A delicious talk with Myron Mixon, star of Destination America’s ‘BBQ Pitmasters’

BBQ Pitmasters is back for a new season on a new network. Jumping from TLC to Destination America, the barbecue competition show follows a panel of judges as they search for the best lip-smacking food in the United States. Returning for the six-episode season is Myron Mixon, one of the most celebrated and successful barbecuers in the country. He is the self-proclaimed “winningest man in all of barbecue.” When he’s not judging his colleagues on the road, he serves as chief cook at Jack’s Old South BBQ.

Recently, Hollywood Soapbox met up with Mixon at the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party on Saturday, June 9 in New York City’s Madison Square Park. Talking amid the smell and sizzle of smoked brisket, Mixon, a man with 180 grand championships under his belt, offered a preview of BBQ Pitmasters and some insight on the changing business of competitive cooking.

Questions and answers have been slightly edited.

Are you excited for the new season of BBQ Pitmasters?

Oh sure. I mean it’s the third season and, by far, even from the two episodes that have already been seen, it’s the best season by far. The format is a lot better. I think the people watching or viewing can relate to them. The format they got in the show makes the viewer where they can really understand what’s going on.

On our show, people want to be entertained. They want a little competition going on, but they want it to be very simple. And that’s what we give them. They get to see some good recipes being done, some good BBQ techniques. And you get to see some drama — a little bit of drama, a little bit of action. Any time you got winning and losing, you got drama. Somebody’s squalling, somebody’s cheering.

You’ve been in the business for a long time. Has the competition become better and better over the years?

Oh, yeah, yeah. I started in 1996. The competition level … it used to be large gaps between the best and the mediocre. They’re this close now (bringing his thumb and pointer finger together). There’s just little hairs of difference.

You’ve got cooking schools now, which I teach. I’m not the only one. You’ve got cookbooks. You’ve got the Internet. You’ve got all this information that these cooks can access that weren’t available in 1996 or earlier. And they’ve taken advantage of that. They got high-tech equipment that everybody’s buying. They’re spending the money to go the extra mile, and it makes a difference seeing your level of competition.

There’s no bad barbecue anymore. You’ve just got the best and then you’ve got good. But the line that separates them is very, very small.

How about Jack’s Old South? Are you still working on new flavors?

Every year. … What I teach this year in my class is what I did last year. So while I’m out here competing, I’m trying to come up with new ideas to beat these guys. … I’m always trying to reinvent the wheel.

What are you cooking today?

We’re doing beef brisket and peach-baked beans. The peach-baked beans is like a signature side that we do. And the brisket is probably one of my best categories we do in competition. Those are the two I always choose.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• BBQ Pitmasters airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Destination America. Click here for more information.