So now that I've almost decided on a new grill (Good One Open Range), I decided to learn more about how to use it.

Chris Marks from Ace of Hearts^TM BBQ Specialties, an 8 time Grand Champion of the American Royal Cook-off Contest and restaurateur, held a cooking class at the Backyard BBQ Store on a Saturday afternoon. He also endorses The Good One grill. So he seemed like the perfect person to show me some ways to use the grill I was interested in. I was thankful for the invitation and looked forward to spending my Saturday afternoon in his class.

As the day began I started to think the class would be cancelled as thunderstorms rolled in. But mother-nature cooperated just in time for the start of class.

The class featured dense meats such as pork butt and beef brisket, cooked 'low and slow'. Chris started with the preparation of a bone-in pork butt. He used an injector filled with a mixture of brown sugar, water and a product called "Morton's Tender Quick". He injected the pork 3 times, then rubbed with mustard and liberally sprinkled with his Memphis Rub. Then he cooked the meat at 250° for 6 - 8 hours, bringing the internal temperature to 195°. He used charcoal briquettes (Royal Oak) and chunks of wild cherry and apple woods. When the pork was finished, Chris used "Bear Claws", a plastic tool used to shred the cooked pork. Then he mixed in more rub, BBQ sauce and a Thai sweet chili sauce. Delicious!

Chris prepared a beef brisket in a similar preparation, but used a jaccarder (meat tenderizer) to work the rub into the meat. The meat cooked at a similar time and temperature as the pork butt. As Chris carved the brisket, I could tell that it was going to be a treat to taste, and I was right...it was excellent!

Chris also split a chicken in half and simply brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled with the spice rub. He cooked it for 2 hours at 250°. It was very juicy and delicious.

I was very pleased and felt that I learned some good tricks and tools for using my new grill, which I had delivered the next day. I feel more confident and I'm ready to begin using the grill. It was a great way to spend a Saturday! And the beer wasn't bad either...

Happy Father's Day!

From the wood burning oven,