In season 2 of BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Symon episodes 1 and 2, the contestants formed alliances and rivalries, showing their skills in a range of contests designed to narrow down the competition. Teams Eddie and Symon each lost a player, but the BBQ brawl is far from over. BBQ Brawl season 2 episode 3 kept up the excitement and suspense as the aspiring pitmasters competed to stay in the competition and have a shot at master of cue!
This epic Texas-based barbecue battle TV show is on the Food Network cooking channel. Its air date was June 14th, and episode showtimes are every Monday at 8 pm. View BBQ Brawl Season 2 on Discovery Plus or Amazon prime video, and learn more on foodnetwork.com.
In the first moments of the episode, the contestants and viewers are met with the intriguing sight of campfires in place of grills. While many of the contestants seem hesitant about the idea of grilling with no grill, Brendan Lamb immediately lets out a whoop, saying "cowboy cooking!"
Good for You 'Cue
Since Eddie Jackson's team lost Max Hardy in the previous episode, he gets to choose the first contest. Jackson names the contest "good for you 'cue," explaining that he's looking for a healthy spin on a classic BBQ dish. He also changes it up by challenging Michael Symon and Bobby Flay to compete against him, rather than the full teams. He says jokingly "if you wanna look like me you gotta cook like me."
In 30 minutes, Eddie makes a Thai beef salad with a flat iron steak, using cherrywood for flavor. He receives positive feedback, with the note that the smoked flavor is a bit on the light side. As for Bobby, he goes for barbecued eggplant custard with green chili barbecue sauce and spice rub shrimp.
Everyone is surprised by how good the eggplant is, and Bobby jokes that he's bringing eggplant into their lives. Judge Rodney Scott hilariously says that his leggings have turned back to jeans after the meal!
Last but not least, Michael makes chili glazed halibut with coconut miso clam broth. While all three receive great reviews, Bobby wins with his unexpectedly delicious eggplant.
The BBQ Face-off Begins!
The judges confirm that the contestants will indeed be cooking barbecue over the open fire, an old-school BBQ method that some have little experience with. Since Bobby won the initial barbecue battle for his team, he gets the advantage, which is having the fire lit for them before the contest begins.
The barbecue challenge for BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Symon season 2 episode 3 is to cook everything over a campfire. The teams have four hours to complete their meal, and they're expected to have entrees, sides, and desserts in a cohesive meal.
Although four hours sounds like a long time, the teams struggle to complete the difficult task. Judges Rodney Scott, Brooke Williamson, and Carson Kressley watch from the sidelines as the barbecue face-off begins. They comment that team Symon had everything on the grill first, but that it seemed to be overcrowded. They then watch Eddie Jackson's team go through a very near disaster, from which they barely recover.
Cowboy Cooking
Bobby Flay's team makes a meal themed "campfire survival." The menu includes sausage stuffed with roasted peppers and cheddar, chicken with rosemary, "recovery potatoes," corn salad, and a fancy corn layer cake with buttercream and blueberry compote. The judges remark that the sausage could have been cooked a little harder, overall giving positive reviews with some negative feedback.
As for team Symon, they go for a "campfire feast." This tasty meal included blackberry fig pork chop and Annato roasted beef chuck, corn and crab fritters, and panna cotta with vanilla bean. The judges are impressed with the versatility present in this campfire feast, and although the pork was underdone and the panna cotta wasn't quite set, they're overall happy with the meal.
Finally, team Jackson's theme is "chillin by the fire." The contestants cook short rib beef chili, Mexican street corn with lime zest, bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, and a Dutch baby cake with raspberries and jalapeño glaze. Despite the team's best efforts, the judges weren't overly satisfied with their results, remarking that the chili wasn't cooked well and that the Dutch cake was doughy and underdone.
The Moment of Truth
When it came to the final decision of BBQ Brawl Season 2 episode 3, the contestants and viewers waited in anxious silence for the verdict. The judges evaluated team Bobby first, saying they "weren't wowed but it was a solid performance." As for team Symon, they said that the pork was underdone but that the team also had the "bite of the day," the corn and crab fritters by Brittany Bo Baker.
Winning the "bite of the day" was especially validating for Baker, as she had previously commented that her male teammates underestimated her, and she felt that they were dominating the cooking and not trusting her skills. She commented that she is a "fierce competitor" and hopes that her teammates will begin to see her value and include her more.
When it came to team Eddie, the judges said that the team had "survived a near barbecue disaster," but that the meal was overall uneven. The first safe team was Michael, and then team Bobby. Unfortunately, this put team Eddie in the bottom for the second week in a row.
Team Eddie's biggest fallbacks were the burnt, smoky chili by Christopher Prieto and the chewy, undercooked Dutch baby cakes by Megan Day. After a moment of suspense, the judges named Megan Day as the one to leave, acknowledging the unfairness of going home from a BBQ show for a dessert. We're all worried about team Eddie, who's now down to two players. However, he's determined to keep spirits up, and the brawl is far from finished- there's no telling what's to come!
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