William Gracheck grew up eating his father Jack’s cooking, who is known for making smoked dishes for the holidays. 

“His favorite thing to do in the world was just make all these different kind of recipes and he loved being out by the smoker,” Gracheck says.

 Jack would keep a binder with all his recipes, but the smoked salmon is the one that Gracheck remembers the most.

 As an adult, Gracheck began to put his own twist into the family craft and began bringing it to social events. People started asking for the recipe and requesting if he could bring it to more events. The family recipe is best characterized as being savory but light with a smoked Texas BBQ flavor. Although it’s fish, the taste and texture is reminiscent of smoked brisket. Gracheck would lay down the pre-seasoned fillets in his backyard smoker, but soon graduated to two different commercial barrel smokers as orders increased.

“My dad said if you really want to run with this, go for it,” Gracheck says.  “It’s why the name, obviously Smokin’ Jack’s still stuck. It was his recipe, his vision and he basically allowed me to turn it into a full-fledged business. It was also good to hear feedback because he’s pushing me to, you know, find different ways and to be better.”

He started selling Smokin’ Jack’s in 2012. There was enough orders to keep him busy, especially around the holidays. In tandem with his side business, Gracheck worked at MosquitoNix, a residential and commercial pest company. Two years ago, Gracheck took the leap to leave his work and focus on selling salmon. 

“I was really happy with where I was at and what I was doing, but I was just like, I’ve got this side hustle that’s kind of growing and I want something that’s my own,” he says. “I wanted to take control of my life. (My wife and I) kind of looked at each other and we made the decision to do this full time.”

For six months, Gracheck tested the filets in his backyard, ten at a time. This meant adjusting the heat and figuring out how much time to cook them. It’s the process he had been doing for years, but in a different way. For each testing round, he would ask friends and family, but specifically his dad for feedback before he could start selling to the masses.

“He’ll always be back in the fall working at the markets and he’s always like ‘I’m Smokin’ Jack, but my son runs the business,’” Gracheck says.

Now, almost every weekend during fall, they’re working at a market. They started at the Dallas Farmer’s Market in March 2022 and later branched out to White Rock, St. Michael’s, McKinney and Coppell. They keep an updated weekend itinerary on their website so people can find them easily. 

“I think that there’s a really great niche, especially local, as far as kind of getting into local shops around here is,” Gracheck says. “Everybody is selling some great products, but you don’t have many of them selling hot smoked salmon and people at least know about us enough that we’re in their lexicon.”

Gracheck transitioned into a commercial kitchen in Garland, smoking salmon for 15 to 20 hours a week. He and his wife, Jenn Gracheck, have made orders for customers ranging from local friends to NFL players.

“I wouldn’t describe (him) on a day to day as a perfectionist, except when it comes to the salmon,” Jenn teases William. “(He’s) very specific on the salmon (he) sources, the ingredients and the hours (he’s) selling.”

Just a couple of months ago, Empire Baking Company started to sell the product in their store. Gracheck personally delivers locally and ships nationally. Moving forward, he has played with the idea of selling other proteins in addition to the salmon and expanding on different flavors. 

“What really hit home for me was going to these farmers markets with only five to 10 people knowing I would be there and now it’s probably around 100 who come back as regulars,” Gracheck says. “They had no idea who I was when they went one time and now they come back or message me throughout the week asking where I’m going to be next.”