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  fearless bbq Growing up my heroes were fearless. Tarzan would fly through the jungle on a vine saving explorers from the wild beasts which lurked in the under- brush waiting to pounce. He showed no fear diving from a cliff into a crocodile infested river just en- sure Jane’s safety. I remember watching Evel Knievel take his Harley Davidson over buses, cars and trucks, with, what seemed to me, no fear. How many remember watching him attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon? He was the epitome of the old Nike slogan, “No Fear.” That’s why we had the toys and always wanted to be them when we went outside to play. This is how I, along with many of you, spent my childhood. Summers were the best when we would rise, eat breakfast, grab our BB guns and head to the woods in search of adventure. Fearless of any wild animal we’d encounter. Proactively look for clues to track down Bigfoot which we were convinced lived in the woods out back. Then mom would holler for me to come home for supper to face the only thing I feared, vegetables, or worse, chicken livers with mac and cheese. I know many of you are just shaking your heads, but I was a kid. When it came to food, I wasn’t entirely fearless. This has changed as I’ve gotten  Fearless Cooking    Vic Clevenger Chimney Cartel victor0568@gmail.com            BarbecueNews.com - 22 SEPTEMBER 2019 older, but it took a while. But how does one get to the point of ‘Fearless Cooking?’ I think fearless cooking requires three characteristics. Fearless Cooking Requires Confidence As college football begins, I think about those kids taking the field especially the quarterback. In a lot of cases he’s the team leader, driving the plays, boosting morale when the chips are down and knows all eyes are on him. A lot of these kids play in front of 20,000 or more fans live not to mention the millions watch- ing on television. But when they run out on the field, they exude confidence. Its this confidence, in some cases, which makes the difference in the game, be- tween just losing a great game or receiving a great beat down. The top-rated cooks also carry this confi- dence when they approach their grills. I love to watch “Beat Bobby Flay” not only for the entertainment fac- tor but when he is challenged by a chef whose signa- ture dish is something Bobby hasn’t cooked. His confidence in his knowledge and skills allow him to approach something brand new. Even our outdoor cooking heroes like a Mark Lambert or Chris Lilly ap- proach cooking with this same confidence, which is why they are so sought after. 


































































































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