Smokin' with Myron Mixon (eBook)

Barbecue Basics

Men like to barbecue. Men will cook if danger is involved.

-Rita Rudner

A funny thing happens when I get to competitions: I find myself surrounded by lots of 'friends' who show up at opportune times, like when I'm prepping my meat. These are people who want to watch me cook, see what I do, and figure out what techniques they can steal for their own food. I'm not ugly to them. In fact, I'm fine with their prying eyes because I know that no matter what they see me doing, they're probably not going to be able to replicate the magic themselves. That's not because I think I'm so divine-although of course I do think that-but it's because there's just no substitute for the amount of practice I've had. I've spent a lifetime growing up around barbecue, and I'm closing in on twenty years of competing on the professional barbecue circuit. So watch all you like, I say: you won't be able to do what I do unless you put in the time.

Now, that said, I do appreciate the fact that people admire my food and want to learn some of my tricks. It's flattering. And I like to help teams, especially the young ones just getting started who really want to learn, and so I figured out something I could do besides watch them all turn into eavesdropping fools. For a few years now I've been running a barbecue cooking school in my backyard barbecue pavilion, where I've set up an outdoor classroom. My students come for a weekend and learn how to do what I do in competition, they watch as I demonstrate how to cook all the major categories of barbecue meats, and they get the opportunity to work in teams and make their own. I attract a wide variety of students, from people who just want to learn how to make their barbecues better, to those who are interested in learning to cook on the circuit, to barbecue restaurant owners hoping to shoot some extra energy into their menu offerings.

I have a lot of fun teaching, and to be honest with you, I wish my students would have a little more fun. I notice a whole lot of worriation among my pupils. They stress over cooking times and temperatures. If I say 'Sprinkle some rub on the brisket,' they want to know exactly how much to sprinkle on, if I say 'Let the chicken rest a few minutes,' they want to know exactly how many minutes. I think you have to be very mindful of times and temperatures when you're cooking, and you have to set a timeline and be vigilant about sticking to it. Lord knows I'm sometimes a slave to my timelines, which I spend a lot of time devising, during competitions. But I also believe that it's just as important to use your other senses when you're cooking, too. For instance, I often go by appearance when I'm cooking: does my meat have the color on it that I want it to? Is it that just-right shade of burnished yet shiny? I want my food to look great, and getting the color I want on it lets me know when it's ready. My philosophy: It's done when it's done, and when it's done, get it off the grill.

Again, that kind of judgment comes with a lot of practice. You'll get there, but you have to start somewhere. So I figure that this is a good place to tackle your most worrisome questions about barbecue. Without further ado, here are the top questions that people ask me about how to cook barbecue-with my answers.

What is barbecue supposed to taste like?

If we're talking about championship barbecue here, the first thing you have to remember is that all barbecue contests are meat contests. And so no matter what, the essential flavor of the meat should come through. This rule is equally true for what you cook up in your own backyard. Beyond that, good barbecue should obviously be moist and...