig. They met Myron’s son, David where they basically spent the day there and cooked barbecue with him on an incredibly massive H2O smoker. That was a great day! Jeff landed up purchasing a MMS G33 gravity feed smoker.
Jeff and Corey decided to break in that new smoker at a BBQ competition in New Paltz, NY at “The Rib Fest.” Jeff’s Wife, Renée and good friend Tony Z joined MeatBoneZ for this event. It was the first competition they were ever in. Despite not really knowing how KCBS competitions worked, the team came in 35th out of 65 contestants and 9th in brisket! Coming in 9th in brisket was a small victory for this team especially because we used “choice” grade brisket while others were cooking much more quality grade briskets. It was a excellent learning experience.
GIVING BACK AND HELPING CAUSES
MeatBoneZ LOVES Charity events. Later in 2017 MeatBoneZ was asked to provide food for the "March For Babies" event at the walkway over the Hudson, Jeff made a call to Smithfield Foods and told them what he was doing. Smithfield decided to donate several cases of pork butts and ribs to benefit. The “March for Babies,” is an organization that helps fund research to prevent premature births, birth defects and infant mortality.
Jeff has also cooked for the Westchester County Police recruits while they were doing driver training. It was an honor to serve food to these fine young men and women who made the decision to protect and serve the people!
MEATBONEZ 2023
Presently Jeff and Corey are honing in on MeatBoneZ as a brand and bottling Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades. From humble beginnings Jeff has always made his own BBQ sauces and rubs to go along with his barbecue which people go crazy over. The choice was an obvious one .. lets make MeatBoneZ available to the public!
Jeff and Corey are currently selling the MeatBoneZ products nationwide and focused on continuing to bring more great flavors to the table!
