01x05 - Journey to the State Championship

[bunniefuu]

[Cami] I cook the dessert

on our team.

My dessert always makes

at least fifth place

or higher because

it tastes great.

I am concerned about the color

bleeding.

[announcer] First place,

dessert

Overtime BBQ.

Oh, my God!

"No presentation design,

exclamation point."

[Cami] To be able to get

that first place

at State, I need to work

on my presentation.

[Langdon] Leg to the lock.

There you go. Here, come on.

[announcer] Third place in the

Graham High School

Barbecue Regional,

-Seriously Smokin'!

-[cheering]

Bethel College has said that

they would match

any scholarship that I got.

I am going to college

for construction management.

But at the same time,

I'm gonna start my own

business and a side hustle,

Habibi Barbecue.

All right, y'all,

let's dig in!

[cow mooing]

Yeah! We're excited.

We're gonna go learn.

Try some amazing barbecue

in Lockhart,

the barbecue capital of Texas.

My kids have been

working really hard,

preparing for the

State Championships

that are coming up soon.

I thought it would be

really cool to have

a fun little road trip.

Three-hour drive

down from Granbury.

We've drove by a few areas and

we've already seen

a bunch of barbeque areas

like Black's Barbecue.

We're pulling into town now,

it's gonna be a fun time. Yay!

There's not any

expectation other than getting

to have some time together,

maybe learn a little bit

and just enjoy

really good food

because they're teenagers

and teenagers love food.

[Emery] Their sign's

really cute!

I like it.

[Langdon] I love it.

The line starts here, I wonder

how often they have the line

all the way around.

Anybody that knows anything

about barbecue in Texas,

knows that if you want

the best in Texas,

you've got to go to Lockhart.

I thought Barb's

was just perfect.

-Hey, y'all.

-[all] Hey!

-[Langdon] How's it going?

-Welcome to Barb's.

[Langdon] We're excited

to be here.

Thank you so much

for having us.

This is Chuck, everybody.

Hi, y'all. Nice to meet y'all.

Let me give y'all

a little tour.

All right. That sounds great.

The restaurant. [chuckles]

I'm the owner and pitmaster

at Barb's BQ.

We've been open

for about eight months now.

This is my baby.

The first one.

People line up this way.

[Langdon] About how many

people are y'all feeding

on weekends?

[Chuck] Close to 150 to 200.

[Langdon] Chuck is nominated

for a James Beard.

It's a very coveted,

prestigious award.

In the food world, there's not

a ton of professional women

on the barbecue circuit.

There are some out there

that are k*lling it.

[Chuck] This is our

one room kitchen.

[Langdon] Getting

to learn from her

and the kids getting

a different glimpse

into what a future

could be like,

I'm really excited for 'em.

And then we have the smokers

are 1000 gallons.

[Emery] That's crazy.

[Chuck]

But, yeah, we pretty much do

everything on this one.

So how do you figure out

like temperatures

and what to put where

since you're running

everything on one pit?

So it's all sort of like by

what takes the longest first.

Brisket, pork ribs,

and then the short cooks,

turkeys, lamb chops, sausage.

[Chuck] I'm 25

and when I first started,

there was all these barriers.

And in a smokehouse,

you would just see men

working the pits.

It took a lot of years

to get here.

It feels really good to have

the opportunity to welcome

young people in

and let them know that

their dreams are possible.

So this is the firebox.

Have y'all cooked on a big

smoker like this before?

No, no, absolutely.

It's cool because

y'all are doing,

like, using a smaller smoker,

is ten times harder

than using this.

So if you decide to work

at a barbeque restaurant

and then you start using this,

you're going to be like,

-oh, my gosh, this is so--

-Why are they different?

[Chuck]

It's just easier to control

because it's bigger.

So when you build a fire,

the temperature

is maintained for like,

30 minutes, 45 minutes.

You're not messing around

with it so much.

All right. I think

we should go.

I can give y'all

a little training 'cause

right at 10:50,

we're going to get nervous,

and we're just going to get

ready to go through service.

Do you still get nervous

every time?

Yes.

See, I'm not the only one

that gets nervous.

I guess, Ms. Langdon.

[Emery] I'm feeling

pretty excited.

I think it's gonna be cool

to get to see,

like the experience

of how to do a restaurant

and like how to run it.

My plan for college is to

study business and finance,

And then after that,

my ultimate goal in life

is to open my own

barbecue restaurant

and name it Sandra's,

after my grandmother,

and just get to show people

who I am and what I can make

and my potential.

Seeing that it's women ran,

it's pretty awesome to me.

This gives me

a boost of confidence

in just seeing how many people

are lined up right now,

it's crazy just to think

that this could be me one day.

[Chuck] On the menu, we have

brisket, pork ribs and turkey,

lamb chops, sausage.

I always like

to cut brisket first.

For the lean,

sort of like thinner cuts.

For the fatty,

a lot thicker.

It's the money bites, right?

[chuckles]

That's really good.

I like the peppery-ness

that I got with it.

Pork ribs.

With meats, the more pepper

you add, then the more

color it will get.

So with chicken, with turkey,

If you do so much pepper,

then it'll get black and

you don't really want that.

Brisket and beef ribs

are the things that

have the most pepper.

I'll start service.

Where are you

coming from today?

-[customer] Austin.

-[Chuck] Austin. Thank you

so much for coming.

Four sandos!

For the sando, I like

to do pickles and onions.

All right. So I just

put those on right now?

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-[Emery] Would you put four?

-[Chuck] Yeah.

And once I put it on the bun,

do just like a little drizzle.

Not a little drizzle,

that was not a little drizzle.

[Chuck] All right.

Any pork ribs?

Two pounds.

So these are tough to cut

cause they have that bone,

and then they have a

smaller bone right there.

So you kind of have to

wiggle the knife.

Would y'all feel good

zesting the ribs?

-I can zest if you want me to.

-Okay.

Lightly tap that, and you

want to get it, like, evenly.

And then two sausages.

Was that a pound?

-[customer] Yes.

-[Chuck] All right.

A pound, brisket.

[Emery] So how do you

handle the pressure?

You get used to it.

You sort of become addicted

to the pressure of it.

All righty. Two pounds.

-[customer] Thank you.

-[Chuck] Thank you.

Quarter pound, turkey.

[Langdon] Is there a reason

you have turkey

and not chicken?

In my opinion, chicken is

the hardest thing to do.

It's the, out of all

the meats, for consistency,

'cause it's it could be

a fast cook.

-Yeah.

-[Chuck] And then crispy skin.

So I think that's

the biggest challenge

of a barbecue with chicken.

Would you agree, Em?

I think the thing that

we're trying to improve on

the most is our skill.

-[Chuck] When's

the final competition?

-[Langdon] State is May 4th.

-It ought to be interesting

and exciting.

-[Chuck] How do you feel?

Yeah. How do y'all feel?

I feel excited because

now I can try to

critique little things

and fix it before

we go to State.

Every week that you cook,

you really do improve and

find ways to do things

a little bit better.

I've been working on

getting my skin on my chicken

very crispy,

for I don't even know how long

it's been like,

one to two years.

I've been trying

so many different techniques.

I've been trying

different ways,

and I still cannot get it.

So do you know

how to get the skin crispy

on the chicken?

There's little things

that you can do, but

ultimately it's sort of like

it has to hit a very high

temperature at a certain point

for it to crisp up.

[Langdon] Would that be

at the beginning

or at the end of the cook?

At the end.

That looks so gorgeous.

Thank you. All right,

let's go. Let's go eat.

The turkey is like,

my gosh, that's amazing.

I can eat like that

the rest of my life.

Rice in it is so fluffy

and it just like soaks up

all the flavor that's in it.

I just like, wanted to cry

because I could

see it in their eyes

that they love

barbecue so much.

The restaurant world

is stressful.

But at the end of the day,

you are able to create so much

and be a flavor scientist.

Yeah, yeah, yes.

[Langdon] As we get thinking

more geared towards State,

I hope that one of the things

y'all get out of today

is her heart and willingness

to work and her drive

and all of that.

Hopefully, it's something

that translates to y'all

to what it takes to actually

be successful

and to win, you know.

For me to be able to bring

the kids here

is really important

because I want them to be

their best versions

of themselves,

that they can be

and when they get

to come somewhere like this,

they get to see somebody

that has worked so hard.

And had success but it's not

been without trial and error.

It's a wonderful way to keep

us motivated and excited

for State.

[Shelley] You need to try on

your cap and gown,

make sure that

everything is right.

Are you ready for all that?

Yeah, I'm ready

to get a haircut.

Aw. Look.

-[Wes] My baby boy.

-[Shelley] So cute.

Ready to graduate.

Been ready.

[Wes] Since?

Since birth.

it was hard deciding

between going straight

into the restaurant industry

or culinary school.

I chose Johnson & Wales

because something

that interests me more,

you know, I can kind of work

at different restaurants

as opposed to just one style.

You know, just planning

for the next

hopefully, 60 years of life.

There was definitely a little,

you know, relief off of me.

This is like those girls

who, like

-Twirl their hair?

-Yeah.

We'll have to get you some

nice clothes for graduation.

I'm gonna wear

shorts on graduation, too.

[Wes] You're not

wearing crocs.

-[Zane] Says who?

-[Wes] Me.

Figured you'd wear

cowboy boots.

Then you'd really be hot.

[laughs]

Are you ready? Go Wildcats!

You know, I'm just looking

forward to just life, I guess.

I get to, you know,

finally experience freedom.

Not under the supervision

of an adult.

[whispers] My parents.

We're a very close family.

Don't do that, don't do that.

[Wes] Zane,

I can't believe it.

-[Shelley] We're proud of you.

-[Zane] Ow, my neck.

Almost 18, graduating.

I'm proud of you, son.

I know.

Leaving home is fun

to think about.

But like when it actually

happens it's gonna be

pretty hard and tough,

You can't go to Charlotte.

You can't leave me

behind here by myself.

My grand plans for

the end of the year

are winning first place

in state of Texas

at the competition.

You know, send me off

on a high note.

I've been baking

for the last three hours.

Out in Waco,

I wasn't really that proud

of the presentation

that we had turned in.

The cake did not

look that fabulous,

so I'm hoping

to elevate the cake

and improve the appearance.

You know, we could

literally go anywhere

and just sell cakes on the

street with our portable oven.

I would be lying if I said

I hadn't thought about it

[Goodman]

Portable ingredients, yeah.

-[Goodman] We have made it.

-Hey.

[Goodman]

To Scratch Catering.

-I'm Cami, nice to meet you.

-I'm Ted.

[indistinct conversation]

Welcome to Scratch.

Anything you guys need.

Just let me know.

I'm gonna take you back.

Introduce you to Judy.

Y'all come on back.

[Cami] Awesome! Thank you.

[Goodman] Scratch Catering's

been around

Southlake for a while.

They do some pretty

elaborate spreads and,

more noticeably, desserts.

And so when we started

thinking about

where can we go

for specifically our dessert?

Come to Scratch Catering.

Yeah. It's a working kitchen,

that's for sure.

[Cami] Oh, my.

Yeah, I love it.

The big thing we have

here at Caroll is sports.

We didn't really

have culinary arts.

I said, hey, I think some kids

would really enjoy cooking.

I enjoy cooking.

My wife will even tell you

she hasn't cooked anything

in about 30 years.

And that's where

I kind of came up

with wanting to start

this barbecue team

three years ago.

So far as the

commitment involved,

it is extensive.

Once you see results,

every now and then

that makes your kids light up,

it's worth it and that's kinda

what keeps me going.

[Ted] Cami,

this is my wife, Judy.

-Hello.

-Judy, this is Cami.

-Hi. So nice to meet to you.

-Nice to meet you, Judy.

I don't know anything

about baking.

But if I can't

teach you how to do it,

I'll find someone who can.

Well, you're in great hands

with Judy.

Her creativity

is just above board.

So if you need anything,

let me know.

So, Judy, I would say I mostly

need help with the aesthetics

of the cake.

That really matters for State

because these kids

are bringing it.

I have six different cakes.

-Three in each box.

-[Judy] Oh, wow.

[Cami] This morning,

I spent a couple hours

trying out different

recipes to go ahead

and show Judy different ideas

of what I was thinking.

So I made a cake without any

maraschino cherries,

with cherries.

The way we turned in in State

last year and kind of

a base model

for what we started with

and where we're going.

And obviously get her input

and what she thinks is best.

All right, we're ready

for the dumps.

Cami has been Top 10, Top 5

for three years with this

but State Championships,

it's hard, I mean,

it's 100 teams that she's

got to compete against.

We do get comment cards

when it comes out.

"The cake was light and moist,

but the fruit bled

into the cake,

presentation could be better."

That's where we are.

[Judy] It's one of those

things that you taste

with your eyes first.

[Cami] Yes.

So we can jazz it up a bit

and make it look

a little bit prettier.

Awesome. Yeah. Okay.

That is what

I turned in last time.

The pineapple moved around.

Cherries are bleeding

because there's

more restrictions.

And they said, you know,

no canned pineapple,

no canned cherries.

You can make a homemade recipe

of maraschino cherries.

So she's got three hours.

So is this like doing

a quick pickle maybe?

[Judy] It's similar to that

because it's basically

a couple of ingredients

You out it in the pot, and you

simmer it 10 or 15 minutes.

That would be great. I would

love to see if we could do

a homemade maraschino cherry.

It would be less bleeding and

also adding them at the end,

it'll just be a cleaner

finished look to it.

So do we want to start

playing with these

and get the whipped cream out?

-[Goodman] Yes.

-[Cami] Yeah. Yes!

Uh,

I have three different types,

the whipped cream.

That is a confection

sugar frosting,

a bit of pineapple chunk,

confection, sugar and butter.

And then this, that--

That looks like it--

Yeah. That looks separated.

Yeah.

[Judy] Pineapple juice

is very acidic.

Could be that too much acid

with the dairy.

made a breakup.

Okay, so we're just not

even going to touch that.

So let's work with this.

This is whipped cream.

So it's the heavy whipping

cream and powdered sugar.

-Okay.

-So very simple.

On top of this.

[Cami] See, if that was

my whipped cream, it would've

fallen out of the bag.

[Goodman] Oh, my goodness.

She's already going there.

[Cami] Wow, that already looks

so much better.

-[Judy] What I think,

with the stem

-[Cami] With the stem.

I wouldn't be bothered to even

use a pitted, fresh cherry.

I could pit out the bottom and

keep the stem on

instead of baking it in.

That looks fabulous.

-[Judy] But wait.

-[Cami] She said, "But wait."

[Goodman] But wait.

There's more. Good grief.

[Cami] A little mint?

It's fresh. It's natural.

It adds a pop of color.

-I love it.

-Very cute.

[Judy] And lemon brings out

the sweetness of anything.

[Cami] Mm hmm.

That's too cute.

[Judy] You just need

to start playing, girl.

[Cami] You're right.

And I mean it. It smells

better with the lemon.

It looks better with the mint.

[Judy] Yeah.

[Cami]

Every year people get better.

And every year

people are throwing

new things into their recipes.

And I have to, as well.

I'm gonna go ahead and utilize

everything I've learned.

Because that's gonna bring out

all that sweetness

and my gosh, I never even

thought of that.

I know. We never thought

about any of this.

[Goodman] For State,

Cami has three hours

to do everything

we have learned today.

She's gonna have to

practice mapping that out.

-Cute.

-I'm gonna add

a little bit of lemon.

[Goodman] This is

her senior year.

This is her last time

to cook with her team.

If she comes in,

absolutely laser focused

and really pays attention

to the details.

I think she's going

to do it this year.

That definitely takes it up

a level or three.

You turned this in

last year at State

and got 11th overall.

[Cami] That is what

I turned in to State.

[Goodman] If you turn in this,

that's a trophy to me,

that's a trophy.

[Judy] Good job, girl. Yay!

Stop. This is all you.

This is all you.

I am super

confident for State.

I think the cakes look great.

So at State, I really want

to do better

than I've ever done before.

I got 11th in dessert at

last year's state competition,

this year, I'm hoping

to make top ten

because I want to have

some bragging rights

in order for my school

to start taking the barbecue

team seriously.

You're the best.

Seriously, thank you so much.

Well, it was so fun

working with you,

and you're just a joy.

And we wish you

the best of luck.

[Cami] Thank you.

[Goodman] All right.

Do we eat cake now?

[Judy] Let's eat cake.

That's what it's all about.

Okay, y'all, Let's go!

Let's go! Let's roll!

Let's roll! Let's roll!

Let's roll!

It's my last practice

as a senior.

We are currently starting

behind and the clock, y'all.

Today is our last practice

before State.

And you know, if we're gonna

win State, we've got to

get the brisket right,

first and foremost.

Y'all should

notice her by now.

All right, now, tuck it.

We're gonna have a class

all next week.

You know, we don't have

that many briskets.

No, no, no, no.

We don't use brisket.

We're gonna use bricks.

Eighth place brisket,

Phat's Barbecue.

[Beasley] That

was ours to win.

And I think we

dropped the ball.

We've got to be better

at how we wrap things.

Brisket, ribs.

It's something that is needed.

So we're going

to practice that today.

Chancy chose to go do bowling,

which is his passion.

With him moving off to do that

Zane stepped up.

Zane will do both

brisket and ribs.

[Zane] Chancy's leaving.

It is annoying, yes, but

nothing that we can't handle.

We always, you know,

adapt and overcome.

[Beasley] Every team member

has a role.

And there should be a backup

to each individual role.

Whether I have you

on beans, dessert.

If you get sick, go down,

somebody else

have to step up

and finish that product.

That's the whole point

of cross training

everybody to do everything.

Guys. Do we have a walk-in

freezer full of briskets?

No.

What you see here is this

is your brisket for the day.

This is what you'll wrap.

It's time to step up, guys,

and I know we can

win this thing.

But y'all got to come on

and bring it.

-[chanting] One team!

-[chanting] One dream!

[all] Whoo!

-Let's go.

-Let's go.

[Zane] It's been a long year.

I feel like as a leader,

I've gotten to expand

that horizon of my expertise.

Doing brisket plus the ribs

is definitely gonna be

a little more stressful

than what I'm used to.

But I kind of like the stress,

the intensities.

It's definitely something

that my competitive side

is craving.

[Beasley] Let's go.

Y'all better come on.

The pressure

gets me motivated.

Yeah, baby,

that's my brisket paper.

Okay, guys, if you want

to cook something,

it's got to be snug.

So you want to wrap it tight

like it's a baby.

A baby in a blanket.

And as it heats up, you want

it to continue to break down

those muscles of the meat,

so it can get tender.

[Zane] You want the wrapping

to be super tight

because If it's not

tight enough,

then the muscle fibers

won't break down

and the tissue

won't break down.

The meat will be more stiff

and if it's tight,

it breaks down better.

And doesn't allow air pockets,

and so you can get tender

and flavorful meat.

[Beasley] As you go,

pull back.

That's what I expect,

tight as possible.

Back on the smoker it goes.

I'm depending

on you guys to do it right,

so that you're cook time

is what your cook time

should be.

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

[Zane] There you go.

You've seen me do it

a dozen times.

There you go, you don't want

to hold it underneath you

because you wanna pick it up.

See, Caitlin's doing it right,

she's seen me do it.

There, place it underneath

[Beasley] Diego, you are

so loose, it's gonna fall out

when you

remove it off the pit.

It's imperative

that you wrap it tight.

Don't leave that

air pocket in there.

Next team. Let's go, let's go!

[Zane] Winning State

Championship

would be a huge milestone.

Second place last year.

First place this year.

That's leaving

Phat's Barbecue

off on a good note

and hopefully, build momentum

for them to become,

you know, The Barbecue

of the state.

That's my goal is for them

to become notorious.

Nice and tight, like a baby.

[Beasley] Unwrap it.

We're gonna go with foil.

Change up.

Change up.

Change up.

Let's go.

Butcher's paper is just

an insulation blanket,

so we don't lose the bark.

Versus foil, it's basically

a convection oven.

At that point, you could crank

your pit up

and go hot and fast.

Just go.

Diego, take your time.

Make it look nice and neat.

Ransom. You're looking

marvelous.

You're making Diego

look like a baby

trying to learn how to walk.

Let's go.

[Diego] That was funny.

[Zane] It's fine. It's fine.

It's about the recovery.

That looks better, Diego.

There you go.

Back on the smoker you go.

Great job, Zane.

Great job, Ransom.

Good recovery, Diego.

If you don't hit your brisket

a few times,

it's not a real brisket.

I'm gonna miss getting

yelled at by Sergeant Coach

Paul Beasley every day.

I don't yell.

-[Zane laughs]

-I just demand excellence.

That Zane is just

one of a kind.

He can't be duplicated.

So I don't think nobody could

pick up where he left off.

Coach.

[Beasley] It is tough love,

and the kids understand

that we care about them.

-That we love them.

-Yeah. I think they do.

But it's just

that competitive edge

of a coach to want to win and

see these kids be victorious.

Any final words

for our senior, Zane?

-You gold.

-Yeah.

Now, I'm gonna tell Zane,

just because this is

your last competition,

you ain't gonna go

and be no slouch.

-I'm trying to win first.

-Ain't gonna be

no slump.

You're gonna go

and you're gonna lead.

I want you to be commander.

"Hey, guys, let's get it.

Let's get it done."

Okay.

Zane's biggest challenge

is time management.

You got the two biggest meats,

so with that,

Zane's gotta be

mentally, mentally focused

at State.

-[chanting] One team!

-[chanting] One dream!

[all] Whoo!

Get out.

Brotherly love.

Hey, beautiful.

Ooh, exciting day.

[Emery] I know.

Congratulations.

[Emery] Thank you.

We are at my signing day.

I'm feeling very nervous,

and I'm also excited, though.

Signing day is me

signing with the school

that I've decided to go to

and saying, like,

"Hey, I'm going to go

play soccer here."

It is a big deal because

it shows that you're going

to do big things in life,

like you're going to play

a college sport.

That's a pretty big deal.

Okay, so.

I had such a fun time

at McMurry,

and I met all the girls I met

who I was going with.

Then we went to practice.

Took some media day pictures.

[whispering] They're so cute.

This is making me

very nervous.

I'm gonna turn around.

I'm very blessed to have

my family, my friends, to come

watch things like that.

I will be the first person

in my family to graduate from

a four-year college.

And that is a big deal,

and I'm excited

for that milestone.

[man on mic]

The next one we're going

to introduce today

is going to continue

her soccer career

at McMurry University

in Abilene.

Everybody, give it up

for Emery Kirby.

[cheering]

Are all of your

soccer teammates,

maybe who you've met

so far at McMurry,

are they gonna expect some

smoked brisket and chicken

before or after games

on the weekend?

Definitely the coaches.

They've been talking

to me about it.

And they're like,

my gosh, that's so cool.

We need to get you

to do it for us.

And they, like, even showed me

a grill they had out there.

And they're like, you can

use this anytime you want.

Make it for us.

Whatever you want to do,

So for sure.

All right!

High school barbecue isn't

just about bragging rights.

It teaches you

how to adjust with pressure.

My confidence

has improved a ton.

It makes me feel like I've

accomplished something.

[man on microphone]

Pick up your pen.

And sign to commit your future

career at McMurry University.

[Emery] I've been accepted to

Bethel and McMurry.

After I got accepted

at both schools, I just came

into like, a lot of thinking.

There was a bunch

of different factors

that went in with McMurry.

I got a $17,000 scholarship

for soccer, and instead

of being six hours away

from my family,

I decided to be two,

just because

it's a lot closer to home.

I don't think I can leave

my family just because

I love them so much.

I'll only be 30 minutes

away from Pop.

So we went down to his house

a few weekends ago

and he told me that I can just

make the back bedroom

and decorate it

however I want to, and I can

just come see him

whenever I want to, so.

Made me cry a little bit.

I believe that she realizes

what family means to her,

and she's family driven,

she knows and down to the core

that's who she is.

[whimpers]

Emotional.

So excited!

[Angie] I'm extremely

proud of her.

You have to go back

and put yourself

in the shoes at that age,

and she's a lot more

responsible and a lot more

driven than I was.

I look around and I see

all these people

that are here for you.

-Yeah.

-It's hard to leave it

when you have that.

-[indistinct

background chatter]

-It's pretty awesome.

I know.

-That's why you're

gonna make me cry.

-I know.

It's hard because

I'm so excited for her.

But, like, every day,

like, she's like my little

my person at school.

So, that's hard. But

It's okay. It's good.

Happy tears.

I feel like you're such

good role models

for my girls,

and I appreciate that.

Did you know,

Harper thinks, like,

you're, like,

just like Taylor Swift

and you.

And then, maybe,

like, I don't know, Jesus,

maybe up here, I'm not sure.

But, like, Emery is like,

right there.

So, thank you for that.

Okay. I've definitely

ruined my makeup.

Huh. Same.

It feels crazy and surreal

just because, like,

I know I just did that.

But I'm like, "Did I

just do that?"

Like, "Did I do that? Really?"

I definitely don't think

that my success is over.

It's time for me

to fully devote all

of my attention to barbecue.

I still want

to walk the stage at State.

I'm ready to go

and compete, and win.

You all right over there?

Holy

Sheesh!

Dude, it's like,

it's seriously raining

out here.

My goal for this practice

is getting our team

ready for anything.

Because we don't know

what State's gonna bring.

I don't know if

it's gonna be rainy, it's

gonna be windy or whatnot.

So, just the team needs

to know how to work together

in all types of conditions.

-Y'all, I'm keeping

the sanitizer on the top rack.

-[men] Got it.

Weather affects

the barbecue a lot.

There's more humidity.

It's gonna cool down

the smoker a lot just

because it's making it wet.

If it's cold outside,

then you're gonna have to use

a lot more fuel in your fire.

Coincidentally, State

is notorious for having

very bad weather.

State, last year,

it was windy.

They set up the tents

and they blew away.

State before that,

it was pouring rain.

[Brysen] All right, let's

check this fire and see

how pearly it's looking.

[man squeals]

It's howling!

[Marc] Fire sounds amazing.

This fire is gonna

get super, super hot.

It's gonna get

super, super good.

And we're gonna have

super, super good food.

Mm-hmm. Let's go.

Are those cookies up?

All right. Good deal.

I'd say I'm in

a pretty good space right now

with Habibi barbecue.

I'm planning on making a menu

and putting it on my website

so people can order stuff.

But right now, I'm really

just worried about State.

And if I do good,

it's like I can tell people,

"Hey, I had the best ribs

in State." Now, people

are gonna want my food.

It just pushes my name

out there to the point

to where

everybody's hearing about it.

Everybody's gonna want it.

I know we didn't really get

to talk about what happened

in Southlake, right?

I can barely

remember Southlake.

-I remember Southlake.

-And it just turned out

not that good.

[Coach A] So, that was

one of the main things

for Southlake,

was obviously

a lack of flavor.

I need you

to get y'all's stuff together.

I know this is your

last practice before State.

Take this serious, all right?

-Yeah.

-Got it.

I want them

to feel that pressure.

I want them to feel

like, "Hey, we're at

a real competition."

This is the point where

we actually have to go back

and fix all the mistakes

that we did during regionals.

[indistinct background

chatter]

-How's your

chicken looking boss?

-It looks pretty good.

At Southlake, all the judges,

they liked the ribs,

obviously,

because I got third place.

[announcer] Third place

in ribs.

[cheering, applause]

But they said

I needed more smoke

and I needed more pepper.

So, what I did was,

I took my normal

rack of ribs,

and I did a layer

of coarse black pepper

just so I can get that

nice bark coming in.

And I did then

my layer of my normal rub.

But it does have

double the peppering.

I got a new method

coming out, y'all

that should be

nice and barky.

My ribs, they have

a wonderful bark.

For my changes,

I'm feeling pretty confident.

[Coach A] Let's make sure

to watch the tenderness

of it so we don't overcook it.

Our ribs need to be perfect.

We need to work

on cooking them

to the perfection

that we're looking for,

not under or way too over,

but we're trying to get

more in the middle

to make sure that

during State,

we, you know, execute,

and hopefully come out on top.

[Marc] I have about

five minutes to cook.

Um, just cook off that glaze.

I'm seeing some

great color on these ribs.

I'm praying that this bark

is nice when I flip it.

[man] All right.

Let's give it a flipper.

What am I, a penguin?

A "flipper," get it?

-Oh, yeah,

that's a money rib!

-[man squeals]

If you look at this team,

we're like working gears,

you know, we're

a well-oiled machine.

-Let's get it in the smoker.

-Somebody open the door.

We're working together,

and it's really nice to have

some people

that you're friends with.

[laughs] We're all

out of sync, bro.

[laughs] Yo, whose

hands are cold?

That's the best part,

honestly. A lot of fun.

Chilling out the fire

with Nate, and Brysen,

and Damien.

It's my last time.

But look at these.

Okay. Oh, my

-Yo, is this

-Sheesh

I seriously think the rib game

leveled up right here.

Look at the peppery-ness

on these ribs, and they're

not coming off.

-It's sticking to it.

I got what I wanted today.

-Sheesh.

That's impressive. Okay.

I think I made

a really good rack.

Are you ready?

Clink!

That's fire.

[Marc] Get in here.

I need your opinion.

I like to bark on there.

I think it might be

a little too much pepper.

So, I think I'm not gonna

add the double pepper

to the classic seasoning.

And I'm only gonna add

as another layer.

[Coach A] There you go.

My only opinion

is, I felt like they

need a little bit more

cooking time.

-Do you think so?

-Just a tad more.

A tad, tad more.

Because it's still

a little tough.

They're not as tender

as the ones that

you had at Southlake.

I'm still kind of

struggling with

the tenderness just 'cause

every time I do it, I feel

like it's either, I'm making

it, like, real crazy tender,

or I'm making it like

it's got a bite to it,

you know.

Like, I need to have a rib

that, like, you take a bite,

and it's, like, "boom,"

you know what I mean?

My ribs, they need

to be A game for State.

[Emery] What the

Physically, the size of me.

-How are we doing

out here? Decent?

-[Emery laughing]

You're a goofball.

-Okay.

-I don't know what I'm doing.

[Coach Langdon] Maria, did you

find your ribs yet?

It's a I am gonna

be a little bit of

a mad scientist today,

and I'm gonna try new things.

I don't know how

Chef Langdon

will think about it,

but we'll see how it goes.

I think I've made it

pretty clear that

I'm competitive,

and that I have goals

that I want to achieve,

and I'm going

to do anything I can

to achieve those goals.

Hey, what are

the comment cards?

-From Graham?

-Yes.

"The flavors

were great together.

The meat was cooked perfectly.

Loved the spice.

Good barbecue sauce.

Flame on point.

Skin, tough.

A little too sweet.

Not much flavor balance.

Good flavor. Skin was chewy."

Since our trip to Barb's,

they have a lot more

drive and passion,

really wanting to get serious

about how they can improve,

how they can take those

comments from the judges

at the last competition

and how they can push forward.

This is our last practice

for this season,

and it's our last chance

to really dial in

all of the details.

Maria, what's

your objective today?

-[Maria] Uh, flavor profiles.

-Okay.

A little bit less sweet,

a little bit more salty,

and a little bit spicier.

[Coach Langdon] Noe, what's

our goal for today?

Um, making more even cuts

and making it look better?

I still have not figured out

how to fix my chicken skin.

-[woman 1] You see all this

fat right here on the skin?

-[woman 2] Mm-hmm.

[woman 1] Take it off

so your skin gets thinner,

so it gets crispier.

-[woman 2] Mm-hmm.

-[woman 1] 'Cause you don't

want your skin to be chewy.

After going to Barb's

and seeing Chuck,

it really just made me

think about like,

what ideas can I come up with

to help my chicken out,

and I think I have an idea.

All right. Emery,

what's our game plan?

[Emery] I'm focusing

on my skin today.

Trying to get it crispier.

-I have an idea.

-[Coach Langdon] Okay.

And I don't know

if you're gonna like it

or hate it or not, but

[Coach Langdon] Well,

today is the day to try it.

What is it?

I was going to get,

like, a propane thing,

and do it from a distance.

Just like kind of

a blowtorch the top.

There are

some things that,

when your students suggest,

you're like, "Really?

Is that really what

we're gonna do?"

Okay. I love the idea

of trying something new,

but I don't want you to

do that to every single one.

-You good with that?

-Okay. Yep.

I really was just

thinking about

ways to get my skin tighter,

and I was like,

"If you put something

next to a flame,

it tightens up."

And I was like,

"What if I put

the flame next to the skin?"

So, I was like, "What if

I just used a blowtorch?"

The mad scientist part

of this whole thing is

how different I feel like

this stuff is than

other people do.

Because I don't think

I've ever heard of anybody

who blowtorches their chicken.

No, I just thought

of it on my break.

-[producer] Okay.

-Look at this.

I literally I take it

out the package

[woman 2] They, like,

cut through, like

Hey, you may get

something like that.

You've got to be prepared.

Other than

leaving behind a legacy,

my number one reason

that I want to do well

at State is for my family.

My parents, who have eaten

more chicken than they could

have imagined in their life,

my grandma who passed away,

she never, like, really got

to come and see me compete

in high school barbecue.

Cool, cool.

There we go.

My pops, because

he supports me

through whatever I do.

Get that little motion going.

I also want to do it

for Coach Langdon

just because of how much work

she's put in for us.

I want that work to show,

and I want her to get

first-place-chicken ribbon

to put in her room.

They look pretty decent.

Sheesh McGeesh.

I'm kind of excited.

Hopefully, I don't

blow things up.

-Ready?

-Oh, sweet Jesus!

Hey, hang on.

That thing's broken.

[Emery] How do I get

the propane to come out?

I'm not as strong as you.

-Okay, Here we go.

-Oh, sweet Jesus.

I don't know about that, Em.

Oh, my God. There you go.

-[Emery] Hey, you saw that?

-Did you see it? Yeah.

It's like tightened up

a little bit.

Try to hit it

in that pocket in the wing.

Yeah, I hit it up there

on that tail.

-[Emery] It's

getting crispier.

-There you go.

[both chuckle excitedly]

Now, hey, don't let

the power go

to your head, crazy.

There you go.

You don't want to overdo it.

There you go.

[Emery] Close it.

Turn off the heat.

-I'm done.

-"Turn off the heat.

I'm done."

[chuckles] Why don't

you wear some pants

to school next time?

All right,

let's give it a try.

Okay.

That one has a lot of fat.

It's prettier.

-Is it crispier?

-I like that.

It's just with, like,

the blowtorch method

that I did

I liked it. I mean,

I was kind of surprised.

-I was a little skeptical.

-[Emery] Me, too.

[Coach Langdon] The torch

helped give it that crispiness

that you'd been searching for.

I'm stoked. Like, I was

not expecting it to work.

Like, I thought

it was a dumb idea

I was gonna try. It worked.

[Coach Langdon] Bye bye,

mad scientist.

At State, we need to do well

because this is our chance.

This is our chance

to really be one of the ones

that, when we pull

in the parking lot,

people are like

"Ah, Cranberry is here.

All right."

Emery, chicken queen!