Has Anyone Attended Steven Raichlen's BBQ University In Colorado?

[daricksta]

I recently took a BBQ/Grilling class in Seattle and the guy running it said he had gone to one of Raichlen's one-week BBQ U courses. He said it only ran 9 am to 12 noon and none of the attendees got to do a thing. He said all Raichlen did was demonstrate techniques and all food was cooked by his large staff of chefs on a collection of grills. The guy talked very disparagingly of Raichlen and his course so I'm hoping to hear from people who also took the one-course to hear their stories and opinions. Thanks.

 

[smokerjim]

Awhile back I asked him a question on his web site, why i don't get smoke rings in an electric smoker,"which i already got the answer"in a matter of minutes" on SMF but i just wanted to see if this guy would know or is he  full of _____. he answered back that he had no idea but they would probably be doing a show in the future.  i will stick to smf, so much more knowledge here.

 

[caribou89]

I bought his BBQ bible off amazon when I first got my first electric smoker. I was so disappointed. In Texas the only thing we refer to as barbecue is smoked meat. Everything else is grilling. I didn't know that and I ended up with a giant book full of grilling recipes and almost zero mentions of smoking meat.

 

[daricksta]

I bought his BBQ bible off amazon when I first got my first electric smoker. I was so disappointed. In Texas the only thing we refer to as barbecue is smoked meat. Everything else is grilling. I didn't know that and I ended up with a giant book full of grilling recipes and almost zero mentions of smoking meat.

I stocked up on his books last year and while I found some really good stuff. I bought them because they were about grilling and I love using my
Weber kettle grill but I haven't used them all that much. I got a basic rub recipe from one of the books that I still use for various meats. I'm just overloaded with grilling books. I only have only two smoking  books: Ray Lampe's "Slow Fire", and "Smoke & Spice".  S&S has more recipes I want to try. Lampe's book is a good book but I think it's targeted more at the guys with large rigs. I have to simplify and adapt them for my MES 30.

 

[daricksta]

 
Awhile back I asked him a question on his web site, why i don't get smoke rings in an electric smoker,"which i already got the answer"in a matter of minutes" on SMF but i just wanted to see if this guy would know or is he  full of _____. he answered back that he had no idea but they would probably be doing a show in the future.  i will stick to smf, so much more knowledge here.

He didn't know? I wonder how much of Raichlen is Raichlen and how much is his hired staff? At Costco, I bought a DVD set of one season of his old PBS show but haven't watched it much. But even the guy who taught the BBQ class I attended knew and explained why you can't get smoke rings from an electric smoker. I just read an article, though, that suggests using a water pan and adding a charcoal briquette to an electric smoker can create a smoke ring. Think I'll give this a try. Here's the article"

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_the_smoke_ring.html

 

[wade]

I found his books and TV shows good for providing ideas as to what to serve alongside the main smoked dish. He has some interesting and tasty appetizers and deserts that are cooked on the BBQ. You are right though Caribou89 they are mostly using it as a grill rather than a smoker.

 

[smokerjim]

he claims it's actually him answering."I know it must be true it's on the internet, right"if it is his staff i would think he would be more involved so they don't make him look foolish, the blog is still on barbequebible.com, nobody there really gave the answer. I also have the barbque bible book, it is geared more towards grilling.

 

[daricksta]

 
he claims it's actually him answering."I know it must be true it's on the internet, right"if it is his staff i would think he would be more involved so they don't make him look foolish, the blog is still on barbequebible.com, nobody there really gave the answer. I also have the barbque bible book, it is geared more towards grilling.

That could actually have been him. When I was talking about his staff, I was thinking about all the people who help develop recipes, do the test cooking, all kinds of stuff. And from what the BBQ teacher guy said, he does almost no cooking himself at BBQ U.

You're "smokepit"in the Smoke Rings thread, aren't you? I saw Raichlen's answer and the two that followed it. From what I understand, the heating elements in electric smokers just don't get hot enough to cause the chemical reactions that create smoke rings. The article I linked to above talked about including a charcoal briquette but didn't specify if it needed to be broken up, lit separately, or whatever. Since I don't use wood chips I'd have to have a briquette glowing by itself in the wood chip holder and I don't know if the high heat produced by charcoal would hurt the electronics or burn the holder itself. Smoke rings are for competition BBQ, TV cooking shows, and for showing off anyway. I just cooked a brisket last Sunday with zero smoke rings but tons of flavor; it looked great and was the best I've ever made.

 

[smokerjim]

that is me, i know the smoke rings have nothing to do with flavor, it just looks nice, next time i do some ribs i will crush up some briquettes and see if it works, i'll let you know,  some where on smf  is the scientific reason why you don't get them with electric which explains everything.

 

[daricksta]

 
that is me, i know the smoke rings have nothing to do with flavor, it just looks nice, next time i do some ribs i will crush up some briquettes and see if it works, i'll let you know,  some where on smf  is the scientific reason why you don't get them with electric which explains everything.

Here's everything and more you need to know (and more than I was able to read) about generating smoke rings:

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/sranoxring.html

 

[stickyfingers]

I went to Miron Mixon's school Feb. 2014 and it was AWESOME...I would even do it again. EXtremely hands on! Complete with recipes for sauces and rubs for everything. all questions answered! Even repeated everything the final day! He gives you everything you need...all you have do is show up! I even recorded it!

 

[daricksta]

 
I went to Miron Mixon's school Feb. 2014 and it was AWESOME...I would even do it again. EXtremely hands on! Complete with recipes for sauces and rubs for everything. all questions answered! Even repeated everything the final day! He gives you everything you need...all you have do is show up! I even recorded it!

I just looked it up. $750 for two days of Georgia-style BBQ. So, Myron teaches the class and gives you hands on instruction and guidance? I bet he was an absolutely fun guy since he doesn't have to don his competition ego. Sometimes on his TV show he can be a bit much but the guy can back it up so more power to him. Have you thought about uploading segments of the video to You Tube so that we could watch it? I'd love to see Myron in teaching mode.

By contrast, Raichlen's BBQ University is a 4-day affair (my BBQ guy said it was 9 am- 12 noon) at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado with packages, including hotel stay, starting at $2100. The photos show a long line of various BBQ rigs (including international cookers) and the advertising text boasts that students get hands on experience but that doesn't mean that all students get to cook on all cookers. The guy who taught my one-day class insists that the time he attended Raichlen's staff did all the cooking while Raichlen stood there doing nothing but lecturing and demonstrating. I've yet to hear confirmation of this from anyone who attended Raichlen's class so I don't know what to believe.

However, since my beloved wife couldn't afford to send me to BBQ U, she did buy me the hat as one of last year's Father's Day gifts.

 

[padronman]

 
I just looked it up. $750 for two days of Georgia-style BBQ. So, Myron teaches the class and gives you hands on instruction and guidance? I bet he was an absolutely fun guy since he doesn't have to don his competition ego. Sometimes on his TV show he can be a bit much but the guy can back it up so more power to him. Have you thought about uploading segments of the video to You Tube so that we could watch it? I'd love to see Myron in teaching mode.

By contrast, Raichlen's BBQ University is a 4-day affair (my BBQ guy said it was 9 am- 12 noon) at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado with packages, including hotel stay, starting at $2100. The photos show a long line of various BBQ rigs (including international cookers) and the advertising text boasts that students get hands on experience but that doesn't mean that all students get to cook on all cookers. The guy who taught my one-day class insists that the time he attended Raichlen's staff did all the cooking while Raichlen stood there doing nothing but lecturing and demonstrating. I've yet to hear confirmation of this from anyone who attended Raichlen's class so I don't know what to believe.

However, since my beloved wife couldn't afford to send me to BBQ U, she did buy me the hat as one of last year's Father's Day gifts.

I'll just learn from this site and from my own trial and error......$2100 bucks???  Ummmmm no thanks.  $750 bucks for Myrons?  Ummmmmm mp thank either.  That money buys a lot of Brisket and Butt!!!

Scott

 

[daricksta]

 
I'll just learn from this site and from my own trial and error......$2100 bucks???  Ummmmm no thanks.  $750 bucks for Myrons?  Ummmmmm mp thank either.  That money buys a lot of Brisket and Butt!!!

Scott

Scott, I fully agree with you. That's why my joke is that the ball cap my wife bought me cost $2500. Finding this site has been the best thing for learning how to smoke. Funny, but I never go a grilling site I'm a member of because I've got a ton of grilling books and grilling--to me--is much easier than smoking. Grilling is a skill but true and great BBQ is an art form.

 

[stickyfingers]

I was very unsure about going to Myron Mixon's cook school. I thought WOW $750! But half way through I was glad I went!! I live close enough that I could drive down and I did rent hotel of course. The school starts Friday evening, you register and they give you a packet with a note pad, pen and apron (Jack's Old South of course). Friday is a meet and greet with a fish fry...Mixon informs you of what the weekend will entail.

Saturday is early! Starts with him prepping a whole hog. shows you how to make the injection and gives you the recipe. Same with rub. Then brisket, chicken, ribs and butts.  With each, after he shows you how to trim, inject, rub and answers questions, you break into teams of 5-6 where each one has a chance to trim, inject, rub whatever meat he just discussed. He supplies lunch and dinner. He has demos of his smokers and plenty of "Black Shirts" to answer questions about them.

During the process of describing how to prep the meat, he is the MOST patient person often repeating himself to make sure you getting all his recipes correct.

Sunday is eating day! First the Hog...complete with where to pull from and why, and how to build a comp box. Then as he is showing how to slice and build a comp box for the brisket, they bring you a box to sample. Same way with chicken, ribs, butt.

Once all that is done, he verbally recaps EVERYTHING he has talked about to be sure you have it in your notes and answers any questions.

It was a great experience.........I would do it again!!! 

 

[smokerjim]

hey daricksta thanks for info, will read more later,i also wouldn't pay for a class, i think trial and error are a good teacher along with everyone on this site.

 

[daricksta]

 
I was very unsure about going to Myron Mixon's cook school. I thought WOW $750! But half way through I was glad I went!! I live close enough that I could drive down and I did rent hotel of course. The school starts Friday evening, you register and they give you a packet with a note pad, pen and apron (Jack's Old South of course). Friday is a meet and greet with a fish fry...Mixon informs you of what the weekend will entail.

Saturday is early! Starts with him prepping a whole hog. shows you how to make the injection and gives you the recipe. Same with rub. Then brisket, chicken, ribs and butts.  With each, after he shows you how to trim, inject, rub and answers questions, you break into teams of 5-6 where each one has a chance to trim, inject, rub whatever meat he just discussed. He supplies lunch and dinner. He has demos of his smokers and plenty of "Black Shirts" to answer questions about them.

During the process of describing how to prep the meat, he is the MOST patient person often repeating himself to make sure you getting all his recipes correct.

Sunday is eating day! First the Hog...complete with where to pull from and why, and how to build a comp box. Then as he is showing how to slice and build a comp box for the brisket, they bring you a box to sample. Same way with chicken, ribs, butt.

Once all that is done, he verbally recaps EVERYTHING he has talked about to be sure you have it in your notes and answers any questions.

It was a great experience.........I would do it again!!! 

it sounds like if you can afford the class it was a really good. Better than the 6-hour class I attended by far, but my daughter paid about $70 for that one as my Father's Day gift. I got some good info and recipes yet there are things the instructor said were fact that some guys here dispute. And he would throw in inappropriate comments verging on sexist (three women were in the class) and he got into political crap and complained about people in the BBQ industry so it was a real mixed bag. But the guy's got six schools in about 4 different states and instructors who teach classes for him so he's got a good thing going.

The way you described Myron is how I imagine him to be. If I had the money for it all I'd take his course before I'd take Raichlen's, which concentrates on various forms of grilling, anyway. Looks like he gave you guys everything he had to give. He's a class act. Damn, I'd love to taste Myron's food as well.

Did you take any pics of your comp boxes?

 

[stickyfingers]

No,....I didn't take any pictures of the boxes. I did draw some diagrams. Did take some general pictures. He really has thought of everything...he had a big rectangle mirror above him so you could see what he was doing. The thing I wanted to know going into it was how he gets such good results smoking at 325. The way he has everything timed out to match the different cuts of meats and using 2 temps. I mean...he cooked a 15 lb brisket in 4 hours and it was like butter!!

 

[daricksta]

 
No,....I didn't take any pictures of the boxes. I did draw some diagrams. Did take some general pictures. He really has thought of everything...he had a big rectangle mirror above him so you could see what he was doing. The thing I wanted to know going into it was how he gets such good results smoking at 325. The way he has everything timed out to match the different cuts of meats and using 2 temps. I mean...he cooked a 15 lb brisket in 4 hours and it was like butter!!

 A 15 lb brisket in FOUR hours?  And he had a big mirror? He cooks at 325? I looked at one of his cookbooks and he said he cooks his hogs at 275. Were 325 and 275 his two temps? I guess he learned how to cook buttery brisket at 325 for the tight time constraints of comp BBQ. It's all theoretical to me because my MES 30 maxes out at 275 but my typical set point is 235.

I think it'd be more of thrill to be in Myron's presence than Steven's for a BBQ class.

 

[stickyfingers]

Thats right, he cooks the hog and ribs at 275. The brisket and butts at 325. He said he wasn't going to stay up all night...&%$# that!. Yes cooks brisket in 4 hours (then the rest period)