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Friday, September 22, 2006

BBQ Class Curriculum

I received an e-mail today from the local community college asking if I'd like to discuss the possibility of providing a bbq course as part of the adult education curriculum. Most of the courses meet only one or two times and they're often on the weekend.

It sounds like an interesting excuse to cook some more bbq and help others learn to enjoy the thrill of learning bbq skills at the same time. What do you think?

If you were going to spend $75 at the local community college to take a bbq cooking class, what types of things would want to learn about?

Here's some thought I jotted down (feel free to add your own suggestions):

-Definition of bbq versus grilling
-Cooker selection
-Wood versus charcoal versus pellets
-Food safety
-Types of meats suitable for low-and-slow cooking
-Meat selection (chicken, ribs, brisket, butts)
-Meat preparation (rubs, brines, injections)
-Cooking techiques (hot and fast versus low and slow)
-Seasonings (commercial rubs, basic homemade rub recipes)
-Sauces (commercial sauces, basic homemade sauce recipes)
-Samples of bbq brisket, pork, ribs, chicken to enjoy at the end of class

One option is to go through the routine of preparing meats as we would at a contest and maybe cook the chicken as part of the class. I would prepare the other meats prior to the class meeting so it would be ready to eat when the class ended.

If I were plunking down my own money, I'd want to cook the meat in the class, but I don't think most folks (i.e. non bbq fanatics like me) would expect to spend 12 hours or more at a community college class in one setting.

1 comment:

the hedrick family mission said...

I'm talking with a community college about teaching an adult continuing education. Class or two. BBQ and sausage making. Gonna do 3-5 sessions. Planning to have cook underway before class and have finished meat ready for class. Logistics will be my biggest challenge. School has a professional kitchen/ classroom with outside patio/ dining area. Sausage making will be a winter offering geared toward hunters. BBQ class for spring,summer,fall. Haven't seen too many college courses as such. Just one in Texas.