This episode of Barbecue Nation After Hours features a compelling dialogue with esteemed chef Michael Simon, who shares his culinary insights and personal anecdotes. A salient point of discussion revolves around the significance of barbecue techniques and preferences, particularly the debate surrounding the use of sweet sauces versus vinegar-based options. Throughout the episode, Simon reveals his culinary inspirations and aspirations, while also reflecting on the nuances of barbecue culture, including his admiration for legendary figures in the field. Our conversation delves into the challenges of balancing a culinary career with personal life, illustrating the dedication required to excel in this demanding profession. Join us as we explore these rich topics and gain a deeper understanding of the barbecue landscape through Simon's experiences and perspectives.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcripts
Speaker A:
This is Barbecue Nation After Hours.
Speaker A:
The conversation that took place after the show ended.
Speaker A:
Hey, everybody, it's jt.
Speaker A:
And this is a special version of Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:
It is brought to you in part by Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:
Beef you can be proud to serve your family and friends.
Speaker A:
That's Painted Hills Natural Beef.
Speaker A:
Hey, everybody.
Speaker A:
Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:
It's me and Leanne and Michael Simon today.
Speaker A:
You know Michael from his new show.
Speaker A:
Well, he's got tons of shows he's been on, but Barbecue USA on the Food Network out there.
Speaker A:
I think I said Food Channel on the closing of the show.
Speaker A:
We'll have to fix that, but.
Speaker A:
So are you ready for these questions?
Speaker A:
I like his hat.
Speaker A:
He's got his hat on.
Speaker A:
So we're ready to go.
Speaker B:
I think, like, this is.
Speaker B:
I get in the mind meld with this.
Speaker B:
I was born ready.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes, if you have one, who would that be?
Speaker A:
We start out slow on this.
Speaker B:
Michael, you know, if he was.
Speaker B:
If he was still here, I would.
Speaker B:
I always.
Speaker B:
Mike Mills, to me, is just absolutely.
Speaker A:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:
I was going to tell you, too.
Speaker A:
Amy was on the show a couple of years ago.
Speaker A:
We have to have her back.
Speaker A:
But Amy was on, and we got to talking about things in cooking, and she stopped right in middle of the interview, and she said.
Speaker A:
Because we were talking about ribs, and, you know, they were saying, well, you cook them at 235 or 225.
Speaker A:
She goes, I tell you something, we cook ours at 210.
Speaker A:
And it just kind of threw me off so much.
Speaker A:
There was this big pause.
Speaker A:
Of course, the audience never heard it because we fixed it, but I thought, two, ten.
Speaker A:
She goes, yeah, yeah, we've been doing.
Speaker A:
Unless my dad did it that way, we still do it that way.
Speaker A:
And they come out the greatest.
Speaker A:
So I just thought I'd throw that out there for everybody.
Speaker A:
Okay, now back to redundant questions.
Speaker A:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much barbecue do you eat on a regular basis?
Speaker B:
Seven.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
If Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for a week, what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?
Speaker B:
That's a dangerous question for me.
Speaker A:
Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:
Sweet sauces.
Speaker C:
That means don't use them.
Speaker B:
I'm sorry.
Speaker B:
I would say, I told you I got a point.
Speaker B:
2.
Speaker B:
In one year of college.
Speaker B:
I would say.
Speaker B:
If I.
Speaker B:
If I could say one thing, I would say, I no longer want to have sweet sauces with my barbecue.
Speaker B:
Please give me more vinegar.
Speaker C:
I concur 100%, 1,000%.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Should I ship all that stuff back that just arrived today from one of our future guests.
Speaker A:
Michael said, I can't have this.
Speaker A:
You got to take it back.
Speaker A:
What does a fantasy day look like for Michael Simon and what does it contain for activities?
Speaker B:
Fantasy day.
Speaker B:
I wake up every day, usually between 4:30 and 5.
Speaker B:
So I wake up, spend about an hour in my garden putzing around, jump on my Harley, ride it hard and fast to a golf course, play 18 holes, hopefully shoot 70 something, return home and have all my friends and family over for a giant meal, cook up a feast, hang out with anywhere from 10 to 20 people that I really love and care about, sip several old fashions, watch the Cleveland Browns win the super bowl and go to bed.
Speaker C:
Oh, my God, that's awesome.
Speaker A:
That's great.
Speaker A:
That's great.
Speaker A:
So are you making Bobby like the server?
Speaker A:
Does he have to wait on people when you're.
Speaker B:
He would be at the table.
Speaker A:
So if we put all your skills to music and you've got considerable skills, what music would that be?
Speaker B:
I mean, I'm partial to certain types of music, so there is that.
Speaker B:
I would hope.
Speaker B:
I would hope that it would be Van Halen.
Speaker C:
Okay.
Speaker C:
I love it.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker B:
You have, you know, one of the greatest guitars to ever grace Earth.
Speaker B:
You have an incredible drummer to boot.
Speaker B:
You know, a bassist that could sing backup harmonies like just about anybody.
Speaker A:
Right.
Speaker B:
And, you know, Sammy Hager is a dear friend, so I'm a little partial to Sammy, but Dave could rock too, so I thought the total package band.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
Speaking of that, what's the worst concert you ever went to?
Speaker B:
Oh, God.
Speaker B:
You know, it's not the kind of music that I'm into.
Speaker A:
Got it.
Speaker B:
When I was in college, my girlfriend at the time brought me to a George Michaels concert, which he put on a tremendous show.
Speaker B:
He really did.
Speaker B:
I mean, he put on an incredible show.
Speaker B:
So it wasn't a bad concert.
Speaker B:
It just.
Speaker B:
I didn't know any of the songs.
Speaker A:
Right, right, right.
Speaker A:
I got it.
Speaker A:
So maybe this next question has.
Speaker A:
Is tied into your answer there.
Speaker A:
If you could erase one mistake from your past, what would it be?
Speaker B:
Going to college for one semester.
Speaker C:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
Speaker B:
I would be a dog.
Speaker B:
Preferably my dog.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
You get those big treat bones.
Speaker A:
I just.
Speaker A:
We saw you.
Speaker C:
He's evidently spoiled rotten.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
Damn good life.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
What's your least favorite food to cook?
Speaker B:
Oh, to cook.
Speaker B:
I. I mean, my least favorite foods.
Speaker B:
I don't cook, but, like, I have really no interest in cooking tofu, for example.
Speaker B:
Like, I always like any food that people go, you know what's great about this?
Speaker B:
You could do anything you want to, because it does, it tastes like nothing.
Speaker B:
Yeah, tastes like nothing.
Speaker B:
So that and a lot of those fake meats tend to annoy me a little bit.
Speaker B:
I can't cook raspberry and kiwi because I'm allergic to them.
Speaker B:
But even before developed an allergic reaction to raspberries, they had been ruining chocolate desserts for me forever.
Speaker A:
So I got it.
Speaker B:
Somehow I hated them so much on chocolate that I made myself allergic to them maybe.
Speaker A:
Well, yeah, I can, I can see that.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
What would your last meal on death row be?
Speaker B:
Oh, this one.
Speaker B:
I think about this a lot.
Speaker B:
So, I mean, it is a last whatever I want.
Speaker B:
I mean, you know, I, I mean, I'm a chef that rides motorcycles, plays with knives and fire.
Speaker B:
Like, I, I what my last meal is going to be.
Speaker A:
Right.
Speaker A:
Right.
Speaker B:
I would my mother's lasagna.
Speaker B:
And then I would have Mark Vetri, who I feel is the greatest Italian chef in the world, cook for me, like some beautiful pastas.
Speaker B:
So I'd have pasta pasta because I'm of the no carb Left behind club.
Speaker B:
I would have Bobby make me his crispy rice.
Speaker B:
And then two of the pastry chefs that worked for me for a long time, Summer Jannetti and Corey Barrett, I would have make me a dessert.
Speaker B:
I, it's a little bit of a toss up.
Speaker B:
Like, my three favorite briskets in America personally are LA Barbecue, John Lewis and Billy Durney.
Speaker B:
So I would have them kind of make me a little bit of brisket.
Speaker B:
I would have a double espresso with some biscotti.
Speaker B:
And then I would have several Manhattans.
Speaker C:
Wow.
Speaker A:
Well, there you go.
Speaker A:
So this next question then is kind of self evident.
Speaker A:
Would you describe yourself as corn fed or grass fed?
Speaker B:
Well, they, you know, beef is delicious with both.
Speaker B:
So I would describe myself as both.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
All right.
Speaker A:
All right.
Speaker A:
Boxers or briefs?
Speaker B:
Oh, boxers.
Speaker B:
Who wears briefs?
Speaker B:
Who was it?
Speaker C:
Bobby might.
Speaker B:
I mean, like, I'm fine with a boxer brief, but not the, not the tighty whitey kind of thing.
Speaker B:
Yeah, yeah, that's just, there's just no comfort there.
Speaker A:
Oh, you're not six years old anymore, you know.
Speaker B:
Right, Mom.
Speaker A:
Mom's not dressing you.
Speaker A:
Do you prefer.
Speaker A:
And I probably already know the answer to this, Dire Straits, ACDC or Billy Ray Cyrus?
Speaker B:
Acdc.
Speaker B:
Dire Straits Spectacular.
Speaker B:
Also.
Speaker C:
Yeah, that was a tough one.
Speaker A:
That was one thing you miss about your twenties are you remember your hair, your Hair.
Speaker B:
Spectacular hair.
Speaker B:
Thick, curly, luscious hair.
Speaker B:
And then, you know.
Speaker B:
And here I am.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
Your favorite.
Speaker A:
Sorry, Your favorite movie.
Speaker B:
Oh, gosh.
Speaker B:
To pick a favorite would be hard.
Speaker B:
You know, the Godfathers.
Speaker B:
Yeah, right there.
Speaker A:
I always called that business 101.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
So good.
Speaker B:
You know, the Usual Suspects I think is a sleeper.
Speaker B:
I. I thought that that was a really great movie, too.
Speaker B:
I enjoyed it.
Speaker B:
You know, it's the Godfather.
Speaker B:
I. I would say that the Godfather is my favorite movie.
Speaker A:
There you go.
Speaker A:
What's the hardest thing?
Speaker A:
This is a.
Speaker A:
This about the only serious question in here, Michael.
Speaker A:
The hardest thing about owning your own business?
Speaker B:
Not getting to spend as much time with family as I would like.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
If you could pick two people from history and have dinner with them.
Speaker A:
You don't have to cook.
Speaker A:
You can if you want.
Speaker A:
But if you could pick two historical figures, who would they be and what would the menu be?
Speaker B:
Do they have to be like a famous person or.
Speaker A:
No, I don't care who they are.
Speaker B:
Well, I mean, my grandfather, who lived to 103 and passed away during the pandemic, I have one more dinner with him.
Speaker B:
That would be my first choice.
Speaker B:
Who would be my other choice?
Speaker B:
It's a very good question.
Speaker B:
You know what?
Speaker B:
Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Speaker A:
Yeah, I could do that.
Speaker B:
I could see that we would get some great licks, that it would be fun.
Speaker B:
And my grandfather also loves Stevie Ray Vaughan, so.
Speaker B:
And I would keep things a little bit on the lighter side.
Speaker B:
You know, owning businesses and running restaurants and stuff like that are a lot of hard work and obvious.
Speaker B:
And obviously you get Norman size and obviously serious often.
Speaker B:
So when I have dinner, I don't want them to be heavy, so I would just be.
Speaker C:
Oh, my God, we're getting at the limit.
Speaker C:
I do have a question for you.
Speaker C:
What's your favorite style of barbecue?
Speaker B:
Cleveland style.
Speaker C:
Oh,.
Speaker B:
You know, because I love them all for different reasons.
Speaker B:
You know, I love the whole hog vinegary situation.
Speaker B:
Eastern North Carolinas, I think, is super special.
Speaker A:
Right.
Speaker B:
And, you know, and, and, and I. I love Texas.
Speaker B:
Texas's approach to barbecue, where, you know, the meat is the star.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
Have you ever smoked a penguin?
Speaker B:
No.
Speaker B:
It's gotta be illegal, though.
Speaker B:
No, it's gotta.
Speaker A:
I would think so.
Speaker A:
I would think so.
Speaker A:
I have eaten camel.
Speaker A:
No, I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart, but I have done that.
Speaker A:
But never.
Speaker A:
I've never had penguin.
Speaker A:
I think you're right.
Speaker A:
I think it probably is.
Speaker A:
How about haggis?
Speaker A:
Have you read in haggis?
Speaker B:
Oh, I bet haggis Yep.
Speaker A:
Yep.
Speaker A:
Okay.
Speaker A:
Yeah.
Speaker B:
Not good.
Speaker A:
All right, two last questions.
Speaker A:
Is there a barbecue book that you've read that you really like?
Speaker A:
I mean, one that use.
Speaker A:
If somebody comes up to you and says, michael, I'm just getting started.
Speaker A:
What.
Speaker A:
What book should I get?
Speaker A:
What do you say?
Speaker B:
You know, I. I think for beginners, like.
Speaker B:
Like, you know, I have a barbecue book.
Speaker B:
It's not like a beginner's barbecue book.
Speaker B:
You know, like, I think is like a really.
Speaker C:
I agree.
Speaker B:
For people that are getting into barbecue, I think that Meathead book is like, really a good foundation read for them that helps them understand barbecue at a very solid level.
Speaker C:
Yeah, I think it is the number one selling barbecue book to date.
Speaker B:
It should be.
Speaker C:
At least he said it is.
Speaker B:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
No, he's right.
Speaker A:
He's right.
Speaker A:
I looked it up and he's right.
Speaker B:
It's a.
Speaker C:
It's.
Speaker B:
It's.
Speaker B:
I don't know him personally.
Speaker B:
I've never met him before, but I think that it's a really great book.
Speaker C:
Yeah, it is scientific.
Speaker C:
It's very informative, and it tells you the whys and how and it just covers all bases.
Speaker C:
I love it, too.
Speaker A:
And it kind of dissipates myths a lot, you know, in the cooking and the science of cooking and like this.
Speaker A:
And he really gets into the science, and it's like, you know, I don't want to give you an example because there's a million of them in there.
Speaker A:
And Meathead's a supporter of this show, but there's a lot of myths around cooking and especially barbecue, and he addresses those, but he does it with the science.
Speaker A:
And so I think that's really good.
Speaker B:
It's the science.
Speaker B:
At the end of the day, it's.
Speaker B:
I mean, you know, there's a lot of passion.
Speaker B:
Like, you know, there's people that are better with flavors than others, but, like, how to make something juicy or tender or things of that nature.
Speaker A:
Right, right.
Speaker A:
Okay, last question.
Speaker A:
Have you ever cooked in your underwear in the snow?
Speaker B:
Oh, I'm from Cleveland.
Speaker B:
Are you kidding me?
Speaker C:
I guess that's a yes.
Speaker B:
I guess yes.
Speaker B:
I mean, you ever been to a Browns tailgate?
Speaker A:
I've seen them.
Speaker A:
I've not been to one, but, I mean, you're lucky.
Speaker B:
You're lucky if you even have underwear on.
Speaker C:
Do you go to the.
Speaker C:
Do you go to the games?
Speaker C:
Do you ever go see the Browns play?
Speaker B:
Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:
I've had season tickets for longer than I can remember.
Speaker B:
The only time I haven't had season tickets since I've been 16 is when they sold a team and they were gone for a hot second.
Speaker C:
Yeah.
Speaker A:
I was going to say it was Chris Lilly when I asked him, boxers or briefs?
Speaker A:
And he said nothing.
Speaker A:
And he said neither one.
Speaker A:
So you're in good stead there.
Speaker A:
Michael Simon, thank you so much.
Speaker C:
Thank you.
Speaker A:
Such a pleasure to join us today.
Speaker B:
Thank you.
Speaker A:
All right.
Speaker A:
I'm going to shut this off.
Speaker A:
And folks, we appreciate you listening.
Speaker A:
We'll be back next week with another edition of After Hours and.
