“Ok, The ribs look pretty… but can you show us how to make them taste good?” Someone said from the back off the class.

“The best you ever ate” I wondered aloud.

The rib portion of the class is always a huge hit and with Amy’s help this year’s class was no different. The ribs went on as planed… and those teams who had a vested interest with the contents inside checked the big pit.

They were learning the most fundamental aspect of low and slow, fire control, and the Klose was the perfect place to learn one of the real secrets to great BBQ.

Chicken was the last of the four meats to be tackled by the group and the lowly yard bird was brought to a new level with Amy’s tips and preparation techniques. The $160.00 pair of scissors she had brought to trim chicken got a real close inspection by more than one person!

We all checked and rechecked pit temps before we moved on to a live charcoal making demonstration and discussion on woods and how to pick the best to make championship BBQ. Fire, smoke and the process of what is taking place in the pit was simplified to hopefully give a better understanding and the importance of heat control in the making great BBQ.

It was after 12 when breakfast started to wear off and the wood fired oven to become the main attraction. Melanie and Amy needed a break and some time to relax. The class was anxious to try their hands at making pizza and we all were ready for some lunch.

The oven was at 600 degrees and the ladies had all the fixin’s to make a variety of different pies laid out and ready to go. After a short demo on the finer points of building a good pizza and some showin’ off by yours truly, we turned them loose.

Talk about your Kodiak moments… each person took their turn with the oven and some good-natured kidding around about their skills or apparent lack thereof… It was all about having some fun and getting some practical experience on one of the best tools in the professional kitchen.

The socializing might have gone on all day around the oven if it had not been brought to the groups attention we needed to check pit temps and then do some rubs and sauces.

The briskets and butts were humming right along and a few were starting to break out of the 160 plateaus in the Klose. You could tell by the look in the eyes of the soon to become pit masters THEY were making real BBQ and building confidence around their newfound skills.

I was amazed at how this class took to making their own signature sauces… like ducks to water. I tasted some I wouldn’t mind calling my own and told them so.

Part Two of a Three Part Series