All language subtitles for BBQ.USA.S02E01.The.Royal.Rumble.Of.BBQ.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM

Are you ready
for some barbecue?

That is delicious.

Every weekend,
I'm traveling the country...

Really nice smoke.

...to top
barbecue competitions...

-Here to kick some butt, man.
-Whoa!

I'm coming to get
my grand championship.

-Don't screw up. [laughs]
-I won't, I won't!

[Michael Symon]
...where the best pit masters
come to prove their skills...

[man] Ooh, they look good.

[Michael]
...and earn their place
on the barbecue stage.

Competition's gonna be tough.

I'm here to see
some of the tips and tricks...

[man] Sweet, heat, and salt.

[Michael] ...and find
the tastiest food around.

[Michael] ...and find
the tastiest food around.

-Oh, man.
-This is barbecue. Nice.

This is America.

This is BBQ USA.

Buckle up
and bring your appetites,

because we're here
at the Kansas Speedway

for the American Royal World
Series of Barbecue.

[Phil Johnson]
This is the wow factor.

[Michael] The granddaddy
of them all.

This is the largest
barbecue competition

in the world.

This weekend, the Speedway
will be jam-packed

This weekend, the Speedway
will be jam-packed

with over 530 teams,

including 23
international teams,

competing to see
who is the best

pit master in the world.

-Damn.
-Right?

[Michael]
Most barbecue competitions
I've been to

have been between
40-maybe teams.

But with over
500 teams competing,

the American Royal
is a lot bigger.

[Megan Day] Winning
the American Royal means...

-Glory in the barbecue world.
-Fame!

[Jason Day] This is
the world championship.

You will be
the world champion.

And you get to brag a lot.

[Michael] And it's not just
bragging rights

the teams are competing for
at the American Royal.

There's also bucketloads
of cold, hard cash
on the line.

The Royal dishes out over

$85,000 in prize money.

The overall
grand champion team

walks away with $15,000,

and there's over $7,500
up for grabs

for each meat category.

It's serious.
Nobody's taking this
lightly at all.

[Michael] The American Royal
is a grueling
two-day competition.

[Michael] The American Royal
is a grueling
two-day competition.

On Day 1, teams will warm up

by competing
in dessert and sides,

including potatoes,
veggies, and beans.

On Day 2, teams will
be competing in the big four,

ribs, brisket,
chicken, and pork.

Here at the Royal,
they've also added
two more meats,

turkey and sausage.

I'm excited for tomorrow's
meat extravaganza.

-What's up, guys?
- But now I'm gonna check out
these sides and desserts.

-What's up, guys?
- But now I'm gonna check out
these sides and desserts.

I'd say, like, I'll be back,

-but there's, like,
550 places to go. [laughs]
-Yeah, yeah.

There's so many teams here.
I've gotten my steps in.

-Yes, you are.
-[laughs]

[Michael]
One of the first teams I meet

is a family
of fierce competitors

from right here
in Kansas City.

We are Burnt Finger Barbecue!

[Michael] And this isn't
their first barbecue.

[Jason] This is our 14th year
at the American Royal.

The first year we cooked
the American Royal

-was our second
barbecue contest ever.
-Ever.

-[Jason] We got fifth
in brisket.
-[Megan] Y es.

-[Megan] 38th overall.
-Talk about the hook
being set deep.

-[Megan] 38th overall.
-Talk about the hook
being set deep.

-Jason's in here with our
vegetarian cousin, Matt.
-[Michael laughs]

[Megan] We trust him
with the sides.

-[Michael] Hi, guys,
what's going on?
-[Jason] Oh, hi.

[Michael] You're the...
who's the vegetarian?

-Right here.
-[Michael] Oh, he looks
so much healthier.

[all laughing]

[Jason] We got a veggie gumbo
going on here.

These are gonna be
our meaty pit beans.

-[Michael] Yep, with some
brisket in it?
-[Jason] Yep.

[Michael] Baked beans
are a Kansas City staple.

And many teams are hoping
to score an award in this
hearty side dish.

It's sweetened
with brown sugar,

and little bit of chipotle
mixed into it,

-to give it some, uh... yeah.
-A little, like, smoky heat?

-to give it some, uh... yeah.
-A little, like, smoky heat?

[Michael] Besides Mom, Dad,
and cousin,

Burnt Finger has two more
veteran team members.

The first barbecue contest
I ever went to,

I was three weeks old.

[producer]
What about you, Meredith?

I don't know
if I was even born.

[Michael]
Both Hank and Meredith
will be competing

later this weekend
in the Kids Que,

an event where
the next generation

gets to show off
their pit master skills.

What are you making?

I am making a hamburger

with candied bacon and cheese.

[Michael] Ooh, candied bacon.

[Michael] Ooh, candied bacon.

Who's gonna win
out of you two?

-Me.
-[Hank] I am.

[laughs]

Hey, I hope they both tie
for first place.

-Yeah, we gotta
coin flip, and...
-[both laugh]

-First-ever tie
for Kids Que champion.
-That would be awesome.

[Michael] What's up, buddy?

Perhaps their
toughest competition
in the burger contest

will come from nine-year-old
Reid Breedon of LC BBQ.

-How'd you do last year?
-I won first place last year.

First place returning champ.

If I had to describe
our barbecue in three words...
It's easy.

It's Phil, Carmen, and Reid.

It's Phil, Carmen, and Reid.

It's a family affair
when it comes to us.

[Michael] Reid's not
the only champion
on the LC BBQ team.

We've got about
30 grand championships

and about another 30
reserve grand championships.

He's not gonna admit it.
This is definitely

the smartest person
at this whole event.

[both laugh]

And when it comes to winning,
I can say it just
doesn't get old.

I think when it does,
we'll let Reid take over
and, uh,

-[laughs]
-we'll pass the torch.

[Michael] I know
someone else here
at the American Royal

who doesn't
get tired of winning,

restaurateur and pit master
Phil Johnson.

restaurateur and pit master
Phil Johnson.

[Phil J laughs]
What's up, man?

My name is Phil the Grill.

And I inherited the name
as the Jay-Z of barbecue.

And the reason why is because
I'm doing pretty doggone good

in the barbecue circle.

[Michael] Phil's got
several ribbons from
previous American Royals,

including a prized one
in beans.

I'm hoping my beans
still is placing somewhere
in there.

Look it, look it.

I wanna win beans,
so let's see what
I'm coming in with today.

-Bringing New York style?
-Oh, you know I'm bringing
that New York flavor, baby.

[laughs]

[laughs]

Phil the Grill
is not from the South.

The only part of the South
I'm from is the South Bronx.

It's not known for barbecue.

So, I had to make a footprint
for New York,

and I came up
with my own flavor profiles.

Do you just use drums
for competition?

Yeah, because
it's the quickest way
to, like, travel.

-Give me a trashcan.
-Yeah.

-I'm gonna get
the same results.
-[both laugh]

I'm not always
the most liked person

in this barbecue community,

because, see,
I'll rent a trailer,

I'll pull out some barrels
out the, uh, storage,

I'll pull out some barrels
out the, uh, storage,

and I'll win an award.

And then these guys
got these big rigs
and all of these setups.

And Phil the Grill
gets the call. [laughs]

Let's go see my boys at YSB.

Phil the Grill
likes to fly into contests,

doesn't come fully prepared.

[Phil J] Hey. Hey, yo.

-[Kyle Matuszewski] No. No.
-[Justin Coffini] Never.

[Kyle] So he's constantly
in and out
of our trailer saying,

"Hey, can I borrow
some saran wrap?

Can I borrow
some paper towels?
I need some knives."

-I just need some pans.
-[Kyle] No!

You want us
to cook your chicken, too?

You want us
to cook your chicken, too?

-[laughs]
-[Kyle] What else
do you need?

[Michael]
Phil's helpful neighbors
are Arizona-based

up-and-comers YSB.

And they're going
full throttle this weekend.

[Kyle] We are competing
in chicken, ribs,
pork, brisket,

sausage, veggie, potato,
dessert, turkey...

-What else we doing? Beans.
-Beans.

[Justin] Yeah, we're competing
in a lot.

What's up, guys?

I cleverly timed my visit
right before dessert turn-in

so I could taste their s'mores
rocky road cheesecake.

-[Michael] This is delicious.
-[Kyle] Thank you.

-It's salty, it's sweet,
it's got great texture.
-Thank you.

-It's salty, it's sweet,
it's got great texture.
-Thank you.

[Kyle] The thing out here,
you gotta be different.

Everybody's doing
the same stuff.
We gotta try to be different.

Him and I, we like
to add more spice.

These judges take one bite,
so you have to hit 'em
with a flavor punch.

Ever since we've started
adding the championship punch,
they've been loving it.

-We bring Arizona
to Kansas City.
-Yes.

-That's what we do.
-We bring the West Coast.

[woman] Careful.
Like carrying
a newborn baby.

[Michael] As everyone
turns in their desserts,

Day 1 comes to a close.

And the teams get ready
for an early start.

[Phil Breeden] The only thing
that truly scares me
would be missing a turn-in.

[Phil Breeden] The only thing
that truly scares me
would be missing a turn-in.

[Carmen Breeden] We've never
missed a turn-in.

I should never say that!

[both laugh]

-No.
-Oh, we still got
tomorrow to go.

[Michael] The day
of the biggest contest
in barbecue is finally here.

And it all starts
before the sun comes up.

[Phil B] So in the morning,
we'll wake up about 3:00.

Once I light the smoker,
you know, it's all business.

[Michael] Before they've had
their first cup of coffee,

our teams are putting
their big meats
on the smokers.

[Jason] Brisket and pork
are gonna go on right now.

[Jason] Brisket and pork
are gonna go on right now.

Pork on the small...
or the big pit.

-Pork on the... hell.
It's early.
-[laughs] It's early.

[Jason] Pork on the big pit,
brisket on the small pit.

[Michael] Competition barbecue
always involves

juggling a lot
of different meats

and staying on the clock.

But here
at the American Royal,

with the addition
of two extra meats,

you've really gotta
stay on top
of your cooking times.

[Jason] All right, we're gonna
go check on our turkey.

[Michael]
The turkey smoke contest
at the American Royal

is a great chance
for pit masters to show off
their creativity.

is a great chance
for pit masters to show off
their creativity.

The rules are that
they must smoke their turkey,

but then they can serve it
any way they'd like.

We have a turkey pastrami
that we've already smoked off.

[Jason] We kinda have
a blackened crust

of coriander,
black pepper, garlic.

We're gonna slice it up
and then grill off
Reuben sandwiches

for the turkey category.

[Michael] Burnt Finger
brine their turkey
in salt water

for two and a half days
before it even went
on the smoker,

which hydrated and seasoned
the turkey.

[Megan] Ooh, that's juicy.

[Michael] Other teams
use injections
to add moisture,

which doesn't require
as much lead time,

which doesn't require
as much lead time,

but risks leaving dry spots
if not injected carefully.

-How you feeling today?
-I'm feeling great, man.

The only thing that's
throwing me off a little bit
is turkey, right?

That's not one
of the normal categories,

and that's coming in first.

-Are you doing just breast?
-Yeah.

Brined it overnight,
smoke it up,

and then, yeah,
I'm gonna make 'em
into turkey sandwiches.

-[laughs]
-All right, so you got
99 problems,

-but the turkey ain't one.
-Turkey ain't one! [laughs]

[Michael] A few trailers away,
Phil's neighbors, YSB,

are further along
with their bird.

are further along
with their bird.

Turkey went on
at 10:00 last night
for about 6 hours,

so it's real tender right now.

[Michael] What are you guys
doing with the turkey?

[Jerry "Pops" Matuszewski]
We're gonna make
a turkey chimichanga

with green chili
bacon rub in there.

They're getting fancy!

I kinda love this
turkey category though,

because everyone's
is gonna be so different.

-[Kyle]
Dude, it's wide open, baby.
-[Michael] Wide open.

[Michael] But LC BBQ
believes that sometimes,
simple is better.

What are you doing
with turkey today?

I'll slice it
kinda similar to brisket,
so we'll just fan it out.

-Right.
-Wet it with sauce.
Nothing really crazy, here.

-Not in a sandwich
or anything?
-Not anything, no,

-no eggrolls, no sandwiches.
-[laughs]

-no eggrolls, no sandwiches.
-[laughs]

-An eggroll
sounds delightful. [laughs]
-No, I mean, um...

Sometimes I think
you can kinda go overboard
and complicated.

You got a giant
turkey breast here

that we kinda trimmed
to box size.

I injected it,
then got a nice rub on there.

It's the turkey smoke,
and they're all about turkey.

And, man, you put a good piece
of turkey in front of them,

- they get excited about that.
-[Michael] Yeah.

So there's a lot
of interesting fun stuff
going on with turkey today.

Some teams are really
flexing their creativity,

while others
are sticking with tradition.

We're just gonna
have to see which method
gets the judges fired up.

We're just gonna
have to see which method
gets the judges fired up.

[Michael] I'm at
Kansas Speedway

for the massive American Royal
Barbecue Festival,

where over 500 teams
are competing

to be the world champion
of barbecue.

The American Royal is
the biggest contest
in the world.

Anybody who's anybody
in barbecue

is at this contest.

You can go beat people
back home,

but you really wanna
come out here

and see how your stuff
compares to everybody else
out here.

Clear eyes, full hearts, baby.
Let's go.

[Michael] It may
still be early,

but some of these
meat turn-ins come at you
fast and furious.

but some of these
meat turn-ins come at you
fast and furious.

It all starts with turkey
at 11:30.

Then there's another meat due
every half hour,

ending with sausage
at 2:00 p.m.

That's six turn-ins
in two-and-a-half hours,

so every minute counts.

Morning, guys.

-[Megan] Oh, hey.
-What you got going
with the ribs?

[Jason] These are spare ribs

-that we packed in brown sugar
last night.
-With sugar.

[Jason] So we are gonna do
a little something different
with our ribs.

We're sugar curing
the ribs, baby.

[Jason] So she's gonna start
rinsing off the sugar.

We want them to look
like a slab of bacon.

We want them to look
like a slab of bacon.

[Michael] I love this.

Sugar curing is
an old-school technique

that adds a nice bark texture

and also intensifies
the color.

That is a really dark red

-in comparison to what
it looked like before.
-[Michael] Oh, 100%.

[Jason] We've placed
in every category
the Royal has to offer.

-Except one. Except ribs.
-Except ribs. Yeah.

We're hoping that
this sugar cure on the ribs

is gonna take us
to the awards stage.

I'm really excited
to try these.

Another method teams use
to make their ribs stand out
from the pack

is adding
different types of rubs.

So my rib rub, you know,
it's like a bottle
of New York.

So my rib rub, you know,
it's like a bottle
of New York.

It's got cumin, allspice.
It's everything I kinda
grew up with.

So this is salt, pepper,
onion, garlic.

The salty, savoriness
that's at the very bottom
of the rib.

-Megan's coming back with all
purpose competition dry rub.
-Competition all purpose.

[Jason] It's got onion,
celery, paprika in it.

That's just gonna give
the base of our color.

Then we've got a sweeter rub

that we're gonna come back
on top of all of this.

It just keeps building
the next layer of flavor.

It just keeps building
the next layer of flavor.

[Jason] Somewhat, like,
salty base with sweet on top.

-Uh, like a chocolate
covered pretzel.
-[laughs]

[Michael] Good morning.
How are you guys?

I pay a quick visit
to last year's
American Royal winners,

Triple H BBQ,

who share a great
rub technique they use
to enhance their ribs.

Just gonna go on real light.
I'm going to poke holes
in all the fat.

-To kind of--
-[Andrea] So this is
one of our little...

[Bill] Little secrets,
I guess.

-[Michael] No,
that's a good secret.
-[Bill] Um...

Pretty good poke, go again.

This is a great little tip
for you at home.

He's got almost like
a little cocktail fork.

He's got almost like
a little cocktail fork.

He's not poking
through the meat.

He's looking kind of
where the fat pockets
are on those ribs,

giving it a little poke.

It allows the rub
and the seasonings
to permeate it a little bit.

It's breaking up the fat
a little bit.

I like it.

With the ribs
finally on the smoker,

the teams need to pivot
back to turkey

because their first turn-in
deadline is fast approaching.

-[Kyle] What's up, amigo?
-What's going on?

[Kyle] Slicing some turkey.

-There you go, sir.
-Beautiful. Thank you.

We cooked it low and slow,

-about four-and-a-half
hours outside.
-Mmm-hmm.

-about four-and-a-half
hours outside.
-Mmm-hmm.

Ooh.

-What you think?
-That's good.

You guys did the turkey
on the bone.

Correct, on the bone.

[Michael] You know, like,
a lot of times you see
people smoke turkey breast,

they smoke it off the bone.

But, like,
all that moisture and flavor
comes from the bone.

-It really, it protects you,
you know?
-Exactly, yes.

-That's why we like
to use it on the bone.
-Yep.

So, we also made
a turkey gravy.

My dad's heating it up.

It seems like
he's the secret weapon
a little bit.

-You know, he's the one
that got me into all this.
-Okay.

[Kyle] My dad loves to cook.

He was the guy
that cooked for our family.

So I was like,
"You know what?"

So I was like,
"You know what?"

I went and bought him
a real cheap, cheap,
cheap smoker,

now that I look at it, from
one of the hardware stores.

I brought it home,
and we cooked on that
every weekend.

Found a barbecue contest,
him and I went out there.

It was 127 teams there.

It's massive.
We don't know
what we're doing.

We got a seventh place
chicken call.

So to see my pops walk
up on that stage smiling,

-and I was like, "Yo..."
-That's a good story.

You know what I'm saying?

Ever since then,
it just snowballed.

Now we do two, three a month.

[Michael] What's in the gravy?

[Pops] We've got
onions in there,
the stock from the turkey.

[Pops] We've got
onions in there,
the stock from the turkey.

-We've got some
Hatch green chiles.
-Beautiful.

[Pops] The gravy sucks up
into the meat

-and it really makes for
a really juicy chimichanga.
-[Michael] Yeah.

[chuckles] I might do this
for Thanksgiving.

[all laughing]

With the turkey
in a good place,

the teams refocus
on wrapping the ribs

to pack in even more flavor.

This is not gonna be
your normal barbecue
restaurant barbecue.

They only taking one bite,

and you have to smack them
in the mouth

with just one bite.

[Phil B] So as far
as what the judges
are looking for,

[Phil B] So as far
as what the judges
are looking for,

you know, I think
it would be balance.

I never wanna go too far
in any direction.

I wanna provide balance
to the judge where they get
a little bit of everything,

but not too much of anything.

Looks like some
rib wrapping over there.

-You got butter, brown sugar.
-And look.

I made some bacon, egg,
and cheese sandwiches
this morning...

-Oh, all right.
-...and I had
leftover bacon fat.

-Guess what's going
in my wrap. See?
-All right. [laughs]

Yo, this is why they call me
the JAY-Z of barbecue.

The freestyle, 'cause this
wasn't part of my recipe
till this morning.

I'm hoping that the bacon fat,

I'm hoping that the bacon fat,

it will also add that
fried bacon flavor in it,
you know?

That's what I'm looking for.

Put back what came out of it.

-Well, yeah, exactly.
All right.
-[both laughing]

What I like about cooking

is you have a recipe
and a blueprint you follow,

but then you can tweak it.

I call it P. Diddy-ing
a recipe.

It's the remix of the recipe,

and that's what I'm about.

-Why are we at 200 on this?
-[Megan gasps softly]

We're out of pellets.

[Michael] The normal
barbecue competition lineup
of four meats

[Michael] The normal
barbecue competition lineup
of four meats

is already relentless.

But adding two extra meats

means these teams need to keep
the pedal to the metal
all day long.

Right now, we got,
we got four meats on,

and chicken's gonna
go on pretty soon.

So we're about to have
five meats on the pit at once.

So it's, uh, something that'll
keep you on your toes,
for sure.

I was a little worried about
not having enough smokers,

'cause you got
actually five meats
you gotta do, right?

So you got turkey,
you got ribs,

you got brisket, you got pork,

and you got sausage.

and you got sausage.

[Michael] Um, actually, Phil,
you have six meats today.

Uh, looks like
you might have forgotten one.

[man] Probably get, uh...

[woman] Which, which is
the chicken in?

Uh, the orange one.

[Michael] When our crew asks
to shoot the chicken,

Phil realizes
it slipped his mind.

Wait, did I put it in?

-I didn't...
-No, we didn't put it in yet.

-That's the drama.
-Where's the chicken?

[laughs] I didn't
put the chicken...

I thought
I put the chicken on.

The chicken ain't in.

Uh, that turkey,
you know what I mean?
It throws things off.

See, turkey messing me up.

See, turkey messing me up.

Turkey's a turkey.

[Michael] Here at
the American Royal
World Series of Barbecue,

they are giving out $7,500
in prize money

for six different
meat categories.

But keeping track of six meats
can be a real challenge.

[laughing] I thought
I put the chicken on.

The chicken ain't in.

Turkey has just got me
a little uptight

because, you know,
it's not part of the program.

We're a hour away
from turkey turn-in right now.

So I'm getting nervous,
getting my thoughts ready.

I gotta get chicken done
and these sandwiches together.

[Michael] As it gets closer
to turkey turn-in,

the pitmasters
begin to prepare
their creative entries.

the pitmasters
begin to prepare
their creative entries.

Turkey, take me home, baby.

-Mmm.
-That's delicious.

[Phil J] I'm doing
this turkey sandwich,

but it's a Japanese style.

I'm gonna add a panko crust
to that turkey

to give it that extra
Phil the Grill loving.

Whoo-hoo!

You know,
I like to play around.

That's why they call me
Phil the Grill,

the freestyle barbecuer.

See? This is the wow factor.

So right now, I'm toasting
the milk bread from Japan.

So right now, I'm toasting
the milk bread from Japan.

It's like a Texas toast
mixed with a croissant.

Now I'm just hoping that
it's something to knock
the judges' socks off.

Either I'm gonna win big
or lose big.

[laughing]

All right. Here, try this.

Let's see what we got.

All right, so there
you guys go. Look.

This is a great bread.

It crisps up nice,
but it's very soft
in the center.

And then he panko-crusted
the turkey,

so that's gonna give it
a lot of crunch.

-What's in the sauce?
-I got sake, Worcestershire,

-ketchup, mustard, honey.
-It's nice.

-Yep, yep.
-It's nice, sweet,
got some nice depth.

-Yep, yep.
-It's nice, sweet,
got some nice depth.

-Huh?
-[Michael] Pretty good, Phil.

[laughs]

Turkey's super juicy,
great textures.

Really, really nice flavors.

It's simple
and straightforward,
but really good.

-[Phil J] Thank you.
-Don't sleep on Phil.

-[Phil J laughing]
-They don't call him Phil
the Grill for nothing, baby.

Over at YSB,

Pops is putting
that smoked turkey meat

Pops is putting
that smoked turkey meat

that's been sauteing
in the Hatch chile gravy

in a tortilla
and frying it up.

-I smell some chimichanga
magic happening.
-[Pops] You bet ya.

-[Michael] That's
a delicious bite.
-Look at the chile.

See the chile in there,
filled with that
smoked turkey?

Good smoked flavor,
little bit of bite
in that sauce.

And then that
avocado crema on top

just kinda smooths
everything out.

Great texture with the fry.

All day, I could eat these.

Great job, Dad.

Great job, Dad.

-Got the secret weapon
loaded back here.
-[chuckles]

Can see the turkey.

Turkey is awesome.

So now, we just gotta quickly
build all the rest of it,

try to make it look pretty.

[Michael] Burnt Finger's
turkey pastrami Reubens

are getting loaded
with tangy flavors

like Gruyere cheese,
sauerkraut,

and Thousand Island dressing.

[Megan] We should have been
building about seven or eight
minutes ago, at least.

-Yeah.
-11:07 right now.

-Yeah.
-11:07 right now.

[Megan] We have
to turn it in at 11:30,

so we are hustling
to get this toasted.

So we just gotta give it
a little bit of time on there.

We don't have a lot,
'cause I still have to walk

with a pretty box.

That's not getting as hot
as I thought it was going to,

and I think my fire went out.

-There's always hiccups
along the road.
-All right.

[Michael] With one smoker
out of commission

and no time to spare,

Burnt Finger scrambles
for another solution.

Audible, audible, audible.
Okay, we got 10 minutes.

So we're either gonna have
lunch or a turn-in.

So we're either gonna have
lunch or a turn-in.

[Michael] It's interesting
to see how a lot of people
do the turkey.

Some are just doing
straight-up smoked,
sliced, classic presentation.

[Phil B] The part
about my food that
makes me the proudest

is typically my presentation.

I just like making
pretty barbecue.

I like when that judge
opens that box, they go,

"Wow, this is
something special."

[Michael] Others are giving
the judges something
they might not expect.

[Pops] Hoping that
the taste of these things
will overcome the appearance.

[Pops] Hoping that
the taste of these things
will overcome the appearance.

I wasn't too impressed
with how the box turned out

from appearance perspective.

I should've had
the chimichangas, like,
propped up after I cut it

so you can actually see
the chile and stuff
inside of it.

But hopefully, the judges
will like the flavor,

and the appearance won't be
that big of a deal.

Okay. We're good.

One of our traditions...

...kiss the box.

-Thank you so much.
-All right.

Let's go, Phil!

Don't miss that turn-in.

Don't miss that turn-in.

[Phil J] Yo, let me
borrow your box!

You can't borrow a turn-in!

[laughs]

[turkey gobbling]

[Phil J] That's the gobble
of the turkey.

So I felt a little bit
disappointed with the turkey.

Like, after I put it
in the box,

I didn't really like
my presentation anymore.

But it was tasty dish.
So let's see what I do.

Okay, guys, the line
is fast and furious.

Everybody is dropping
their boxes right now

so they can get back
and start working on
the next thing.

'Cause remember, they've got
five more turn-ins to go

'Cause remember, they've got
five more turn-ins to go

with another deadline
every 30 minutes.

[Megan] It's got
good grill marks,

but it probably needs
a little zhushing.

[Jason] Hopefully
the marble rye
doesn't look burnt.

-[Megan] I...
-[Jason] Hopefully now
it tastes better.

We're gonna see
if that works against us.

Since we decided to do
some grill marks on it,

-hopefully they don't think
that pumpernickel's burnt.
-Yeah.

All right. I'm out.

See you. Watch the scooter.

-We might have
sacrificed appearance...
-Appearance...

-...just a little bit.
-...for flavor.

-For flavor.
-And texture.

[Jason] Yeah, the marble rye
definitely tasted better
on the sandwich.

[Jason] Yeah, the marble rye
definitely tasted better
on the sandwich.

So we'll see.

-Hopefully we're the only
Reuben out there. [laughs]
-Yeah.

[Michael] Cash and pride
are on the line.

We're gonna see what
our appearance scores do.

[Michael] And with
turkey turned in,

the competition
is starting to heat up.

[announcer]
...world series barbecue.

We have barbecue
sauce wrestling.

We want to see people wrestle!
Let's do it!

[Michael] Things
are heating up
at the American Royal.

Turkey and chicken
are in the rear view.

Now teams are laser focused
on ribs.

Down to the last
couple of details,

we've picked the ones
that we think have

the best appearance,
flavor, texture.

[Kyle] There's probably
eight or nine different sauces
inside this sauce.

When a judge eats it,
all these flavors are going
around in their head,

and they're like,
"What was that?"

And they can't do nothing
but give you
a high score for it.

And they can't do nothing
but give you
a high score for it.

[Phil J exclaims]

Look at them ribs flow, baby!

[Carmen] All right,
we're going in.

All righty.

-Let's go, baby.
-You got four minutes.

[Michael] A few of our teams
took some pretty
big swings in ribs.

So it'll be interesting to see

if their shakeups
impress the judges.

Ribs, I thought
it was amazing.

I gave, like,
10 ribs in a box.

They were all nice
and glistened.

I think my bacon fat
definitely helped.

[Michael] I can't wait to see
how Burnt Finger's

sugar curing
technique pays off.

Luckily, they saved me a few.

Luckily, they saved me a few.

-Okay.
-You can see the color
that that...

-Oh, look at that.
-...sugar cure put on them.

[Michael] So that's
kinda awesome.

It creates this little
cure in there

by, like, the deep rosy pink.

You get a nice sweetness.

But look at how rosy
the meat is,

and that's 'cause of the cure.

I think that is a great trick.

We hope that the judges
are ready for that. [laughs]

If they're not, shame on them.

Because that's a special rib.

Let's go, baby! Let's go!

[Michael] As the teams
juggle the big meats,

pork and brisket...

pork and brisket...

[Phil B] Getting close,
not quite there.

[Michael] ...they're also
prepping some real
show stoppers

for the final
turn-in category, sausage.

-It smells fantastic.
-Smells really good.

[Michael] Sausage
is a special category

here at the American Royal,

and one you don't see
at a lot of competitions.

Similar to
the turkey category,

the competitors are given
the freedom to flex

their creative muscles

and whip up some
truly mouth-watering

sausage turn-ins.

So okay, what do we got going?

We got our pork bombs.

It's pork sausage
wrapped in maple bacon

It's pork sausage
wrapped in maple bacon

with two types of cheese,
cheddar and Monterey jack,

and poblano and onion,

-so that gives it
a good flavor, yeah.
-A little heat.

-Not too much, but...
-[Michael] Huh? No,

-a delicate heat.
-A delicate heat.

So those are gonna be tasty,

that sage-flavored sausage,
cheese, poblano,

wrapped in bacon.
I mean, come on.

But LC isn't the only team
looking to get

some extra mileage
by adding bacon.

It's how you win
the sausage category,

you put a lot of bacon in it.

So the sausage category,
we're doing
the bacon explosion,

So the sausage category,
we're doing
the bacon explosion,

which is a bacon-wrapped,
bacon-stuffed
barbecue sausage.

I call this meats and crafts.

The bacon explosion
was something I created
years ago.

-Over a decade.
-Yeah, I had a barbecue blog,

and it was
the second article...

-[Megan] That we wrote!
- [Jason laughing] ...that we
wrote for the blog,

and it went viral
across the internet.

-It was...
-The most downloaded recipe
in the history of the internet

-at the time.
-At that time.

[Megan] I have two pounds of
just good old chub sausage,

then I'm gonna add
some canned jalapenos.

then I'm gonna add
some canned jalapenos.

-We're bringing it back.
-Yeah,

but we're gonna kick it up
a notch for this year,

we're doing a cheesy
jalapeno version

of the bacon explosion
this year at
the American Royal.

So I fried up more bacon.

[Michael] So it's sausage
wrapped in bacon,

and stuffed with bacon,

then rolled up and smoked?

Oh, man. I think I'm in love.

I got these sausages.

Homemade, baby,

from the same brisket
that I'm turning in today.

So with sausage, I'm going in
my back of tricks again,

doing a pineapple
jerk sausage.

doing a pineapple
jerk sausage.

Who else is making
jerk pineapple cheddar
sausages today, huh?

You either gonna love it
or you gonna hate it.

There's no in between for me.
Never is.

I am in charge of the sausage.

It is a chicken
jalapeno cheddar sausage.

We're gonna smoke
for about an hour

to about 160-ish,

and then we're gonna
pan-fry just a little bit.

We want to crisp it up,
just so when the judges
bite that,

they can get through
that casing.

[Michael] At LC BBQ,
I'm pulled into

an important
garnish discussion.

What's up, guys?

[Phil B] So we're trying
to decide...
She's trying to decide

do I go with
the candied jalapeno?

I don't know, baby,
that's up to you.

-[Carmen] Yeah.
-I told her she ain't
gonna pin it on me...

[laughs]

[Phil B] It might be
up to Michael.

[all laughing]

In the words of you,
don't pin it on me.

[all laughing]

[Michael] Will it be
jalapen-no or jalapen-yes?

Yeah, I like it
with the pepper.

-It gives it some texture...
-[Carmen] It does.

...and it breaks up
the sweetness just a touch.

But it's nice, you get
a nice maple flavor,

then you taste the pork,
you get a little bit of
saltiness from the bacon.

Aesthetically it's
a nice garnish.

I mean, are the judges weird
with the spice like that?

-No, I think it's okay...
-No.

...and especially in
a category like this.

-Is it good or not?
-[Michael] You know,
I think it's good.

You know, what we looked for
when we were analyzing this

-is what do we not like
about it, right?
-Right.

So we're trying to
pull the knots out.

-[Carmen] Right.
-Where, like, if you say,

"Eh, it's a little sweet."
So it's leaning towards that.

If they're gonna ding you,
why are they gonna ding you?

-Right.
-And it might be because,

-Right.
-And it might be because,

eh, it was on
the sweet side for sausage,
I wasn't expecting that.

We're gonna send it
and see what happens.

[all laughing]

Whoo, look at them babies!

Yeah, they're looking good,
I like the color.

They're looking juicy,
ready to eat!

We're going in,
we're going in.

All right, here's
the bacon explosion,

cheesy jalapeno style.

We've got three minutes
before we're on the clock.

[Megan] There should be cheese
and the bacon in the center.

It's looking good.

Final turn-ins
are happening right now.

This is the sixth
meat turn-in of the day,

and the teams are hoping
sausage is what puts them
over the top.

That's delicious.

[Pops] We made a jalapeno
mustard relish to put on top.

It really came out great.

Yes, sir. I'm on the way, sir.

[Carmen] I love
the sausage entry.

I'm super stoked
to see how it did.

Last turn-in. Yay.

Thank you, guys.

It was a nice bite.
We got a dog in the hunt.

[Jason] It's viral.

-Oh, that's viral all right.
-[Jason] Viral spiral.

-[Megan] That's viral spiral.
-[Jason laughs]

If I was a judge
on that sausage,

it would be a perfect score.

-[Megan] Yeah.
- [Jason] Nines across
the board,

that's a perfect,
perfect entry for me.

All right, last one.

All right.

-That's it, boom!
-[Megan laughs]

Tired.

-All right.
-[Megan] That was terrible.

[Michael] After 11 hard hours
of smoking, prepping,

and sampling six meats,
turn-ins are now closed.

Very excited for awards,
but also very excited
for a shower.

Very excited for awards,
but also very excited
for a shower.

[Michael] But the day
isn't over yet.

Coming up, we'll take a look

at the next generation
of barbecue.

Welcome everybody
to the world's largest

Kids Que at
the American Royal.

[exclaiming]

[Michael] There's one more
contest left,

featuring some of
the world's best

up-and-coming pit masters.

It's the American Royal
Kids Que.

Oh, good knife skills.

-How old are you?
-Eight.

Hey, America. Eight.

Perfect sliced tomato.
Give me a bump.

There are 75 kids competing

for over $1,500
in prize money.

Perfect.

The big kids each get
one beautiful ribeye steak.

The big kids each get
one beautiful ribeye steak.

The little kids get
two pounds of burger meat.

From there, they can go wild.

This is our future, baby.
This is the future of food,

the future of Que,
the future of America.

There you go,
Meredith, boom...

The hardest part
of burger making

-is opening the package.
-Opening the package,
yeah. [laughs]

-[Jason] Our kids grew up
on the barbecue circuit.
-[Megan] Yeah.

[Jason] Hank was probably
two weeks old...

-[Megan] Two, three weeks.
-...when we went to

-his first barbecue contest.
-Yeah.

And when Meredith came along,
she just was
along for the ride.

And when Meredith came along,
she just was
along for the ride.

[Megan] Remember, we don't
want to overwork the meat.

Listen to mom.

-[Megan] That's right.
-[Michael] That's very
important.

Got your burger press there?
Got you on the scale?

I mean, it's a tight ship
over here.

Using a burger press
instead of your hands

keeps the meat chilled
until you're ready to cook

and ensures that
all your paddies

are the same size.

Consistency's the key,

whether you're young,
old, it doesn't matter.

So weighing things out,
making sure it's consistent's

gonna make sure
all the burgers cook the same.

Hoping to capture
the crown again this year,

LC Barbecue's Reid

LC Barbecue's Reid

is taking a page
from his mom's book

and adding a twist of his own.

Gotta add a little pork to it.

This year I'm making
pork bombs,

and I hope I win.

Ah, come on.

You put the onions
and poblanos in there,
and then cheese.

Wrap them in bacon.

One down, seven more to go.

And then you cook them.

What time are you gonna
try to get the burgers on?

-3:10?
-3:13 maybe.

-3:13?
-[laughs]

Okay.

Okay.

You were not being
specific enough, mom.

-[Carmen] Yeah.
-3:13's the number.

[announcer] All right,
hamburger cook offs, let's go!

[Michael] The parents here
may be top-of-the-line
pit masters,

but at this contest,
they are strictly assistants.

You're on it, bubba,
they're looking great.

Just a million different
flavors going on.

They're not limited to,

"I wonder what the judges
are liking."

They're just making
what they want to eat.

That's what food is all about.

That's perfectly
melted cheese.

Hank and Meredith
are competitive
in different ways.

Hank and Meredith
are competitive
in different ways.

And they're both gonna do
kind of a similar version...

-Yeah.
-...of a bacon cheeseburger,

but they each have
a little twist.

[Meredith] On my bun,
I put my special ingredient,

agave.

I'm gonna have lettuce,
candied bacon,
and tomatoes.

[Meredith] I decided
last minute to add mayo.

-Did you just make
your burger smile?
-Yeah!

Meredith is so sassy,
and Hank is so serious,

and it is
just their personalities

and it is
just their personalities

in a box for a judge.

[Hank] I garnished my box
with chocolate chip cookies,

because I want to win.

[Meredith] I garnished
my burger with
rainbow Goldfish.

That is beautiful!

I think I did pretty good.

I think overall,
I think I did better
than her.

[Michael] Looks like
they might need me to settle

this sibling burger rivalry.

Oh, that looks good!

-That looks juicy!
-Lot of tomatoes, looks juicy.

[Megan] Oh,
look at the juice drip!

Wow, that's delicious.

I think you should feel
pretty good about this.

[all laughing]

[Michael] Let's see
what you got.

Oh, look at that.
A good layer
of the mayonnaise.

Got the candied bacon
hanging off the side.

That is delicious.

Your mom and dad
did a good job with you guys.

I declare it a tie.

I declare it a tie.

Can't pick a winner between
these two, but,

I can tell you that those
were two delicious hamburgers.

And Goldfish
and chocolate chip cookies,

what else do you need in life?

-[announcer] Turn in
begins now.
-[man] Ah.

Burger tournaments
are under way.

The kids, they have
a ten minute window
to get their food turned in.

-The kids did exactly
what they laid out to do.
-So awesome.

[Jason] We'll see
what the judges thought,

but they... they're winners.

[Michael] Good job, guys.

As the minutes tick by,
it looks like
Reid is cutting it close.

As the minutes tick by,
it looks like
Reid is cutting it close.

[Phil B] You got
three minutes, go!

[Carmen] Okay, that's good.

-Bud, you gotta speed
it up, okay?
-[Reid] Okay.

[Carmen] Come on! Hurry.

[announcer] Two minutes!
Under two.

All right,
under two minutes left.

-Ooh, Mom. We don't have
time for a picture.
-Okay.

[Michael] Look at
the hustle! Boy.

They're even strict with
the turn ins with the kids.

They don't mess around here.

[onlookers cheering]

[Carmen] There he goes!

[Reid] Sorry we took so long.

[Reid] Sorry we took so long.

Reid with the million dollar
smile coming in!

Last one, last one. All right!

Just in time!

-Thank you!
-Whoo!

[Michael] It was
a photo finish,
but all the burgers

have crossed the finish line.

Now it's up to the judges
to decide
who's the big winner today.

I know I tasted some
amazing barbecue today,

deserving of a chunk
of that $85,000
in prize money,

but it's always a crapshoot
when you have this many teams.

So, let's see where
the fat falls.

So, let's see where
the fat falls.

[Michael] After a grueling day
of smoked meats,

it's time to find out
how the American Royal judges

will dish out over $85,000
in prize money.

[on mic] The suspense
is killing,
so let's get into it.

Our goal is to get
on that stage
any way, shape, or form.

-As many times as possible.
-I would love for it
to be a rip call, though.

[Phil B] Eh,
it's lottery odds out here.

You have over 500 teams,

so, man, if we hear our name,
we'll be super excited.

[Justin] We want
to hear our name last.

If you hear your name last,
you're the big winner.

Or in the middle.
I'll take the middle any way.

I want to hear our names
called either way.

[announcer] Let's go
to the Open Meats
contest awards.

[announcer] Let's go
to the Open Meats
contest awards.

[Michael] Each meat category
has hundreds
of teams competing,

but only the top 25
get to hear
their names called.

[announcer] My friends,
it's time
for the Turkey Smoke.

[Jason] Let's see if they like
turkey Reubens.

They thought they were burnt.

-At 19, team Brew 'N' Que.
-Whoo!

I want to place, yes.
Who doesn't want to place?

But we'll see.

It's not gonna be something
that I'm gonna
beat myself up over,

because this is what you get
when you play
with the big boys.

[laughing] Yeah.

[laughing] Yeah.

At four...

...LC BBQ!

[screaming happily]

[Carmen] They probably
heard us a mile away.

LC at four with turkey,
which is great.

He just did
this great smoked turkey.

Put it down on the box.
That says a lot.

That says how good
the turkey actually was.

[Phil B] You know, you come
to the American Royal,

all you hope is throughout
the weekend you get
to hear your name called.

So, you know,
when they called 4th Turkey,

it kind of felt like,
"Hey, mission accomplished."

[announcer] And at bronze...

[announcer] And at bronze...

If the chimichangas
aren't in the top three,
I'm gonna be shocked.

I'm just saying.

...Breggy Bomb BBQ!

[Pops] The turkey chimichangas
were very good,

but every time we say,
"Hey, this is outstanding,
this is great,"

the judges don't like it.

I'm just kind
of zipping my lip

and hoping for the best.

[announcer] At silver...

...Bull Creek BBQ!

[Michael] They only
got one left.

I'm not gonna lie,
it was the best thing
I tasted all weekend.

I'm not gonna lie,
it was the best thing
I tasted all weekend.

[announcer] And at gold...

...Camp Creek Cooker!

It just goes to show you,
I know nothing!

[chuckling]

If everybody else loves it,
judges hate it.

[announcer] Next,
jump into the ribs, baby.

21, Gettin' Basted!

[Michael] It's down
to the last few
calls of the round,

and our teams
are dying to know

if they're top five
or bottom 400.

In at number five,

-Phil the Grill!
-Ooh!

-Phil the Grill!
-Ooh!

Phil the Grill coming in
at five, baby!

-[announcer] And
at number four...
-Get up there, baby!

I placed fifth for ribs.

Phil. Phil brought
the bacon fat
in with the ribs.

The bacon fat, baby.

-That bacon fat!
-Yeah!

-That bacon fat came in!
-I just said to the camera!

The bacon fat came in!

Don't drop the tong.

[Michael] As the top 25 teams
are read out in brisket,
pork, chicken, and sausage...

The Shed BBQ!

[Michael] None of our teams
hear their name called,

despite turning in
some amazing entries.

despite turning in
some amazing entries.

But with over
500 teams competing,

that doesn't mean
they can't land a call

when they announce
the overall winners
in the meat contest.

All right.

Jumping into the overall
open contest.

At 24...

...LC BBQ!

[Carmen screaming happily]

All right! LC, 24th.

-[announcer] Outlaw Hawgs BBQ!
-[Michael] He's had
a good weekend.

We were 24th overall,
with over 500 teams,

which is, to us,
kind of like hitting
the lottery.

Aw, yeah, baby!

Aw, yeah, baby!

[Michael] Even though
none of the teams we follow

get any other overall awards,

some fantastic teams
get honored today
for their barbecue,

including some teams
we followed
at past competitions!

And there's still a few more
chances to take home
some prize money tonight,

as the winners are announced
in yesterday's
side categories.

Let's get to
the side dish awards.

[Michael] Sure enough,
we started to hear
some familiar names called out

in the top 20 for beans.

Coming in at 14...

-...YSB BBQ!
-Yes!

-...YSB BBQ!
-Yes!

Let's go, Pops!

YSB, 14 in beans.
Gotta like it.

[Pops] We got 14th place
in beans,
I'm pretty proud of that.

-Which he hated, by the way.
-Yeah, he totally hated it.

But they were good beans.

-There we go.
-[Justin] There we go, Pops.

It's all yours, baby.

[Pops] I thought
I could've done better,

but you know what,
I'm not complaining
about 14th in this group.

[announcer] At number four...

...Phil the Grill!

[cheering]

-Phil the Grill
coming in at four!
-[announcer] Congratulations.

-Phil the Grill
coming in at four!
-[announcer] Congratulations.

[Phil J] Come on back.
I need the Beyonce of beans!

[all giggling]

We beat YSB,

that's gonna be good
for a little bit
of trash talk there.

YSB, look,
I think I borrowed
their recipe for the beans.

That was their recipe!

[laughing] I borrowed it!

I just be messing with them.
That's my little brother.

Coming in at silver...

[Jason] Cross your fingers!

-[announcer] Burnt Finger BBQ!
-[cheering]

Let's go!

That was base win!

That was base win!

[Michael] Burnt Finger
coming in silver,
that's big.

We've had three
of the top 15 in beans,

so that's...
that's a good day.

Good day.

-We placed second in beans!
-Second!

And it's featuring
our brisket,

so that makes us pretty happy.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the future is about
to join me on stage.

[Michael] As the night falls,
the American Royal wraps up
on a perfect note,

as all the Kid's Que
contestants are recognized.

This is very exciting.

In first place, Riley Lays!

In first place, Riley Lays!

[Michael] Although they don't
get the crown,

Hank comes in 7th,
Reid comes in 8th,

and Meredith places 9th.

And it's so great,
they all did so good.

Man, you gotta be so proud
of all these kids.

What an amazing weekend
at the American Royal.

Incredible
barbecue everywhere.

Our teams did great, too.

LC with the 24th overall.

[Phil B] Man, you know,
there's 500 teams here,

-and we're ecstatic.
-[Carmen] We are just...

-and we're ecstatic.
-[Carmen] We are just...

We're really, really,
really excited.

[Michael] Phil the Grill,
top five in ribs.

[Phil J] I'mma just
let you know

if you coming down
to the restaurant,

if you want
the American Royal,

award-winning beans and ribs?

Yeah, yesterday's price
is not today's price.

-We're feeling great!
Look at this!
-We got to go on stage!

[Jason] Just to hear your name
called at the Royal,

a second place ribbon
amongst the best of the best
in the world of barbecue.

It's an honor,
and we're extremely proud

of our accomplishments
this weekend.

[Pops] Today was a little bit
of a letdown,

but you know what?

but you know what?

We go on, and we do
the next contest.

-[Kyle] 500 plus teams.
We did all right.
-[Pops] We beat a lot.

We will be back next year.

This is one of the best
barbecue comps in the world.

18 hour drive.
We're coming back.

[Michael] The beauty
about barbecue

is whether you're in
your backyard

or the biggest barbecue
competition in the world,

barbecue brings
people together.