How Does BBQ & Improv Go Together?

Years and years ago I found myself engulfed in Improvisational Comedy, a lot like SNL; we had a troupe and entertained primarily in nightclubs. There were 7 or 8 of us and we all had an advertising background, so we knew one another through various projects such as radio voice over's or TV commercials. We were young and on many occasions we partied too hearty. I can remember a weekend trip to Chicago to visit the Mecca of Improv - Second City. The place where almost all the early SNL stars got their start.

We met a guy at 2nd City by the name of Del Close. If you've ever watched The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, you've seen Del. He's the City Alderman who attempts to bribe Costner and gets the money thrown back at him. Now, you're trying to connect the dots between this story and BBQ. Just give me a minute.

We invited Del Close to Springfield to teach us Improv and he accepted; not sure how much his trip cost us, but he came nevertheless. If you know anything about improv then you know the scene or story is made up from the start and you know not where it will end up; this is how many SNL skits came to be, they were improved first, scripted second. Del Close kept pounding this into our heads because I guess some of us kept trying to steer the scene where we wanted it to go. Then, in one of our group sessions, Close said that improv is just like looking out the rear window as the car your in goes speeding down the road. In other words, you have no idea where you're headed, just what's passed you by. Man, that was an eye opener. Simple yes, but easily overlooked because you are submerged in the gritty details.

OK, here we go; how this ties into BBQ. Everyone tries to discover the "right" way to BBQ. They search for the right answer, the perfect recipe or formula. Guess what it doesn't exist. I remember my first BBQ class with Paul Kirk in McKinney, Texas and I also remember how dumbfounded I was when he muttered the words, "BBQ is what works for you." What? What works for me? What the hell is that suppose to mean? A few hours later I took a sample of a Brisket rub up to Chef and asked him to try a taste. He asked me if I liked it and I said yes, hell, after all it was my rub. He tried it and said that he thought it was good.

Two months later, I attended Mike Mills class at the Ole Hickory Pits Test Kitchen in Cape. One of the first things Mike said was this: "BBQ is whatever works for you." Oh, man, again? Where is the magic answer, the Holy Grail or carved stone tablets? The answer is: there aren't any. BBQ and improv are first cousins in the fact there is no wrong way or right way to get from point A to point B. You will never find THE answer to barbeque because there is NO answer. If you like your St. Louis style ribs to taste a particular way, then that's the right way.

I talked with Mike Mills one night at his BBQ joint in Marion, Illinois. We had gathered for a meet 'n greet prior to our attending the Oncue Business of Barbecue class. I told Mike how I had discovered to inject my Pork Butts while the meat was still in the cryovac packaging; I'd told Mike it really helped to keep the injection juice in the meat and not run out as fast. I remember telling Mike, "You know, the good ideas you share with everyone, but the bad ideas you never mention."

If that isn't a classic example of "What works for you" I don't know what is. At least it just took two thumps up the side of my head with a tack hammer to learn that one.

In the immortal words of SNL's Chris Farley, "That'll leave a mark."