Smoke Signals: Resolutions, redux

(Lavanya Ramanathan/The Washington Post) The response to my New Year’s barbecue resolution question was so overwhelming that I decided to break the answers into two blog items. The first batch of responses was published last week, including resolutions by champion ‘cue competitor and author Myron Mixon and Hill Country executive chef and author Elizabeth Karmel.

Next week, Smoke Signals will continue his look ahead with an overview of trends, from economics to societal changes to the foods we’ll smoke, as predicted by leading barbecue figures. If you care about barbecue cuisine or culture, you’ll definitely want to read their insights.

In the meantime, read the second half of the New Year’s barbecue resolutions after the jump.

Bill Gillespie plans to keep New England on the map as a barbecue destination. (Betsy Rowan) Bill Gillespie, head cook for the Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ competition team, winner of the prestigious 2011 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue contest. “To be more successful and to continually cook great barbecue means a lot of practice this off-season. Ribs have been up and down, and we are looking to tighten up the recipe to get a better product. New Englanders are known for their seafood, but I am going to try to keep the region on the map as a barbecue destination, too.”

Mike Mills, owner of 17th Street BBQ in Southern Illinois and Memphis Championship Barbecue in Las Vegas, competition champion and co-author of “Peace, Love, and Barbecue.” “You can name 100 resolutions and not achieve any of them, so I tend to focus solely on one. In 2012, I’m going to be more proactive. We seem to always be scrambling, so we’re going to start earlier and try to be more organized and thoughtful in the way we approach projects, events, travel, etc.”

Michael Fay wants to keep winning. (Christy Adams) Michael Fay, president of the Mid Atlantic Barbecue Association and chief cook of Aporkalypse Now competition team. “Having won a reserve grand championship and a grand championship in 2011, I’d like to keep my winning streak going in 2012. I also want to expand sales of my BBQ cutlery line and continue to grow the Mid Atlantic Barbecue Association. And I want to get my brisket recipe to score better; it is the only category I don’t have a first in.”

Greg Rempe, host of the BBQ Central Radio Show, a weekly Internet-based program that covers the world of barbecue and grilling. “Trim the fat — I will help increase awareness within the barbecue community that you can balance great food with exercise in order to live a more healthy lifestyle! Let’s face it. . .there’s a lot of fat folks out there that need a push! I am just the guy to do it! I also plan on taking over barbecue-based entertainment via radio/video in 2012!

Carolyn Wells plans to conduct oral histories of barbecue legends. (Larry King) Carolyn Wells, co-founder and executive director of the Kansas City Barbeque Society, the world’s largest competition sanctioning organization. “My barbecue New Year’s resolution is to conduct oral histories of barbecue legends while they are still among us. Their great contributions to our culture need to be documented for future generations. My ultimate goal is to have a body of work in one place that would honor these pioneers and demonstrate both the diversity and commonality of those that forged the barbecue culture.”

If you have barbecue resolutions, include them in the comments section or send them to me at jimshahin@aol.com.

Send tips, suggestions and opinions to jimshahin@aol.com and follow me on Twitter @jimshahin .