Southern Thunder BBQ Cooking School - Review
Yesterday (June 24, 2017), I attended the Southern Thunder BBQ Cooking School in Marietta, Georgia (just outside Atlanta). I enjoyed it so much, I'd like to write a review in case anyone might be interested in attending. The school is designed for backyard enthusiasts as well as aspiring professional competitors.
At this point, I'd like to mention that I'm not receiving any compensation for writing this review. The cooking school staff doesn't even know I'm writing this.
I found reference to the school on the KCBS web site. I had previously attended a BBQ cooking school hosted by a nationally known BBQ competition professional, only to be left disappointed by extreme disorganization, very uncomfortable accommodations, and high cost. I was frustrated and wanted to try an alternative, and I'm glad I did.
Southern Thunder is first and foremost a professional BBQ cooking team, and have won numerous KCBS Grand Championships. The team/school operator is Mr. Pete Warner, who is also the CEO of Linkup Technologies. The chief cook is Mr. Rick Pasch, who is also a professional musician. The third member of the team is Mr. Dave Weiss, who showed us his competition-winning chicken techniques and twists.
It's a one-day (Saturday) school that begins at 7:30AM and ends at 6:00PM. The cost is $249 for an individual, or $399 for a pair. Included are breakfast (biscuits, pastries, fruit), lunch (chicken, pork loin), and dinner (ribs, brisket slices, burnt ends, sides, desserts). Students also receive a free apron. Soft drinks are complimentary. They also have beer ($2) and wine ($3) available for purchase, or you can bring your own. You can even bring your own smoker if you wish.
Accommodations were above expectations. The school house was roomy, air-conditioned, and comfortable (heated in winter), with clean restrooms. All instructors were very nice and approachable, and the support staff was friendly and helpful. All four KCBS meats (chicken thighs, spare ribs, pork butt, brisket) were covered in detail, along with pork loin, whole chicken, and lollipop chicken (legs). All students received a nice printed manual complete with color highlighting and color pictures, showing and explaining the exact steps that were covered in class. The manual also included exact recipes for all all rubs, brines, and sauces we used (the same ones they use in their professional competitions). Nothing was hidden.
The class included "classroom" instruction, with lecture and overhead projection presentation while we followed along and jotted down side notes in our manuals. It was very organized and included hands-on "lab" work, as we prepared all meats for smoking. We trimmed, injected, and rubbed all the meats (if I can say that with a straight face), and placed them on the smoker(s).
We used a variety of smokers: Weber WSM (22.5"), Backwoods Smoker, Big Green Egg, and a large stick-burning Expensive Offset Smoker (EOS).
Lunch and dinner included the meats we smoked, plus some nice side dishes and desserts, the recipes of which are included in the student manual. Plus, each student was allowed to bring a guest to dinner.
The team/school operator (Mr. Warner) also mentioned that this web site (AmazingRibs.com) is his go-to reference for all things BBQ. He spoke very highly of the web site.
I'm a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge (CBJ), and while all the food was excellent, I was especially impressed with their chicken thighs, spare ribs, and brisket burnt ends, all of which would have received perfect scores from me in a competition.
Their web site is: http://www.southernthunderbbq.com/
The new Atlanta Braves stadium (SunTrust park) is only 15 minutes from the BBQ school, and I used the occasion to attend a Friday night Braves game with my son (they won), and we attended the BBQ school together the following day. If you're ever in the area, also consider trying Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen (Cajun seafood) for dinner one evening. We did, and it was memorable.
http://www.pappas.com/restaurants/pa...afood-kitchen/
I highly recommend the Southern Thunder BBQ Cooking School. And again, I'm not being compensated for this review.
At this point, I'd like to mention that I'm not receiving any compensation for writing this review. The cooking school staff doesn't even know I'm writing this.
I found reference to the school on the KCBS web site. I had previously attended a BBQ cooking school hosted by a nationally known BBQ competition professional, only to be left disappointed by extreme disorganization, very uncomfortable accommodations, and high cost. I was frustrated and wanted to try an alternative, and I'm glad I did.
Southern Thunder is first and foremost a professional BBQ cooking team, and have won numerous KCBS Grand Championships. The team/school operator is Mr. Pete Warner, who is also the CEO of Linkup Technologies. The chief cook is Mr. Rick Pasch, who is also a professional musician. The third member of the team is Mr. Dave Weiss, who showed us his competition-winning chicken techniques and twists.
It's a one-day (Saturday) school that begins at 7:30AM and ends at 6:00PM. The cost is $249 for an individual, or $399 for a pair. Included are breakfast (biscuits, pastries, fruit), lunch (chicken, pork loin), and dinner (ribs, brisket slices, burnt ends, sides, desserts). Students also receive a free apron. Soft drinks are complimentary. They also have beer ($2) and wine ($3) available for purchase, or you can bring your own. You can even bring your own smoker if you wish.
Accommodations were above expectations. The school house was roomy, air-conditioned, and comfortable (heated in winter), with clean restrooms. All instructors were very nice and approachable, and the support staff was friendly and helpful. All four KCBS meats (chicken thighs, spare ribs, pork butt, brisket) were covered in detail, along with pork loin, whole chicken, and lollipop chicken (legs). All students received a nice printed manual complete with color highlighting and color pictures, showing and explaining the exact steps that were covered in class. The manual also included exact recipes for all all rubs, brines, and sauces we used (the same ones they use in their professional competitions). Nothing was hidden.
The class included "classroom" instruction, with lecture and overhead projection presentation while we followed along and jotted down side notes in our manuals. It was very organized and included hands-on "lab" work, as we prepared all meats for smoking. We trimmed, injected, and rubbed all the meats (if I can say that with a straight face), and placed them on the smoker(s).
We used a variety of smokers: Weber WSM (22.5"), Backwoods Smoker, Big Green Egg, and a large stick-burning Expensive Offset Smoker (EOS).
Lunch and dinner included the meats we smoked, plus some nice side dishes and desserts, the recipes of which are included in the student manual. Plus, each student was allowed to bring a guest to dinner.
The team/school operator (Mr. Warner) also mentioned that this web site (AmazingRibs.com) is his go-to reference for all things BBQ. He spoke very highly of the web site.
I'm a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge (CBJ), and while all the food was excellent, I was especially impressed with their chicken thighs, spare ribs, and brisket burnt ends, all of which would have received perfect scores from me in a competition.
Their web site is: http://www.southernthunderbbq.com/
The new Atlanta Braves stadium (SunTrust park) is only 15 minutes from the BBQ school, and I used the occasion to attend a Friday night Braves game with my son (they won), and we attended the BBQ school together the following day. If you're ever in the area, also consider trying Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen (Cajun seafood) for dinner one evening. We did, and it was memorable.
http://www.pappas.com/restaurants/pa...afood-kitchen/
I highly recommend the Southern Thunder BBQ Cooking School. And again, I'm not being compensated for this review.
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