Country music artist Kix Brooks will be hitting TV screens this weekend for a special that documents one of his newest passions: steak.
Steak Out With Kix Brooks, which premieres Sunday on the Cooking Channel, features the performer in search of the great American steakhouse. He told Billboard that filming the special allowed him to do a little bit of research in hopes of opening up a steakhouse of his own in his hometown of Shreveport, La.
“I have the Arrington Vineyards winery, and steak and wine is kind of a thing,” he said. “I’ve always dug steakhouses and thought it could be a fun thing to do. But it’s very unlike me, so I thought I needed to know a little more before I screwed up like a lot of other celebrities who opened restaurants and didn’t know what the hell they were doing. So I came up with this idea.”
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Brooks says that steakhouses are a part of Americana that people are very passionate about. “One thing I remember from being out on the road is that no matter what town you’re in, Chicago or a little town in Texas, you ask people where to get a good steak, they’ve all got a fun answer for you. They all seem to take great pride in their steakhouse. I thought that could be a fun little travel show, and maybe I might learn something and pick up some tips. I don’t know how many ways there are to cook a steak, but let’s go find out.”
The singer hit the road, visiting seven steakhouses in Chicago, Louisville and Nashville. He says it was an eye-opening experience. “I found out there are a lot of ways to cook a steak and a lot of really cool steakhouses out there. I learned that most restaurants do not marinate anything. They start with a great piece of meat, they salt and pepper it, and then the sauces come after it. I learned there’s a lot of different ways to enjoy your steak as far as the trimmings that you’re eating. That was really fun to see all the different vibes of how people like to dine.”
Steak Out With Kix Brooks also gives viewers a look at the differences between the three regions he visited. “The United States is a big place, and there’s a lot of diverse personalities. Chicago definitely felt different then Louisville, which felt different from Nashville. It would be a pretty boring show if that wasn’t the case.”
The host of the weekly American Country Countdown radio show says there are several characters that people will get to know. “Take the owner of Jeff Ruby’s in Louisville — he came from New Jersey, and he’s a real colorful character. The whole attitude of his steakhouse is night-and-day different. There’s a jazz band playing when you walk into the door with an upright bass, a big open bar, chandeliers form Egypt. There’s big boisterous places and more down-home places, and a lot of versatility.”
Steak Out With Kix Brooks airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on the Cooking Channel.