Page 24 - Barbecue News Magazine May 2022

Spring Training
After a two year pause due to the pandemic, the Minnesota BBQ Society’s premier educational event, Spring Training, came back better than ever! Spring Training is an all-day event held in conjunction with the University of Minnesota. This year’s workshop included an in-depth demonstration and discussion of breaking down a beef carcass, presentations by repre- sentatives of all aspects of the BBQ industry, and was capped off with a keynote presentation by Jess Pryles of Hardcore Carnivore from Austin, TX.
We had ten different BBQ suppliers showing off their wares, and updates from representatives of all the competitive meat categories. For the first time we had a choice of sessions in the afternoon: Competitive BBQ or BBQ Basics.
Jess Pryles of Hardcore Carnivore, teamed up with Dr. Ryan Cox, head of the Meat Science Department, in
an all-encompassing ‘Meat 101’.
Jess made the comment “It was
also really special for attendees to see an entire carcass breakdown, that’s not something you get to wit- ness every day!” Jordan Juckel from the University added “...they also enjoyed seeing where their fa- vorite BBQ cuts come from.”
Jordan broke the carcass down, while Dr. Cox and Jess explained what she was doing, where differ-
By: John Scharffbillig
ent cuts of beef are located on the carcass, and why some cuts are natu- rally more tender than others. Jess added an international twist by includ- ing what different cuts are called in different parts of the world, and how they may be used or cooked differently.
Then Jess did her key note presentation on the difference between com- petition and restaurant quality cooking. Her talk was very well received, with several attendees commenting that they wished Jess’ segment was even longer!
Everyone was fed a delicious BBQ lunch, cooked by some of our Min- nesota cook teams.
The afternoon was split into two sessions. This allowed those of varying levels of BBQ experience to get something geared more toward
their interests. Breaking the class into two smaller groups also pro- vided the opportunity for more ro- bust discussion and interaction with the presenters.
The feedback from attendees has been extremely positive. We are already looking towards 2023. As next year’s dates and topics are known, they will be posted on our website: mnbbqsociety.com.
Minnesota Upcoming BBQ Events
May 13-14, 2022: Minnesota in May - (Backyard and Masters Series), Cambridge, MN.
www.mnbbqsociety.com | www.facebook.com/mnbbqsociety | #MNBBQCREW
BarbecueNews.com - 24
MAY 2022