Ed Mitchell

Ed Mitchell (born 1948 or 1949) Mitchell has appeared in Bon Appetit and on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, Man v. Food, and National Geographic.

Early life

Ed Mitchell grew up in Wilson, North Carolina. He learned about barbecue from his family, who frequently held large family gatherings.

When Mitchell was 14 or 15 years old, he attended a family barbecue. It was attended by his father, uncles, grandfather and other male relatives. The family passed around moonshine and eventually, the adults fell asleep. Mitchell began tending to the barbecue fire. His grandfather woke up and saw a cooked pig in the barbecue and when he asked who cooked it. Mitchell acknowledged he did. Mitchell thought he was going to be chastised by his grandfather. Instead, his grandfather grabbed the bottle of moonshine and gave Mitchell a glass to celebrate - it was his first alcoholic beverage and his first time barbecuing.

Cuisine

Mitchell specializes in whole hog barbecue. Mitchell uses traditional techniques for his barbecue, including using oak and hickory logs, in addition to charcoal briquettes. His rub comprises salt, black pepper, red pepper, and onion powder. His barbecue sauce comprises apple cider vinegar, crushed red pepper, salt, sugar and black pepper. He cooks "hot and fast" with a bank of coals surrounding the hog. He closes the barbecue vents and will let the hog smoke overnight. He will smoke a hog starting at 500 degrees, lowering the temperature to 250 gradually. For example, to prepare a pulled pork sandwich, Mitchell will smoke a whole hog, believing that a proper pulled pork sandwich requires a blend of shoulder, ham, and belly meat. In 2004, the business closed after Mitchell was accused of failing to pay state taxes for the store. Mitchell said the space did not enable him to barbecue more than one hog a day, which did not provide him the opportunity to maximize restaurant and catering sales.