Unfathomable Bastid
Full Fledged Farker
Hey Brethren,
Just wanted to share with you a little recap about the class I took with Myron on Friday. Please feel free to message me if you have any specific questions. Fun day with the man. But not without criticism.
Class was held in Chicago on the front-end of the Windy City BBQ Festival. As it's an onsite, one-day course, it's not the usual competition cooking class with Myron at his home school in Georgia. Rather, this was a makeshift classroom held out in a parking lot next to the festival. Folding tables with knives, gloves, and cutting boards greeted us (along with water, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches). There were 21 of us in total, most of whom were backyard BBQ enthusiasts, plus a few competitors. I paid $500 for the one day course from 8:00am-4:00pm.
Class was scheduled to start at 8:00, but we actually all sat outside on picnic benches for the first hour shooting the breeze with each other while folks from the festival help get things set up. On a side note, not sure who's doing the hiring for the festival, but they have good taste in young pretty girls :wink: Regardless, Michael and Tracy Mixon (Myron's son and brother) were around to interact with while we all waited for Myron. I will tell, you won't meet a nicer family. Tracy is pretty shy and stays mostly to himself, although he'll answer your questions. Michael is the new face of the franchise and was outgoing and highly interactive with all of us. Incredibly likeable young man.
I went into this with an open mind. $500 is a lot of money for just a few hours, so to me, I was hoping for three outcomes:
1) Did I learn something?
2) Was Myron cool to hang with?
3) Could I get pictures and autographs?
Thankfully the answer to all three was an enthusiastic YES! But not without a few hick-ups:
Things I learned:
Great vinegar-based mop for ribs and chicken. How to not "over-think" BBQ, and the basics of ensuring a great product. Whole chicken preparation technique was particularly interesting!
One the negative side, Myron didn't show up until 9:00. And left at 2:00pm with literally no goodbye. But that actually made me laugh. He's the man, and we're not children. When dude wants to leave he can leave :razz: While he was around, he was completely accessible, fun, and posed for countless pictures and autographs with nary a frown.
Bottom line -- I don't feel like I learned a ton for BBQ competition, but I had a great time as primer to a great BBQ festival. Was it worth $500? Depends how much you enjoy posting great facebook pictures to your friends.
-Bastid
p.s. We cooked on a pit built of cinder blocks, a cooking grate, and two inches of sand. Amazing!!
Just wanted to share with you a little recap about the class I took with Myron on Friday. Please feel free to message me if you have any specific questions. Fun day with the man. But not without criticism.
Class was held in Chicago on the front-end of the Windy City BBQ Festival. As it's an onsite, one-day course, it's not the usual competition cooking class with Myron at his home school in Georgia. Rather, this was a makeshift classroom held out in a parking lot next to the festival. Folding tables with knives, gloves, and cutting boards greeted us (along with water, coffee, and breakfast sandwiches). There were 21 of us in total, most of whom were backyard BBQ enthusiasts, plus a few competitors. I paid $500 for the one day course from 8:00am-4:00pm.
Class was scheduled to start at 8:00, but we actually all sat outside on picnic benches for the first hour shooting the breeze with each other while folks from the festival help get things set up. On a side note, not sure who's doing the hiring for the festival, but they have good taste in young pretty girls :wink: Regardless, Michael and Tracy Mixon (Myron's son and brother) were around to interact with while we all waited for Myron. I will tell, you won't meet a nicer family. Tracy is pretty shy and stays mostly to himself, although he'll answer your questions. Michael is the new face of the franchise and was outgoing and highly interactive with all of us. Incredibly likeable young man.
I went into this with an open mind. $500 is a lot of money for just a few hours, so to me, I was hoping for three outcomes:
1) Did I learn something?
2) Was Myron cool to hang with?
3) Could I get pictures and autographs?
Thankfully the answer to all three was an enthusiastic YES! But not without a few hick-ups:
Things I learned:
Great vinegar-based mop for ribs and chicken. How to not "over-think" BBQ, and the basics of ensuring a great product. Whole chicken preparation technique was particularly interesting!
One the negative side, Myron didn't show up until 9:00. And left at 2:00pm with literally no goodbye. But that actually made me laugh. He's the man, and we're not children. When dude wants to leave he can leave :razz: While he was around, he was completely accessible, fun, and posed for countless pictures and autographs with nary a frown.
Bottom line -- I don't feel like I learned a ton for BBQ competition, but I had a great time as primer to a great BBQ festival. Was it worth $500? Depends how much you enjoy posting great facebook pictures to your friends.
-Bastid
p.s. We cooked on a pit built of cinder blocks, a cooking grate, and two inches of sand. Amazing!!
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