This week’s guest article is written by Monk, a native of North Carolina and co-founder of the Barbecue Bros blog. Along with his friends and fellow Barbecue Bros Speedy and Rudy, Monk has traveled around eating, rating, ranking, and reviewing barbecue joints since 2012. If you would like to write a guest article for The Smoke Sheet, please get in touch.
July marked the official start of barbecue on summer TV, with the return of a couple of fan favorites in BBQ Brawl and Barbecue Showdown. While both are barbecue competition shows at heart, each is doing a slightly different thing and has different strengths. Before we figure out which barbecue show is right for you, let's set the stage for each:
BBQ Brawl returned for its fifth season on Food Network, and notably, former Top Chef season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio replaced Anne Burrell as a captain. Otherwise, Bobby Flay and Sunny Anderson remained as captains from previous seasons, and judges Brooke Williamson, Rodney Scott, and Carson Kressley all returned. The setting is also the same, taking place at Star Hill Ranch outside of Austin, TX.
In terms of gameplay, while the bottom two teams still switch after the first competition, the show introduced a new wrinkle in the form of a "franchise player" who stays with their initial captain no matter what. The ultimate winner earns the title of "Master of Cue" and gets a Food Network digital deal.
Barbecue Showdown dropped all of its third season on Netflix, and its host (Michelle Buteau) and judges (Melissa Cookston and Kevin Bludso) remained the same as in season 2. And the competitors still vie for the title of "Barbecue Showdown Champion," $50,000 in prize money, and a new offset smoker.
Barbecue Showdown moved Georgia locations of the competition set, resulting in what appears (to me at least) to be an upgraded set and graphics package. This all might be due to having taken on some new sponsors, as several beer brands are prominently named and featured in an early episode.
But back to the original question: if pressed for time, which one should you watch? Well, I guess that all depends on what you're looking for.
For Proven Barbecue Talent, pick BBQ Brawl
Included among its contestants are restaurateurs, including Hugh Mangum (co-owner of Mighty Quinn's BBQ with locations in the U.S. and worldwide), a James Beard Award-nominee (Bruce Kalman), and a BBQ Hall of Fame member in Ray Lampe, aka Dr. BBQ. They've even got a prior runner-up of Barbecue Showdown in Logan Sandoval.
On Barbecue Showdown this season they have introduced guest judges, Top Chef-style, which is a welcome addition to Melissa and Kevin. Tuffy Stone appears early in the season, while Matty Matheson and former Top Chef-testant Kwame Onwuachi join in later episodes.
For Storytelling, Pick Barbecue Showdown
Barbecue Showdown's focus is less on known talent and more on the contestants who are backyard smokers or are newer in their restaurant careers. You watch less-seasoned cooks make pretty glaring mistakes in their cooking, especially Tung and Luis in the first couple of episodes of the season.
But there's also the emotional investment that comes with seeing someone overcome mistakes, scrape through early rounds, and start to figure things out and make a run in the competition. Of the two shows, you're more likely to see that with Barbecue Showdown.
For Colorful Characters, Pick BBQ Brawl
New captain Michael Voltaggio brings chaotic, wild card energy with his hair and outfits but ultimately seems to be a great mentor and collaborator with his team (which has paid dividends early on).
Captain Sunny seems to have found a lane in poking fun at Bobby Flay every chance she gets, sporting a couple of different custom shirts stating "Crispy Rice isn't BBQ" and "Crispy Rice is Bobby's Binky" in the first two episodes and just generally needling him at every opportunity.
Brawl contestant Noah Sims brought some spaced-out energy with his tie-dyed overalls and shirt, hippie bandanas, and general laid-back vibe, but unfortunately, he did not last too long in the competition.
And then, of course, there is head judge Carson Kressley, who may be a slightly divisive figure in terms of his antics but has always done a great job in his dual capacity as host and judge.
On Barbecue Showdown, I will note that the Egyptian Cowboy Kareem El-Ghayesh (also known as "KG") is not only a fun character to watch but also performs at a high level in early episodes.
For Binging the Latest Season, Pick Barbecue Showdown
As is consistent with the Netflix model, all eight episodes of Barbecue Showdown dropped at once. If you want to scratch that itch immediately or perhaps within a couple of multi-hour sessions, it is definitely the show for you.
And then, if you want to revisit (or even watch for the first time), the two previous seasons are right there waiting for you. Of course, it should be noted that the previous four seasons of BBQ Brawl are also available on Max.
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So there you have it. Whether it's barbecue talent, storytelling, characters or the desire to binge the season, betweenBBQ BrawlandBarbecue Showdown,you should be covered when it comes to barbecue television in these late summer months.
BBQ Brawl airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network and is also available the next day on Max. All episodes of Barbecue Showdown are available now on Netflix.
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