01x04 - Backyard BBQ

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

[Jordan Andino] Do luxury ingredients
always make the best dishes,

or can humble items be transformed
into a recipe for success?

This is Cook at all Costs.

I need something. I need something.

[Jordan] With $25,000 in their bank,

three home cooks will have to bid
on all their ingredients...

I'm ready.

...in a high-stakes,
auction-packed cook-off.

-$5,000!
-Sold!

The home cooks can spend big
for the best ingredients,

save their money for the basics,
or gamble on a surprise.

Chicken hearts. [laughs]

[Jordan] In the end, the winner

will go home
with all the cash left in their bank.

[laughs] Oh, man.

[Jordan] The back pantry is home

to the hottest names
in today's culinary world.

Surprise!

[Jordan] These celebrity chefs
will prepare the mystery boxes,

ingredient temptations,
and judge the dishes.

You gotta make Mama happy.

All right, Chef, send out those boxes.

[music continues]

It's the ultimate cooking competition,

where skill meets strategy.

Let me get my buzzer fingers ready.

[Jordan] This is Cook at all Costs.

[upbeat music plays]

[sighs] Whoo!

What's up, home cooks?

[all greeting]

Jennifer, Katie, Shant.

Welcome to Cook at all Costs.
You guys ready?

[all] Yes.

So, perhaps you haven't noticed,
but there's no pantry for you.

[intriguing music plays]

Yeah.

Instead, you're gonna have to buy
all of your ingredients

using your bank of $25,000.

-[Shant] Let's go.
-[Jennifer] Wow.

-Let's go, baby.
-Ooh! All right.

In this first challenge, you'll be making
a dish in any way you like,

using ingredients that are being prepared
in our back pantry

by our guest chef and judge.

You may know her
from Netflix's Barbecue Showdown,

seven-time World Barbecue Champion,
owner of Memphis Barbecue Company,

Chef Melissa Cookston.

Oh, my goodness!

-[Jordan laughs]
-[squeals]

Chef Melissa is a barbecue icon.
Super intimidating.

[Jordan] Chef Melissa is prepping
three different ingredient boxes for you.

And with that being said,
Chef, send out those boxes.

[bluesy rock music plays]

[Katie] Oh my gosh.

-[Shant] Wow. [laughs]
-I'm freaking out. [chuckles]

[Jordan] You'll start by secretly bidding
on the three ingredient boxes

in front of you,
using your bank of $25,000.

The cook that bids highest
gets the Spend Box,

which has top-of-the-line ingredients,

sure to elevate your dish to new heights.

Okay.

The lowest bidder gets the Save Box.

It has ordinary ingredients

that you can transform
into extraordinary dishes.

And the cook with the middle bid
gets the Surprise Box.

It's got, well, surprise ingredients

meant to keep you on your toes.

[laughs]

Keep in mind, the winning cook

walks away with whatever cash
is left in their bank.

-Dope.
-Go ahead and lock in your bids now.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Jennifer] I don't want
to go crazy with the money,

but I also believe that you gotta

put a little risk out there
in order to get what you really need.

[Shant] I want to walk out of here
with a fair amount of money.

So I'm going for that Save Box

because I know I could make amazing food
with the humblest ingredients.

[tablet chimes]

[Jordan] Jennifer, let's take a look
at your bid.

$2,700. Shant.

$2,501.

Someone's going low.

Katie.

$2,501.

-Ah!
-[Jennifer] Oh.

Shant and Katie,
you both bid the same amount,

2,501,

but, Katie, you entered your bid first,

which means you get
your pick of Save or Surprise.

Let's go with the Surprise.

Oh! Adventurous.

-Why not?
-[Jordan] Okay.

Wow.

I picked Surprise because I'm ready
for the unpredictable.

[Jordan] And Shant, you get the Save Box.

That means, Jennifer,
you got the Spend Box.

Great.

You have 45 minutes
to make your best out-of-the-box dish

in any style you want.

And watch out, because more ingredients
will be coming down the line

that Chef Cookston is preparing for you

to have the opportunity to bid on.

Jennifer, Shant, Katie,

are you ready to cook at all costs?

-[all] Yes!
-[Jordan] Great.

Because your time starts now!

[aggressive music plays]

They're heavy. Watch out.

-Right behind you.
-Oh, okay.

[grunts]

Ground chicken, sherry wine,

green pigeon peas...

So I open my Save Box,

and I have ground chicken,

canned beans, sour cream,

sherry cooking wine,

and cremini mushrooms.

What am I going to make?

[sighs]

I have zero spices to work with,

and ground chicken
doesn't really scream "flavor."

Cognac, okay.

Got some type of mushrooms,

spatchcock chicken,

speaking my language here.

I got the Spend Box.

There's cinnamon top mushrooms,

mustard seeds, banana sauce,

and spatchcock chicken.

I don't regret
the Spend Box choice at all.

Okay, that is my friend.

Shant and Katie are shopping at outlets.

I'm over here on Rodeo Drive.

Apple brandy, pineapple cooking sauce.

[Katie] I am so excited
for the Surprise Box.

I'm up for the challenge.

There's some apple brandy,

hot sauce,

Greek yogurt, radicchio.

Chicken hearts! [laughs]

[screams]

What do I do with chicken hearts?

[gasps]

I have never cooked
with chicken hearts before.

I've never even eaten
or seen a chicken heart before.

Oh, my gosh.

[laughs]

Okay, boxes are open.

The Spend Box,
we have a spatchcock chicken,

which has its backbone removed
and is flattened. I like that.

Save Box, we have ground chicken.

That is truly saving, there.

And surprise, surprise,
we have some chicken hearts.

-[chuckles]
-[Jordan] Offal meats, often overlooked.

Chicken hearts, eh?

-What are you gonna do with those?
-I have never even seen a chicken heart!

-[laughing]
-I don't know what I'm gonna do.

-Gonna learn today.
-[Katie] Oh, my gosh.

There is a teeny, tiny moment
of regret with the Surprise Box,

but I'm a mom
to three beautiful, busy little girls.

So I'm in the kitchen all day.

These chicken hearts
are gonna be showed who's boss.

I'm going to coat the chicken hearts here
with some flour, salt, and pepper,

and then I'm gonna fry them up
here on the stove.

I'm going to start making
a fresh lettuce wrap using the radicchio.

Keep it fresh and keep it light.

I'll be surprising myself if it works out.

[Jennifer] Don't know
what this tastes like.

I taste the red sauce,
and it's really spicy,

but it's got a hint of sweet to it.

So I'm thinking I'm gonna throw that
into some type of marinade for my chicken.

Banana sauce, some mushrooms here.

I make crazy sauces all the time.

I'm cooking five to six nights a week
for my very big family.

I do have five children,
uh, two left at home.

My twin boys are 13,

and they eat everything all the time.

[laughs] And so,
I have to be just, like, on it.

That's actually good.

-[Shant] Hey, Jennifer!
-Hey, what's up?

You got spatchcock chicken, huh?
You know, it's gonna take some time.

-It's got bone in it.
-I know.

Spatchcock chicken takes the one thing
I don't have in this instance, time.

[sizzling]

[grunts] All right.
Chef Melissa, those boxes are crazy.

-Yes.
-[laughs] The Surprise Box.

-You put chicken hearts in there?
-Yes.

Now, I mean, how would
you approach making that?

Honey, I'm from the South.
We batter and fry everything.

-But especially hearts and livers.
-Mm-hmm, of course.

And the Spend Box, spatchcock chicken, oh!

I would grill that.

Cooks so much faster
when you spatchcock it

and you get so much flavor.

Especially because it has
so much of that flatter surface area,

you really get more crispy skin,
I find, that way.

-You do.
-And then on the Save Box...

How do you expect a home cook

to elevate ground chicken
and turn it into a winning dish?

I think... I would think
something savory, something creamy.

-And overall, what are you looking for?
-Texture and flavor.

-Of course.
-My two big things.

But don't lose your head.

Yeah. Right, Chef,
I'm gonna go look in on the home cooks.

Send out the upgrades
whenever you're ready.

Still don't know exactly
what I'm going to make, but...

hopefully it'll come together.

I'm a newlywed.

My husband and I have been married
for five months,

and we're really looking forward
to taking the honeymoon.

So when I win today,
we're going to be going all out.

[Katie] Do you guys like your boxes?

Um, I'll let you know
in about ten minutes.

-[laughs]
-Once I figure out what I'm doing with it.

Kind of freaking out a little bit
because the time's running out,

and I still have no idea

what I'm gonna be making
with that ground chicken.

But I'm Lebanese-Armenian.
I get beans, I'm gonna make hummus.

I can make hummus with my eyes closed,

and one arm tied behind my back,
jumping on one leg.

[peppy upbeat music plays]

Yeah. Okay, I can deal with that.

You can never have too much hot sauce.

I really want a spicy hit
in my lettuce wraps.

So I'm blending together the Greek yogurt

and that amazing hot sauce,

but I need something
to elevate my dish and get me the win.

[driving rock music plays]

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

Uh-oh. What's that?

Home cooks, are you ready
for your first auction?

-Sure.
-[Jennifer] Let's do it.

First item up for auction is...

onions.

One of the most versatile vegetables.

I love these,
'cause they can be sweet when cooked

and punchy when raw.

I need these onions.

They're the perfect side
to go with these lettuce wraps.

Because onions are so important,
I'm going to set the bidding at $500.

-Yes.
-Do I have $600?

-[chimes]
-Going up seven.

-$700.
-[chimes]

-Do I have eight?
-[chimes]

-Do I hear nine?
-I need it.

-Do I have 1,000?
-[chimes]

Do I have $1,200?

[chimes]

Do I have 1,500?

-[chimes]
-[Jennifer groans]

[Jordan] Do I have 1,800?

-Oh my goodness.
-$1,500 going once...

$1,500, going twice...

Sold to Katie.

That is $600 an onion.

That's some pricey onions.

[Jordan and Jennifer laugh]

Okay, next item up for auction is...

rice paper wrappers.

Are you guys trying to get fancy?
Make some nice little spring rolls.

Whether they're fried or fresh,
always delicious,

especially when we're talking
with chicken.

[Shant] That is what
I'm missing in this box.

Soon as I see those rice paper wraps,

I know that I can make
a cohesive dish now.

I'm gonna start the auction off at $500.

-500!
-$500 to Shant.

Do I have 600?

500 going once. $500 going twice.

Sold to Shant. Rice papers, $500.

-That's rice and water, everyone.
-$500.

Total game changer.
Finally, everything makes sense.

Now, it's a party.

I'm going to be making chicken wrappers

with, uh... with the rice paper.

So kind of like summer rolls.

I'm making chicken and pickled mushroom
summer roll with pigeon bean hummus.

Middle Eastern meets Vietnamese.

Let's call it a fusion dish.

The pressure is so on right now.
I don't know where the time is going.

Twenty minutes. Time is ticking away.

I'm just getting my onions prepped here
for some onion rings.

I'm getting them battered,

and then they'll be
into the fryer here really quick.

I'm making onion rings
for a little bit of crispy.

And honestly, who doesn't love
an onion ring?

And then I'm also going
to sauté these onions with mushrooms

for a sweet hit in my lettuce wraps.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

Uh-oh. I hear something coming.

[Jordan] Looks like we got
a surprise auction coming through.

-What?
-[Katie] All right!

I'm ready.

This next item up for auction
is a whole head of garlic.

It can be intense, it can be spicy,
it can be mellow, it can be sweet.

[Jennifer] I think some garlic
would just take the spatchcock chicken

completely over the top.
So the garlic is mine.

[Jordan] Could be yours
for the starting price of $1,000.

-[chimes]
-[Jordan] Do I have $1,500?

You're not outbidding me on this, dude.

-Come on!
-[Jordan] 1,000 going once.

-[growls] It's too late!
-Don't do me like that.

-1,000 going twice.
-Don't do me like that.

-Sold! To Jennifer.
-[yells]

-Nope, sold. Jennifer.
-[laughs]

$1,000 for a clove of garlic.

-Only on Cook at all Costs, baby. $1,000.
-Yeah, baby.

[Jennifer] The most expensive garlic
in the world.

Now that I have my garlic, I'm set.

I know the sauce will be okay.

This is all I needed. I'm actually going
to throw this into the sauce.

I'm going to take the chicken out,
smother my chicken with my sauce,

then I'm gonna throw it back on the grill
and braise it until it's done.

There we go.

Five minutes left. Hurry up!
This is it, finish your plates.

Hey, have you guys ever done
chicken hearts before?

Yup, they don't take that long to cook.

All right, thank you.

I'm so nervous about those chicken hearts.

I have no idea if I cooked them right.

[pulsing suspenseful music plays]

[Shant] Rice paper wrappers
are very complicated to use.

The second you let them
get a little too soft,

you gotta start over.

Aww, this isn't happening right now.

Because you're not gonna
be able to roll them,

and they're just gonna break apart on you.
But I think it came out really perfectly.

Nice.

[Jordan] One minute left, home cooks.
One minute.

-[sizzling]
-I am so concerned.

I'm down to the wire,

and I'm not quite sure
if the chicken is cooked all the way,

but I need to get it on a plate.

Oh, my gosh.

[Jordan] Thirty seconds.

You need to put your plates on the line.

Hit the red button before time runs out.

All right, you guys.
Let's bring it on home.

Let's do this!

[Jennifer] Oh, my goodness.

[Jordan] Ten, nine, eight, seven...

-[chimes]
-[Jordan] ...six, five, four...

-[both buzzers chime]
-[Jordan] ...three, two, one.

Good job, home cooks.

Oh, my God. [laughs]

Oh, my gosh.

Bye-bye, food.

I hope Chef Cookston recognizes
the amount of technique

that went into making this dish.

I feel as though I did
the best that I could

with the ingredients that I have.

Oof!

-Chef Melissa, that was intense.
-[both laugh]

All right.

I can't wait to dig in.

[Jordan] Okay, Melissa.
This is a chicken heart lettuce wrap

with a spicy Greek yogurt used as a sauce,

and crispy fried onion rings.

[driving instrumental hip-hop plays]

[crunching]

Fun fact, this home cook
has never cooked chicken hearts before.

With chicken hearts, you have
to be careful 'cause they can be so tough.

These are a really good texture,
they're nice and sultry.

And I love this sauce in here.

I'm getting savory, I'm getting sweet,
I'm getting a little acidic,

and I really like these crunchy
little onion rings they have over here.

I might have showcased
the mushrooms on top a little better.

It's a little soggy, just because
everything's sitting on top of each other.

But all in all, I think it's, uh...
It's a pretty good dish.

Chef Melissa, ready for the next one?

Absolutely.

[Jordan] Let's go.

This dish is a chicken
and pickled mushroom summer roll

with a pigeon pea hummus.

[crunching]

The pigeon peas made a beautiful hummus.

The textures of the chicken are very good,

but I'm not getting much
of a flavor profile.

I get a little bit of sweet
but don't get any salt,

any acidic, any heat.

All I got was just a touch
of sweet and then flat.

Salt and pepper can go such a long way
when used in the right amounts.

Right.

The home cook purchased
the rice wrapper here.

Do you think it was a poor investment?

The creativity of a summer roll was great!

-Mm-hmm.
-I love the idea.

It is very refreshing,

but I think maybe the execution of it
was just a little bit of lackluster.

[Jordan] Got it.

Okay, Melissa, ready for the next dish?

I am.

[Jordan] All righty.

This is a grilled spatchcock chicken

with a cinnamon mushroom cap salad.

[Melissa] Obviously,
somebody knew I was here

'cause they threw it on the grill,

and they know
I love a little kiss of fire.

[laughs]

So, this home cook was worried
that they wouldn't get a full cook.

So how did they do there?

This piece is a little bit undercooked.

Just a hair. On that piece,
they did a fantastic job.

Ah, okay.

And it's moist.
It's juicy, perfectly cooked.

This cook purchased
one single head of garlic

for $1,000.

This kind of reminds me
of an Alabama white sauce.

Ah, I see.

It's very garlic heavy,
and it's very good.

It's fantastic.

-So, Chef, do we have a round-one winner?
-I think I do.

Okay, I'll go let them know.

[tense music playing]

It's result time.

The home cook
with the best out-of-the-box dish is...

-Katie.
-[laughs]

-Oh!
-[applauding]

[Jordan laughs]

[Katie] What?! I am shocked.

Chicken hearts! I just can't believe it.

First time cooking chicken hearts?
You lie!

Home cooks,

it's time to turn up the heat
for your final challenge,

and it's inspired by Chef Melissa
in the best possible way.

Since she's a seven-time
world barbecue champ,

your final challenge is Backyard Barbecue.

-Ah, yes!
-[Shant] Hey!

You'll be using ingredients
that are being prepared

by our guest chef and judge

that'll help you make
your best barbecue dish.

[Katie] Chef Melissa
is the barbecue master!

This is really intimidating.

All right, Chef.
Send out those ingredient boxes.

[dramatic musical flourish plays]

[hard rock music playing]

[Jordan] In this round,
the boxes have set prices.

The Spend Box is $8,000,

the Save Box will cost you $4,000,

and the Surprise Box will cost you $6,000.

Katie, by winning the first round,
you've earned the power

to assign each of the ingredient boxes
to the other home cooks.

-[Jennifer scoffs]
-[laughing]

[laughs] Oh, my gosh.

Price tag included.

Oh, my gosh.

With that being said, Katie, which box
would you like to buy for yourself?

I think that the Surprise Box
served me well in the first round,

so I'm gonna take it again.

-Ooh, I like that. Okay.
-[Katie] Yeah. Let's do it.

[Jordan] Okay, Katie,
you bought the Surprise Box

and that'll cost you $6,000.

-Now, for the fun part.
-[Jennifer exclaims]

Hey, Katie, who would you like
to assign the Spend Box to?

Oh!

I think because Jennifer had
the Spend Box first,

I'm going to give you
the Spend Box this time, Shant.

I am a Type A personality.

I do not enjoy
other people spending my money for me.

I can do that myself, thank you very much.

Which means, Jennifer,
you've got the Save Box.

Yes.

Home cooks, watch out for more upgrades
coming down the line throughout the cook.

And as a reminder,
the cook with the best barbecue dish

will win all the money
that's left in their bank.

You have 60 minutes on the clock,

and the time has come again

to cook at all costs. Go!

[pulsing electronic music plays]

Oh, yes, please.

[Shant] I open my Spend Box.

I saw the Vidalia onions,

bourbon, the Worcestershire sauce,

and the ketchup.

I got the start
of a nice barbecue sauce here.

Holy!

Look how thick these things are!

These "pork chops"
are the size of my head,

but as soon as I see these ingredients,
I know I can make a winning dish.

Okay.

Tomatoes, dried apricots,

cabbage, beans.

Tofu?!

What'd you get, Katie?

[sighs]

[chuckles] I got two blocks of firm tofu.

[Shant] Oh, lovely.

I take it back. I want that box!

Shant has this dinosaur-sized pork chop
that's made for barbecuing.

And I have tofu.

I'm having serious doubts
about choosing this Surprise Box.

Surprise!

Barbecue at Jenn's house is super chill.

You got music. You have great food.

I love to throw a good barbecue.

Let's do it.

So, I open the Save Box,

and I've got shredded cabbage,

broad beans, pickle juice.

Yes, I got my steak.

Flank steak.

That is a staple in my house,
something I cook regularly.

Yeah, baby.

I'm marinating
the flank steak in the root beer,

some of the pickle juice,
and salt, and sugar, and pepper.

I'm gonna let it marinate as long as I can
and throw it right on the grill.

All right, so the proteins are out.
I see flank steak from the Save Box,

porterhouse pork chops in the Spend Box,

and the protein
for the Surprise is firm tofu.

Yep.

What's a barbecue without a protein?

So, I have to use this tofu.

We're gonna have
some barbecued tofu today.

I'm just literally gonna treat them
like little mini steaks.

With this tofu,

gonna use the red cabbage
and the raspberry vinaigrette

for a coleslaw,

and I think I'm gonna add in
those dried apricots.

And then, I'm also gonna make baked beans.

It is what it is.
We're going to go for it.

That's a lot of damn pork, man.

[sighs] All right. I need to breathe.

Right away, I know I need
to do something pretty dramatic

to these porterhouse pork chops,

because they're just not gonna cook
in the time that I have.

Sorry, pork chop, I'm cutting you up.

As a Lebanese-Armenian,
barbecue in my home is kabobs.

So I'm making
bourbon pineapple pork kabobs

on warm potato salad.

I want this pork bursting with flavor,

so I'm making a marinade
with raw onions and Worcestershire sauce,

and bourbon, and ketchup.

And I'm going to just let that sit
in the marinade for as long as I can.

Perfect, yes!

[sniffs]

Melissa, do I smell spices?

-Oh, yes.
-Are we getting spicy?

-We are getting hot.
-[laughs] What are you working on?

These are spices
that would make a great barbecue rub.

-Nice.
-Garlic powder.

Celery salt, smoked paprika,
and mustard powder.

I will say, I saw those boxes open,

and I'm like, "All right,
where's the barbecue come in?"

And now this makes sense.

-Absolutely.
-[laughs]

All right, Chef Melissa,
now talking about the boxes.

Spend Box has pretty much
everything you'd want,

and then I... I noticed in the Save Box,

there's pickle brine,
pickle juice in there.

Well, you know,
some of the best protein I've ever had

had a quick marinade with pickle juice.

Yes! The acidity is going
to help tenderize that flank steak.

Right, Chef, I look forward
to seeing what you send out.

[brash electronic music plays]

[Katie] I don't know
if that'll be firm enough.

-Name of the game's barbecue.
-I know!

Grill marks are so important on this tofu.

It's the essence of barbecue.

Oh, no. It's sticking to my grill.

[grumbles] This tofu
is just falling to pieces on me.

The tofu is lost in the grill.

There is no coming back.

This is total tofu carnage!

[whimpers]

[cheerful music plays]

[Jennifer] I am super happy about this.

I want to bring the essence
of barbecue at Jenn's house to this dish,

and you cannot have a backyard barbecue

without a side of slaw and baked beans.

For my slaw, I'm doing
something a little different.

I'm actually putting
the pickle juice in there.

It adds a little bit of that sour taste,

and I think it'll go
really good with the meat.

And then with my broad beans, I have
the tomato paste and the minced onions.

[in sing-song] This is so amazing.

But I'm definitely missing
some seasonings right now.

Are we going
to actually get spices this time?

[intense electronic music plays]

-[dramatic musical flourish plays]
-Something's happening.

Home cooks, you know what that sound is.

Wait a minute. Let me get
my buzzer fingers ready. [laughs]

These are my buzzer fingers.

See that? See that? It's quick.

All right, home cooks,
first item up for auction...

It's chicken drumsticks.

Chicken drumsticks,
a decent protein! [laughs]

I'll start the bidding
for chicken at $1,200.

-[chimes]
-$1,200 going once.

$1,200 going twice.

Sold to Katie!

-Whoo! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
-Drumsticks, $1,200.

Now that I have this chicken, the tofu,
I'm ready to kick it to the curb.

All right. Second item up
for bid is a flavor balancer,

and it's going to add some lightness
to your dish. Asparagus.

I only have beans and slaw.
I need this asparagus.

I'll start it low. $800.

-[chimes]
-$800 to Jennifer.

$800 going once. $800 going twice.

-Sold! To Jennifer for $800.
-[Jennifer] Yeah.

All right, now this one,
if you're cooking barbecue,

you have to have some barbecue spices...

-Come on.
-...up in here.

-Ooh!
-[Shant] All right, come on!

-Mustard powder, Spanish paprika...
-[Jennifer] Please, yes!

-...celery salt, and garlic powder.
-Yes!

-Yes! How much you want?
-[Jenn] Yes.

Just to spice things up, this is a buy-in,
which means there's enough for all of you.

One of these little stacks
is going to cost you $1,500.

-[Katie] Ooh!
-Buzz in to buy in.

-[chimes]
-1,500... There you go!

-Go, grab it, 15!
-Come on.

You can grab it. 1,500 for Shant.

-1,500 for Jennifer.
-Yes!

-1,500 for Katie. Go ahead.
-Yes!

Oh my gosh, I feel so much better.

[Jennifer] These spices are a staple.

They carry over into everything
from your meats to your sides.

I'm going to add
a little paprika to smoke this up.

I'm really excited about the asparagus.

I'm going to throw it in the oven
and broil it really quick.

Leave that in there for a while.

Now, it's time to get
my flank steak on the grill.

[heavy rock music playing]

[sizzling]

'Bout to start smelling
real good in here, y'all.

[Katie] All right!

Now that I have spices, I feel
like my dish is way more barbecue.

I'm going to bake those,

and then I'm gonna finish them off
on the grill.

But I know that they need barbecue sauce.

So I'm just going to toss
my cherry tomatoes in this blender.

I need some sugar,
vinegar, all those spices.

So I'm going to boil this
and let it reduce.

My sauce is good,
but it's missing that kick.

-[bangs]
-[Jordan] Home cooks. Uh-oh.

Here comes another upgrade.
Get those buzzers ready.

What could this be?

Well, let's have a look.

-Ooh!
-What?

-A gold spoon.
-What?

This spoon represents
a very valuable upgrade.

The cook with the highest bid

gets to send a taste of what you're making
back to the winningest woman in barbecue,

Chef Melissa,
and she'll offer a helpful hint.

-And maybe even an extra ingredient.
-[gasps]

That's why I'm gonna open the bidding up
for this Golden Spoon at $1,500.

Oh, my gosh.

How much help do you need?

This is a total game changer.

-Whatever. It's just money.
-[Jordan] Okay!

$1,500 going once.

-$1,500 going twice.
-[mock screams]

Sold to Katie!

Okay, Katie. Give me
a tester to send back.

I'll walk it over myself.

Okay, I think I'm gonna send
back the sauce I've started.

-Okay.
-Tell her I'm trying my best. [laughs]

-I will. I'll be right back.
-Okay.

To get feedback from Melissa,
that's priceless.

[sighs] Okay, Chef Melissa.

This is from one of the home cooks.

This is their barbecue sauce,
and they need some help. So, please.

[groovy country-rock music playing]

[clicks tongue]

The flavor is good,
but I think it needs something

to give it a balance of texture.

-Mm-hmm.
-And a little smoothness.

-Okay.
-I have just the thing.

Oh, okay!

-So...
-Okay.

-She says it needs... hot honey. All right?
-Yeah, definitely.

-Thank you.
-And then she says smooth it out more.

-Smooth it out.
-Got it?

-Cool. Good luck.
-Yeah. Thank you.

[Katie] I'm adding
the hot honey to my sauce,

which is going to be
on my barbecue chicken.

I'm just finishing up my chicken here.

I wanna get one more coat
of the barbecue sauce on it.

[Jennifer] I just want this to cook nice.

[Shant] Pork is very finicky.

The least you can have it cooked
is a medium-well.

So a tiny bit of pink inside is okay.

Still not cooked.

It is not cooked yet.

[Jordan] Five minutes left.

So I need to leave this on the grill
as long as possible.

I'm gonna need every last minute
I can on these ones.

I'm thinking to myself, "There's no way
I'm going to finish this dish in time."

[intense electronic music plays]

Moment of truth.

I spent $6,300 on my barbecue dish.

I'm really trying to figure out
how I'm gonna creatively plate this.

Coleslaw and then meat
is the biggest part.

This could absolutely be a winning dish.

Mmm! Sauce turned out really nice.

My revamped barbecue sauce, it's smoky,

and then at the end,
it's got that wonderful hit of hot honey.

Right to the last minute. [sighs]

I left my pork on the grill
until the last possible second.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

[laughing] This pork
better be cooked properly.

-[Jordan] Ten, nine, eight...
-[Shant] Whoo!

-[Jordan] ...seven, six, five...
-[chimes]

-[Jordan] ...four, three, two...
-[chimes]

-...one.
-[chimes]

Whoo!

Hot damn, y'all.

-Whoo!
-[Jennifer] Dude.

[bold instrumental hip-hop music plays]

[sighs heavily]

-Wow! That was super fun.
-[chuckles]

Well, that's barbecue, fun.

[laughs] It is. It really is.
Okay, let's do it.

First up, you have spicy barbecue chicken

with sweet slaw and home-style beans.

-And this is obviously the Surprise Box.
-Yes.

-Hmm. I don't see the tofu.
-No tofu.

So obviously, they upgraded
to the chicken drums.

Barbecue tofu,
it's tough to get that umami in,

that flavor and that hominess into it.

This is good barbecue.

-Wow! That's high praise.
-This is good barbecue.

And then this sauce is sassy just like me.

Oh, well, that's good,
because this home cook took your advice.

-And used the hot honey.
-Oh, I think it's gorgeous sauce.

-That was a really good coleslaw.
-Wow.

[Melissa] But the kidney beans
really don't work for baked beans.

-Kidney beans are very strong.
-Mm-hmm.

That's really the only flavor
that comes through in the beans.

So, chicken is the star of the show.

Chef Melissa, ready for the next dish?

Yes, sir.

Okay. In front of you,
you have a bourbon-pineapple pork kabob

over a warm potato salad.

This home cook had beautiful
porterhouse pork chops.

Do you think a kabob
was the right play there?

When you kabob them, it's hard
to maintain an internal temperature

that's consistent all the way across.

-Of course.
-That's my main concern.

[instrumental hip-hop music continues]

Love the flavor of the pork,
and, uh, the pork is so tender.

The sauce was very good as well.

It complements the pork
instead of overpowering the pork,

and I taste the spice buy-in,

but I'm just not picking up

a whole lot of seasoning
in the potato salad.

-Are you ready for the next?
-I am.

[Jordan] All right.

This is a root beer-marinated flank steak

with pickle juice coleslaw
and baked beans.

[Melissa] Okay, so this slaw...

This pickle juice-based coleslaw,
first time I've ever had it.

Pretty good.

-A check on the ingenuity right there.
-Yeah, creativity.

[laughs]

The beans have multiple textures going on,
which I kind of like.

And I see that they upgraded
and bought some asparagus.

It is some good asparagus,
and let's check out this flank steak.

It's very tender,
but I'm not really tasting seasoning.

I don't think they made
the most of the spice buy-in.

-Mm-hmm.
-Just need a little bit more flavor.

Chef Melissa, you've sampled
all of these dishes.

Do you think you have
a barbecue champion of your own?

I do.

[driving music plays]

[Jordan] All right,
time to win some money.

Home cooks, it's time to find out
who smoked the competition

and is walking away with all the money

remaining in their bank.

But first, let me introduce you
to our guest chef and judge,

the one and only Chef Melissa Cookston.

-[Shant] Nice.
-[Jennifer] Oh!

-Hey.
-Oh, my gosh!

[all applaud and laugh]

-Hello, home cooks.
-Hi.

-Hello.
-[Jennifer] Hi!

Okay, let's get to the results.

[bold suspenseful music plays]

Which home cook
made the spicy barbecue chicken?

I did.

[Melissa] So the chicken drumstick
was grilled to perfection,

and your sauce was nice and smoky.

But you could've done more with the beans.

Yeah.

Who made the bourbon-pineapple
pork kabobs?

Your pork kabob was tender,
but the potato salad was underseasoned.

And, Jennifer, I assume
you made the flank steak and slaw.

-Yes. [chuckles]
-Your coleslaw was the star of your plate.

But the flank steak
should've been the star.

Katie, you have $10,799
remaining in your bank.

Shant, you have $12,499.

And Jennifer, you have the largest amount,

with $15,000 remaining in your bank.

Now it's time to find out who is truly
the backyard barbecue champion.

The home cook with the best dish is...

[suspenseful music continues]

Katie.

-[Jennifer] Katie! [laughs]
-[all applaud]

[Katie sniffles]

[Jordan] Let it out, girl! You did it!

-[Shant] Good job, Katie.
-How does it feel?

-Really good.
-Where's the emotion coming from?

I'm just really excited
to tell my girls when I get home.

-Yes! I love that.
-[all applaud]

[Katie] So excited,
to not just tell my little girls,

but to be able to show them
that they can chase their wildest dreams.

[Melissa] Katie, it's not easy

to take very difficult ingredients

and make something wonderful out of them,

and you did that.

Well, Katie, congratulations
because you've now won $10,799.

-[Katie laughs]
-You've proved you can cook at all costs.

Good job.

Thank you.

I gave it everything that I had,
and that, I can't put a price on.

And not just that,

but to have a barbecue champion
taste my food.

You know what?

I'm proud of myself.

[Shant] I am 100% proud
of the dish that I served.

I feel so accomplished.

[Katie] I'm taking home the knowledge
that I can take those humble ingredients,

put a twist on them,
and elevate them to something unexpected.

[high-energy dance music plays]