Ryan Ottney | Daily Times
Chef Myron Mixon, of TV’s “BBQ Pitmasters,” teaches the grill staff at Ray’s Texas BBQ how to prepare their signature St. Louis pork ribs on Wednesday.
Ryan Ottney | Daily Times
Celebrity Chef Myron Mixon loads the a batch of pork ribs into the smoker Wednesday at Ray’s Texas BBQ in New Boston. The restaurant opens to the public Saturday at 4 p.m.
RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY
PDT Staff Writer
NEW BOSTON — Ray’s Texas BBQ will open in New Boston on Saturday, with special guest Chef Myron Mixon of the TV series “BBQ Pitmasters.” The award-winning barbecue chef Mixon taught owner Mark Litteral the art of the grill at his school in Georgia and helped develop the menu for the New Boston restaurant.
“I do six classes a year and I’ve been doing these for like five years years now. We take about 60 students in a class, and they do really well. We have a lot of people come through and it’s about a two-and-a-half-day class on barbecuing, covering all aspects of it from the flavor profiles to how to display your meat and actual cooking techniques,” Mixon said.
Litteral learned well and brought those techniques home with him to New Boston.
Located next to City Limits, in the former City Pizza building on Rhodes Avenue in New Boston, the newly remodeled Ray’s Texas BBQ will feature a cafeteria-style format. The large wood-burning smoker oven will be running hot for smoked pork, brisket, and chicken and turkey. The restaurant will also serve ribs and sausage and all of their barbecue will be Texas-style, which means they will not have sauce already on them but you can choose your own sauce at your table.
“There’s a lot of people that can smoke meat, but once you get it smoked it’s what you do with it. What kind of flavors do you put out there for people to eat? You can call it barbecue and throw sauce all over it, but that don’t make it barbecue. It damn sure don’t make it good barbecue,” Mixon said.
Customers will walk through a line, place their order and pick-up pre-packaged containers of side dishes — including Mixon’s own signature dishes, apple baked beans, cole slaw and potato salad. Beer will also be served at the beverage bar. At the end of the line customers will pay for whatever is on their tray.
Litteral said it’s Mixon’s training, menu and techniques that will set Ray’s Texas BBQ apart from any place else in southern Ohio.
Mixon is a world champion barbecue chef with more than 1,900 trophies. He has written a book and was featured on the Food Network, the Travel Channel and the Discovery Channel. His series “BBQ Pitmasters” is now airing on the new Destination America Network, and will soon begin filming a fourth season. On the show, Mixon is one of three masters who judge three barbecue competitors. The winner advances to a grand championship finale, for a shot at $50,000.
Asked how he would judge the food at Ray’s Texas BBQ, Mixon promised it was all going to be good.
Mixon will be at Ray’s Texas BBQ signing copies of his book, “Smokin’ with Myron Mixon,” which will also be on sale for $22 each, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday. The book was published in May 2011 and made it to the New York Times Bestsellers list. It was Mixon’s first book, but he said he is flying to New York next week to sign a contract for another cookbook to be published in May 2013.
Samples of the food will also be available for visitors to try at Mixon’s book signing.
“It will be a very unique experience. There’s nothing here like it,” Litteral said.
The restaurant opens to the public Saturday, with a ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m., and doors opening at 4 p.m.
Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.
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