masque13
is one Smokin' Farker
- Joined
- May 19, 2014
- Location
- Somerset...
Hello everyone. This past weekend my cooking partner and I made the trip to Unidella to attend the Jack's Old South cook school. Three days after attending the school, I am still sitting here with a smile on my face! We had an incredible time and I am blown away by the quality of what took place throughout.
Value is certainly in the eye of the beholder and I know that some may argue that any of the big name schools are too expensive etc... I understand that. However, for me, I can say without hesitation, that this school was worth every penny to me and my partner. I would highly recommend attending this school if you are interested in taking a peak behind the curtain on how a true successful professional approaches the art of quality BBQ.
Friday night was the meet and greet and from the moment we arrived, we were treated like family. From everyone checking us in, to serving the food, to Myron and Michael, EVERYONE was extremely gracious and gave the appearance they were genuinely appreciative that we had chosen to attend their school.
Food was delicious, fried catfish, fried chicken, home style french fries, and mama's cole slaw was made available along with some banana pudding. Soft drinks, beer, tea were available as well.
Myron talked to us for a bit on Friday night and got everyone pumped up for Saturday morning.
Upon returning Saturday morning, we spent the day going over his recommended prep processes for the 4 competition meats you do in KCBS events. He also went over all of his injections. After he demonstrated his processes and thoughts on each meat we got to break up into 4-6 per table and go try the processes ourselves on meat provided that would be cooked later that evening for Sunday.
Lunch on Saturday was basic burgers, hot dogs, slaw, chips and some left over banana pudding. All the drinks mentioned above were available the entire time we were there.....you simply just went and got what you wanted to drink at anytime.
After lunch we jumped back into some more meat prep and along the way Myron went into great detail about his wood preferences and his thoughts on the importance of running a perfect fire. Great stuff for sure!
Saturday evening concluded with dinner and it was porch chops and some kind of sausage that I cannot remember the name of right now, along with his peach baked beans, loaded potato salad and apple crisp for dessert. Holy mother of God, the sausage was incredible and everyone at our table and surrounding tables were going back for more!
We came back early Sunday morning to go over time lines, processes and to finish the cooking of the meats. The first thing we did was unveil the whole hog and let me tell you that was some incredible eating and the entire process of prepping the hog, to cooking it, to properly finding the correct meat to serve was an eye opening experience!
As the morning progressed and each meat got closer to being ready, Myron and Michael worked like a well oiled machine showing us their tag team processes to getting the final steps done to make each meat perfect for building your KCBS boxes. The entire school was incredible, but those few hours alone would have made the trip and expense worth it. Along the way, since I was sitting up near Myron and Michael, I was lucky enough for Myron to occasionally hand me a piece of product to taste and each time he did, I was truly in awe of what he did with the meat. It was so tender, moist, and tasteful, while still having the taste of pork, beef or chicken shine through. The man knows what he is doing.
Getting to see the final boxes was also another eye opener and I thankful for getting to see those processes as well.
We also worked on some turkey that was truly incredible and I cannot wait to use what I learned for my family at Thanksgiving.
Early Sunday afternoon things wrapped up and it was time to go. You are given a sheet that you can order any of the products that were used or tools that were used, if you want. The stuff is not pushed on you at all and if you do choose to buy you feel like you are doing because you want to and you are not pressured at all.
I cannot stress enough how willing Myron, Michael and all the members of the team are willing to help you. No question is a bad question and each of them are willing to spend time with you personally during breaks to answer any additional questions and discuss anything you wish to discuss. This was a HUGE plus to me enjoying this school, because these guys truly made you feel like they would do anything they could to help you become more successful at cooking Q. And why not, Myron is not dumb, he freely admits that our future success will help the continued success of his school. It's just good business. With that said, I was surprised at how forthcoming he and Michael were with discussing everything about cooking. I'm sure a guy like Myron has to hold on to a few sacred secrets, I know I would......But you can certainly feel like you are leaving with a treasure chest of your own private BBQ secrets!!!
I would highly recommend taking this school if you can afford it! Money well spent for me.
Now a few other short items.....I would recommend staying in Perry. Unidella is not a place that has more than one or two known motels. Apparently, there are a couple of B & B's and they have nice reviews, but I'm more of a motel kind of guy. Perry is only about 15 minutes away and Myron's place is only a couple minutes off the interstate.
Georgia gnats are not fun. Take a can of "Off" with you and use it liberally when you get out of the car!! They do run these large fans, which do a great job of keeping the gnats away from you. But they can be annoying.
Who should take this school? Honestly, anyone can take it and learn a ton of info. I know it says in the promo stuff that anyone from a pro to a beginner can take the class and I would say that is true. Myron is a fabulous teacher, makes it fun, and he is truly hilarious most all of the time. I had tears running down my face multiple times from laughing so much!! If you ever go ask him to tell you his "Batman" story....you won't be disappointed. I will say the class is geared a hair towards competition cooking and that made it perfect for me, because that is what I am focusing on right now and what I wanted to learn about the most.
Lastly, who am I and what do I know? Anytime you see someone write a review about something, you can't help but wonder, "this guy may suck at cooking and of course he would think something like this is great". I understand that. My partner and I have been cooking together for about 4 years and cooked separately prior to that for a about 3 years. Just in the last year we decided to go into trying to some Comps. Time limitations have limited us to just two comps so far. However, we have gotten a call in both KCBS events we entered. The first was an 8th place call in ribs and the second was a 6th place call in pork. We have also cooked for community events and fed over 200 people at one setting on multiple occasions and occasionally set up and do cooking at events for money selling product. The point of sharing this info is to let you know that we went into this school with some decent knowledge and success. We are pretty good at cooking but have a strong desire to get better and we wanted to shorten the learning curve. I have no doubt that what we absorbed has made us better. We have two comps coming up in October and I cannot wait to incorporate what we have learned at the Jack's Old South school into what we do in the future!
Thanks to Myron, Michael, Tracy, Tom, and everyone else who helped us out while visiting. It was a great time! :clap2:
Value is certainly in the eye of the beholder and I know that some may argue that any of the big name schools are too expensive etc... I understand that. However, for me, I can say without hesitation, that this school was worth every penny to me and my partner. I would highly recommend attending this school if you are interested in taking a peak behind the curtain on how a true successful professional approaches the art of quality BBQ.
Friday night was the meet and greet and from the moment we arrived, we were treated like family. From everyone checking us in, to serving the food, to Myron and Michael, EVERYONE was extremely gracious and gave the appearance they were genuinely appreciative that we had chosen to attend their school.
Food was delicious, fried catfish, fried chicken, home style french fries, and mama's cole slaw was made available along with some banana pudding. Soft drinks, beer, tea were available as well.
Myron talked to us for a bit on Friday night and got everyone pumped up for Saturday morning.
Upon returning Saturday morning, we spent the day going over his recommended prep processes for the 4 competition meats you do in KCBS events. He also went over all of his injections. After he demonstrated his processes and thoughts on each meat we got to break up into 4-6 per table and go try the processes ourselves on meat provided that would be cooked later that evening for Sunday.
Lunch on Saturday was basic burgers, hot dogs, slaw, chips and some left over banana pudding. All the drinks mentioned above were available the entire time we were there.....you simply just went and got what you wanted to drink at anytime.
After lunch we jumped back into some more meat prep and along the way Myron went into great detail about his wood preferences and his thoughts on the importance of running a perfect fire. Great stuff for sure!
Saturday evening concluded with dinner and it was porch chops and some kind of sausage that I cannot remember the name of right now, along with his peach baked beans, loaded potato salad and apple crisp for dessert. Holy mother of God, the sausage was incredible and everyone at our table and surrounding tables were going back for more!
We came back early Sunday morning to go over time lines, processes and to finish the cooking of the meats. The first thing we did was unveil the whole hog and let me tell you that was some incredible eating and the entire process of prepping the hog, to cooking it, to properly finding the correct meat to serve was an eye opening experience!
As the morning progressed and each meat got closer to being ready, Myron and Michael worked like a well oiled machine showing us their tag team processes to getting the final steps done to make each meat perfect for building your KCBS boxes. The entire school was incredible, but those few hours alone would have made the trip and expense worth it. Along the way, since I was sitting up near Myron and Michael, I was lucky enough for Myron to occasionally hand me a piece of product to taste and each time he did, I was truly in awe of what he did with the meat. It was so tender, moist, and tasteful, while still having the taste of pork, beef or chicken shine through. The man knows what he is doing.
Getting to see the final boxes was also another eye opener and I thankful for getting to see those processes as well.
We also worked on some turkey that was truly incredible and I cannot wait to use what I learned for my family at Thanksgiving.
Early Sunday afternoon things wrapped up and it was time to go. You are given a sheet that you can order any of the products that were used or tools that were used, if you want. The stuff is not pushed on you at all and if you do choose to buy you feel like you are doing because you want to and you are not pressured at all.
I cannot stress enough how willing Myron, Michael and all the members of the team are willing to help you. No question is a bad question and each of them are willing to spend time with you personally during breaks to answer any additional questions and discuss anything you wish to discuss. This was a HUGE plus to me enjoying this school, because these guys truly made you feel like they would do anything they could to help you become more successful at cooking Q. And why not, Myron is not dumb, he freely admits that our future success will help the continued success of his school. It's just good business. With that said, I was surprised at how forthcoming he and Michael were with discussing everything about cooking. I'm sure a guy like Myron has to hold on to a few sacred secrets, I know I would......But you can certainly feel like you are leaving with a treasure chest of your own private BBQ secrets!!!
I would highly recommend taking this school if you can afford it! Money well spent for me.
Now a few other short items.....I would recommend staying in Perry. Unidella is not a place that has more than one or two known motels. Apparently, there are a couple of B & B's and they have nice reviews, but I'm more of a motel kind of guy. Perry is only about 15 minutes away and Myron's place is only a couple minutes off the interstate.
Georgia gnats are not fun. Take a can of "Off" with you and use it liberally when you get out of the car!! They do run these large fans, which do a great job of keeping the gnats away from you. But they can be annoying.
Who should take this school? Honestly, anyone can take it and learn a ton of info. I know it says in the promo stuff that anyone from a pro to a beginner can take the class and I would say that is true. Myron is a fabulous teacher, makes it fun, and he is truly hilarious most all of the time. I had tears running down my face multiple times from laughing so much!! If you ever go ask him to tell you his "Batman" story....you won't be disappointed. I will say the class is geared a hair towards competition cooking and that made it perfect for me, because that is what I am focusing on right now and what I wanted to learn about the most.
Lastly, who am I and what do I know? Anytime you see someone write a review about something, you can't help but wonder, "this guy may suck at cooking and of course he would think something like this is great". I understand that. My partner and I have been cooking together for about 4 years and cooked separately prior to that for a about 3 years. Just in the last year we decided to go into trying to some Comps. Time limitations have limited us to just two comps so far. However, we have gotten a call in both KCBS events we entered. The first was an 8th place call in ribs and the second was a 6th place call in pork. We have also cooked for community events and fed over 200 people at one setting on multiple occasions and occasionally set up and do cooking at events for money selling product. The point of sharing this info is to let you know that we went into this school with some decent knowledge and success. We are pretty good at cooking but have a strong desire to get better and we wanted to shorten the learning curve. I have no doubt that what we absorbed has made us better. We have two comps coming up in October and I cannot wait to incorporate what we have learned at the Jack's Old South school into what we do in the future!
Thanks to Myron, Michael, Tracy, Tom, and everyone else who helped us out while visiting. It was a great time! :clap2:
