The American Barbecue Showdown (2020) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Mornin', y'all! Come on in.
- Y'all, come on.
-All right.
-Hurry up.
- Hey.
- Mornin'.
- Mornin'.
- What's up? Mornin'!
- Good mornin'!
-You ready for this?
-Yeah! I sure am.
I haven't won a challenge,
but I haven't lost a challenge.
The more I go, the more I learn,
the better my chances are
of winnin' this thing.
That's why we're here.
If we didn't have competitive spirit,
we might as well be
at Walmart shoppin' for shoes
or somethin'.
Just, like, what's the point, you know?
I still feel like the underdog,
but I don't want my competitors to see me
and think that I'm someone
that they can easily beat.
It's about proving to myself
that I can compete at this level.
All right, y'all. So, today, we celebrate
an American food institution.
-All right!
-The barbecue sandwich. All right?
They're timeless, they're history
and they're happiness.
Amen to that.
Thank you, ladies.
Ohhh!
Behold! Your sandwich showdown
tournament bracket.
Oh, oh
Today, you'll be competing
in an epic tournament of sandwiches
where you'll be competing
in three continuous rounds
of sandwich joy.
-Oh, my God!
All right!
All right.
I feel good about sandwiches.
One of my first jobs ever
was, uh, at a local sandwich shop.
This is a good challenge for me.
I'm feelin' pretty confident
about this one.
I keep thinkin' these challenges
are gonna get easier,
and then we get a sandwich.
I'm like a
raw baloney
white bread.
The top three cookers from this round
will be put into the winners bracket.
The bottom three
will be put into the losers bracket,
where you'll be competing
to not be eliminated.
Uh-oh.
Previous challenge,
I was in the bottom two.
That's not a place
I feel comfortable being,
so therefore,
I've gotta step my game up.
It's very important to win the first round
in order to be safe
throughout the-the tournament.
Phew!
I need to get into that winners bracket
right away from the first challenge.
If not, this is gonna be a long day.
We designed this challenge
to test your hot and fast skills,
and each round
will be increasingly more difficult.
You'll need speed, creativity
and, of course, great flavors.
We wanna test
how you can combine those flavors,
and bring it all together
in one perfect bite.
So, for round one, you'll be smokin'
a chicken sandwich and a slaw.
I know it sounds easy, but it's not.
As you guys know,
chicken can take on a gang of flavors
and a gang of smoke real quick.
-That's right.
-Okay. All right.
Let's say the chicken
We're gonna want
that chicken sandwich in
-two hours, 15 minutes?
-Whoa.
-Yeah.
-Wow!
Make a three-hour sandwich
in two hours, 15 minutes. Got it.
Show us your full range
of barbecue sandwich makin' skills.
All right, go get smoking.
- Okay.
- All right.
To a lot of people, the barbecue sandwich
seems super simple.
- Yeah.
-But it's also probably the easiest
barbecue dish to mess up.
It's a tough challenge
for the cookers.
You're makin' a sandwich
with different types of layers of flavor.
Everythin' on that sandwich
has to be good, and it's a quick smoke.
-It's a quick cook.
-Sure.
It can come down to time management.
Trying to think. When was the last time
I made a barbecue-inspired sandwich?
Never.
I'mma give it a try.
For this first round,
I'm gonna do a teriyaki chicken,
I'm gonna do an Asian-inspired coleslaw,
and then I'm gonna do a grilled pineapple,
and that's gonna go on the sandwich
with the teriyaki sauce.
I've got some seasonings
that I put together.
Salt, pepper, garlic, onion.
And then I've gotta get my chicken
on the smoker in the pit
so I can get it cooked.
Hopefully, the judges will like it.
Let's call it a redemption round.
This is do or die.
The chicken, I'm gonna smoke it.
I have it brining right now
in a salt bath
uh, just to infuse a little flavor.
It's gonna be on a pretzel roll.
I'm gonna focus on a fried green tomato.
I love fried green tomatoes.
My mom loves fried green tomatoes.
Uh, just feels like a nice accessory
for a chicken sandwich.
I've never made
fried green tomatoes before, but I mean
can't be that hard, right?
-Hello, Ms. Georgia.
-Oh, hello, guys!
-What are we doin'?
-Uh, my chicken sandwich,
I'm gonna do, um, the spicy slaw
and I have a fried chicken skin,
and I'm contemplating
a fried green tomato.
I'd love to have a fried green
tomato, but needs to be crunchy.
Okay, I could do that.
Good luck to you, Georgia.
-Thank you very much.
-Good luck, Ms. Georgia.
Hope to see you in the winners bracket.
Two hours, 15 minutes isn't a ton of time
to really get a ton of flavor
inside a chicken,
so I plan on doin' it two ways.
I'll get one goin' on the smoker,
and I'm quick broiling one.
That brine, that broil, is full
of turmeric, cumin, salt, garlic, onions.
So, that way, I can make sure
I've got very, very tender,
rich chicken with a very,
very smoky chicken as well.
A nice little mix of the two.
Shred 'em together:
some dark and white meat
so the judges have a depth of flavor.
I'm making
Caribbean pulled curry sandwich,
a bed of sweet plantains
and a nice purple cabbage,
green cabbage and radicchio slaw,
uh, with a Mexican crema.
Jamaica's not known for sandwiches,
but if it did have a sandwich,
I hope that this would be a really strong,
positive representation of it.
Stand back.
I'm gonna marinate the chicken
in pickle juice.
Breakfast.
Should give it a
like, a tang, and tenderize it,
'cause there's not a lot of time
to make it.
-Smells good.
- Does it?
I'm makin' a Southern-style
Vietnamese banh mi,
but I'm not gonna use pâté,
which is traditional
in a Vietnamese banh mi,
'cause I don't really like regular pâté.
Let me tell you what I'm using.
Southern pâté, baloney.
Have you done this before?
No.
-Keep up with your time on that chicken.
-Thanks, y'all.
To do a chicken sandwich
in two hours and 15 minutes,
I need to get this thing on right now.
I'm gonna have to bump
the temperatures up that I'd normally use
and, uh, go a little faster
and hotter today.
I'm gonna spatchcock my chicken.
It's gonna help it cook a little faster,
a little more even,
and, uh, get the dark meat done
a little quicker.
I wanna make sure I nail this chicken.
I would love to take this chicken sandwich
and get into that winners bracket.
Whoo! I'm excited
about makin' sandwiches today.
Where I come from,
S-A-M-M-I-C-H. "Sammich."
I traded my sandwiches to my dentist
to have my teeth cleaned and filed.
He broke in there with some heavy-duty
floss, took out all the coffee stains.
Didn't even charge me for it. I'm like,
"Damn, that's what it's all about."
So, goal's to tenderize it,
throw it in a Ziploc bag
with my fajita marinade.
The hardest part's getting the flavor
into the chicken.
First thing to do
is get that stuff marinatin'.
I'm doing one I call
South of the Border,
because it's gonna be highlighted
with Mexican flavors.
Pepper jack cheese on top,
a little pico de gallo on there,
a little Mexican slaw,
sriracha aioli over the top of the layers.
This chicken's gonna be good.
Someone will be crowned
the Sultan of Sammiches today.
Never been called "sultan,"
but I'll take it.
It's a beautiful day
to make some sammiches.
I sort of did a quick-cook brine
with it on the stove.
Uh, a brine is essential.
If you're ever makin' chicken
and you have the time,
put it in a salt water and sugar brine or,
you know, garlic, onion
and rosemary brine,
leave it in overnight if possible,
at least six hours.
It just helps keep the chicken moist.
It imposes so much flavor into the meat
that every little bite is juicy.
It is hard to do this in makeup.
Let me tell you,
I think my eyelashes are meltin'.
Hour left, folks!
I wanna fry up these plantains.
I wanna get them goin' and let them sit
because, as they sit,
they get softer and even sweeter.
I know the judges loved
the sweet plantains,
so I'm makin' some sweet plantains
to counteract the saltiness
of the pulled curry chicken.
I know when I had one of those sandwiches,
it had, like, carrots, and
I think some kind of radish
and maybe used one of these.
Whoo! Hah!
That's hot.
I've been workin'
on my teriyaki sauce,
which is a very important
component of this dish.
This is so salty.
Um
I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'.
Why is it so salty?
My tongue is numb.
It's too salty.
I can't take the salt away.
So I need to possibly make another one.
Fifteen minutes!
No, no, no! No! Shh!
Why am I always running?
Hm. I'm not sure what's happening
with these fried green tomatoes.
They're just not
They're not, like, fried fried.
Never done this before.
It's good to experiment 15 minutes
before the end of a competition.
I think I'm a pretty good cooker.
Just having the
gumption to get out there and try
something new, that's what makes it fun.
A fried green tomato has to be
perfectly seasoned,
as well as it has to be fried correctly.
If it is not fried correctly,
the batter will not stay on,
it will not stay crispy,
and she will have trouble
keeping it crispy on her sandwich.
Nothin' worse
than a mushy fried green tomato.
-Am I right?
-I don't want no soft, wilted-ass tomato.
No.
-Some nasty-ass fried tomatoes.
-Pisses me off just thinking about it.
Damn, that's good!
I'm done with these.
I gotta get the bread ready.
Sometimes, people overthink it.
You can't throw the kitchen sink in there.
Some things just don't go together.
I'm cutting this pineapple
to go on my teriyaki chicken
Do not put a piece of cold cheese
in front of me.
Jalapeño cheese, baby.
It's got a Mexican flavor.
The layers have to be
in the correct order
and it has to be timely.
Bam! Get you some of that.
I'm one of the first ones done.
I'mma put mine together.
If you build it too soon,
you might end up with a soggy bun.
This is no easy feat.
Ten more minutes would've did it.
You've got five minutes left.
Oh, God!
The chicken's gonna be so hot,
I'm not gonna be able to pull it apart.
Everybody plating yet?
Oh Hallelujah!
Get your sandwiches tight!
Gotta love that pressure.
Gotta love that pressure.
- Ten, nine, eight
seven, six
five, four
three, two, one
Show me the meats!
Whoo!
Judging a sandwich
is different than judging a plate of food.
There's a lot more flavors in a sandwich
than there is in one bite of meat.
- Ms. Georgia!
-Hello!
We have a mixture of white
and dark meat, smoked.
Uh, you have a pretzel bun,
a spicy slaw, a fried green tomato.
I just tasted the chicken. It's real good.
The chicken itself does have good flavor,
but it's got a whole lot
of different flavors
that are not really melding for me.
You see this?
This is what happens
if you don't get it fried hard,
you end up losin' all your breading.
This is the first time
that I've made fried green tomatoes.
That turned out to be a poor decision.
-What you got, Ash?
-I know you guys like mayonnaise,
so I wanted to go with a white sauce
on my first round.
It's got a blue cheese, red cabbage slaw
and, uh, some pulled chicken.
That chicken is good. It's real good.
Nice and moist.
-Thank you.
- And you piled it up higher
and gave us a lot of it,
and it is spot on.
-Thank you. Absolutely.
-Good job on that.
I got some sweet plantains,
I got coleslaw two ways,
curry sauce and curry mayo
on top as well.
I was worried-- Worried about that curry
gettin' to the bottom of the bun,
so I actually put my sauce
and then put the sweet plantains
at the base to lift up the curry chicken.
I think I could've used
a little bit more chicken on mine.
When I bit it,
I got more flavor of the, uh plantain.
Really, I'm not getting
my usual Rasheed
flavor explosion that I usually like.
Normally, whatever it is
you're puttin' on a plate
is genius.
-Thank you.
-Next time, put more chicken on mine.
-Yes, sir.
-Big man likes more chicken.
I understand. Yes, ma'am.
I didn't use pâté,
which is traditional on it.
So I fried up some baloney.
I could taste the brine on that
when I bit it.
I am not a big fan of baloney.
Oh.
What I've made for you here
is a teriyaki chicken pineapple sandwich,
with a Asian coleslaw to go with it.
Sylvie, you either love teriyaki
and pineapple, or you don't.
-Okay.
-You have to be very careful
-when you serve big
big chunks of pineapple and teriyaki
to people.
I-- I happen to like it.
-Oh, thank God!
But
I'm missin' a little bit
of a salt component.
Really? You won't believe it.
I was gonna throw away the teriyaki sauce
'cause I thought it was too salty.
Got a South of the Border sandwich
for you, and my chicken didn't dry.
Got a fajita-marinated chicken
and pepper jack cheese on top of that,
fresh tomato salsa on top,
and I drizzled my sriracha aioli
over the top of the layers
instead of on the bun.
You might wanna think about
buildin' it just a little bit differently.
I just don't know where we goin'
with this cheese.
I don't know
if these are supposed to melt.
Yeah, my bun is-is-is a little soggy.
- I see that.
- Everything's fallin' off.
- Hey.
-Hey.
Hi.
All right, y'all, so who's movin' on
to the winners bracket
and who is movin' on
to the losers bracket?
Ashley
Sylvie
and Tina.
You are all now in the winners bracket.
-Congratulations.
-Thank God!
-All right!
- You're safe from elimination.
-Whoo!
I'm in the top three. Whoo!
I'm safe and I'm okay.
Phew.
So that means Grubbs,
Georgia and Rasheed.
You are now in the losers bracket.
One of you will be goin' home today.
I'm once again in the elimination bracket,
fightin' for my spot.
It's quite humbling to me.
It really is, because I truly do
the best I can do,
but I also know that I'm competin'
against the best there is around.
I might not beat them on this challenge,
but there's gonna be one
I can beat them on, I guarantee you.
All right, guys, round two.
Barbecue pork sandwiches.
I'm the pork queen. I want somethin'
a little bit different, though.
Somethin' that is sexy,
that is sweet, that is scrumptious,
that will make me stand up and take note,
because you know
that I know my pork.
I wanna taste some good, smoky,
spicy, tender, good-ass pork.
Good-ass pork sandwiches.
All right, cookers,
you have two and a half hours
to serve up those pork sandwiches.
-You ready for it?
-Yes, ma'am. Let's do it.
-Let's get smokin'. Let's go!
-Good luck!
-Come on, let's go.
-Whoo!
Ashley, Tina and Sylvie
are in the winners bracket
and completely safe.
They're still competing to see
who will be the champion of sandwiches.
I'm still here, I'm still here ♪
As for Rasheed,
Grubbs, and Georgia,
they're in the losers bracket,
fighting for their competition lives.
-I'm feelin'
I'm feelin' like I gotta fight,
like I gotta put everything in there.
Being in the bottom three,
that's a lot of pressure.
If I don't win this pork sandwich round,
I'm goin' to the elimination round,
where I could possibly go home.
They want flavor. They want wow.
I gotta come with it, and I--
And I got somethin' for pork
that's definitely gonna surprise 'em.
I'm making a set
of grilled cheese sandwiches
for the buns for my pork sandwich,
with smoked fried pork belly,
pickled onions and onion strings.
I'm actually boiling some pork belly,
some peppers, some basil, some garlic.
Boilin' out that fat, gettin' it out
so I can then salt it and fry it.
I'm not ready to go home yet.
I'm gonna inject
a little cherry cola
into my pork shoulder,
because it's gonna tenderize it.
It's also gonna have a really great,
sweet underlying flavor.
So, I'm in the bottom bracket.
Any misstep can put me at risk
of-of not making it
through this challenge.
Just putting a little, uh, brown sugar
and kosher salt and garlic powder
on my shoulder.
The toppings I'm gonna go with
are BBQ sauce, fried mac and cheese,
bacon on top and then pickled jalapeños
for that kick.
My goal here is to
get
uh pulled pork
in a pretty short period of time.
This has gotta knock it outta the park.
The last place I wanna be
is in the last two
in that bottom loser bracket.
I'm gonna use my Grubbecue flavors
that so far some of the judges have liked,
and I'm gonna impart them into this pork.
I used tenderloin because it cooks
a little faster, but it's always tender.
It's everything
you can get in the South: bacon
pickled onions, homemade tater tots,
cheddar cheese, with my barbecue sauce,
tomato and lettuce.
Tryin' to avoid bein' in the bottom two,
so I gotta kick this pork up.
This is Rasheed's first time in the bottom
so it's a wake-up call for him.
I'm sure he's bringin'
his A-plus game here.
A, A, A!
I'm actually doin' sausage
and double bacon.
It's gonna have a donut bun.
Melissa's restaurant
has a burger on the menu
that's donuts.
So that's strategy.
Hopefully.
What are you doin', Sylvie?
- Makin' it tender.
- Hah!
For my pork sandwich,
I'm making a pork tenderloin.
I'm going to butterfly it
and put a strawberry jam inside.
I'm gonna do a cherry barbecue sauce
pulled pork,
topped with my quick pickles,
I call 'em quickles,
and a fried onion ring.
Two hours left.
Snap! Wood time.
This is a winning pork.
I've proven that
at the World Food Championship last year.
Pecan and cherry are the woods
that I'm using today.
Those are my go-to's,
and I sort of stick to those.
I'm smokin' some pork tenderloin
marinated in my tangy barbecue sauce.
Fire's good. It's all good.
Just have to keep it alive.
Don't want it to die out on me.
I wanna get
some brown sugar on these.
I wanna put some butter on 'em.
I wanna put some honey.
Get it up to about 350,
and I had my onions
sittin' at room temperature,
so it wouldn't shock it down,
for it to, uh crisp up.
I am frying macaroni and cheese.
Try this total experiment here.
My husband told me to-to play it safe.
That's not really what I do.
Makin' some homemade tater tots
for my pork sandwich.
This has gotta wow 'em. I want 'em to say,
"Damn, Grubbs, that was good."
That's what I'm lookin'
That's my reaction I'm lookin' for.
I've got my pork butts in there.
I cut 'em up because the smaller portions
will cook faster.
So I got 'em in a nice cast iron
after I got my smoker up to temp.
I don't have a lot of time
to make pulled pork,
so here I go again.
Hot and fast,
figurin' out a way to make it happen.
I've got my water pan to deflect the heat
and so it bounces up and around the pork
so it can cook faster.
This technique works.
It gets a lot of flavor in,
but it gets 'em shredded really fast.
All right. That is lookin' good.
This is gonna be my pulled pork,
so, um, I'm gonna get it inside,
pull it apart,
and, um, sauce it up a little bit.
I'm a little concerned that Georgia
has pulled her pork off too soon.
Pork has a lot of intramuscular fat,
so rendering that fat is the key,
and pork needs to be cooked
to an internal temperature
of around 200 degrees
to be very succulent,
have moisture, but be nice and tender,
and, uh, be to a proper pulling texture.
We might have some chewy pork sandwiches.
Just checkin' on my pork ribs
right now.
It's runnin'.
I'll knock the Green Egg down just a bit.
You have 15 minutes!
- Out of the way!
-I'm counting on a positive outcome.
This is smoked fried pork belly.
That's ready to shred,
so I'm gonna bring this inside.
My chicken sandwich
ended up with a soggy bun on the bottom.
Now I'm not gonna put too much somethin'
in there, you know, but
it's-it's a camo thing to me, it's like,
"Cover up the taste
of the barbecue with sauce."
We don't want sauce.
We wanna taste meat.
I like it. Will the pork queen like it?
I don't know.
- Ten
- Nine, eight
seven, six, five
four, three, two, one
Show me the meat!
Whoo!
Show me the meats, please!
Phew.
I've got a pork loin sandwich.
I have tempura,
yams and green beans,
and sauce is a combination
of strawberry jam
mixed with some cheeky mayo.
I can't just take for granted
because I'm safe that I'm okay.
I wanna win this overall.
This pork sandwich, I'm confident
that it's gonna be the one
to get me over to the championship.
This pork tastes like a pork chop.
-It is so tender.
-Thank you! Okay.
Ms. Tina-Tina.
- I've a donut burger on my menu.
- You do.
This is gonna be my version.
It's got bacon jam with bourbon,
pickled peaches, and then a fried egg.
-It was very good.
-Thank you, y'all.
I've got a, uh
just a traditional pulled pork sandwich.
It's got a little pickle,
a little bit of onion ring, sweet sauce.
That's just a good old barbecue sandwich.
Well, I appreciate it.
We have smoked pork tenderloin,
drizzled with my barbecue sauce,
homemade pickled onions,
tater tots, cheddar cheese,
tomato and lettuce.
There's so much pressure because,
if I don't win this round,
I'll be in the bottom round
of elimination. I don't wanna go home.
The pork is almost spot on,
got a pretty good smoke flavor to it.
-What is this?
-Homemade tater tots.
This right here was a, uh
roadkill.
This big of a sandwich
could probably use more sauce on it.
What we got goin' on here?
We have pork,
a little BBQ sauce,
fried macaroni and cheese,
bacon on top, on a brioche bun.
Did you get the consistency on the pork
you wanted?
The pork needed
a little more time.
Just needed to be more tender.
It could be a little bit more tender.
Uh, I agree with that.
So, this is probably the most worried
I've been all day.
What I've got for you guys here,
instead of regular bread,
it's a grilled cheese sandwich
for your buns,
pork belly, pulled pork,
some pickled onions,
with some nice fried plantain chips.
-Seasonin' on pork belly is good.
-Thank you.
However, the pickled onions, for me
are still really raw.
Tina, Sylvie and Ashley,
two of you will be moving on
towards that champion slide
for a chance to win.
Judges?
Sylvie
and Tina, your sandwiches
were absolutely incredible.
Congratulations, you're moving on
to the final winners bracket.
-Well done, ladies.
- Girl power!
- Whew!
Grubbs, Georgia, and Rasheed,
only one of you will be safe
from elimination.
Judges?
Grubbs
and Georgia.
You both will be movin' on
to the final losers bracket.
We had issues
with your pork sandwiches today.
All right, sir.
-Okay.
- Give 'em hell.
 Give 'em hell.
Rasheed, congratulations.
-That means you're safe.
-Way to go.
-Thank you, ma'am.
-Ashley, Rasheed.
You cain't win,
but you damn sure ain't losin'.
Sit this round out.
-I'm good with that.
-All right.
Now, we are on to the godmother
of all sandwiches,
a colossal five-layer sandwich
with beef and sausage.
-Ooh.
-Wow.
They should include a sauce.
We wanna see
these sandwiches stacked
at least five layers,
-to make them worthy of the final round.
-That's a
tall task.
It might sound ridiculous,
because honestly, it is.
You'll have less than two hours
to complete your colossal five-layer
beef and sausage sandwich.
-Well, you ready?
-I'm ready.
All right.
Let's get smokin'. Let's go.
I'm going this way. Yeah!
Tina and Sylvie
are in the championship round,
fighting to see who will be crowned
the Queen of Sandwiches.
-Here we are again, Sylvie.
-Here we are again.
As for Georgia and Grubbs,
they're in the elimination round,
and one of them will be going home.
This is literally go big or go home.
They want a big sandwich, and if
I don't deliver, I'm goin' to the cribs.
-Ooh, boy!
The beef and sausage sandwich
should be stacked high,
because I'm not afraid.
I will dig in there,
give me a big ol' face full of sandwich.
I wanna see it look like,
"You wanna eat me, mm-hm.
'Cause I'm a big ol' bad
barbecue sandwich."
I'm fixin' to stuff some sausage.
I think No, I just cracked it.
Okay, come on. There we go.
I've decided to make patties of sausage.
It wasn't a specific rule
that you had to case the sausage,
so I'm hopeful that it'll work out.
I have beef chuck and pork fat back,
about a 70/30 ratio.
I have ground it twice, so hopefully
the texture will be up to snuff.
For the last round, I'm making
a Baltimore field trip sandwich.
Got the beef sausage goin' on,
pit beef and onions three ways,
and Tiger sauce.
I am fighting for my life right now.
I'm in the bottom again.
I'm pretty disappointed.
And that's not good enough.
I need to hit it out of the park,
because I'm goin' head to head
with Grubbs
and I know
that he has been chompin' at the bit
to get back in
and make another sausage.
I just need to perform.
This sausage is gonna be deeper flavor
right here. I can tell already.
Cookin' against Georgia
in the bottom round's intimidatin'.
That young lady's got a lot of skills.
Takin' up too much real estate.
In the back of my little brain,
just sayin',
"I bet she don't stuff her sausage,
so let me kick that sausage
off the chart."
What I'm gonna do
is I'mma use my Cajun flavors,
my techniques from Louisiana,
and I can redeem my sausage self
after my first round,
the sausage wasn't so good.
I would not be stuffing sausage
in cases for this round.
Just because we say the word "sausage"
doesn't mean
you have to make a cased sausage.
What's wrong with makin'
-a nice country sausage patty?
-Yes!
-Mm!
-It goes well on a bun.
-Yes.
-Hello!
- Yeah.
-Yes.
Last time,
I struggled with makin' sausage.
I didn't do the twice grind,
the flavor wasn't as deep.
So I double ground it,
and fine diced, got the flavor to it.
My sandwich started out with, uh
Cajun-marinated skirt steak,
Andouille sausage,
some crispy bacon on there,
pimento cheese, tomatoes, pickles,
and the hot, sweet barbecue sauce
drizzled over the meat.
I can even tell the color's better
than the last one.
So this sausage is a hundred times better
than my first sausage.
This is the sausage right here,
I'm hopin' will put me over the top.
To save myself,
I gotta make these judges' tongues
slap 'em in the forehead.
Got a little pecan wood in here,
and some lump charcoal
and my Cajun-marinated skirt steak.
All righty. As I sit here and relish
in the perfume of the meat gods.
I've got some flap meat here.
I marinated it in red wine.
I've titled my dish Italian Swagger
after my husband
'cause he's of Italian descent.
I'm gonna make Italian sausage,
then I'mma roll that up
in some flap meat,
and then I'm gonna roast off some peppers,
I'm gonna make a marinara sauce,
put some provolone on top
and then giardiniera.
I'm just gonna stack all that up.
I'm gonna have all sorts
of breakfast-type items on this sandwich.
I call this Breakfast for Dinner.
So I have a layer of beef short ribs,
breakfast sausage, fried egg, bacon,
a fondue sauce.
The judges asked for a big sandwich.
I'm givin' 'em a big sandwich.
-One hour, people!
Mustard seeds.
Right now, I'm making fondue.
I got 'nara sauce.
I'm workin' on, uh, onions three ways.
Uh, so, first, I've got straws
that I am frying up right now.
Some sautéed onions,
some pickled onions.
When they said five layers, I thought,
"What do I love? Onions."
Georgia, your egg's on fire.
I don't think it's supposed to do that.
Just gonna turn that over.
-Turn it over and close that up.
- Before we get a flare-up.
That's not
how you cook beef anywhere.
That's char to a whole new level.
Let me tell you what's gonna happen.
We're gonna have char on the outside,
rare on the inside, which is not good
at a barbecue competition.
How do I overcome that?
Okay, sauce.
Since I got a Cajun-themed sandwich,
I'mma use a Cajun hot sauce.
I don't want to put too much sauce
on the sandwich.
I don't want my bread gettin' soggy.
Man, that's good.
All right, ten minutes! You guys
got ten minutes left in your cook!
Gotta taste that steak, though.
Damn, that's good.
Better watch out.
I'm-- I am really feeling the pressure
on this do or die sandwich.
I'm a little nervous.
I'm actually gonna serve the judges
some of the sections
that are a little bit less rare.
I hope that it won't be as jarring.
A little drizzle
of that sweet heat.
Dear God! I'm just prayin'
my sausage is gonna be done.
Keep it lookin' pretty.
Keep it lookin' pretty.
Please don't break. Oh!
Let's do our sauce.
Where did my skewers go?
Where's Georgia?
Still inside
puttin' sandwiches together.
Please be done.
Ugly, ugly, ugly!
Whew!
- Ten, nine, eight
seven, six, five
four, three, two, one
-Show me the meats!
-Whoo!
I need a drink.
And this time I don't mean water.
When I'm judgin'
the beef and sausage sandwich,
those two textures
shouldn't be fightin' each other.
Succulent, mouth-watering meat,
sauce that just absolutely
sends you over the top.
It's gotta be a flavor explosion
that makes your eyes
roll back in your head
and you cannot wait to get another bite.
- Here we go.
- Wowee.
Today, one of you will be crowned
Ruler of Sandwiches,
and sadly,
one of you will be going home.
All right. To our winners bracket, Sylvie.
Well, we start off
with the bottom layer is short ribs.
From there,
breakfast sausage, fried egg,
bacon, bacon bits and fondue sauce.
You need a bib for that one.
Just wanna point out,
don't get mad when people give you
exactly what you asked for.
Okay.
The sausage is perfect.
The flavors are perfect.
The sauce is heaven.
I mean, this is a "shove it in your face,
eat it,
enjoy it, just be happy" sandwich.
You gave us, as far as I'm concerned,
-exactly what we asked for.
-Thank you.
I call my sandwich Italian Swagger.
I took some flap meat
and marinated it
in a whole bottle of red wine,
Italian sausage in the middle,
marinara on the bottom,
a piece of provolone
and then giardiniera on top.
Every time you cook somethin',
you take us to
Europe, you take us to everywhere.
This little pinwheel you have done here
has so much flavor.
I mean, you have incorporated
the beef and the sausage here together
and it is a culinary masterpiece.
Oh, good.
All right, everybody.
In the elimination bracket.
Let's start with Georgia.
We have a Baltimore pit beef,
a beef patty sausage,
onions three ways,
Tiger sauce on a kaiser roll.
- Mm. I hear some crunch.
The flavor in the sausage
with the herbs and the wine,
compiled with the grind,
coupled with
these little crunchy tidbits
-is genius.
-Thank you.
However
the texture on your beef is
underdone.
I've had Baltimore beef before.
-What kind of sauce is this on it?
-Tiger sauce.
I just think this sauce here,
it takes away from the smoke.
This one kinda gets messy,
and it's just real thick on my palate
when I first eat it.
Okay.
Okay, Grubbs.
I started out
with a Cajun-marinated skirt steak,
true Andouille sausage,
some crispy bacon on there,
homemade pimento cheese,
and hot, sweet barbecue sauce
drizzled over the meat.
My man Grub.
Do you feel this sandwich
will keep you from elimination today?
I sure hope it does.
-It's a damn good sausage.
-Thank you.
It was twice ground.
I learned my lesson the first time.
You did a fine job
on your sausage this trip.
The beef is a little dry for me.
What kind of sauce is this again?
I like to say
it's my "sweet heat" sauce.
I don't have any sauce on this whole end
of this sandwich.
It-- I drizzled it all across the sausage
and the meat.
-I don't know where it went.
-Just sayin'.
-Come here for a sec.
-There's no sauce on this end
Look at mine and hers.
-See who has sauce here like she's sayin'?
- Mm-hm.
I would've liked more sauce
on my sandwich.
I put all my heart
into this sandwich,
and maybe I didn't drizzle
enough barbecue sauce on the meat,
but I was listenin' to her
about soggy buns.
And so I let that override
how much sauce I drizzled over the meat.
But this is my third time
in the bottom two,
goin' up for elimination,
and I'm just thinkin', "Lord have mercy."
All right, guys,
this has been an epic tournament.
So, why don't y'all go ahead and hang out
while the judges discuss?
-Okay.
-Okay.
Strictly contemplating
the judges' comments
- Good job.
- Good job.
I do think
it's probably neck and neck.
Grubbs was absolutely on point
with his sausage.
Melissa said that my use of sausage
was genius.
I think it's gonna be really close.
Sylvie and Tina,
your barbecue beef
and sausage sandwiches were incredible.
But one of you really brought
the smoke show today.
Melissa, who done it?
Today's best beef and sausage sandwich
was smoked by
Congratulations, Sylvie.
- All right!
-Congratulations.
- Congratulations, Ms. Sylvie.
Ooh!
-Oh, look!
- Oh, look at that!
I didn't know there was a trophy.
Can we get a redo?
Aww!
-Ruler of Sandwiches.
- Look at that.
I'm number one.
I have shown
that I am a tough competitor.
I can't wait to also extend
my trophy list
to overall best in the country.
Congratulations, Sylvie.
-Thank you, thank you!
-The ruler!
Now, Georgia and Grubbs,
unfortunately, one of you has to go home.
Judges?
Today's elimination came down
to two amazing barbecue sandwiches,
but for Melissa and I,
one was just slightly better
than the other.
Georgia the consistency of your beef
was a little undercooked.
Just needed a little bit more time
to be a little bit more tender.
Grubbs.
What about puttin' the sauce
all the way across that sandwich?
Kind of wish you'd have thought
about gettin' it from stem to stern.
I wish I'd have
just dumped a ladle on there.
So, judges, who is going home tonight?
Georgia, I'm sorry.
Your barbecue sandwich
was the least favorite of ours,
so tonight, you'll be goin' home.
Let's-- Come on.
I wanted it to be girl power.
This was my-my first foray
into a barbecue competition.
Um, and so I-I appreciate
you guys showin' me the ropes,
and I-I can't thank you all enough.
-Been a pleasure to work with you.
-We're gonna miss you.
Yes, indeed.
I have had such a great time
in this competition.
I really came in feeling like an underdog.
The fact that I was able to hang
is-is one of the highlights
in and of itself.
Here's to you. Cheers.
- Yes.
- Cheers.
On the next episode,
the competition gets wilder
and wilder!
Oh, raccoon! Aieee!