I've just had the incredible pleasure of spending 72 hours with the good people of 17th Street Bar & Grill and On Cue Consulting in Murphysboro, Illinois. They've been holding a series of barbecue seminars for a few years now, and I finally had the opportunity to send myself down south (or is it the midwest? the debate will never end) to see what its all about. I attended the Business of BBQ class geared at both newbie 'cue enthusiasts and seasoned pitmasters looking to fine tune their skills. 

For those considering checking out the seminar, here's my wrap-up of the events. 

Mike Mills, "The Legend," was front and center educating us on everything from pit loading, rib seasoning, and meat selection all the way to menu pricing, P&L statments, and analysis on the cost of a single segment of paper towel. The man is incredibly passionate... his passion perhaps only surpassed by his vast knowledge of everything barbecue. His daughter Amy led us through branding, marketing, advertising, pr, catering, vending, and took us on multiple in-depth tours of three of their area locations.

The seminar began with a meet and greet dinner at their Marian location with a tub of beers (Shiner Bock's all iced up), and a table full of smoked wings, spiced sausage, and a selection of other nibbles. I introduced myself to Mike first thing, after which he proceeded to drop one-liners on me one after the next. The one that sticks with me though was something I already subconsciously knew, but never put into words: "Barbecue is not a concept, its a culture." And after spending the next 2 days with Mike, Amy and the 17th Street crew, its clear they live the culture through and through. 

The next morning we picked right up with a hands-on pork rib workshop. We were escorted back into the kitchen, and were treated to a dozen stations stocked with 2 racks of ribs each (loin backs and st loius), spoon, knife, "magic dust," and gloves.

I grabbed a station next to Mike, and watched and learned while he talked bone count, rack shape, membrane removal, fat trimming, and rub application. We then moved over to the pit where he walked us through every conceivable aspect of loading the pit racks with ribs. I jumped at the chance to load a dozen racks under Mike's supervision, and apparently I did an adequate job. Man, after loading that pit there's nothing i want more than an Ole hickory pit for myself. Such a killer experience. We then waked out back, loaded up the pit with apple wood, and had an informal q & a with Mike in a soft drizzle. One of the pits from the back:

Next up we watched pitmaster Phillip slice up frozen pork shoulders into "pork steaks" on a band saw.

I'd never heard of a pork steak, but its apparently an area staple... makes sense as its just a slice of a pork shoulder and presumbly dirt cheap. Phillip loaded them on the pit, and we adjourned for lunch. After a lunch of barbecue spaghetti, we settled in for a presentation from Amy Mills on branding, marketing, social media, and public relations. Having owned and operated a digital advertising agency for the last few years it was great to listen to Amy as she broke it down for everyone (myself included)... she had some outstanding insight of these efforts relating specifically to a barbecue establishment. Amy's presentation was interupted briefly when the ribs were ready to come off the pit, and then it was off for another tour of the catering house and original 17th Street Bar and Grill location. Check out this bank of competition trophies:

Damn! We finished up the day watching Phillip and Josh (another pitmaster at 17th street) finish the pork steaks on a converted pit. They lined the bottom rack of each carousel with foil, and laid a bank of hot coals (Royal Oak) on the foil. They then grilled the previously-smoked pork steaks on the racks above the hot coals, basting in Mike's 17th Street sauce until each steak had a beautiful carmalized exterior.

We ended the barbecue demos with a set of pork shoulders and briskets loaded up on another set of pits. What really struck me about both the shoulders and the briskets was how little seasoning or preperation they do before smoking... the briskets have a little seasoning, but the shoulders are just placed on the racks and set to smoke, skin and all.... made me wonder what all the fuss is about that I go through when making my own shoulders at home!

After a long day of barbecue information overload, fellow classmate Mario cracked open an outstanding  23-yr old bottle of Guatamalan rum from his home country, Amy opened up the catering bar for drafts, and we kicked back while dinner was being prepared. Dinner was the st louis ribs we smoked that morning, and the pork steaks phillip and josh prepared that afternoon. Both were absolutely delicious: 

Somehow after an all-day session I still had more barbecue in me, and I settled in at the bar with a few local beers, a chopped pork sandwich, bourbon, and good conversation with the 17th street crew. Amazingly after a full day, Amy and Mike were hanging at their own bar that evening. These people know how to live! Quick shot of a chopped pork sandwich: 

Day two picked up bright and early again at 8am, and this time we went with Phillip to learn how they prepare chicken breasts and wings. Again it was a realtively simple prep process, and great to see another pitmaster load up a pit. Everything they smoke is over apple and/or cherry, and its easy to see how that keeps the pits running smoothly and inventory easy to maintain. Look at the order in that pit! So nice: 

We then had a hardcore overview on just about every output a barbecuer could seek profesionally. Vending, competition, catering, catering to other caterers (egads!), and just about any other way you figure you could sell barbecue. Amy led us through her deck on all of these matters, and while much of it wasn't appropriate for why I was specifically attending the class, it was once again chock full of great information. Here's an example: When vending, don't put your sauces at the window.... put 'em on a small table away from the line. Makes total sense! At one point during this presentation, it was time to pull the briskets and shoulders off the pit. Check out that blackened smoked goodness on the pit, 20 hours after we loaded 'em up:  The brisket was first off. One of the fellas separated the point from the flat, and set to slicing up the flat and essentially chopping the deckle. I'm a deckle lover (the flat is good, I just like more fatty goodness in my 'cue!), and this selection did not disappoint. Juicy, beefy, and a nice level of smoke. Here's the board all chopped:  Next up was a pork shoulder. Zero seasoning on this: Mike literally just stuck a pair of tongs into this thing to pull it. It basically melted away. Kind of amazing:
He then pooled up a little sauce and sprinked some magic dust on a portion and had us taste everything solo, with dust, with sauce, etc. Solo the pork was moist with a hint of smoke. the magic dust really popped the flavor up, and the sauce took it to a sandwich ready meat. Here's that tray: In the restaurant they chop the entire shoulder (skin and all) for sandwiches. I think I prefer a seasoned bark on a shoulder, but I do think the temp they run those pits is key to their flavor and moistness (210, compared to 225-235 when i smoke at home). Its a really tasty meat, and you can see my pork-a-thon review here for more details.  

We concluded the session with a great discussion on a restaurant's P&L, and how you can always reduce costs somewhere. I whole-heartedly agree that there is just about always a way to reduce the cost of anything, and it was great to hear some of Mike's examples regarding paper towels, latex gloves, and toothpicks! But even more to the point, he doesn't waste a thing on those pork shoulders (aside from the bone), and that's really remarkable. I'd guess he's getting 2-3 more sandwiches out of a shoulder than most joints, and that's easily 25 bucks in gross on a single shoulder other guys might just throw away. Smart! 

I closed out the class asking for a pic with Mike in front of an ole hickory pit.Clearly I'm exhausted, but the legend is a real trooper and happy as anything to oblige this northeasterner:

This class was really phenomonal. My perspective is that of a previous business owner thinking of following his barbecue passion and opening a small neighborhood joint. So for me, seeing first hand how a very successful operation functions both at the back of the house and in the public's eye was incredibly valuable. I took away more tangible information than I've ever gleaned from any of the advertising conferences I attended over the past 10 years. Amy and Mike are truly good people who would share just about anything with you.

In Mike's words, "There's room for all of us." Gotta love that attitude.