Tag Archives: Eric Hamilton

ANSC 117 2018: Ribs, ribs, ribs!

There is no question, when we have the “Ribs, ribs, ribs” class in ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue, the students have a great time enjoying the wonderful beef and pork ribs prepared for them. Each year, Davey Griffin helps out with this class by cooking the beef ribs on his pit. Beef and pork ribs The three beef ribs demonstrated this week were beef chuck short ribs, beef plate short ribs, and beef back ribs. The beef chuck ribs are sometimes referred to as “four ribs” and the beef… Read More →

Texas Barbecue program showcased at College of Agriculture Development Council dinner

Faculty and students involved with the Texas A&M University Texas Barbecue program participated in the College of Agriculture Development Council‘s dinner held at The Gardens on Thursday, October 4, 2018. Demonstrations of the cuts of beef and pork used for barbecue were on display, and samples of the famous Texas Aggie Prime Rib prepared at the Rosenthal Meat Center was served to the participants. There were lots of questions asked about how to cook the best barbecue! Members of the Texas Barbecue program who helped were faculty, Davey… Read More →

ANSC 117 2018: Pork cuts

Each year in ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue, we feature each of the species used for barbecue to talk about nomenclature and carcass anatomical locations. This week, we covered pork so the theme would be different styles of pork in cooking in addition to demonstrating where the major and minor cuts were on the pork carcass. Pork cuts featured The three items used this week were Boston butts to make pulled pork, Boston butts to make pork steaks, and bone-in pork loins to make Hawaiian-inspired pork loins. Using Boston butts… Read More →

ANSC 117 2018: Fuel and smoke

Two key parts of preparing barbecue is to provide heat for cooking, through a source of fuel, and to provide smoke, through burning wood. Sometimes the fuel and smoke are combined as when logs such as oak or hickory are used to cook with. Sources of fuel may include but are not limited to: Chunk charcoal Charcoal briquettes Propane Logs Sources of smoke may include but are not limited to: Hickory Oak Mesquite Pecan Apple Cherry Dr. Nick Nickelson prepared a great overview of using properly seasoned wood… Read More →

Tenth year of ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue underway

This year marks the tenth year of ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue. The class has had many different prefixes, but the course name has been the same, and the purpose of the class has never wavered: to help freshmen make the difficult transition from high school to college, to know that each week they will learn about Texas Barbecue and will enjoy a great meal, and they will interact with faculty and students who care about their success and will serve as mentors to them during and after the class…. Read More →

Students provide key leadership for ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue

Since the beginning of ANSC 117, Texas Barbecue in 2009, graduate and undergraduate students have provided outstanding leadership to help Ray Riley and me teach this class. We have enjoyed working with these students and watching them progress on their journeys through Texas A&M University. The Texas Barbecue teaching assistants help with the weekly set up of the kettles, smokers, and/or pits, with cooking/smoking/serving meat, and with clean-up and put-away of equipment and utensils. There is a lot of work that goes into preparing each week’s activity, and having… Read More →

Aggies participate in sixth Houston BBQ Festival

A large group of Aggies participated in the 6th Houston BBQ Festival, which was held in the Humble Civic Center Arena in Humble, Texas on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Those in attendance from Texas A&M University were faculty Davey Griffin, Ray Riley, and Jeff Savell, and students Carsyn Burney, Eric Hamilton, Brogan Horton, Steven Mancillas, Sandy Martinez, Courtlyn Ranly, Kelley Ranly, Libby Schneider, and Menzi Spiller. We enjoy going to the festival each year to talk to folks about Texas Barbecue and to see so many of the pitmasters… Read More →

Camp Brisket, 2018 edition

The sixth Camp Brisket, a joint venture between Foodways Texas and the Meat Science Section of the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University, was held on January 5-6, 2018 at the Rosenthal Meat Center and the Beef Cattle Center at the O.D. Butler Animal Science Complex. About 60 participants from around the U.S. and Canada embarked on a journey to learn more about the ultimate challenge preparing that most difficult dish of Texas Barbecue cuisine, the brisket. Camp Brisket was coordinated by Texas A&M University meat science educators, Davey Griffin, Ray Riley, and Jeff Savell, and… Read More →