Chef to present 2 classes this week

By Aimee Yee

Daily Star Staff Writer

Ladies and gentlemen, fire up your grills. Ready your lawn chairs for hours of food, fun and music.

It's almost time for “It's A Smokin' Blues & BBQ Challenge,” which will take place this Friday and Saturday along the railroad tracks in downtown Hammond.

The kickoff event, The Daily Star Newspaper Cooking Class, can help barbecue enthusiasts bone up their skills. The classes will be held Wednesday and Thursday nights at “Smokin' Blues & BBQ” headquarters at South Cate and Hanson streets.

The “Smokin' Blues & BBQ Challenge” is an annual downtown Hammond event involving teams that travel from around the South to compete in barbecue cooking competitions, Chair Deek DeBlieux said.

All proceeds will benefit TARC, a local United Way agency that serves children with disabilities.

The Kansas City Barbeque Society, the largest international organization of barbecue enthusiasts of all levels, sanctions more than 50 barbecue contests each year from Florida to British Columbia. DeBlieux said participants range from those who love cooking barbecue to those who love eating it.

The varieties of meats and the styles of cooking reflect barbecue diversity, he said.

On the cutting edge

For those interested in learning more about barbecuing before the competition, Chef Troy Black of Birmingham, Ala., will provide instruction during The Daily Star's Newspaper Cooking Class.

Daily Star Advertising Director Debi Menasco said there is still time to sign up for the 90-minute classes, which will start at 6 on each of the two nights. Call her at 254-7811.

On Wednesday, the classroom audience will watch Chef Black prepare and butcher meat and chicken while explaining the different techniques and tools used. The audience will also get to taste-test pork ribs.

Those in attendance at Thursday's class will watch Black demonstrate the cooking of pulled pork and brisket and then will eat the results.

The skills and techniques learned in these classes should enable anyone to enter the “Smokin' Blues and BBQ Challenge,” he said in an interview Monday.

“Absolutely,” he said. “In fact, they will have a pretty distinct advantage if that's what they want to do.”

He will teach the basics of barbecue cooking, while using and talking about equipment, tools, seasonings, sauces and more. Black promises the class will be very engaging and will have an interactive environment where he will be open to answering people's questions about how they cook in their back yards or about techniques or tools.

“There will be a lot of question and answer-type stuff while I cook and as I prepare the rumps, the shoulders, the sauces,” he said. “The class is an opportunity. When I started out, I didn't have the opportunity to take classes.”

Black, 41, said the experience of cooking on the circuit taught him how to finally understand what was one of the hardest things for him to overcome in competitive barbecuing, namely, “You're not cooking for yourself ... but for the judges.”

“One of the things I'll be teaching is what the judges are looking for and what will get you scored down ... Like if it's too spicy, you won't score well,” he said.

Black said he has enjoyed cooking on the grill ever since he was a youngster. He remembers great times passed cooking barbecue with his parents and grandparents as a boy and as he grew older.

“I've been cooking since I was a boy. Back then, though, I was just in charge of cooking hamburgers and hot dogs,” he said, adding that as he grew older he often would find himself in charge of the grill.

He worked as an editorial staff member for Southern Living before becoming a full-time competitive chef.

Black and his team claimed immediate success on the highly competitive KCBS circuit and, week in and week out, he consistently places in the Top 10. He has been featured on the Food Network, Travel Channel and other TV and radio shows.

His awards to date include three state barbecue championships and 82 Top 10 awards. For two of the past three years, his ribs have finished seventh in an annual overall national ranking, Black said.

Black's wife, Jan, shares his intense passion for barbecue, as do his daughters, Taylor and Darby. His family can often be found on the road with him, cooking up winners under the team name www.learn2Q.com.

The Challenge

The Challenge will open Friday at 4:30 p.m. - hours after the 8 a.m. set-up and team registration.

Food and drink vendors also will open at 4:30 and will remain open until 10 p.m.

Entertainment will include a reunion performance of the band Coffee on the Northshore Broadcasting Blues Stage Friday from 6 p.m. until about 10 p.m.

On Saturday, Destiny will perform on the NorthShore Broadcasting Blues Stage from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Chris Gray of Hammond will take the stage at 5 and perform until 9 p.m.

Three day-long competitions will take place Saturday, DeBlieux said. Registration for the ATMOS Energy Backyard Boogey will start at 6 a.m. Participants will turn in sauce, chicken and ribs.

The Charter Media KBCS Contest will start at 7 a.m. and calls for chefs to turn in their best chicken, pork, ribs and brisket.

The Lamar Outdoor Adver-tising Chicken Little Contest will begin at 8 a.m. with registration, set-up and a Chicken Little Cooks meeting, De-Blieux said.

The awards ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. with Lamar Outdoor Advertising Chicken Little Contest. The ATMOS Energy Backyard Awards will be presented at 4:15 and the Charter Media KCBS Contest at 4:40.

The barbecue pit drawing will be at 5 p.m.

Aimee Yee gets e-mail at reporter@hammondstar.com and calls at 254-7834.