Chef Tom Jackson is a Kansas native, born and raised in Wichita. In 2008 he and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon where he attended Oregon Culinary Institute. Tom studied both general culinary skills as well as baking and pastry while working as a cook in a variety of restaurants. After graduating from Oregon Culinary Institute he began working as a bread baker and pastry chef at the renowned Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland. He spent more than four years honing his skills under James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Ken Forkish.
In that time he and his wife had their first child, and the draw of home and family grew stronger. Longtime friends of the Cary family, owners of All Things Barbecue, they returned to Kansas to help All Things Barbecue continue to excel in their cooking classes. Tom has been developing recipes and teaching cooking techniques at All Things Barbecue since March 2014.
No home cooked meal is complete without a solid side dish or two. Today Chef Tom shares his recipe for Ham Hocks & Collard Greens, first preparing a ham hock stock on the Kamado Joe Classic III ceramic charcoal grill, then braising the collards in the flavorful broth and smoky pork. The result is tender, savory greens with a wonderful pot liquor that is practically liquid gold!
Chef Tom does a side-by-side comparison of GrillGrate panels for Kamado Joe style grills versus the standard grates. See how these panels can give you more flexibility and control over your cook.
Chef Tom gives the new Pellet Joe grill from Kamado Joe a test run smoking some low and slow spare ribs, then cranks up the heat and grills off some burgers.
Chef Tom prepares his Apple Brined Pulled Pork, smoked on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. The apple juice brine makes for the juiciest pulled pork!
By
Tom Jackson
