All language subtitles for BBQ.USA.S01E04.Who.You.Calling.Chicken.720p.WEBRip.X264-KOMPOST

[Michael] Ribs,
brisket, pulled pork,
chicken, whole hog,

you name it, they're smoking.

The competition is fierce.

It's on today, fellas.

We're going to win,
because the rest
of these guys suck.

[laughter]

[Michael]
But it's not just about
food or prizes,

it's about finding out
if your team

has what it takes
to be a master of the craft

Each weekend, I'm traveling
across the country

to a top barbecue competitio
to meet some of the best
pitmasters around.

Some do it for money,
while others do it
for the title.

Yeah!

[Michael] But all of them
are doing it

for the love of barbecue.

Oh, we want
to win, for sure.

[Michael] I'm here to show y
some tips and tricks

about the food I love most.

Look how juicy it still
is in the middle.

This is barbecue.

This is America.

This is BBQ USA.

We're in northeast Alabama
on the banks

of the Coosa River
in Gadsden,

where the majestic
Noccalula Falls
plunge 90 feet.

And pitmasters from around
the country have gathered

for the annual
Smoke on the Falls
barbecue competition.

There are nearly
100 teams competing here,

both professional
and backyard.

And let me tell you something,
the air is smelling delicious.

It is all about chicken
in Alabama,
and there is plenty of that

But teams will also
be competing in ribs,

pulled pork and brisket.

And with over $10,000
in prize money on the line,

you know, these teams
are going to push
it right to the edge.

Smoke on the Falls
is one of the earlier stops

on the Kansas City
Barbecue Society,

or KCBS annual circuit.

It attracts a wide
range of pitmasters,

ready to prove that
they're the best of the best

With season veterans,
weekend warriors,

hungry up and comers
and long shots,

all competing
in four categories

with prizes going
to the top ten
in each category

and in overall grand champio
and reserve grand champion.

On day one,
everyone is loading in

and setting up their camps.

For one team,
these competitions
are a way to spend time

with family and win
their piece of that
$10,000 prize money.

I'm Sunny Moody.

And I'm Jeff Moody.

And together...

[both] We're Moodswing BBQ.

[Jeff] Barbecue for us
is a family endeavor.

What are we going
to do, Britt?

Win this competition.

We are pumped up
and we're ready to go.

-Woo-hoo!
-Woo-hoo.

It's something we all just
jumped into together

and decided this
is what we're going to do
as a family.

And, you know,
everybody loves doing it.

[Sunny] This is our first ye
at Smoke on the Falls.

We came here to compete,
but most of all,
we're here to win.

[Michael] One team that has
Smoke on the Falls

on their yearly calendar
is Smokin' Sweetmeats
out of Suwanee, Georgia,

who come here
year after year
hoping to bring home

the Grand Champion title
and prize money.

-I'm Trey Terry.
-And I'm Meg Terry.

-[both] And we are the...
-Smokin' Sw--
Sweetmeats.

No.

-Smokin' Sweetmeats.
-Okay.

I got started making
barbecue by my dad,

allowing me to light the fire
in the backyard
for steaks at night.

And then it grew from there

I'm from Texas, but since Me
is from up in the northeast

she never really had been
introduced to barbecue at al

So I had my interest in it,

she got into it
heavily with me,

and now she's really the glu
that keeps our team together

I'm feeling good
about the competition.

You always want to come in
and take down

whoever was Grand
and Reserve last year,

but we don't really
have it out for anybody.

-Um...
-We have it out for everybody.

Okay, we have it out
for everybody.

They have it out for us.

Okay. Okay.

So we want to beat everybody.

-That's why we're here.
-That's why we're here.

[Michael]
One of the great things

about Smoke on the Falls

is there's pro teams
and there's backyard teams.

So we have people
that have been doing this

for ten, 12 years
and are really
legitimate pitmasters.

And then we have
backyard pitmasters
that do it

a little bit for a hobby,
but they will sneak up on you

because a lot of them
have a lot of experience.

I always love that
because you get to see
different styles,

more interesting things,
kind of mixes it up
a little bit.

One backyard team
that made the leap

to the pro division
is Sheats' Smoked Meats.

They're here to win big
and prove

they can hold their own
with all the other pro teams

[Derek] Got Erika with Sheats'
Smoked Meats.

Say hi, Erika.

Hi. How are you?

[Derek] I had already
trimmed the pork, but...

[Erika] It wasn't up to par.

[Derek] Wasn't up to par.

-Hi, I'm Erika.
-I'm Derek.

[both] And we're Sheats'
Smoked Meats.

[Derek] Erika and I decided
to do our first contest

a couple of weeks
before we got married.

[interviewer] How'd that go?

It didn't go well.

Um, I was not excited
about it at all.

Then I got really
competitive with it,

and it's just kind of been
a rolling snowball since then.

[Derek] I feel good going
into the weekend.

You know, we've got good meat,
good teammate, so.

[Erika] If we don't win,
then I'm, you know,
I'm not happy about it.

I like to hear our name
called at least once
while we're here.

That's always our goal.

You know,
every time we show up,

we just want everybody
to know we were here.

I think we've got a good
recipe for winning, hopefully.

[Michael]
As the sun goes down,

it's time for the teams
to focus on the night ahead

The pork butts have been
trimmed and are injected

with each team's marinade,

which typically includes
ingredients like vinegar,

fruit juice, stock,
sugar and salt.

The ribs go into a similar
marinade as the butts.

[Erika] ...and they soak
for a few hours

before they go on the smoker.

-[Derek] Yeah.
-[Erika] Hey, Derek.

-How's it going?
-All good.

We're getting
our last little bit of seasons
on the brisket.

Last thing we're going to prep
for the evening.

It's close to 10:00,
so we got to get up at 5:00.

Hopefully, we're gonna have
a winner, winner,
chicken dinner

except for brisket.

[Erika laughs]

So last night,
we put in the snake,

our L-shaped basket that
snaked over to our large
lump charcoal basket.

So it's been warming up
all night.

So now all we have to do
is throw in some wood
at 5:00 a.m.

[Michael]
Ladies and gentlemen,
start your smokers.

Everyone's fired up,
and the two Bs,
butt and brisket,

are about to go on.

They get an early start
since they need to cook
and rest the longest.

With the first turn
in coming up at noon,

all four meat categories
pretty much

have to be cooked
by that time.

It's an unusually cold
Alabama morning,

but I'm heading over
to check on the teams.

5:00 in the morning,
about 37 degrees.

It's barbecue time.

Oh-ho, Chicken Fried's here.

Mr. Bill.

Chicken Fried is a team
I've already run into
in a few festivals

and is frequently
one of the top contenders.

All right,
so brisket seasoned up?

[Bill] Yeah,
we got briskets...

[Michael]
Shoulders were seasoned up.

[Bill] ...pork seasoned.

How many times have you done
Smoke on the Falls?

So this is my second time.

Second time. Okay.

-We won it last year.
-Oh.

-[Bill] Yeah.
-[Michael] A real good resul

[Bill] A real good result.

So, you know, barbecue,
you want to go back
to where you did good.

-Absolutely.
-I'm Bill.

I'm Vanessa.

And we're Chicken Fried BBQ.

For the most part,
I've been competitive
my whole life.

I've played sports
my whole life.

I mean, even at the house,
they don't like playing games

sometimes with me
because I get a little
too competitive,

you know, whether it's spade
or whatnot.

-So...
-I'm just like,
"It's just a game...

-Yes.
-"Relax. It's okay."

[Bill] I'm a Texas cook
and KCBS is much different

than the Texas
competition scene.

So the turn-ins are super fast
where Texas it's a lot slower

and I really enjoy the speed
aspect that KCBS offers.

[interviewer]
Bill, what do you think
is the hardest

part of competition?

[sighs]

I don't think
he thinks any of it.

[Michael]
What's going on, guys?

-[Sunny] Hey.
-[Michael] I'm Michael.

I'm Sunny.
Nice to meet you.

-[Michael] Sunny,
nice to see you.
-[Jeff] Jeff.

-[Michael]
How are you feeling?
-[Sunny] Cold.

-Yeah, I know. Me too.
-I'm hanging by this fire box.

I was gonna say
we're in Alabama...

-Ooh.
-That's not hot.

-It's just like...
-It's good. This is nice.

-[Sunny] Good.
-This is Goldilocks.

-Goldilocks. All right.
-[Sunny] Goldilocks.

Any category you're feeling
strongest about?

I mean, historically,
we've always
done best in ribs.

-Okay.
-[Sunny] And brisket.

-Yeah, and brisket.
-All right.

-Stay warm, guys.
-All right.

-Appreciate it.
-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Look, you are staying
warm by that.

I know.

-Our hands are like icy cold.
-I know, right?

Her hands are all, like,
toasty warm.

[laughter]

[Michael]
What's going on, guys?

-[Meg] Good morning.
-[Trey] Well, good morning.

[Michael] What got you guys
into barbecue?

So when we moved to Georgia,
I met her up north,
and we moved to Georgia.

-We went to Stone Mountain...
-[Michael] Okay.

...and they had
a contest there.

And we just filled out
the paperwork

and we made up
the name with a...

in a matter of five seconds.

-Sweetmeats.
-Yeah. We're like...

And then we signed up
and I cooked brisket
in Georgia.

The only meat, out of four,
that I cooked
and we got top ten.

Whoa. That's a good start.

So then I'm like,
"I like this."

-He's like, "That was cool."
-Yeah.

-Yeah, I like
this competition.
-[Trey] Yeah.

-This is fun.
-[Meg] "When are we doing
another one?"

-How long ago
was that? Uh...
-'98.

-Yeah.
-Oh, so, yeah.

-You guys have been at it
for a little bit.
-Oh, yeah, yeah.

Is this your first time
you've done this one
or how many times--

-[Trey] No.
-[Meg] I think...
I think our sixth year.

-Sixth year here.
-[Trey] Yeah.

We got fourth overall
last year.

We did. We did.

[Trey] But we never know.

For us, we'd like to just
do better than
we did the last time.

Okay.

Our big meats are doing
well for us right now.

Our pork and our brisket,
chicken and ribs,
not so much.

So our goal today
is to amp those up.

-Because I just want to get
calls in chicken and ribs.
-[Michael] There you go.

-All right.
-[Trey] All right.

-Thank you, guys,
I'll see you in little bit.
-All righty.

[Michael] Oh, hi, guys.
What's going on?

[Meg]
That's Cooper and Dixie.

[Michael] Oh, my gosh.

How are you doing?

Just hanging out?

Oh, hi, guys.

-[Derek] What's happening?
-[Michael] How are you doing?

-[both] Good. How are you?
-[Michael]
Excellent. I'm Michael.

-[Derek] Derek.
-[Michael]
Derek, nice to see you.

-[Derek] Nice to see you.
-I'm Erika.

[Michael] Erika,
nice to see you.

How many times have
you guys done this event?

This is our seventh
or eighth year.
Seventh year.

Oh, so lot of people here
have been here for a while.

[Derek] Oh, yeah.

Is there anyone you guys
are looking out for?

-Anybody...
-Anybody could take it...

-Yeah.
-...but...

Come on, that's not too bad.

-No.
-[Michael] No? Come on.

-Now, now--
-[Michael] I feel that
you're a trash talker.

I feel like, they're like...
She a trash talker?

-Not in public.
-Sometimes.

-Just at home.
-[Derek] Yeah, that's right.

You know, these guys
on this row here, Sweetmeats,

Smoke Me Silly,
the other guys that
came from out west,

LC and Chicken Fried.

You know, they've been
tearing it up out there, so...

Right.

...you know,
it's anybody's ball game.

[Michael] 34 pro teams
came here to win a chance
at the $10,000 in prizes.

We're about to find out
who's going
to bring their A-game

and who's going to sit
on the bench.

Things are starting
to heat up here

at Smoke on the Falls,
in the heart of Alabama
barbecue country.

Sun is coming out.

I am about ready
to take off my hat.

Everybody has their
smokers fired up

and most of the meats are on.

Remember,
here's how the turn-ins
are gonna work today.

First up is chicken at noon
followed by ribs at 12:30,

pulled pork at 1:00
and brisket at 1:30.

The bigger meats,
pork butt and brisket

have been smoking
for a few hours now

with the ribs
following close behind.

They all have a ways to go.

So now everyone is turning
their attention

to the chicken
for the first turn-in.

[Sunny] We are getting ready
to put it on the smoker,

so I am reshaping,
just making sure that my skins
are on here well,

and I'm going to season them.

Chicken is a huge pain.

You have to trim
and shape the thighs

and then we have to pluck
the dang skin and scrape
the fat off the skin

and shape it into this
nice little pillow

that you will never eat.

But, you know,
judges like it, apparently.

So we're doing it.

[Michael] The chicken
they're making here
at Smoke on the Falls

isn't your typical backyard
barbecue style.

Competition chicken
is basically, uh, the opposite

of what you do at home.

It's more of a butter
steaming process,

because ultimately
you're trying to get
bite through skin.

The criteria is tenderness.

And if you go in with a skin
that is not tender

or is rubbery or crispy
even, you'll get
scored down for it.

[Michael] So you got
the chicken going?

-Yep. Got it in.
-...thighs.

Thighs, yeah.
We've stuck with thighs.

[Michael] In the KCBS style,
you guys are just looking

to really melt the skin
down almost, right?

-So it's like buttery.
-Buttery.

Yeah, that'll hit the grill
for about 30 to 40 minutes
like it is.

And then I'll pan it up
with some salted butter.

And let it sit in there
and steam.

Now the chicken is smoked,

we're putting it
into a pan to braise
with some butter.

So now we need some foil.

[Michael] Some of the teams
braise their chicken

all together in an open pan

while others,
like Smokin' Sweetmeats
use loaf pans,

so each thigh is surrounded
in its own butter bath.

While the tender
chicken thighs

are what most of the teams
are cooking here,

there's an Alabama staple
that I can't seem to find.

-[Jeff] Good job, girls.
-So you're from Alabama.

You're going to do
white sauce?

No, sir.

Does anybody do the Alabama
white sauce chicken?

-No.
-We're in Alabama.

No one's making chicken
with white sauce.

-I'm very disappointed.
-Right, that's...
that's what I said.

How do I get some
white sauce chicken
in this joint?

Alabama lies between
the barbecue pools of Memphi

with its tangy tomato
based sauce and the Carolina

which trend to mustard
or vinegar-based sauces.

But white sauce
is pure Alabama.

A sweet and tangy
barbecue sauce

typically made
with mayonnaise,

cider vinegar, horseradish,
lemon and brown sugar.

No white sauce chicken?

No, because it's KCBS,
which is global.

Right.

So we're the same rules,
procedures,

as we are anywhere
in the United States

and... and around the world.

So no matter where you are...

Yes.

...the rules are going
to be the rules.

The rules
are going to be the rules.

-You're very strict, Emily.
-I know that.

-[Michael]
The head pitmaster's here.
-[Jeff] Yeah, that's right.

She's here now,
she's in charge.

[Michael] How you doing?
I'm Michael.

How's everything going?

[Jeff] Chicken's on,
ribs are wrapped.

-[Michael]
Oh, chicken is looking good.
-[Jeff and Sunny] Yeah.

[Jeff] Brisket, pork
and ribs are all probably
30 minutes away.

-Got it.
-[Jeff] Yeah.

Well, what's...
Something's happening.

It's a... it's a... Yeah.

It's just that
our point's done,

but I don't know if it's done.

[Michael] So what got
you into barbecue?

[Sunny]
Barbecue is my life-saver.

So, um, I was in,
like, a deep,
dark depression for, like,

12 years,
and I was 80 pound overweigh

and I had four little girls
and a husband.

And then I got diagnosed

with a brain
and spinal malformation

where they were going
to have to do brain surgery.

And so I decided to change
my lifestyle.

And so I just focused
on health and nutrition

and I was able
to lose the 80 pounds.

And during that time
is when we actually started

competing in barbecue,

because he knew
that I needed to take

my mind off of everything
that was going on.

And, yeah.

It just shows
what a strong woman

she is and how passionate
she is when she sets her min
to something.

It's been incredible to watch
as her husband, right there
by her side the whole time.

[Sunny]
And I wouldn't have done it

without the barbecue
community.

So you guys are super proud
of your mom?

-Yes.
-Yeah, absolutely.

That's amazing.

[Jeff] You know, I want
the competition to know

they're about to be
taken down by a girl.

[laughs heartily]

[Meg] It is crunch time.

The more we finalize it now,

all we have to do
is take them off
and box them.

We've learned our lesson
to not do it all at once.

We're looking
for the same size.

You know, judges eat
with their eyes first,
just like we do.

And you want it to be...

[Trey] Doesn't that hurt?

What?

When you eat
with your eyes?

Oh, shutty.

We're looking for 200,
we're not quite there yet,

but it's close.

Each one of these
is going to be different.

But I don't want to probe
all of them.

I'm gonna let it go

just a few more seconds.

We'll take it in
and get it sauced
to get it turned in.

[Sunny] Careful.

Careful because
you can't scrape
the chicken.

Yep. Okay.

Time?

Time is 11:57.

[Sunny] Okay.

[Derek] You're sure
you wanna use
that one right there?

[Erika] This one or this one?

[Derek]
That one on the bottom.

[Erika] I'm going to go
with no on this one.

Okay. Hand me a glove.

That's ugly.

That's ugly?

It's ugly.

[Trey] How far is your walk?

[Meg] A minute, 45.

[Jeff] All right.
We got to go.

You got less than two minutes.

[Sunny] Take a picture.

-[Jeff] Okay.
-[Meg] We're walking.

-Feel good?
-Sure.

-You?
-Always.

You never tasted it.

[Meg] Oh, yeah.

[Trey] Do it right now.

Let's go.

[Michael] The turn-in windo
for each meat is ten minutes

starting five minutes befor
and ending five minutes
after the turn-in time.

That means the teams
have until 12:05
to get their chicken in,

and there's a lot of strateg
at play.

There's two different ways
you approach this.

You get your food done,
you get it in,

so then you could start
working on the next turn-in,

because that happens
in 30 minutes.

Or you wait
to the very last minute

with the theory
being the judges
get their food hotter.

I think some of it depends
on how close you are
to the tent.

Moodswing is literally
50 steps away,

so they're going to wait
as long as they can
to get their food in.

They got lucky
placement this week,

so take advantage of it.

Here's Smokin' Sweetmeats
with a little over
three minutes to go.

-[Meg] Thank you.
-[woman] Thanks.

-[sighs]
-Do you feel good?

-[Meg] I feel good.
-All right.

Oh, look it,
she's running back.

On the move, baby!
Woo-hoo!

Now I know
Sheats' trailer is right
by Sweetmeats

at the far end
of the campground.

So if they don't leave soon

they're going to miss
the turn-in.

[Erika] Yeah, I don't
think that's gonna work.

[Michael] It's midday here
at Smoke on the Falls

and the chicken turn-in wind
is minutes from closing.

Everybody's done
their best work.

Now, now, you've just got
to bring it here,

keep everything steady
along the way.

But if it ain't right now,
it's not going to be right.

How do you feel?
You feel okay?

-I'm nervous.
-Why are you nervous?

I don't know.

-We're hoping it works.
-Oh, all right.

They won last week.
They're nervous this week.

That's just how it works.

You can't feel too confident.

[Erika] Picture.

All right, I'm rolling.

[Michael] Two minutes to go
and any teams left
are really cutting it close

[Erika] I'm gonna cut through.

[Michael] Oh, my gosh.

Moodswing rolling in
with 30 seconds to spare.

-Hey.
-Thank you.

Thirty seconds to spare.
You guys are... Come on.

You got a little...
People are getting aggressive

with the turn-in times
right now.

Thirty seconds, you know,
it seems like a lifetime

when you're walking up here.

You don't ever want
to cut it too close
and get disqualified.

It's a scary feeling there.

We've been there
a few times before,

but 30 seconds
is pretty close.

[Michael] One meat down
and three to go.

The teams now change
their focus
to the ribs turn-in

that opens in 20 minutes,
but I'm zooming in
on some leftover chicken.

Hey.

Tell us how it is.

-You can be totally honest.
-[Michael] Yeah.

Except she's not being
honest right now.

I am being honest.

Hmm.

Oh, wait. Hey.

Bite through skin.
Look at that.

-Yeah.
-Nailed the skin.

The skin is, you can see,
it's melted almost.

So it almost like blends
into the flesh

and that gives it that bite
through quality.

It's got some
nice heat to it.

-I told you, I run with heat.
-[Jeff] Peach habanero.

[Michael] Mmm, I like it.

It's got a good bite
to the back end.

We did it, girls.

[Michael] At this point,
everyone has been

smoking their ribs
for three to four hours.

Most pro-teams
are using drum smokers

or vertical reverse
flow smokers.

But Derek at Sheats'
is using a smoker

that takes some
of the guesswork
out of the cook times.

The pellet smoker.

Pellet smoker can sometimes
look like a traditional

offset smoker, but instead
of a firebox off to one side

there's a pellet chamber
that you fill
with wood pellets.

An auger pushes
the pellets under the grill
into an ignition chamber,

which lights the pellets,
creating the smoke

and the fire that heats up
and smokes the meat above.

A combustion fan
pushes the air through
the ignition chamber

and into the smoker
and out of the chimney
at the top.

All of this is set in motio
by a controller that control

the temperature and cook tim
for the smoker.

[Derek] It's a lot easier
for me personally just

because a lot of these guys
got to wake up.

They've got four fires,
five fires to start

throughout the cooking process
that day.

I've got to start one grill
and use it the whole time
and it's push button.

Just set it,
forget it pretty much.

So it's super easy.

[Meg]
The nerves are still there

because this one
stresses me out

because we have, you know,
the chicken.

They're all pretty much
the same.

You're just picking
the pretty ones.

This one, we have to taste
every rack

and we have to pick
the eight best.

I'm tasting each rack.

I want it to be tender,
I want it to be juicy,

but I need it
to stay on the bone, too.

We're going to hack off
the last one there.

We can't turn that one in.

[Michael] So incredibly juicy,
really tender.

You could see that
gentle smoke ring up top.

Since this is an extra,
I'm going to take a bite.

[Derek] Go right ahead.

-No sauce yet, but...
-[Michael] Ah, it's okay.

You can see my perfect
bite mark on there,

but no other meat
has pulled away from the bone.

It's a really good sign
for a perfect rib.

How many bones
are you guys putting in?

We normally go
seven to eight.

-[Michael] Okay.
-We like to stack them.

I like to do seven or nine.

-Well, you didn't make it...
-[Michael] I don't know.

-See, I was wrong.
-No, I said...

It is seven or eight,
but it is like,
I like to do nine because--

Because Erika likes
odd numbers.

But some of the best
turn-ins he's had,

we've only turned in six

because that was the six
best ribs we had.

[Trey] Try that one.

[Meg] So that one's
really good, Trey.

[Trey]
You got it on your face.

-That's a good sign.
-[Meg] Hmm.

[Sunny] Four minutes.
Let's go.

I get really, really anxious
when we're building our box.

[Jeff] You have
a very narrow window

to get that meat in the box

and have the appearance
just be perfect.

So, definitely
the most tense time

out of the whole competitio

is those few minutes
as you're preparing
your box to get turned in.

[Erika] Okay.

I think things
are not gonna work.

They feel right,
but one's separating.

So I'm going
to go with these.

-They're the thickest ones.
-Yeah.

-I mean...
-[Derek] Mostly.

[Erika]
I like it when it's thicker.

They look pretty
and they feel good to me.

[Michael]
How are you feeling?

I'm feeling good about these.

-[Michael] All right.
-Which is really bad.

-[Michael] Oh, okay.
-[Meg] Yeah.

She's feeling good,
which means bad.

They want to feel bad,
and then that equals good.

You guys following along?

Are you done with this?

Yeah.

[Derek] Here, clean
this corner up right here.

[Erika] What time is it?

[Derek] It's 1:17.

[Erika] No, it's 12:32.

[Derek] Oh, well,
this is wrong.

We need to clear that off.

[Erika] Yeah.

I was like,
there's no way we still
have all that time left.

[Derek]
That was what was left
on the microwave

when we heated
the sauce up.

Okay, let's go.

[Derek] 12:32, three minutes.
Two... two and a half.

[Michael]
With the first two meats
turned in,

the teams now have
one hour left

to finish their pulled pork
and brisket.

And if they want to get
a piece of that 10,000 purse

everything better be on poin

Here at Smoke on the Falls,

people use
all kinds of smokers.

From pro-models
to custom-made rigs,

and I heard,
there's one here today

that I can't leave
without seeing.

This is a beautiful
little setup.

[Brandon] We built the smoker
at the shop.

I had collected a couple
of propane tanks

and kind of made two
or three out of one, you know.

[Michael] I love it.

So you've weld
and put the whole thing
together yourself?

Beautiful.

And is this where would
you hang sausages and stuff?

This is just like
a warming rack or...

-[Michael] Oh, okay.
-[indistinct]

[Michael] Oh, nice.

I can open it up
and smoke out the top.

So are you guys doing
all four categories today?

No, we're only doing
two. We're backyard.

-Doing... Backyard.
-All right.

This is a pretty serious
backyard.

I mean, come on.

Brandon's creation
is a thing of beauty.

This reverse flow smoker
is 20 feet long

with an enormous smoking are
a giant warming rack
right above the firebox,

a sink storage area, icebox
firewood bin

and an additional
charcoal grill.

It brings tears to my eyes.

Oh, look
at the half chickens.

Look at that.

[Brandon]
Not for competition.

[Michael]
No, that's looking good,
though, man.

Those... You barbecue
like I barbecue.

Brandon may be
in the backyard competition

but with this smoker,

he'll be a pro in no time.

With the competition
close to the finish
that he designed,

there are two meats
left to turn-in,

and the first is one
of the trickiest of them all

The worst part
is going to be pork.

Why do you say that?

Because I need a...
a tray for that.

Right behind you.

-I got it all ready.
-[Trey] Oh, shoot.

Maybe it's not as bad
as I thought.

So this is a money muscles,

and I'm going to season them
and sauce them

and we'll put them back on.

[Michael] The money muscle
is the most prized part

of the pork butt,
but only if it's good enough

Ooh! Okay.

Now I got to work
on the inside,

pulling some pork
and getting something
ready for turn-in.

-We're feeling...
-[Sunny] Stressed.

...stressed.
Sunny is stressed.

[Sunny] Sunny is stressed.

[Jeff]
She always stresses on.

[Sunny]
It's pork, I hate pork.

I hate to eat pork.

I don't like pork,
so it's hard to want
to turn it in.

[Jeff] The tough
thing with pork is just

finding the right pieces
to put in the box.

[Sunny] Yeah.

[Jeff] Ribs or chicken,
it's one whole piece,
but pork, man,

you get in there
and you're dissecting it.

You're trying to find
the right muscles
that are going to be

most tender, the most juicy
that you can put in the box.

So it's always more difficult.

I'd rather do chicken.

[Bill] I've got four money
muscles here.

I'm going to cut
each one of them,
taste each one of them,

and kind of rank them
in my head.

And if there's one or two
that are better,

those will go into the box.

You don't want the pork
to be mushy.

It needs to have enough
to when you press on it,

it bounces back just a bit.

It doesn't need to be hard.

This right here
when you push into that,
see how it's sunk in.

That means
it's too done for me.

So I think we should chunk.

These are kind of splitting.

That's good,
but those two are splitting.

That one's splitting.

[Meg] It's good.

[Sunny] Photo.

So this piece...

-[Sunny] Yeah.
-...looks out of place.

[Sunny] Okay.

[Jeff] Pork has always been
our Achilles' heel.

You always wonder if you...
you put the right pieces in

[Sunny] Okay.

[Jeff] That piece,
I don't like
or you just tuck it under,

so it's...

It just looks
a little strange.

[Sunny] This one?

[Jeff] Yeah.

Okay. There you go.

-Okay.
-Okay?

[Jeff] Yeah.

[Erika]
It's just going to be, like,
kind of an empty box

because I don't have
a whole lot to chunk.

Okay.

[Sunny] Good luck.

[Erika] So if it was me,

I probably would have put
some of the pulled in there.

This time, it seemed like
it had a pretty
good texture to it,

but I think
it's a solid turn-in

doing the money muscle.

Hey.

Hey.

I'm getting slower.

All right.

I'm getting
slower and slower.

-You got time, though.
-[Meg] I know.

-Thank you.
-Good luck.

[Meg] Oh, yeah.

[Michael] With the pulled po
in the hands of the judges,

we're down
to the last turn-in, brisket

But I'm getting
a little hungry

and heard there's another
kind of meat
that I should try.

Look at that.

Damn, that's
something special.

Smoked alligator.

Did you wrestle him?

No.

I just... I wish.

I wish it was a lot bigger.

[Michael] I was gonna say.

That's gorgeous.

Do you eat the gator?

-He loves it.
-[Michael] He loves it.

And I've got to try it.

There's no sauce, right?

-Just rub and smoke.
-Just rub and smoke.

[Michael]
Alligator is a cornucopia
of meat flavors.

The tail has a fish
like taste,

while down the back
is a tenderloin that tastes

a little bit more like pork

The legs can be passed
for chicken wings

and the jaw muscles
are similar to a filet migno

And it looks like
it's just like beautiful
white meat, you know?

Mmm.

Oh, it's good.

-[man] Good stuff.
-Really good.

The meat's almost sweet.

Texture wise,
it's somewhere in between

a steak-y style
fish and chicken.

-Nicely done, my friend.
-Thank you.

[Meg] Don't get too thick
in the center like you do.

[Michael] There are two side
to a brisket,

the flat and the point.

The teams typically
turn in slices

from the leaner
end of the brisket
called the flat.

Burnt ends,
the chunks of meat found

at the crispy edge
of the point

are a riskier choice
for turn-in,

because some judges
won't score them as high.

It's perfect.

[Derek] She's happy
that we're turning in
burnt ends today, maybe.

This makes me happier
than anything...
We haven't--

[Derek] I've banned 'em
from competition,

from our turn-ins
for probably the last year.

[Erika] Which is so dumb
because they are like
the juiciest,

yummiest, morsel of meat
I've ever had.

[Trey] Go for it.

Just go with six.

We'll go with six
with burnt ends.

[Jeff] Moment of truth.

[Sunny]
I don't like that little guy.

It just doesn't fit.
Taking out...

[Jeff] Okay.

All right,
we got three minutes.

[Sunny] Yeah.

I'm feeling ill.

[Trey] Huh?

[Meg] I'm feeling ill.
I'm nervous.

-[Trey] You okay?
-[Meg] Yep.

Looks good.

[Meg]
I'm just walking this sucker.

-[Trey] I love you.
-[Meg] Love you, too.

Derek?

Derek?

[Derek] All right.

[Erika] Okay.

All right.

Now, if you really
want to try a good brisket,
have one of those butts.

Worst nightmare is like,
having a good turn-in

and then falling over
and wrecking the box.

Thank you.

[sighs]

Crap.

Thank you, all.

Didn't cut it
so close this time.

-There you go. Thank you.
-[Erika] Yeah.

Good luck.

[Michael] Now that
all four meats are turned i

and the judges are compilin
their final scores,

I get a chance to meet
some of the big contenders

and unique teams
all vying for some of that

$10,000 in prizes here
at Smoke on the Falls.

Anyone that you're looking out
for this week or,

you know...
like heavy competition?

Oh, yeah.

Like if you're from Alabama,
is there an Ohio State here
that you're feeling?

I'm a Michigan fan.

-So, I... I equally
hate Ohio State.
-Oh, my God.

Michigan!

-Go blue!
-Oh, no!

[Michael] This is a very
aggressive smoker.

[Dennis] Yeah.
So this is the WarPig.

That's a vertical
insulated smoker,

just like you see
a lot of these.

It's what it started out as.

And back in 2012,
we decided to take it
and make it look like a tank.

So the smoker's
actually mobile.

[Dennis] It's mobile.

And you can just, you know,
move it forward or backwards.

Yeah.

I was an army tanker
and I wanted a tank as a...

as an adult, so I got one.

There you go. I get it.

-[Dennis] Yeah.
-Feeling good
about everything?

-So far, so good.
-All right.

Unflappable.

Completely unflappable.

Let's just hope so.

[Michael] I'm ready to, like,
knock something over

just to see, like,

I want to get
you startled for a second.

What do you mean
we're out of potatoes?

[Michael]
LC may be unflappable,

but with 33 other
amazing teams here,

it's going to be hard
to land at the top.

The meats are all turned
in and the judges have taste

everything here
at Smoke on the Falls.

Now we get to find out
how everybody did.

But first, I want to soak
in some of that Alabama char

Hi, guys. How are you?

[woman 1] Hi.

[woman 2]
Oh, we want to hug you,
poor thing.

Bobby Flay, you got
to beat him.

I watch you all the time.

Here we go.
She'll be like, "What?

Michael Symon?

You got to be kidding me."

But I was wondering
if I could get you

to autograph
some pictures, so I
can give them back to her.

Sure. Absolutely.

Everyone is going to find out.

And we're going to rub
some Alabama luck on you

right now so you can beat
Bobby Flay.

Bobby, you're going down,
Bobby Flay.

-Yay!
-You're going down.

I got the luck.
We don't have to roll tide.

-We could still go,
"Go, Buckeyes!"
-I had to tell you, I'm sorry.

I know.

Ohio. I got you.
I got you.

[laughs] Good to see you.

Man, I love it here.

I want to welcome everyone

to our 13th Annual
Smoke on the Falls
Awards Ceremony.

[man] We're going to start
with the chicken competition.

[Michael] The first two spot
in chicken

go to Wine Me, Dine Me
and Swine Me,
and The Fat Guyz.

Eighth place and $50
for the Smokin' Sweetmeats.

[Michael] Oh, all right.

Nicely done.

Nicely done.

After Sweetmeats,
some good competitors
are placing.

But as we get closer
to the top spots in chicken

you can tell the teams
are starting to get
a little nervous.

[man] Third place,
Gettin' Basted.

[Michael]
Now that leaves only the to
two slots for chicken.

Second place, $400 winner,
Sheats' Smoked Meats.

[Erika screaming]

[Michael] Oh-ho-ho.

-[Erika] Yay!
-[Michael] There you go!

They got to be excited.

That's a great start
for them.

Very nice.

Only one spot left now.

[man] Our chicken champions.

First place, $500
for Chicken Fried BBQ.

[crowd cheering
and applauding]

[Vanessa] Oh.

Chicken Fried, we know
they can make a chicken.

Game is tight.

Our teams have performed
pretty good
in the chicken category

here in Alabama.

[man] All right.
Moving on to the
pro pork ribs.

[Michael] The first two spot
in ribs go to some great teams
and then a familiar name.

[man] Eighth place,
Sheats' Smoked Meats.

Ooh! Sheats' having
a strong showing.

That's two categories
they've placed in
so far, chicken and ribs.

They came in eighth
and their ribs
were about perfect.

So it's going to be
interesting to see

who the top seven
are because they made
some delicious ribs today.

For seventh place,
Hold Your Horses BBQ.

Stu Baby's Barbecue.

Smoke Me Silly.

[Michael] It's been
a strong showing
for Smoke Me Silly so far.

[man] Fourth place,
Bar B Quterie.

Hammondville Hawg Mafia.

[Michael] Two more slots
left at ribs, who will it be?

Second place,
pork rib category.

$400 for Angry Jack Barbecue.

And our professional
pork ribs champions.

$500, first place winner,
it's Kings BBQ.

[Michael] Okay.

We didn't do so hot in ribs
with only Sheats'
at eighth place.

If any of the teams
we followed want a shot

at the overall prize,
they need to step it up

in the pulled pork
and brisket categories.

All right.
On to professional pork.

10th place,
$30 for Smokin' Sweetmeats.

[Michael] Nice job, guys.

All right. They got to walk.

Got to be happy about that.

Ninth place, $40 winners
and they are Moodswing BBQ.

-[Sunny] Yes!
-[Michael] Wow.

That's a great result
for Sunny and Jeff.

And with pulled pork,
their least favorite category.

-You said you weren't
thrilled about the pork.
-I hate pork.

[Michael] So, yeah, yeah.

-[Sunny] I'll take it.
-The curse has been broken.

-It's broken.
-There you go.
It's gone, it's over.

-It's over. That's it.
-Apparently, you need to come.

-All right. All right.
-Every contest.

[Michael] After eighth
and seventh place...

Sixth place for $75,
Chicken Fried BBQ.

[Michael]
Sixth place, all right.

It's not a bad place to be,
obviously.

I know he wants
to win everything.

Hold Your Horses
and Fat Bear get us

to the top three teams
in pulled pork.

All right, top three
in the pro pork category,

$300 winner for third place
and that is Smoke Me Silly.

-Woo!
-[Michael] You guys are hot.

Smoke Me Silly seems like
the team to beat.

Three categories.
Three places.

They're feeling it right now.

With the two top slots
going to other contenders.

[man] All right.
Moving on to the pro
brisket category.

[Michael]
There's only one category left

and if any of the teams
we followed want a chance
of placing in the overall,

they better hope they made
the brisket of their life.

[man] All right.
Moving on to the pro
brisket category.

[Michael] Brisket is the fin
meat category

at the Smoke on the Falls he
in Gadsden, Alabama.

And the first four places
go to some formidable teams

So Sheats' has been
in two categories.

Chicken Fried has been
in two categories.

So and I'm doing the math
in my brain right now.

Those seem to be like
the competitors
to win the big prize.

[man] Sixth place, $75
for Chicken Fried BBQ.

They had a first to six

and then they weren't
in the top ten for ribs.

It could be enough.

Fifth place,
beef brisket, Smoked Me Silly.

[Michael] Incredible.

Smoke Me Silly has
placed in every category.

The teams we followed
are going to need a big win

in brisket to have
a shot at Grand Champion.

[man] Fourth place,
beef brisket, $200 for LC BBQ.

[Michael] All right.

LC's a great team
that I've seen

at a few of these
competitions now.

They're from Texas,
so to get to walk

for brisket probably
makes them happy.

[man] Third place,
beef brisket,
$300 for Smokin' Sweetmeats.

[Michael]
That's a great result
for Meg and Trey

and just might be enough
for them to win the overall

All right.

So that's three.

This is going to get close,
I think.

I think we're gonna be close.

[man] Second place,
beef brisket, $400 winner,
Gettin' Basted.

And our beef brisket
champions,

$500 for first place,
Bar B Quterie.

[Michael] So now comes down
to the overall winners.

The teams did best
in all four categories today

All right. On to the overall.

10th place,
Who Cares BBQ.

[Michael] The bottom
six places go to some
great teams,

but who makes the top four
is going to be anyone's guess.

Fourth place,
Smokin' Sweetmeats.

[crowd cheering]

Oh, fourth place
is a great result
for Sweetmeats.

[Trey] Fourth overall,
I mean...

Our big meats,
they took care of us today.

-That worked...
-Third... third in brisket
was awesome.

[man] Third place,
Chicken Fried BBQ.

[Michael]
Chicken Fried is third.

That's a really strong finis
for them.

First in chicken,
we placed sixth in brisket,
sixth in pork.

I think we were like
18th or 19th rib.

Any day you get
a top five, you're happy.

[Michael] And the top two
spots go to Gettin' Basted
and Smoke Me Silly.

[man]
It's been another great year
at Smoke on the Falls.

We thank you
so much for coming out.

We'll see you a year
from now.

Unbelievable.

Crazy. Ooh.

-Awesome.
-All right.

Thank you so much!

What a great weekend.

Unbelievable weekend.

So how are
you guys feeling?

Man, we're feeling good.

We missed the bull's-eye
by a hair at third
place overall, so.

Hey, we broke
our pork nemesis.
We're good!

So the pork nemesis
is broke?

-Yes.
-[Sunny] We're good.

We didn't get all the calls
that we wanted to hear,

but we're definitely going
to come back next year
and take it all.

Our goal was
to hear our name called today.

We felt strong about
chicken and ribs.

When they said eighth
in ribs, I'm like, "What?

I want to taste
the other seven."

Because I thought your ribs
were just spot on.

We're not going to dust off

and we'll see what we can do
at the next contest.
Work on pork,

work on brisket
a little bit between
now and then,

maybe we can bring
all four meats in the top ten.

-What a day.
-Yeah.

Gettin' a chicken call
was awesome.

[Michael] Yeah,
you got the chicken call.

We haven't gotten
s chicken call
in a while.

Chicken was great.
Ribs, you never know.

-[Michael] Right.
-We were just below top ten.

All right.

But it got us
good enough
to be fourth overall.

Brisket call was the best.

-Oh, absolutely.
-The best.

-It was a good day.
Good weekend.
-Yeah.

Gadsden, Alabama,
Smoke on the Falls,
it was a crazy weekend.

Incredible people,
incredible barbecue,

great teams
that had tremendous success

winning chicken, a couple
grand reserve champions.

I mean, everything
that you would want
in a barbecue weekend,

you got it here on BBQ USA.