The summer is upon us, and grills and smokers all over the DMV are heating up as well. For the series Fired Up with Jake and John, 海角精品黑料鈥檚 Mike Jakaitis and John Domen are talking with some of the region鈥檚 best pit masters about their methods, with the goal of helping you level up your barbecue game.
Myron Mixon owns and is considered 鈥渢he winningest man in BBQ.鈥� He鈥檚 won five Memphis in May World Championships, including last month鈥檚.
We asked Mixon to impart his most important tip for the amateur. Would it be about spice? Sauce? A secret ingredient? Some other finishing touch?
Nope.
鈥淎lways, always cook by meat thermometer,鈥� Mixon said without any hesitation, displaying one in his Old Town kitchen. 鈥淭hat seems like a rudimentary tip, but 鈥� always.鈥�
Mixon, his dad 鈥� who taught him lots about barbecue 鈥� and other pros we talked with can tell how close to done a piece of meat is just by feeling it. The odds are, you can鈥檛. And the numbers matter.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the biggest mistake鈥� the backyard chef makes, Mixon said.
鈥淭hey either get the inside raw and they burn the outside, or the reverse. 鈥� Whether it鈥檚 over done or under, doneness is generally the number one bad thing.鈥�
And to get that doneness just right, forget about time and cook to the right internal temperature.
鈥淓very protein has got its own doneness,鈥� Mixon said. 鈥淏risket is 205 [Fahrenheit] at the point. Chicken 鈥� white meat chicken is 160 to 165. Legal is 160, but I like to take it to 165. Dark meat chicken is 180.鈥�
It鈥檚 a matter of safety 鈥� Mixon once saw someone get disqualified from a competition because their chicken wasn鈥檛 cooked through, which left the judges susceptible to salmonella 鈥� and it鈥檚 also the biggest difference between something that pulls apart easily, and something chewy.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want tough brisket,鈥� said Mixon. 鈥淵ou pull it at 190 or 180 and it鈥檚 going to be tough 鈥� 205 is what you want it to be at.鈥�
