The essential episodes of Barbecue Showdown
Watch these 11 in order and you've got Barbecue Showdown — each pick states its reason.
- 01
The competition kicks off with a smokin' staple: the barbecue combo plate. That's two mouthwatering meats and two succulent sides.
- 02
The competitors make a feast for 50 first responders in a Fourth of July throwdown. Tri-tip, pork chops, cheeseburgers and more are on the menu.
- 03
Don’t Need Teeth to Eat This Beef
Time to celebrate the greatest invention in the history of food: ribs! The cooks tackle pork and beef ribs — one with a dry rub, one with a wet sauce.
- 04
The contestants craft signature barbecue plates to show what they can make over an open flame, including one dish cooked al fresco in the all-new Trench.
- 05
Things get spicy when the judges ask the cooks to take their pick from a pantry packed with peppers that range from friendly to face-melting.
- 06
The pitmasters dig deep in the Trench to make a mouthwatering surf and turf menu, cooking their proteins both above and below ground.
- 07
After a dramatic campfire breakfast cook-off, the competitors roll through a new challenge: barbecuing a stuffed roast with a delicious surprise inside.
- 08
The four fire tamers still in the game get creative to cook perfectly pulled meat and sides using an array of rickety, makeshift smoker rigs.
- 09
The competition gets personal as the barbecuers race to make family-style holiday feasts inspired by their own most delicious traditions.
- 10
Don't Bring a Skewer, To A Swordfight
Semifinalists tackle a new test in close quarters, sharing one dome to suspend their dishes over open fire as they attempt Brazilian-style churrasco.
- 11
The last two pitmasters standing go whole hog in this fiery finale, serving snout-to-tail spreads to determine who will go home a barbecue champion.
