What We Made On Episode 5 of Pitmasters

If you’ve been following Christie (Girls Can Grill) and I compete on Food Network’s Pitmasters, then you know we made it to episode 5. in which Christie (Girls Can Grill) and I compete as we take on 4 different BBQ standards, 4 different deadlines, and even the weather!

What We Made On Episode 5 of Pitmasters

Well, we made it to episode 5 of Pitmasters, and it’s been quite the adventure so far. (If you need to catch up, I’ve got all my episode recaps HERE, and Christie has hers up HERE.) We’ve deal with a lot of curveballs: themed feasts, whole animals, no-meat dishes, sausage from scratch, you named it. Episode 5’s challenge might’ve been the most surprising because there was no surprise. No theme, no gimmick. Just the 4 proteins competition BBQ (and backyard BBQ) is built on.

The Challenge(s)

This week’s format was completely different from anything we’d done so far. Instead of a “Big Burn” and a “Flash Burn,” we got the “Core Four”: chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and beef brisket, turned in on a rolling schedule.

Every round had $1,000 on the line, and the team with the highest overall score across all 4 would take home an additional $3,000.

The judges told us they were looking for the 3 T’s: time, temperature, and texture. That’s it. No them to hide behind or clever concept to wow the judges. If you end up with rubbery chicken skin or overcooked ribs, you missed the mark.

Because of the time constraints, Christie and I made a call early: we were going hot and fast. With a rolling clock and 4 overlapping proteins on the same fire, we didn’t have the luxury of time to baby anything. Cook it hot and simple to temp, and turn it in.

Round 1: Chicken

For the chicken, we went with a smoked raspberry chiptole chicken. This sweet and smoky chicken has just a touch of heat on the back end. We took Christie’s competition whole competition chicken method, but broke the chicken down into its parts for the smoker. Thighs, wings, and legs all cook differently, and when you’ve only got 3 hours and the judges are scoring you on texture, parts give you control that a whole bird just doesn’t.

We ended up not serving the breasts at all, and instead made some crispy chicken skin as a garnish with a little crunchy contrast.

Oh, Hail No

With about 27 minutes left on the chicken deadline, it started to hail. We had chicken resting and ribs wrapped on the grill, and there was nothing to do but keep working. This is where having Christie as a partner really shows. She was a park ranger at Lake Mead for years, so cooking and working through absolutely wild conditions is nothing new to her. While I was still processing the fact that ice was falling out of the sky, she was already moving.

1 member of each team met at the judge’s table to present their team’s chicken. I went for this one, but we didn’t get to stick around to hear any feedback. It was back to camp to keep the fires rolling.

The judges met us back at camp to share the scores. They said our chicken was smoked to perfection, with Big Moe Cason especially loving the rendered skin. We didn’t take home the $1,000, but feedback like that is the kind of thing that keeps you going in a fierce competition such as this.

Round 2: Pork Ribs

For pork ribs, we went with Christie’s hot and fast method for ribs with a sweet yuzu sauce. (I’ve got a post for this method HERE as well.) Yuzu is a Japanese citrus that tastes like something between a lemon and a grapefruit. It cuts through the richness of pork in a way that wakes up the whole bite. It’s bright, and it is not what anyone expects to taste on a rib in a BBQ competition.

Jess Pryles called it a competition-style bite in terms of texture, which is exactly what you want to hear on a ribs turn-in. We didn’t win this round, either, but I’ll take that kind of feedback from these judges any day.

One of the judges didn’t love the sauce (Andrew said it didn’t have quite enough citrus), but I respectfully disagree. I absolutely loved the citrus notes with the pork and it was my favorite bite of the day!

Round 3: Pork Shoulder

For the pork shoulder round, we did Christie’s competition pork butt and money muscle medallions with an extra-peachy version of my Whiskey Peach BBQ Sauce.

If you’re not familiar, the money muscle is the tender, well-marbled section near the blade end of the shoulder, and it’s called that for a reason. In competition, that’s the cut that wins money. Slicing it into medallions lets the judges see the marbling and get a clean, tender bite every time. The feedback was that our pork shoulder and money muscle were cooked perfectly. The problem? It just wasn’t salty enough.

In the end, the lack of saltiness cost us the round. If you watched the results, you know I didn’t take it the most gracefully. But hey, how often do you get a chance to curse on national TV. Plus, I can assure you I’m salty enough now.

Something Else I Loved

Did you notice both Christie and Matt and wore Pitmaster Gloves this episode?! Todd and I just wanted to make a glove that met all our BBQ needs. Seeing them on someone else’s hands in the middle of a competition like this was such a surreal moment.

The Results… Aren’t In

I can’t tell you where Christie and I landed this week because the episode ended mid-challenge! You’ll have to tune in next week to see how our brisket does, who walks away with $3,000, and if we make it to the next challenge!

What I can tell you is that the “Core Four” was the truest test on this show so far. There’s no concept to lean on and no story to tell the judges. It’s just: “Can you cook chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket.” That’s the foundation everything else in BBQ is built on, and getting to prove it on that stage, in the hail, next to Christie, is something I’m pretty proud of.

Thanks so much for supporting us through episode 5 of Pitmasters! If you want to watch along, new episodes air every Monday at 9/8c on Food Network. You can also catch up on HBO Max and Discovery+! Check back next week to see if we’re still in the hunt for the grand prize, and so you can be part of the fun on Pitmasters!