Myron Mixon Cook Class Report

SmokingPiney

Myron's class is definitely not Egg-centric, but you can still pick up a lot to up your game. We all signed a covenant to not disclose his recipes, so I can't post them...but I took lots of notes. 

@lousubcap , this report is for you:

The class started with a meet and greet on Friday evening. Myron provided a fried catfish and chicken dinner which was really good, explaining to us that we were eating fried food that night because it was going to be BBQ overload the rest of the class. We all received a Jack’s Old South apron, a note book, and a coozie – the apron came in handy the next day. Myron had a full food serving line in the back of the BIG patio, a keg of beer iced down, and a soda machine set up – all you can drink. Tables were set up for the students. The area he used to instruct was covered by an overhead mirror and 2 video monitors so everyone can see what he was doing. He wore a wireless microphone do everyone could hear him. He had 2 big smokers set up right behind his table, and there were 2 more that were used to cook the student’s food. 

The class was divided into 2 parts. Saturday started at 9:30 AM and was all prep. We started the day watching him and his crew prep a whole hog. They injected it with a full 5 gallons of injection, and I would have never believed it would take it all if I hadn’t have seen it for myself. Once the hog was put in the cooker, we moved on to demonstrations. He went over pork butt, pork ribs, beef ribs, pork loin, competition chicken legs, cupcake chicken, whole turkey, and brisket. After each demo, the students went to tables in groups to prep the meat he just demonstrated. His crew had the tables set up with the cryovac meat, knives, rubs, and injection. The tables were covered with disposable covers and we used disposable cutting boards. He had a glove station for all of us to glove up prior to handling the meat. Myron’s son Michael worked the student’s tables assisting us if we had questions, and we always did. Once the meat was prepped, his crew put them into the cookers. Myron cautioned us to do a good job prepping, as this was going to be our dinner that night. We broke for lunch, and he served grilled burgers and dogs. It was a full nine hours of demo and prep, and I was more than ready to take a break and eat the Q that we prepped all day. I ate until I couldn’t hold another bite, and everything we prepped was killer.

 Sunday was an early start at 8 AM. We started the day by pulling the hog off the pit. It was beautiful. Michael showed us how to break it down, and it was basically breakfast that morning. It tasted incredible. We also had the turkey that was cooked before we arrived and that was great. Myron then went into a time line cook – just how he cooks comps. He explained the order of the cook, and actually did those cooks in front of us. He explained cook times, pit temps, what IT’s to look for to pull, and how to hold. He actually cooked for all of us to watch that day and built blind boxes for us to see – brisket, pork butt (sliced and pulled, chicken, and pork ribs. The brisket he cooked for this was Wagyu and he passed out samples as he sliced. It rocked. Class ended a little after 2 PM and we were all once again stuffed with BBQ. We all got a diploma and said our goodbyes.

We all signed a covenant to not disclose his recipes or post pictures of his blind boxes. 

Take-aways: 

This class is really going to change the way I cook some meats. While I admired Myron from his shows, I was always a little skeptical about how his food actually tasted. He told us he cooks the same whether at home, catering, or comps. I can personally attest to the fact that his food tasted truly great and he lets the meat shine. His food flat out rocked. 

His methods are actually fairly simple, with easily found ingredients – nothing exotic at all. He uses a lot of injection, and I was skeptical about this, also. Now, I’m sold. It made a world of difference in the taste, and all of his injections complemented the meats – the meat was still the star.
It was an amazingly fun weekend.

Myron and his son Michael answered EVERY question asked. They were engaging, personable, and entertaining. They made the class fun. He had a crew of about 8 guys working to keep things moving and cook the student’s food. They were also very helpful. I highly recommend this class if you’re looking to up your game. We had a few comp cookers in the class, but most of us were back yard types. It was well spent money.

Tips if you go:

Eat a light lunch on Friday before the meet and greet. Myron puts on a spread.
Be prepared to takes LOTS of notes. I took 12 pages of them.

Eat a very light lunch on Saturday – you’ll be eating all of the Q you prepped that day for dinner that evening.

Don’t be afraid to ask Myron questions. He’ll answer them all.

lousubcap

@SmokingPiney - Thanks for the insights from the class.  I appreciate the effort you put into the above summary.  Twelve pages of notes will serve you well down the road.  I'm glad you found it worthwhile as it's all about the process and you definitely got quite a "look behind the curtain."  
Thanks again.   

SmokingPiney

lousubcap said:

@SmokingPiney - Thanks for the insights from the class.  I appreciate the effort you put into the above summary.  Twelve pages of notes will serve you well down the road.  I'm glad you found it worthwhile as it's all about the process and you definitely got quite a "look behind the curtain."  
Thanks again.   

Lou, You're welcome.  I fully realize that this will not translate into BGE territory, and I can't disclose the recipes. My BGE is but one part of my BBQ game, and I'm always looking to advance that. This is why I own a "real" smoker.....and I'm always looking to advance my game. 

blasting

Very nice write up @SmokingPiney

GrillSgt

Thanks. Really appreciate the review. Glad you enjoyed it and found it informative. 

Hans61

Thank you for sharing your experience, nice write up, glad it was a great experience for you!

Botch

Piney, probably the most useful post here in a long, long time; Thank You!
 
I have to ask one question, IF you can answer it:  how did he light his wood/charcoal/lump?  He claims to use lighter fluid in his first book, and gives a scientifically-sound reason for doing so.... 

JohnnyTarheel

Awesome recap and thanks for sharing. Glad you found it very helpful... 

SoCalTim

Awesome and concise review, question(s) - not sure how far you traveled to his home, what time did the Saturday night session end and how far away was the motel you stayed at? I’m seriously wanting to in possibly 2018. Thanks.

Theophan

That was fun to read -- Thanks!  Sounds like a great experience!

clifkincaid

Thanks for the read!

rekameohs

SmokingPiney said:

Be prepared to takes LOTS of notes. I took 12 pages of them.

What kind of stains does your notebook have on it ?

ChuckR

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. About how many students were in the class? On the meats you prepped were you using waygu briskets? 
Thank you for the great trip report.

johnkitchens

Great post. I want to take the class as well.

bluebird66

Thanks for the update!

FearlessTheEggNoob

Very good write up. I would go. Its like a Keith Code riders school for BBQ.

Edit: Except he has a bunch of championship trophies to back it up.

SmokingPiney

Botch said:

Piney, probably the most useful post here in a long, long time; Thank You!
 
I have to ask one question, IF you can answer it:  how did he light his wood/charcoal/lump?  He claims to use lighter fluid in his first book, and gives a scientifically-sound reason for doing so.... 

Botch,

He told us he uses Matchlight to start his pits. 

SmokingPiney

SoCalTim said:

Awesome and concise review, question(s) - not sure how far you traveled to his home, what time did the Saturday night session end and how far away was the motel you stayed at? I’m seriously wanting to in possibly 2018. Thanks.

My hotel was in Perry - about 20 minutes from Myron's house. I left the class Saturday a little after 6 PM after dinner. 

SmokingPiney

ChuckR said:

I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. About how many students were in the class? On the meats you prepped were you using waygu briskets? 
Thank you for the great trip report.

We had 32 students. The brisket the students prepped was SRF selects. Myron cooked the wagyu on his timeline cook. The pork butts were duroc. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the meat the students prepared. 

thetrim

Great write up.  It sounds like it was a blast!  Thank you for sharing!

billt01

It sounds like he has "stepped" up his game since the two years I went with the monitors, sound, and the ability for the students to prep their own protein (that was definitely not an option when I was there).   

I too always inject all my proteins since attending the class..

billt01

SmokingPiney said:

Botch said:

Piney, probably the most useful post here in a long, long time; Thank You!
 
I have to ask one question, IF you can answer it:  how did he light his wood/charcoal/lump?  He claims to use lighter fluid in his first book, and gives a scientifically-sound reason for doing so.... 

Botch,

He told us he uses Matchlight to start his pits. 

yep...he had several bags of Kingsford when I was there...doused the entire bag with fluid and lit it...

The difference, he let the fire burn for a good hour to hour and a half prepping all of the proteins while developing a hot bed of coals for his peach wood...then he added the proteins to the pit...

SmokingPiney

billt01 said:

SmokingPiney said:

Botch said:

Piney, probably the most useful post here in a long, long time; Thank You!
 
I have to ask one question, IF you can answer it:  how did he light his wood/charcoal/lump?  He claims to use lighter fluid in his first book, and gives a scientifically-sound reason for doing so.... 

Botch,

He told us he uses Matchlight to start his pits. 

yep...he had several bags of Kingsford when I was there...doused the entire bag with fluid and lit it...

The difference, he let the fire burn for a good hour to hour and a half prepping all of the proteins while developing a hot bed of coals for his peach wood...then he added the proteins to the pit...

And he has to heat the water in the smokers. That takes some time. 

lousubcap

Lighter fluid to start a fire in a metal pit is no big deal as the metal won't absorb the gases along with the extended time to get the pit to temperature using the follow-on sticks.  

pasoegg

I'm envious...now that you have given us the low down - I really would like to go down there and have some fun with these guys.....sometimes the journey is better than arriving at the place of interest...cause he puts his pants on just like I do...

Hub

Like the others, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post this information.  It was outstanding in all respects. 

pasoegg

@smoking piney - what type cookers were being used at Myron's cooking class?? 

pasoegg

@smokingpiney sorry I had a gray haired moment and added a  space in your name above

SmokingPiney

@pasoegg,

He uses his own brand of cookers. The ones we used were stick burning water smokers. They had a reservoir of water heated by the fire to provide steam. He had water hoses hooked up to them to keep the water level up. The cookers were really nice.

billt01

SmokingPiney said:

@pasoegg,

He uses his own brand of cookers. The ones we used were stick burning water smokers. They had a reservoir of water heated by the fire to provide steam. He had water hoses hooked up to them to keep the water level up. The cookers were really nice.

unless things have changed...the ones he sells are not like the ones he cooks on..

HIS cookers were double steel walled and insulated, the ones i saw for sale were single walled with no insulation..

SmokingPiney

billt01 said:

SmokingPiney said:

@pasoegg,

He uses his own brand of cookers. The ones we used were stick burning water smokers. They had a reservoir of water heated by the fire to provide steam. He had water hoses hooked up to them to keep the water level up. The cookers were really nice.

unless things have changed...the ones he sells are not like the ones he cooks on..

HIS cookers were double steel walled and insulated, the ones i saw for sale were single walled with no insulation..

Myron had 1 display model out for the class, but I never looked at it. He said he normally sets up a tent with all of his cookers for the students to see (and buy), but he had some shipping issues with this class. The cookers we used were really nice.