After three episodes of friendship, rivalries, delicious BBQ dishes and unexpected eliminations, BBQ Brawl Season 2 episode 4 was already full of emotions from the start. The contestant were feeling the pressure as they slowly got closer to the half-way point of the season, and one team only had two members remaining.
This Food Network TV show is the ultimate showdown between the top pitmasters across the country. BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Symon can be viewed on Discovery plus or Amazon prime video, and the showtime for new episodes is every Monday at 8 pm. Foodnetwork.com has more info! If you're a fan of the Cooking Channel or food reality TV shows like Big Bad BBQ Brawl, the Great Food Truck Race, Iron Chef, this BBQ battle show is for you.
BBQ Showdown
At the start of BBQ Brawl, BBQ connoisseurs Bobby Flay, Michael Symon and Eddie Jackson chose four contestants for their team. Over the last few episodes, they've made brisket, focused on local favorite flavors, and even cooked everything over a campfire. Last episode, Megan Day of Team Eddie was sent home, leaving the team with only two members.
Because of this, Eddie Jackson was allowed to choose the starting contest of the episode. He enthusiastically announced that the contest would be centered around celebrating one of his favorite days- Game Day! When Jackson thinks "game day," he thinks chicken wings, so the teams were given 30 minutes to make chicken wings.
Game Day Chicken Wings
From the start of BBQ Brawl Season 2 Episode 4, the smack talk between contestants was on another level. However, the BBQ experts stayed focused on their task of making the best chicken wings, some going for unique flavors while others used classic local flavors.
Of team Michael, Brittany made grandma's southern fried chicken wings with buffalo sauce and crispy chips, David went for spicy charred fennel BBQ chicken wings, and Ara made confit jerk chicken with chipotle mayo. The team earned great reviews, with David's wings named the top dish.
Team Bobby was also out to impress. Brendan of Texas made sweet BBQ game day wings, Taylor made gochujang chicken wings, Erica went for Southern fried chicken wings in buffalo lemon sauce, and Terry made homemade ranch sauce on hickory-flavored BBQ Daddy wings. Taylor's unique and delicious gochujang wings were team Bobby's best dish.
As for team Eddie, they didn't let their dwindling numbers stop them. Chris made "triple threat" chicken wings that were smoked, fried and then grilled. Lu went for her classic cran-b-cue wings with cranberry sauce. Chris' wings impressed the judges and were the better dish of the two.
Comeback Time
Despite only having two contestants, team Eddie won the initial barbecue battle with Chris' wings, allowing them to have an advantage over the other teams in the challenge to come. The advantage in this face-off was even more intense than those of previous episodes, in that it gave team Eddie the ability to fully derail the other teams' progress at any time.
Team Eddie was allowed to call a ten-minute "time out" on teams Michael and Bobby at any given moment, and the team in question would have to step away from the grill for ten minutes, no matter what's cooking and at what temperature.
The Real Contest Begins
Since grilling and game day go hand in hand, the contest chosen was tailgating- make the ultimate game day BBQ grub, including ribs, in three hours. Team Bobby was having some team issues from the start, as Taylor tried to explain to Terry where the ribeye was on the steak. Terry responded that he's been cooking since age 4, and doesn't need a lesson on ribeye.
The next team Bobby drama occurred when team Eddie called a time-out at the worst (or best) possible moment- when the ribs had just gone onto the grill. The grill tops were fully open, and contestants Taylor, Terry, Brendan and Erica watched anxiously as their ribs burned for ten minutes. Tensions continued to run high between Terry and Taylor, and Erica voiced her worries about the team unraveling. When the time-out was called on Team Michael, they had had the privilege of watching Team Bobby's struggles, so they were prepared with foil-wrapped meat.
Who Will Go Home?
After three hours, it was time for the moment of truth. Team Eddie made "rub you the right way" tailgate food, which consisted of beer, queso dip with Italian sausage, spicy BBQ rice, chicken lollipops with sweet honey BBQ sauce, and glazed competition-style ribs. They received great reviews, and the judges described the ribs as "life changing" and "one of the best things we've tasted all competition."
Team Bobby grilled up "don't call it a comeback" tailgate. They made fried mac n cheese balls, pork ribs with bourbon and smoked chili BBQ sauce, gochujang glazed pork tenderloin, ribeye tostada on avocado cream, momma's cinnamon bread pudding, and Texas twinkie-stuffed quail. Despite their best efforts, their reviews were less than stellar.
The last team judged was team Michael, who created "all hands on deck" BBQ with the theory that you should be able to eat all food at a tailgate with your hands. Their BBQ meal featured roasted corn and tomatillo salsa, St. Louis spare ribs, bubba's baby back ribs, and Texas-style beef ribs. The judges enjoyed the meal but weren't overly impressed.
The Moment of Truth
In an amazing turn of events, the first safe team named in BBQ Brawl Season 2 Episode 4 was team Eddie, meaning that the two-person team would live to cook another day! Chris Prieto was named MVP of the day because of his "life changing" ribs, and the team walked away filled with relief. The next safe team was team Michael, who gave a solid performance despite having under-flavored proteins.
This left team Bobby in the bottom for the first time all competition. The judges named their top dishes as Taylor's bread pudding and Terry's pork loin. However, Erica's ribeye tostada was flavorless with a chewy texture, while Brendan's stuffed quail had soggy bacon and overcooked quail.
In the end, the judges selected Brendan to go home and lose the chance forever to become master of cue. Brendan was a good sport, acknowledging that he'd taken a risk, and it didn't pay off. Terry wiped away tears as his buddy walked away, and team morale was low. We can't wait to tune in next Monday for more of BBQ Brawl!
