Traeger Shop Class: Private Table – Spatchcock Chicken With Chad Ward!
In a year like 2020, which is different than “virtually” any other, why not mix it up with a new kind of Shop Class? Well that is just what Traeger did this year, and we had the privilege to attend one with Chad Ward, from Whiskey Bent BBQ!
Instead of going play by play of how the class went, I’m going to throw out three things that were a bit different from going to a live Shop Class. But if you are so inclined, check out the latest offerings right on Traeger’s site.
#1 – Zoom
So this one is rather obvious right? But in 2020 many folks have amped up their Zoom/WebEx/Virtual meeting game. While others have experienced it for the first time and simply had to figure it out on the fly.
The key difference that we did enjoy was that Chad had a “top side” camera that he spent most of his time on. We thought this was great because as opposed to live Shop Classes we’ve attended in the past, you were able to really see what Chad was doing, but also more of the how.
#2 – Learning by doing
Now don’t get me wrong, we LOVE to sit back in a Shop Class just watching, asking questions to then be served delicious food from a pro. But with all that said, while doing a Shop Class at home you get the unique experience of shopping for your ingredients, following along with the instructions, then putting the food right on the smoker to be served to your family after the class wraps.
#3 – Adapting to something new
Hey, it’s 2020. Things are not normal, but if we dwell on that instead of looking at everything as a chance to do something new or different, we truly miss out. We will welcome the original, onsite Shop Classes to come back (hopefully in 2021) but in the mean time, this was a solid substitute.
Our hope is that Traeger continues to offer these virtual classes even when the live ones come back. By doing so Traeger nerds like us may get access to some of the best smokers around, no matter who comes to our town each year for a live Shop Class.
