[intense music playing]
[Emery] There's
multiple different ways
you can get scholarship money
from barbecue competitions.
One of the biggest ones
is placing top three
as a team, and then
your whole team
will get a scholarship.
[intense music playing]
[man] I need to show my
parents I can do this.
Why don't you do
culinary on the side
and get yourself a degree?
[Chuck] First place in
the piggy-piggy ribs,
- Phat's BBQ.
- Woo!
- There we go!
- [applause]
[Chuck] Third place
on overall points,
Phat's BBQ.
- [applause]
- [man] Woo!
[Coach Beasley] We
got third place.
Southlake was ours too.
And I think we
dropped the ball.
Ah! I've been accepted.
Emery is Bethel College-bound.
- I'm proud of you.
- Thanks.
As far as college goes
for Emery, you know,
we wouldn't be able
to pay for all of it.
[Emery] If I don't
get any scholarships,
how am I gonna pay
for my college?
[triangle bell dinging]
[intense music playing]
Look at the street.
I think It looks
like a horror movie.
[rock music playing]
[Coach Langdon] Hey,
how y'all feelin'?
I feel great.
Barbecue mornin'.
Bada-bing bada-boom.
[Coach Langdon] I'm
a little nervous
for this first
competition at Graham.
There's a lot of pressure
to get these kids
these top place finishes
'cause there's that
scholarship money on the line.
Our program and this team
are like on the cusp
of breaking through
from being good to
being, like, really good.
It's time for
Granbury to start
putting our name on the map.
Let's go out
there and execute.
[Zane] There's a lot
of competition today.
There's like 20
teams out there.
There's the team that placed
second at State last year here.
[man] Come on in.
Let's get this in.
Let's get this.
Let's go. Let's go.
Let's get locked in.
Yeah, lock in, lock in.
Teams get stronger
as the seasons go on.
The more regionals you do,
the more opportunities
you have to get better.
[Coach Beasley] This
is our second regional.
We already
qualified as a team.
- We could've won Southlake.
- Mmm-hmm.
- Now, this is no blame.
- [Zane] Yeah, I know.
Nobody. I meant
[Zane] I was gonna
say, we got it.
I'm just saying, we left
it on the table there.
Next goal is that
first place trophy.
We made some improvements,
but we need to take it
up a little bit farther.
Let's go from third to first.
[Zane] My leg's
feeling better.
I'm feeling better.
We already
qualified for State.
- [man] Right there.
- This one?
Really, all we're
trying to do now is just
scare the other teams
and make them
worried about us.
- One team!
- One team!
- [Coach Beasley] One team!
- [all] One team!
- [Coach Beasley] One team!
- [all] One team!
Woo!
- Okay.
- Let's go.
- It's too early
- Let's do it.
It's too early for
this. I'm not
I'm not sleeping
that well, bro.
[triangle bell dinging]
[intense music playing]
[Emery] Here we go.
[Coach Langdon] What's
the matter, Emery?
Nothing.
There is definitely
always gonna be pressure
with no matter what you do.
But I always feel pressure
in everything I do.
If we place,
I know that I'm gonna
get scholarship money.
And if I get
scholarship money,
then Bethel will
match my scholarship.
Every competition, I name
"The Chicken." I need a name.
- [Coach Langdon] Um, Gerald.
- [Emery] Gerald?
That is a huge chicken.
If you need to,
get your shears.
[Emery] I'm usually
not used to working
with chickens
that are this big.
I'm feeling a little anxious.
[flame crackles]
[rock music playing]
[Coach Beasley] 6:37.
6:37, guys.
[Zane] Listen, that
hole is a little deep.
So you gotta You
gotta push through.
[Coach Beasley]
Let's go. Let's go.
He's just stabbing it.
Norman, don't
stop. Don't stop.
[Zane] Your get arthritis
from injecting a brisket.
- Don't stop.
- [Zane] Ignore him.
- Zone him out.
- Hey.
Putting effort to it,
love, soul, heart.
[Coach Rob] Trouble,
trouble, trouble.
There's a little c*ck
that I have to quell down
because, you know, we
qualified for State,
but you can't
live in the past.
Don't try to get fast
'cause I'm here, man.
You're only as good as
the last piece of meat
you put out, so you
better not get complacent.
Okay. Let's go and
move to the next phase.
- [Coach Rob] No, no, no, no.
- [man] Hey.
[Coach Rob] These
dudes are messy, man.
You guys did all
that hard work
and then you
started seasoning,
and you didn't
do the easy task
of drying the board.
'Cause now, your
seasoning that you need
to create a bark
is gonna be wet.
Bad News Bears, brother.
Quick.
[intense music playing]
- [Coach Beasley] Come on.
- [Coach Rob] Up,
up a little higher
but let's cover
Make sure everything
is covered.
Make it rain,
baby. Go up higher.
Higher, higher,
higher. There you go.
[intense music playing]
I need you to make
sure that that brisket
is your top priority.
[Emery] After I
put the tape up,
Coach Brie cannot come
into our pit area.
The thing that she does
the most is she takes
her hands, she puts
them behind her back,
and she just like leans
and she's like,
"Hey, check that.
Check that. Check that."
'Cause now you can use the end
of that whisk to kinda smash.
Good job. That's
looking a lot better.
[dramatic music playing]
[Coach Langdon] Good.
[man] Some team over there
was already putting
their chicken on.
I am not starting
my chicken yet.
Normally, I start my
fire two hours before.
So I'll probably
do that at 9:00.
[Coach Langdon] Okay.
And then put it on
for 10:00 and 11:00.
Hmm, actually, maybe not.
It's still
I have to have time to
prep and everything, so.
If I was very successful
in barbecue this year,
my confidence would skyrocket
just because I know
where I started.
But now to see where I'm at,
it has been a
lot of hard work.
This is my injection.
I use homemade chicken
stock and some jalapenos.
I want my chicken
to be flavorful,
to have a good,
nice moisture in it,
and I want it to have a
good crispy skin on it.
And so I'm trying
to find a way
to prevent the chewy skin
'cause I don't want them
to take a bite and
then not be able
to swallow the skin 'cause
that just sounds terrible.
My family is here.
I'm excited that they're here.
I've been checking
Life360 all day
to kind of see
where they've been.
Your hair looks really pretty.
Thanks. You need
to put yours up.
It's not sanitary.
One other thing
- Oh, my God.
- [Aubrey] So funny.
Emery's barbecue is so good.
And I know I'm a little biased
'cause I am her sister,
but, like, not a whole lot
of chicken that I've
had that's better.
Hold on.
[Angie] Oh, he's
got his chair.
[Pops] Hey, Chookie.
[Emery] Yeah.
It means a lot to me
that Pops came out
just because he
doesn't go out a lot.
He was the one
who really got me
into barbecue and grilling.
[dramatic music playing]
[Emery] Just because
right after my grandma
passed away, we
would start going
seeing my grandpa a
little bit more often.
When we were down there,
we would do mostly ribs
'cause that's what he loves.
- Okay.
- Don't leave me here.
- Huh?
- High five.
Good job.
Good high five.
Ugh
[laughs]
I definitely am
valuing the time
with my grandpa because
since losing my grandma,
I don't know how much time
I have left with people.
And that really opened
my eyes to that.
[rock music playing]
- What's the problem?
- [Coach Rob] Okay.
That's not coming
out the way I wanted.
[Coach Beasley] Come on, Zane.
I know you can get some first
place baby backs better.
You got the curveball
thrown on them ribs
'cause they got baby back.
Every competition
there's the spareribs
or St. Louis.
Baby backs is a quick cook,
but you had to cook it
just right to achieve
that tenderness.
If you don't practice well,
you're not gonna
be good at it.
[Zane] I'm pretty
confident in myself,
like, I know how to do ribs.
I know what they should
look and taste like.
It's like a little heavy
but that's actually fine.
Bad boy, baby backs.
Bones are weird,
they're small.
You usually wait to do
the ribs a little bit.
Our plan now is to
begin ribs immediately,
season 'em up, trim 'em,
put 'em on the sheet tray,
wrap 'em, give it time for it
to absorb and soak in
our seasoning flavor.
[Coach Beasley]
Zane got his hands
to heat 'em but
we're gonna try
and hold our first place ribs.
Let's go. [claps]
[intense music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Coach Langdon]
Move your tushy.
[Emery] I got a big chicken.
I just probably should
put it on earlier.
Normally, it takes
one and a half
to two hours to smoke
a three-pound chicken.
And this one is way bigger.
So I'm gonna have to put
it on there for longer.
I'm just not sure
how much longer.
This may be a more, bigger
problem than I thought.
[Coach Langdon]
What's your temp up?
- Isn't that too much?
- [Emery] It's a big chicken.
[Coach Langdon] Okay.
[Emery] I just need the
chicken to be cooked
all the way through.
[intense music playing]
[Zane] I'm gonna
wrap the ribs.
[Coach Beasley]
Come on. Wet it up.
Let me see. Come on,
come on, come on in.
Okay. I
[Zane] Gotta wrap
while you tuck it.
You tuck it.
[Coach Beasley]
Perfect landing.
All right. You only just
squeeze it down and cut that.
[Coach Beasley] Okay.
Let's get to work.
Okay, guys. It's crunch time.
You gotta go fast.
Now spray some on
the top of your ribs.
Keep the moisture content in.
Fold it all the way in.
[Zane] I wrap my ribs
in butcher's paper
because it helps break
down the muscle fibers
to get it tender.
Foil has a tendency to
trap in the moisture
and your meat kind of
starts to sweat a little bit
and it brushes all
the seasoning off.
[Coach Beasley] We got
to bring it home, y'all.
We got to bring
it home. Let's go.
[Zane] We got to bring
it home. Let's go.
We wrapped our ribs.
I just gotta get them up
to temp so they can cook.
I want them to
have great flavor,
great seasoning, great
bark, good color, so.
Now it's just kind of a
Just a waiting game.
[intense music playing]
[Coach Langdon] So
we have 40 minutes.
What's the matter?
What's wrong?
My chicken is at 170.
It's got to go up 40
degrees before I turn it.
[Coach Langdon] Dear Lord,
please cook our chicken
a little bit faster.
Amen.
[Emery] So my chicken is
not cooking fast enough
for turning time.
So I'm not sure if it'll
be done by the time
Turning time is.
I'm afraid I'm
gonna fall backwards
at any moment and
I'm gonna die.
Please don't fall
into that hot box.
If I do?
At least you'll be toasty.
- Yeah.
- Em,
hey, this is what
we practiced for.
You're great.
Is it gonna get done in time?
It's all in God's hands.
[Coach Langdon]
She's real upset.
She's about to cry.
[Emery] My chicken,
if it goes wrong,
we're not gonna
place well as a team.
If my team doesn't do good,
then we're not gonna
get scholarships.
I just need the chicken to be
cooked all the way through.
Okay.
[Emery] And it's gonna
mess up my future.
[intense music playing]
[man] Chicken's in 35 minutes.
[intense music playing]
Should I temp it by 150?
[Coach Langdon] Yeah.
[Emery] The internal cooking
temperature for chicken
to know when it is done is
165, and it's around 140.
[Coach Langdon] Do you
need something, Emy?
I need to cook the chicken.
I'm stressing, like,
hardcore right now.
Knowing that Bethel will
match my scholarships,
I'm hoping that we can get
top three and get some money.
Say a prayer and let it be.
This is where they
qualify to go to State
and make a name
for themselves.
So, that's what she
wants ultimately.
And so she is just struggling
because it's not going in
her direction at the moment.
[Coach Langdon] No
sense in worrying
over something
we can't control.
Just keep doing
how you practiced
and do you,
like, if you pulled a
muscle in a soccer game.
Okay. I'm sorry.
If I pulled a muscle
in a volleyball game.
I pulled a muscle in
a volleyball game,
I would still do my very best
even if I was not exactly
where I wanted to be, right?
It's never easy to see
your students get upset,
because as a mom, I just
wanna fix it for 'em.
Hey, you got this, okay?
Make it pretty.
I'll try.
I know you will.
You always do.
You're gonna be great.
[horns honking]
[Coach Rob] Do
that dance, Zane.
- Oh, nice!
- [laughter]
Yeah. Yeah.
I gotta honk for something.
I gotta get a reason.
[Coach Rob] How
the chicken look?
[Zane] We got to sauce
soon, my brother.
[intense music playing]
[Coach Langdon]
One more minute.
Breathe a little bit.
[intense music playing]
[Coach Langdon] All
right. What are we doing?
- Pray.
- Pray.
[Coach Langdon]
Pray [laughs]
[intense music playing]
[Coach Langdon] All
right. Let's go.
Where are you at?
[intense music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
- 165.
- [Coach Langdon] Yeah!
Feel like you can
breathe a little bit?
Yeah? Maybe smile
someday again?
- Maybe.
- Not yet.
Not until I get it turned in.
[Coach Langdon] Okay.
Maria, as she sauces,
if she misses any spot,
you need to let her
know, all right?
Good.
Pull off some of that extra
fluid to give it some time
to crisp up a little bit
more towards the bottom.
Good, good, good. That's
fine. That's fine.
We'll clean it later.
We don't want the
sauce to look wet.
We want it to look
glossy and shiny.
We wanna just give it
a couple extra minutes
for it to get tacky.
It's gonna do that
when it's had some time
to set in the heat.
Hey, when we come out
from dropping off Gerald,
you know what we're gonna do?
- [Emery] We're not dancing.
- Yes.
We're gonna stand
by the noodle man.
[upbeat music playing]
Hmm.
Yeah.
[Zane] Where's the
gloves? Gloves?
[man] Y'all, gotta come on.
[Zane] We have five minutes.
It's so beautiful.
Five.
Let's see.
Yup. Let's go.
[rock music playing]
[Coach Langdon] You're good.
Remember, leg to the lock.
There you go. Just like that.
- [Maria] Beautiful.
- [Coach Langdon] Nice job.
Here, come on.
[Emery] I'm feeling
relieved because I got
my chicken turned in.
But I'm also feeling
a little anxious now
'cause I hope mine was good.
I was stressed a 10 out of 10.
Probably more than that.
I'm not doing it.
I'm not doing it.
[Coach Langdon] You ready?
- [Maria] Yeah.
- [Emery] For what?
Count to three. Go.
[upbeat music playing]
Come on, Emery.
[Emery] I don't know them.
I don't know them.
[rock music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Zane] We need more
sauce, my brother.
This is this is warm.
[Coach Rob] About
to ring the bell.
Get that sauce on those ribs
and stick it back
in the smoker
for five minutes,
just to lock that
caramelization up
on those ribs.
[Coach Beasley]
You gotta cut 'em.
[triangle bell dinging]
[Coach Beasley]
Open the smoker.
Get them in there.
Come on. Let's
get it on there.
Come on, guys.
Get to it then.
Every time you say
somethin', they yappin'.
Yap, yap, yap, yap. Like
the little bitty dog.
Yap, yap [makes sound]
They're like a Chihuahua, huh?
That's all it is to talk.
They ain't got no bite to 'em.
[Coach Rob] You should
make them run laps.
You'll make them do push-ups.
I'm gonna have no team if
they're gonna run laps.
[Coach Rob] Have them
do sit-ups or somethin'.
[Coach Beasley] All right.
Let's get the table cleaned
and get it set up for slicin'.
Zane, you know you have
to get 'em meat side down
to slice 'em because
of the way the bone
[Zane] I know. I know.
I'll flip 'em over
and then cut. Yeah.
Give 'em your best self.
Five minutes left.
[intense music playing]
[Coach Rob] That's
right on the bone.
What the heck?
[Coach Beasley] Man,
that bone's weird.
Fill in between it.
Okay. Let's cut that.
[intense music playing]
- Oh, so I gotta feel around?
- Okay.
- Those are weird bones.
- Okay.
Now, start going
back that way.
[Coach Rob] Our kids
are used to doing this
St. Louis, where it has
got a lot of fat on it.
It's got a lot of meat on it.
You give them this baby back.
The meat sticks
in the bones more.
Oh, it's bristle right there.
[Coach Rob] There's
no meat on top.
There's no meat on the sides.
There's no meat in the middle.
All the meat's in
between the bones.
So if you overcook it,
it's gonna dry out
really quickly.
Still look tough.
That one looks dry.
Should be looking
at the best cuts
because that's what
you wanna take.
[intense music playing]
There you go. Good.
That was a pretty
one right there.
[Zane] I just have to
hope that it's good.
I don't know what the
judges are looking for.
Each judge has their
own taste buds.
I think I turned
in some solid ribs,
so, hoping for my first
first place overall.
[rock music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
[Coach Langdon] Hello.
Hey. No matter what,
I'm proud of you.
We learned a lot today.
And it is what it is.
[Zane] I think my
team did a good job.
But other than that,
I also learned I
hate baby back ribs.
As myself, I felt
like I handled
that situation as calmly
and as best as I could.
[indistinct chatter]
All right. Without
further ado,
we're gonna start
with dessert.
10th place dessert,
205 Pitmasters-Smoke.
Should be ticket
number 101354.
[Coach Langdon] For us,
it hasn't always been
super-cutthroat.
But now we're in year four,
we're looking to
really dial that up.
Lots on the line
for all the kiddos
if we place top
three as a team
because there's
scholarship money.
For Emery especially,
her school,
her college is willing to
match scholarship money.
So there's a little bit
extra at stake for her.
[Chuck] 10th place in Beans.
Seriously Smokin'.
[applause]
[Coach Langdon] We
wanna hear our name
called multiple times.
We wanna be one of
those powerhouses
that has those bragging
rights that when we walk in,
people are like, "Oh,
Granbury's here."
[Chuck] 6th Place Beans.
Phat's BBQ.
[cheers and applause]
[woman] 6th.
[Chuck] 101370.
Scary.
[country music playing]
[groans]
It's just like the
feeling in your stomach
that you get every
time it gets closer
and closer to your category.
And so it's just
like more pressure,
I guess, you could say.
[Chuck] All right. Yardbird.
[Emery] I'm scared.
5th Place Chicken.
Phat's BBQ.
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music playing]
[Chuck] All right.
4th Place Chicken.
205 Pitmasters-Fire.
101308. All right.
All right. 3rd Place
Chicken and a ribbon.
Seriously Smokin'.
[cheers and applause]
[Chuck] [laughs] All right.
Take these two to them.
- [Emery] Yes.
- [Chuck] Congratulations.
[Coach Langdon] We've
never even had a top five
in any meat category.
- [Chuck] 2nd Place chicken
- That was scary.
[Coach Langdon] It
gives me just chills
to talk about it and
think about it now.
I wanted that so
badly for her.
[Chuck] Piggy-piggy
ribs, here we go.
10th Place Ribs.
Decatur High School
Grill Masters.
Yeah.
I don't know. I don't
wanna be overconfident.
I don't wanna boast.
[Chuck] 5th Place
Ribs, HTX Dog Pound.
[cheers and applause]
[indistinct]
[Zane] I just think
everyone on this team
knows what a little
victory feels like.
So I just gotta kinda
hope it went as well
as it did last time.
[Chuck] All right.
3rd Place Ribs and a ribbon.
Lobo Pit Masters.
[cheers and applause]
[Chuck] 2nd Place
Ribs and a ribbon.
205 Pitmaster Q.
[cheers and applause]
[Chuck] All right.
1st Place Ribs.
Smokin' Steers.
[cheers and applause]
[Zane] Boy, they
are trippin', bro.
They are absolutely trippin'.
- It happens.
- [Coach Rob] Okay.
[Coach Beasley]
Well, we didn't place
in the top 10 at
the end of the day.
But once again,
we got baby back,
so we land outside the top 10
which was, whoo,
it's humbling.
It wasn't that first
place finish Zane used to.
So Zane got an eye-openin'
that he need to humble himself
and not say as if, "Okay,
I got this here locked."
You don't.
[Chuck] All right.
9th place in brisket.
Phat's BBQ.
[applause]
[Coach Beasley] One
aspect that I observed
doing the whole competition,
I saw their brisket,
it needed a little
bit more seasoning.
It lacked that flavor.
[Chuck] 1st place brisket.
Seriously Smokin'.
[cheering and applause]
[upbeat music playing]
Are you gonna cry?
Oh, my God.
Suck it in.
[chuckles]
[Coach Rob] Don't
you hang your head.
There's 20 teams.
Don't get discouraged.
[Chuck] All right.
3rd place overall
in the Graham
Regional Competition.
Come up and get your trophy,
and get your scholarships.
I don't think we made it.
[man] I'm gonna take
a picture of you.
Oh, yeah. You made it.
I don't think so.
[Coach Langdon] There's
thousands of dollars
in scholarship money
available to these students.
If we placed
overall top three.
Please God, please
God, please God,
please God, please God.
Please let us hear
our name called.
[suspenseful music playing]
[birds chirping]
[Chuck] Third place in
the Graham High School
Barbecue Regional.
[rock music playing]
[Chuck] Seriously Smokin'.
- [cheering and applause]
- Woo!
[woman] We all go up?
- [Coach Langdon] Yup.
- [Emery] Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Coach.
- There you go.
- Congratulations.
Congratulation. $1,500 apiece.
So 2nd place in
High School Barbecue
Graham Regional.
O.G. BBQ.
[applauding]
- [man] What a day.
- [Chuck] All right.
The Graham High School
Regional Grand Champion
is
Lobo Pitmasters!
[cheering and applause]
- [woman] Good job, guys.
- [indistinct chatter]
[Chuck] Thank you again
for coming to cooking with us.
Be safe going home.
See you next time.
[Emery] My team
got third place.
We got the scholarship.
I feel excited. Um, shocked.
[man] God's plan.
Not expecting this, but
so proud of my team.
[Coach Langdon] Finally.
Finally.
[Emery] Finally.
[Coach Langdon]
We've qualified
for the State High School
Barbecue Final in May.
This is four, like,
years of a lot of time.
And a lot of people believing
in us and investing in us,
like, monetarily,
with their knowledge.
And it's just validating.
- Oh.
- Oh.
[Coach Langdon] This
is our first team
hardware to ever bring back.
Like Mmm-hmm.
[laughter]
For four years, like, we
have worked so hard for this.
And, like, I knew, I
knew we were right there.
I knew I told
y'all this morning.
We were so close.
And I could not be
more proud of you guys.
[Emery] Suck it in.
I can't. It's impossible.
Because I'm gonna
go around the corner
and have a breakdown
in a second.
But, like, man,
what a special day.
I love y'all.
I'm really, really
proud of them.
And I think, like,
as much as they needed
this, like, I needed it too.
You get a special.
I knew if we could
execute, like,
we would bring
home some hardware.
Finally.
- [woman] Yeah.
- My precious.
[laughter]
[Zane] It is what it is.
I never wanna baby back again.
Usually that 1st place ribs
secures us a top placement.
But we didn't get it,
so it just kind of fell short.
Trying something new
for the first time.
I guess I was kind
of down to myself.
I don't know.
I don't know if that
really had a huge effect.
But I thought my
trim was good.
I thought my
seasoning was good.
Just some little setbacks.
You live, you learn.
And, you know, the judges,
you can't please everyone.
- These are the ribs.
- Okay.
"Flavors were good,
but meat was dry."
[Coach Rob] Comment cards.
Some of the feedback
is valuable.
You have to take that feedback
that the judges give you
at the end of
each competition.
And you make minor tweaks.
Don't change your
whole recipe.
You don't change
your whole turn in.
"Thought I could taste a
bit too much of the pit.
Smell and appearance
were fine,
but hard to taste the
meat and flavors."
[Coach Beasley] So let's kind
of talk about that there.
Overall, I think you did
good for what it was.
Don't get down by it.
Just keep practicing
on what you're skilled,
what you're doing, you
get better at it, okay?
[Zane] You got it, Coach.
[Coach Beasley] We'll be okay.
I thought we were
gonna be dialed in.
I was looking to
walk away with a win.
Well, I think it just took
some of the confidence
out of the kids, too.
- So that
- It brought me down.
If we're gonna try
and win it all,
they need to be consistent.
- All right, Em.
- "Good favor.
- Skin was chewy."
- [Coach Langdon] Okay.
So, I mean, right there.
You're so close
to first place.
We just got to work on
that skin a little bit.
Okay.
"Loud and proud
barbecue" on three.
One, two, three.
[all] Loud and proud barbecue!
[indistinct chatter]
Good job, Emery.
[Emery] [indistinct]
Mom, we couldn't
[Angie] Good job. I'm glad
Pops is here to see it.
[Emery] Me too.
I'm glad he got to
see me be successful.
Wish Granny could've.
Granny can.
[dramatic music playing]
[laughs] Oh, now
you're crying.
[Emery] It's because I
wish my grandma was here.
She's here.
Just in a different way.
You know?
She's here.
Hey.
We worked so hard, all right?
It's a good day.
It's a real good day.
[chuckles]
[upbeat music playing]
[Marc] I wanna see how
y'all season them first
before I season them.
[Fasicka] All right.
So my, uh, dry hand is
to get the seasoning,
and I use one hand to rub it.
[Marc] Uh, so it's kind
of like a light layer.
[Fasicka] Yeah.
[Marc] My school, they have
a class called practicum.
It's a paid internship.
There's one for engineering,
there's one for biomed,
there's one for culinary.
Culinary is usually
the most notable.
Looks swell. Not bad.
You're going to
another restaurant,
and you're working there
during school hours.
I'm like three months in.
[rock music playing]
[Fasicka] The Smoke 'N Ash BBQ
is a Texas and Ethiopian
fusion barbecue.
My husband is from Waco,
Texas and I'm from Ethiopia,
and, uh, got married
and why not marrying
the flavors too?
So here we are.
He's gonna learn so
much of, you know,
the chaos behind the
scene to bring orders out
and being organized
and also accuracy
when it comes to fulfilling
the order for the customers.
[country music playing]
[Marc] If I were to
open my own business,
I'd be able to
know how to cook.
I'd be able to know how
to work with customers.
Here you all go.
I'd be able to know how
to manage my restaurant.
Y'all enjoy.
I woke up this morning and
I, like, I couldn't move.
I woke up and I was like,
I just don't wanna get up,
like my eyes were half open.
Mmm-hmm.
I make it look like all
glitter and sparkles
whenever it comes to
owning a restaurant.
It's a lot of work.
I like being able to cook.
That's the easy part.
But then it's like,
I'm here for, like,
five to nine hours.
That's like an SAT test.
This is to go.
Okay. Well, I just
broke the box,
so
I'm already very busy.
I don't wanna be like
that my whole life.
0.25.
When I'm really old,
am I still gonna
wanna stand in a
kitchen all day?
Or am I in love with
culinary right now?
We got our brisket plate.
I'm sending this one.
You enjoy.
- [Coach Rob] Jesus' name.
- [woman] Jesus' name.
- [Coach Rob] Amen.
- Amen.
- All right.
- Amen.
So, today's lesson, James.
I love teaching.
In my church, I am one
of the associate pastors.
Part of you know my story,
why I talk about
humbleness all the time.
Growing up in the inner
city with a single mother,
seven kids and a household
was really tough.
I can remember days
with my mom counting out
the last money she had or
giving me her lunch money
so I could go on a field trip.
High school, for me, it
was not a pretty place.
Because as a kid, I
was bullied a lot.
You know, I try not to
talk about it a lot now.
But being overweight was
a hard thing growing up.
And so you don't have a
lot of friends, get to
You know, people
talk about you.
But I knew my family love me.
And so, I had to make it.
It's really
important that, um,
every cure feels
needed and wanted.
So, I think that is
one of the things we do
at our barbecue team.
They know that we will go
to the end of the earth
to care about them.
And it makes me feel
better about who I am
and what my purpose
is for being here.
[singer] ♪Take me back
♪Woah, again
Hey, hey, hey, hey,
hey, what's going on?
Welcome to Goldee's,
one of the prime
- barbecue spots around, okay?
- Oh, it's good.
[Coach Beasley] We
are so lucky y'all
to get inside Goldee's
before it opened.
These people were here,
started lining up 7:00 a.m.
This place don't
open till 11:00.
We talk about teamwork.
You're one team and not an I.
If y'all wanna win this
thing, we gotta get there.
Graham was tough.
[Coach Rob] They didn't do
as well as they should have.
[Coach Beasley] Taking a
field trip with the kids,
we want them to have a
little bit more insight
into the craft that they do.
Overall, I feel like the team
needs a little bit more work
in communication,
trust in each other,
and how to put out
a good product.
Amen.
[Coach Beasley] We're gonna let you
all hear from a different perspective,
give y'all some
different pointers
and directions to
kind of help you guys.
This is gonna be a good
learning experience.
[upbeat music playing]
[Coach Beasley] In
the barbecue world,
Goldee's, man,
they're number one.
[Coach Rob] Man, Goldee's
being ranked number one
in Texas Monthly
is a huge deal.
For a chef, it's
the equivalent
of a Michelin Star.
[Coach Beasley] People fly
in here to come to Goldee's.
That's just how crazy it is.
My name is Jalen Heard.
I'm one of the owners
at Goldee's Barbecue
and mainly my role
is to cook the meat.
There's five owners that
open up Goldee's up.
All guys I've known
since I've been
about five-years-old.
After high school, we got
into the barbecue scene.
This one person got a job
and then another person
would get a barbecue job.
And at one point,
we just realized
we can probably do
some of our own.
People go over to
Jalen at Goldee's and,
you know, want pictures
and autographs.
They come from all
over the country,
and it'll be cool to
kind of be like that and,
you know, being a tourist
throughout the country
for just being a good cook.
All right. There we go.
Y'all ready to learn today?
- [Zane] Yes, sir.
- All right.
All right. We're gonna
check out these ribs.
Here are spare ribs.
[Zane] Oh, those look good.
[Jalen] And they're getting
pretty close to being done.
[Coach Beasley] What
can give them for
as a tip on baby backs?
[Jalen] What temp are you
all cooking at right now?
[Coach Beasley] 250, 275.
[Jalen] So I'd say
maybe that first hour,
you wanna do a real
low to get that bark.
So maybe like 225 to 250.
And then after that,
I would stay at 275
all the way through.
- Okay.
- Okay.
[Coach Beasley] Each category
in High School Barbecue
has his own challenges.
The judges will always have
their own subjective
preferences.
But there are certain
gold standards
for what makes good barbecue
that we can learn and perfect.
[Zane] Those look so good.
[Coach Beasley] And
I feel like Goldee's
is gonna give us that edge.
All right. Pay attention,
guys. It's a brisket.
[Jalen] Got a seasoning.
Start with our pepper.
You wanna season pretty
high, left to right.
It really helps
out with the bark.
[Zane] That look good.
[Jalen] And also do
the sides like this.
I feel like a lot of people,
they don't season their
briskets well enough,
because briskets are huge.
They can take a lot of salt.
[Coach Sample] That's kind of
cool because some of the feedback
we've gotten from the judges
was saying that it
wasn't enough salt.
- Yeah. Under
- [Coach Rob] They always
- Yeah, we always get that
- There's not enough salt.
[Coach Rob] They always get
us on, "It's not enough salt."
I'm gonna say I've
totally never seen you
completely cover some
A brisket in seasoning.
- I've totally never seen that.
- Yeah.
[Coach Rob] I keep telling
you guys don't do it.
Did he talk smack to you?
[all] Oh!
[Coach Beasley] Walk off, man.
- [laughter]
- Damn.
[Zane] Kids and the
coaches, we kind of just
make fun of each other,
but it is all in
good faith I guess.
All right. Y'all wanna
see some fire building?
[Coach Beasley] Y'all gonna
get up there and get it.
Y'all should be running
each other over.
[Jalen] When you're building on
fire and your flame is too high,
it's gonna burn up the
meat in the chamber.
So you want them to get
really tied together.
You see how it's like burning
even faster right now?
Everything's
catching up in there.
[Zane] I see it.
[Jalen] And then when
you push them back,
push it back like that,
it's gonna slow it down.
You see how it's
kind of smoldering?
You're saying that when
they're closer together,
it kind of gives it that
more smoke than the fire?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Zane] Okay.
[Jalen] If you have a smoke
in your fire in there,
especially for an
eight-hour cook,
you gotta put some
smoke in there.
[Zane] Okay.
[singer] ♪Bi-ba-da-ba-doo
From Graham, our judge
cards said we lacked smoke.
Goldee's, they have
different techniques
on how they work their fire
to get more smoky-flavored.
[singer] ♪Bi-ba-da-ba-doo
Somebody wanna build
a fire on that pit?
- Sure. Come on. Let's go.
- [woman] Okay.
[Coach Beasley] Come
on. Diego, come on.
- Go, Diego.
- Diego, come on.
[Jalen] There we
go. There we go.
- There we go.
- [Zane] Yeah, that works.
[Coach Beasley] It's just one
of those key elements, man.
Everybody got to
know the temp.
That pit didn't run by itself.
Somebody have to fuel it.
Somebody have to maintain
the stuff that's on it,
but that's gonna take
everybody on the team.
Not just one individual.
That fire look good though.
- [laughs] I say
- [Diego] Oh, yeah.
[Jalen] the fire
The fire look good.
All right, all right,
all right, Diego.
- Diego.
- [Coach Rob] I do have a question.
How do you guys remain humble
and keeping humility about you
so that the next one
is just as good as
that what you just did?
We didn't try to
make a restaurant
like the best barbecue spot.
We just try to cook good food.
[Coach Rob] You're
cooking it with heart.
There we go. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Y'all ready to eat?
- [woman] Yes, sir.
- [Jalen] All right. Come on.
[indistinct chatter]
[Coach Beasley] I mean,
team's gotta do more
than just practice
and compete.
[Jalen] Yeah, y'all dig in.
- Y'all dig in.
- [woman] Woo-hoo.
[Coach Rob] Today, got
them really excited
about their sport,
and the most prized thing
is the light bulb moment
when they get it and go,
"Oh, I can do this."
[Zane] Phat's over here.
You're part of Phat's.
[Jalen] [chuckles] Crazy.
Oh, that's the name
of the [indistinct]
[all] Yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Jalen] Oh, we're not
just calling them fat.
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Coach Beasley] Phat's BBQ
is the one that placed second
place in State last year.
[laughs] I'll sit with y'all.
[Zane] Jalen's calm
attitude helps me, you know,
to take it more like
slow, plan ahead.
He's really humble,
really nice,
kind of taught me
how to be confident,
not c*ck.
These would put my first
place ribs to shame.
Just be patient
with my teammates
and I'm the team captain,
so I have to be the one
that has to be the leader.
Jalen has that drive.
He always wants to be better
than the previous day.
That sauce is
actually really good.
I'd drink that.
[laughs]
It's very cool and
definitely an inspiration.
[dramatic music playing]
[Marc] Things feel chaotic.
It's overwhelming for me
to figure out my future
and purpose in the world.
But being in
front of my smoker
and making really good food,
it makes me happy right now.
It feels right.
But is it where I belong
the rest of my life?
I don't know.
- What are you doing?
- What's up?
Nothing. I was
cleaning the pit.
[Rola] Okay.
[Gus] You need to go wash up.
You've got a bunch of
- [Marc] I know. I have ashes on me.
- [Gus] Dirt on you.
- Ashes and
- [Marc] I know. I was a smoker.
I got an email from
your, uh, counselor
about your college
application and all that.
Have you thought about
which one you wanna go to?
[Marc] I've kind of
settled on Texas A&M.
I wanna go to that one.
I wanna go to
the big location.
- And I wanna do a
- College Station?
- Yeah.
- You wanna move?
Yeah.
You don't wanna stay
and room with him?
- [laughs]
- [Gus] Get him out of here.
Why don't you
take him with you?
- [laughs]
- [Gus] One down, one to go.
[Michael] What did I do?
[Rola] I'm just kidding.
[Marc] But I wanna go to A&M
because they have a really
good construction program,
- you know.
- Okay.
Barbecue is a completely
different world enough
anything my family
has ever known.
My brother Michael, he's
the assistant to a GM
in a construction company.
My mom works in construction.
I wanna say it's like
"the" family thing
but I'd just say like
my mom's doing it, my
brother's doing it.
My dad's done it, right?
So it's just
I guess it is
the family thing.
But construction, it's
a very solid path.
You know I'm gonna support you
in whatever decision you make
and you don't have to decide
your career at 17 right now
because it's not like
an overnight decision
of what you wanna do,
but what made you,
like, have a change of heart?
[Marc] So honestly, it's like
a little bit of
talking with Michael,
kind of talking about what
he does with construction
and a little bit of
kind of reality honestly
because you make a lot
more money, you know,
starting with construction
than you do with culinary.
Obviously there's a lot
of money in culinary
but it's hard to achieve
unless you go viral, you know.
So basically, what I hear
from you is that you are
- money-oriented at the moment.
- Yes.
I wanna live a good life.
I wanna be able to sit
down in a nice house,
have a Have a little
deck, have a family.
[Gus] After we got married
and move back to Texas,
I think there was one
or two restaurants
that did Middle Eastern food.
And we really thought
about opening a restaurant.
The only drawback
is because it's a
seven-day business.
[Marc] Both of my parents
were born in Lebanon.
There was w*r back then
and they had to come here.
My mom was I think
like four or five.
My dad I believe was 17, 18.
He Literally my age.
They didn't speak
a word of English.
They both went to
the same college
and got married.
They couldn't provide
for themselves at first.
It took them a long time,
but look at them now.
I want to be able to provide
for myself when I'm older.
I wanna be able to
provide for my parents
when they're older and
they can't work anymore.
My plan is do
barbecue on the side,
go into construction,
and then use my
construction money
and try to just
do my side stuff.
And if my side stuff
really is successful,
then I'm gonna
continue from there.
- [Rola] Yeah.
- [Gus] Yeah, why not?
I think you should still
continue to pursue it
on the side like
you're thinking.
I think that's
very smart what
The way you're talking.
Because I see at
your competition
and it looks like you're
very passionate about it.
So I don't want you to
completely ditch that.
- [Gus] Absolutely.
- That's my plan.
Options. It's
all about options
and keeping, you
know, the doors open.
[Marc] Mmm-hmm.
Ultimately, I am
just an extension
of two other people's lives.
They've done Spent
their whole life
trying to get to
where they are now.
And I have the ability
to throw that all away.
But why would I do that?
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01x03 - David vs. Goliath
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Across Texas, teens compete in regional BBQ competitions for a shot at the state championship and scholarships.
Across Texas, teens compete in regional BBQ competitions for a shot at the state championship and scholarships.