Pitmasters Episode 6: Recipes We Cooked

We made it to Episode 6 of Food Network’s competition series Pitmasters. This week, Susie (Hey Grill Hey) and I faced multiple challenges trying to survive elimination as two teams were sent home.

As always, we’re sharing our recipes, so you can make them at home.

The Big Burn: 4 Core Meats (continued)

In Episode 5, the Big Burn included 12 hours to cook the core four meats: chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. The show ended with us just about to turn in brisket. It was quite a cliffhanger.

Most people cook brisket low and slow for 12+ hours. While I have a great no-fail smoked brisket recipe that follows that process, we only had 12 hours, so we agreed a hot and fast brisket was the way to go.

I separated the brisket point from the flat, injected the muscles with beef broth and seasoned it with Girls Can Grill Brisket Rub. Then, we smoked the brisket in the offset smoker for several hours before finishing it in a braising liquid.

We were continuously walking around the set to get more firewood, and as we did, I was looking at the other teams. I saw that they were all cooking more traditional style Texas brisket and they were building a lot of bark.

I knew that both Big Moe and Ernest compete on the circuit, so they would understand our cook (and hopefully appreciate it), but I shared with Susie that I was a little worried. Texas-style brisket has great bark. Hot and fast brisket doesn’t.

That’s when Susie had this great idea to sear the fat cap over open fire. Neither of us had done this before, so we were a little nervous to try it for our first time with such high stakes. But we cooked two full packer briskets, so we had some wiggle room.

I cut a big chunk of meat off one of the flats and Susie placed it straight over the fire. When she pulled it off, we cut a slice and gave it a taste. It was such a cool move. It really amplified the fat by caramelizing it and giving it a little crunch. I was sold, so we made the call to sear the rest of the brisket.

Brisket Judging

In this Big Burn, we didn’t ever hear our feedback, so we had to wait until the show aired to see what the judges thought of our turn-ins. We just walked our plate up, dropped it off and left. I have been anxious since filming to see what they thought.

Moe said it was cooked very well, but he said the flavor was off to him. Andrew added that he could taste more of the broth than the cooked meat. That’s because of the way we did the hot and fast braise.

Then, Jess added that another team’s brisket had grease on the platter while ours had jus. I’m not really sure what she was implying there. Personally, I would rather eat jus than grease, but it came across that she preferred the grease. I’ll have to ask her someday.

Big Surprise

While that boost of energy after the Big Burn announcement helped, we were all running on empty. We had only got snippets of sleep here or there for the past several days. We were five challenges in and exhausted. Before announcing the next Big Burn, they surprised us and said we could go get some rest. That was a huge relief. I needed both rest and a shower.

Big Burn: Backyard BBQ

After that brief relief, it was time to get back to set for the next challenge. I wasn’t at 100%, but I did feel a bit refreshed.

For the next Big Burn, we were asked to host a family barbecue in our new backyard. We had three hours to make one protein and two sides, and just like Episode 1, we were feeding both the judges and fellow contestants.

I knew this challenge was right in Susie’s wheelhouse. She has both a TV show and cookbook called Backyard BBQ Hero. I immediately told her we had to lean into her tried and true recipes.

She knew right away she wanted to make her Weeknight Salmon and Mountainberry Cola Cake. The salmon is seasoned with brown sugar, herbs and lime and topped with a fresh mango salsa. Susie cooked it to perfection in the cage straight over the fire pit. It was such a good bite.

Her cake is a fun Dutch oven recipe. She usually makes it with cola and canned cherries, but for the show, she used a mix of fresh berries. I couldn’t stop eating it. After it baked, the edges were crispy like the best corner of a brownie and the inside was gooey and fudgy with a pleasant pop of fruitiness to cut the richness. Susie makes this cake for her son’s birthday every year.

The Egg Debacle

To me, a backyard BBQ isn’t complete without deviled eggs. I make deviled eggs for just about every gathering – even Christmas and Thanksgiving. I planned to do my upscale version with homemade shallot aioli and crispy shallots on top, but the eggs got the best of me.

I had struggled to boil water and heat oil over live fire the entire show. The altitude just kept kicking my butt. I dropped my eggs in the hot water, cooked them for 10 minutes and shocked them in an ice bath. But when it came time to peel them, it was a disaster.

The shells stuck to every single egg. I couldn’t get a clean, smooth hardboiled egg at all. Not a single one was presentable. I hit a complete wall. We only had three hours and I had no recipe. I needed to step away and find inspiration.

One of my favorite places to dream up recipe ideas is at the grocery store, so I went to the walk-in and just stood there. I looked at the food and hoped something would speak to me.

That’s when I saw the canned crab meat and shrimp. Immediately, I thought of seafood salad. Every time we go to a BBQ competition, I pack seafood salad, so we have a burst of protein when we want a quick snack. I grabbed the seafood and ran back to the cook site.

I knew I needed a live fire component, so I seasoned the shrimp and threw them on the grill. For the crab, I placed it in a pan with some butter on the smoker. Meanwhile, I also decided to try to hard-boil more eggs. This time, the eggs worked. I was able to get enough cooked and peeled, so I halved them and threw them on the smoker for a kiss of smoke.

I made the shallot aioli that I had planned from the start, and created a fusion of seafood salad and deviled eggs by mixing the crab, shrimp and yolks together with the aioli and some veg. The flavor was fantastic. And now, I’m a huge fan of Seafood Salad Deviled Eggs.

We had our backyard barbecue platters composed, and it was time to carry them up this HUGE hill to present to the judges.

Judging

Because of all of the chaos, I had no idea what the other teams had prepared. It turned out three of us decided to add a dessert this round. I loved our dessert. It was backyard comfort food. The other two were definitely more restaurant style.

We walked along the table and loaded our plates to sample everyone’s food, and it was obvious why everyone was in the final four.

But just as the competition was getting harder, so were the judges’ comments. The feedback on Susie’s salmon was phenomenal. Andrew said it was cooked perfectly with a beautiful blush. Moe said it tasted like backyard all day. So we nailed the focus of the challenge for sure with that dish.

For the deviled eggs, Moe liked the flavor, but wished the shrimp had more char. Jess said she tasted the smoke, but said it was a simple dish for a final four challenge.

While deviled eggs are traditionally simple, this version seemed far from that to me. Homemade mayo, live fire boiled and cold smoked eggs, the addition of grilled and smoked seafood. I don’t know. I guess all of that just didn’t translate.

For the dessert, while our fellow competitors said they enjoyed it, the judges weren’t fans. The feedback was harsh, and Jess said it was like we went home and got into sweatpants and got too comfortable.

Maybe my backyard barbecues are just different than other people’s. If you come to my house, you’re welcome to be comfy in your sweats or dolled up in a sundress. I really don’t care. But I realize this is a competition, so we needed to hit harder.

The best part about this Big Burn was the camaraderie we shared. As the judges were tasting our food, the remaining four teams sat on benches on the top of the hill, sharing our favorite backyard barbecue moments. It was really special. And despite who went home, building the friendships was by far the most meaningful part.

See What We Cook Up Next

Catch new episodes of Pitmasters live Mondays at 9/8c on Food Network, or streaming the next day on HBO Max. Make sure to stop by next week to see how we did in Episode 7.

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