Amy Mills - 17th Street Barbecue - Afterhours Encore
This podcast episode features an enlightening discussion with Amy Mills, a prominent figure in the barbecue realm. Central to our dialogue is the intricate balance between culinary experimentation and the inevitable learning curve inherent in creating new dishes. Mills candidly shares her experiences, revealing that achieving perfection in cooking necessitates multiple trials and adjustments. As the conversation unfolds, we delve into the nuanced dynamics of running a barbecue business, exploring the challenges and rewards associated with managing personnel and the competitive landscape of barbecue events. Ultimately, the episode underscores the profound connections that barbecue fosters, transcending mere culinary practice to embody a sense of community and shared passion.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- 17th Street
- Fay
Mentioned in this episode:
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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
Welcome to Barbecue Nation with JT and Leanne.
Speaker A:After Hours, the conversation that continued after the show was done.
Speaker A:Hey, everybody, it's jt 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:Welcome to After Hours here on Barbecue Nation.
Speaker A:Today, we are honored to have Amy Mills with us.
Speaker A:Amy.
Speaker A:Last time she was on the show, we didn't do.
Speaker A:Do After Hours.
Speaker A:This was created to let people share their innermost thoughts.
Speaker A:How's that?
Speaker A:And I'm.
Speaker A:I'm sure you're ready for this, so.
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm sure Amy can handle anything here.
Speaker A:So here you go.
Speaker A:Amy, if you could cook with, or cook for, I should say, and then dine with a historical figure, who would it be and what would be on the menu?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh.
Speaker B:You didn't send me these questions in advance.
Speaker A:We never do.
Speaker A:We never do.
Speaker C:I think this is one of the hardest ones, actually.
Speaker B:I am right here in the land of Lincoln, so I'm going to go with Abraham Lincoln.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Going to feed him all of our traditional food.
Speaker B:But I want to know what was really happening back then.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Going.
Speaker B:I'm going with Abe.
Speaker A:He was a big, tall, lanky guy.
Speaker A:He could probably eat a fair portion.
Speaker A:I would think sandwich.
Speaker B:He could use a sandwich.
Speaker A:He could use a sandwich.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:What would you say your success to failure ratio is when you're creating a new dish or a seasoning a sauce or putting something new on the menu?
Speaker B:I think we talk about this a lot.
Speaker B:So we just put some new things on our menu at Fay.
Speaker B:You know, rarely, I mean, never do you hit it out of the gate perfectly in the very beginning.
Speaker B:You're always.
Speaker B:You always have to adjust seasoning.
Speaker B:You have to adjust something in that, I'm going to say a minimum of four trials until you get it right.
Speaker A:Get it right.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Now, about that.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Amy, if he started your career all over again, would you take the same path?
Speaker B:I would do it all exactly the same.
Speaker B:I was a journalism major at Mizzou, which is the first and finest journalism school in the country.
Speaker B:And I worked in advertising, marketing, and pr.
Speaker B:And the foundation that that gave me helped me do everything that I've done for 17th street, from the branding, the marketing, writing books.
Speaker B:All of those things, you know, were foundational in our success here.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:If you could work with one of your barbecue heroes.
Speaker A:Not your dad now, but if you could work with one of your heroes who would it be?
Speaker B:Well, I feel like I get to work with my heroes all the time.
Speaker B:I'm really fortunate.
Speaker C:Yeah, I was going to say that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm really fortunate to.
Speaker B:To a lot of events all over the country.
Speaker B:You know, look at the Big Apple Barbecue Block party, for example, 14 of the best barbecue places in the country.
Speaker B:And we're all there side by side, working together.
Speaker B:And then I've also had the great fortune to bring so many people here to 17th street or on cue, and for our whole hog extravaganzas, and have learned so much from all of the barbecue pit masters who have come here and work side by side with us.
Speaker B:And some of them are names that people in the industry would recognize, and some of them are, you know, have an amazing culinary background who then got into barbecue.
Speaker B:And they may not be a name everyone would recognize, per se, but I've just learned incredible amounts from them.
Speaker A:Okay, if you could erase one mistake from your past, what would it be?
Speaker B:I don't know that I would erase any mistakes, per se, because how do you learn if you don't make any mistakes?
Speaker B:So I. I don't think I would erase a mistake, but I think that I would probably not spend some of the money I've spent.
Speaker A:Okay, okay.
Speaker A:That's fair enough.
Speaker A:That's fair enough.
Speaker A:If Leanne declared you supreme ruler of barbecue for one day, one day, what would you, as supreme ruler, decree?
Speaker A:That had to be followed.
Speaker A:You're a supreme ruler, so they got to do what you say.
Speaker A:What would you decree?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, I would decree some world peace through barbecue.
Speaker B:And, you know, even though we like to say we're this big barbecue family, we have enough of our own little interpersonal family squabbles and things going on, most of which come from ego in some way.
Speaker B:And so I would.
Speaker B:I would have a day where we had to put all of our ego aside and work toward world peace together.
Speaker A:Okay, fair enough.
Speaker A:Do you remember the first thing you ever grilled, smoked barbecued that you did yourself?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:That's probably the most honest answer we've ever gotten.
Speaker C:I agree.
Speaker B:Julian.
Speaker B:No, I don't.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:I do remember my first, like, having my first.
Speaker C:I bought a Sam's Offset, and I remember doing ribs on it, so, like, really doing that type.
Speaker C:But, I mean, as far as throwing something on the grill, I don't exactly remember.
Speaker C:It was probably a hamburger or a hot dog.
Speaker C:Know what I mean?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:Maybe for the, like, the breadth or the variety, testing a lot of food for our Cookbooks on, you know, Weber, maybe something that I hadn't necessarily done before in that way where I just jumped into cooking briskets in a restaurant many at a time versus just one on a little pit.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Testing some.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:If we put your skills to music, what would the music be?
Speaker B:Oh, gosh, I'm totally drawing a blank.
Speaker B:I think the music would be, like, classic.
Speaker B:Classic 80s pop and rock.
Speaker A:Okay, fair enough.
Speaker A:Do you.
Speaker A:Do you remember the worst concert you ever went to?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker B:Into a lot of good concerts.
Speaker B:No, I don't.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:What does a fantasy day look like for Amy Mills?
Speaker A:What does it contain for activities?
Speaker B:A fantasy day is a day in our restaurants and in our business where everything is going smoothly.
Speaker A:Yeah, I can.
Speaker A:I can see that.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:Where's the worst place you ever had to cook?
Speaker B:I'm not sure it would be like the worst place I had to cook, but I have.
Speaker B:We have gone to some events where the.
Speaker B:The lodging was not great.
Speaker C:Weather conditions weren't great.
Speaker B:The weather wasn't great.
Speaker B:You know, there was a year at the Big Apple Barbecue block party where it just ra sideways.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Trying to load all those pits, and every bit of magic dust with which we had dusted those ribs was coming off, and we had banners that we'd taken off the stanchions, and we're trying to use them as coverage, get the pits loaded.
Speaker B:So, you know, when you're trying to do all this and it's inclement weather, a Memphis in May that is nothing but mud, and you're just.
Speaker B:And you're pouring down rain, you know, I. I think weather makes.
Speaker B:Always makes it the worst.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:What would you say is the hardest thing about owning or running your own business?
Speaker B:Well, just like the best thing is people.
Speaker B:The worst thing is people.
Speaker C:Okay, well said.
Speaker B:Lesson worst are always a mirror of the same thing.
Speaker B:So it's, you know, it's the people who steal from you or who don't show up or who.
Speaker A:Or steal from you, then don't show up.
Speaker B:Or that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or.
Speaker B:Or make a mistake or, you know, it's.
Speaker B:Don't get along with people.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Have the very best of people.
Speaker B:You also see the very worst of people.
Speaker A:What would you say.
Speaker A:What would Amy Mill say is the biggest change that needs to be made, if any, in competitive barbecue?
Speaker B:I don't know that a change necessarily needs to be made, but I think people need to realize it's a game.
Speaker B:And, you know, people are very much talking about the flavor or this or this isn't Restaurant quality or the.
Speaker B:You know, really.
Speaker B:I think if everybody had a more clear understanding of what competitive barbecue really is, it would be.
Speaker B:It would be easier to run a contest or easier to explain things to people.
Speaker B:But it's very much a game.
Speaker B:On any given day, it's anybody's ball game, and, you know, the real pros know that, and some people don't understand that.
Speaker A:Got it.
Speaker A:Only a couple more here.
Speaker A:What's one thing you miss about your 20s?
Speaker A:I know you're only 31, so.
Speaker B:You know, my 20s.
Speaker B:I think the only thing I would miss is my sense of naive.
Speaker B:Naivety.
Speaker B:How can I not say that word?
Speaker B:But not, you know, you don't know what you don't know.
Speaker B:And so.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:No, that's true.
Speaker A:That's true.
Speaker B:It's not been fully pulled to show you all the parts of the world yet.
Speaker A:What's your favorite movie, if you have one?
Speaker C:I don't necessarily have time to watch one.
Speaker B:I. I haven't turned the television on since Christmas, so I don't.
Speaker B:I know nothing Culturally illiterate.
Speaker B:I. I haven't.
Speaker B:I don't really have a favorite movie.
Speaker A:Well, let me tell you, if not, turn on your TV since Christmas, you haven't missed a hell of a lot.
Speaker A:I'll post.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Two things.
Speaker A:What do you want to do when and if you retire?
Speaker B:Well, I'm not sure about retirement.
Speaker B:A lot of people are talking about that, and I'm.
Speaker B:I feel like I'm just getting going, really, especially with starting these two new businesses.
Speaker B:But sure, I do hope that there is a point in the near future where I can do more travel for pleasure and not just for work.
Speaker B: t traveled for pleasure since: Speaker A:Okay, last question.
Speaker A:What would be your last meal if you were on death row?
Speaker A:We always save the best for last year.
Speaker B:All right, well, I would have to go for a rack.
Speaker B:A rack of ribs cooked by my dad.
Speaker C:Okay, I have a question before we go.
Speaker C:What kind of pits do you use in the restaurant?
Speaker B:We use old hickory pits.
Speaker B:Proudly using those?
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:Okay, Amy, one more time to tell everybody about your contest coming up.
Speaker A:When?
Speaker A:Where?
Speaker A:How, please?
Speaker B:Well, our contest, the 37th annual Praise of the Lard Murfreesboro Barbecue Cook off, is taking place here in Murfreesboro in the barbecue capital of Illinois on September 19th through 21st.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:Amy Mills from 17th Street.
Speaker A:Been a pleasure.
Speaker A:We'll try not to make it five years or more next time.
Speaker C:No, it's been great catching up, really.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker B:Faces.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:We'll be back next week with another edition of After Hours.
Speaker A:As you know, this is the part of the show where people can swear, but Amy chose not to.
Speaker A:And that's a good thing, Corey.
Speaker A:You know, some people don't make that choice.
Speaker A:I'll put it that way.
Speaker A:Anyway, Leanne and I will be back next week.
Speaker A:Remember our motto here.
Speaker A:Turn it, don't burn it.
Speaker A:Go out, have some barbecue and take care, everybody.
