Barbecue Bros AV Club

The Best Barbecue Shows on Streaming – July 2023

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Monk: Earlier this month I power ranked the new barbecue shows this summer but with the ever changing streaming landscape I wanted to revisit the older shows that are currently available on streaming, which I somehow haven’t done since late 2020. Starting with a few of my favorites:

Previously:

The New Barbecue TV Power Rankings of Summer 2023
The Best Barbecue Shows on Streaming (December 2020)

BBQ Pitmasters – Season 1 (Max)

For me and likely many others, this is the show that got me into barbecue on television. It’s first season (the only one currently available on Max) was filmed documentary style, following several competitors over the course of a barbecue competition season across the country. Myron Mixon and Tuffy Stone were two of the competitors followed during the course of this format and would go on to be full-time judges starting in season 3. Noted competition pitmasters Danielle Bennett (aka Diva Q), Johnny Trig, and Harry Soo are also featured in season 1.

Previously: Barbecue on Netflix Streaming (March 2016)

BBQuest (Hulu)

Across three seasons of the travel show co-produced by the Texas Beef Council, host and native Texan Kelsey Pribilski (along with Austrialian-turned-Texas Jess Pryles in season 3) criss-crosses Texas to meet with some of the best pitmasters in the state. She’s in search of the state’s best barbecue as well as secret barbecue menu items. The first season gets the large cities (Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth) out of the way, while season two and three are able to tackle more remote locales. Texas Monthly Barbecue Editor Daniel Vaughn even makes an appearance as Kelsey’s guide for the Big Bend episode (S2E1).

Previously: Season 3

BBQ with Franklin (PBS, Prime Video)

This series was originally made for PBS Austin but is available on both the free PBS streaming app as well as Prime Video. This is very much a process-oriented series about brisket, sausage, whole hog, and other aspects of a barbecue smoke, but Franklin’s such an easygoing on-screen presence that its definitely worth a watch.

Chef’s Table: BBQ (Netflix)

This barbecue and live-fire cooking edition of the Chef’s Table series profiles 4 pitmasters or live-fire cooking chefs, with the Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow’s Barbecue and Rodney Scott episodes being the highlight for American barbecue fans.

Previously: The Best Barbecue Shows on Streaming (December 2020)

Other options:

Netflix

  • Barbecue Showdown – 2 Seasons
  • The Chef Show – S1 V1 E7 “Aaron Franklin” & S1V1E8 “Hot Luck”
  • Cooked – S1 E1 “Fire”
  • High on the Hog – S1 E2 “The Rice Kingdom” & S1 E4 “Freedom”
  • Queer Eye – S3 E3 – “Jones Bar-B-Q”
  • Somebody Feed Phil – S6 E4 “Austin”
  • Street Food: Asia – S1 E9 “Cebu, Philippines”
  • Taco Chronicles – S1 E5 “Barbacoa”
  • Taco Chronicles: Cross the Border – S1 E6 “Dallas”
  • Ugly Delicious – S1 E5 “BBQ”

Hulu

  • The World Food Championship – S1E5 “BBQ”
  • Worth It – S3 E2 “$7 BBQ Ribs Vs. $68 BBQ Ribs” & S2 E10 “$13 BBQ Ribs Vs. $256 BBQ Ribs”

Max

  • BBQ Brawl – 4 Seasons
  • BBQ USA – 2 Seasons

PBS

  • Planet Barbecue with Steven Raichlen
  • Steven Raichlen’s Project Fire
  • Steven Raichlen’s Project Smoke

Prime Video

  • Food Safari – Fire
  • Smoke And Ribbons: A DocQmentary

The Roku Channel

  • Mind of a Chef – S1 E15 “BBQ” & S2 E7 “Lowcountry BBQ”

The New Barbecue TV Power Rankings of Summer 2023

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Monk: I’ve spend the past two summers recapping Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl” on a weekly basis and while I’m proud of those efforts, ain’t nobody got time for that this year. Instead, let’s take a holistic look at the four barbecue programs that have premiered in the past few months. And what’s more fun than power ranking them?

In reverse order:

4. “Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue” (PBS)

“Barbecue” is in the name but Steven Raichlen’s latest show is really more about showcasing the live fire cooking and grilling customs from around the world more than low and slow barbecue. The format is a little bit of history of the barbecue tradition followed by cooking demonstrations of 3 dishes in the vein of a classic Cooking Channel show, oftentimes including a veggie meal or salad. Ultimately, this is just not my favorite barbecue TV show format.

Confusingly, the “Texas Trinity” episode features grilled quail with pear salsa and blue cheese farrotto, a smoked, grilled rib-eye steaks with jalapeno horseradish butter, and a hot gut hero (beef sausage and pepper jack cheese sandwich).

3. “Barbecue Showdown” (Netflix)

Season 2 of this Netflix series (formerly titled “The American Barbecue Showdown”) premiered on May 26, 2023 and while it has a new host (Michelle Buteau replaces Rutledge Wood), it maintains the same judges (Melissa Cookston and Kevin Bludso), format, and setting from season 1. While the first season had a novelty factor for me, when it comes to the mostly unknown contestants in season 2 I found myself rooting for a couple of while bemoaning the apparent skill level of the rest.

One season 2 improvement that I do like is that the show has introduced a presentation element to most of the challenges, such as a slicing reveal to show the viewer the doneness of the meat at the same time as the judges. This visual cue helps the viewer understand the quality of the food since current TV technology unfortunately does not allow us to taste the end product (much to our collective dismay).

2. “BBQ Brawl” (Food Network)

For me, “BBQ Brawl” is the more polished and entertaining version of the barbecue cookoff format than “Barbecue Showdown.” In addition to returning captains Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell, in season four there is a new face in the form of Sunny Anderson (replacing Jet Tila) and they’ve also traded Austin, TX for Half Moon Bay, CA. The judges – Carson Kressly, Brooke Williamson, and Rodney Scott – remain the same as they have been since season 2, which is a plus for me. The cooking here appears to be at a higher level than “Barbecue Showdown” which is why it edges it out for me.

1. “BBQ USA” (Food Network)

I noted that season 1 of Michael Symon’s “BBQ USA” was spiritually similar to “BBQ Pitmasters” season 1 in that it focused on a few teams at an actual barbecue competition and followed them through the competition and judging. It seems as if season 2’s philosophy is “more, but different” in that they are using the same format while visiting different events from season 1; in episode 1 they visited the American Royal World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City where over 500 teams competed in all categories. Future stops this season will take in competitions in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Washington, and NYC.

What’s your favorite barbecue show this summer?

Phil Does a Barbecue Crawl on the Austin Episode of Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil”

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Monk: I can’t say that I’m all too familiar with Phil Rosenthal outside of work on “Everybody Loves Raymond.” But he’s turned into a sort of Anthony Bourdain travel docuseries guide in his most recent career turn (albeit a less-knowledgeable-but-more-agreeable version of Anthony Bourdain). The show’s clearly been a success for Netflix, as it somehow just released its sixth season of episodes, including one that focuses on the Austin food scene.

Phil starts the episode in a studio talking directly to camera relaying anecdotes from when he was shopping his show to various networks including Travel Channel and Food Network. According to them, barbecue was apparently all that anyone wants to watch these days. So when he finally visited Austin in season six, Phil obliged.

Along for the ride is Daniel Vaughn, BBQ Editor of Texas Monthly Magazine, and together they embark on a barbecue crawl across Austin. But their goal is not to hit the obvious spots in the Franklins or the La Barbecues, but rather to visit the newer joints.

At LeRoy & Lewis (3:55), Phil and Daniel of course get the standard Texas platter but with LeRoy & Lewis’s “new school barbecue” including beef check, sausage, bacon rib (aka pork belly on the bone), smoked burger, and cauliflower. LeRoy & Lewis is located in a food truck park in South Austin and has reached must-visit status for any serious barbecue fans, as evidenced by it #5 ranking in 2021’s Texas Monthly Top 50 list. And word on the street is that a brick and mortar is in the works.

Next on the trail is Distant Relatives (8:30), where traditional southern barbecue is influenced by sauces and spices from Africa in addition to the usual southern traditions. Owner and pitmaster Damien Brockway currently serves at Meanwhile Brewing in an industrial park in south Austin and was recently named to the most recent Texas Monthly Top 50 list as an honorable mention.

Fast forward to 15:38 where Phil and Daniel visit Interstellar BBQ and before eating we get a little bit of Vaughn’s backstory and how he got into Texas barbecue from his former life as an architect from Ohio. At Interstellar, Chef Jon Bates serves a typical central Texas platter of typical barbecue meats including turkey, which Jon jokingly considers a vegetable at his place. Bates honors Texas barbecue with some fine dining touches here and there. While I’m sure its all good (after all, it was #2 on last year’s Top 50), this is the most classic Texas barbecue of the places featured on this episode.

After taking a break from barbecue Phil treats the friends he’s met along the way in Austin to a family meal at Salt Lick Barbecue (43:30). The famed restaurant and winery is located just outside of Austin proper and while its not going to a show up on a Texas Monthly Top 50 list anytime soon, it certainly seems to hold a soft spot in the hearts of many barbecue snobs in Texas. It was one of our first stops as the Barbecue Bros in 2012, and I can understand why.

The Austin episode of “Somebody Feed Phil” was my first exposure to the series, and I will certainly be on the lookout for any more barbecue-related content in future seasons. While no Anthony Bourdain, Phil’s likable nature makes it an easy watch.

Shepard Barbecue on “Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives” S42 E34

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Link to Shepard Barbecue website, Instagram

Monk: Guy Fieri was on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina earlier this year and checked out relative newcomer Shepard Barbecue in Emerald Isle. Episode 34 of season 42 (!!) actually kicks off with Chef Brandon Shepard, who with his wife Elizabeth started a barbecue joint that draws inspiration from not only eastern NC but of course all over (i.e. Texas).

Brandon, Guy, and his son Hunter kick things off by putting together the Boss Hog sandwich. They start with the prep of jalapeno cheddar sausage made from trimmings of both brisket as well as pork. After a couple of grinds, the sausages are cold smoked for two-and-a-half hours before another 3 at a higher temp. Brandon does all his smoking on a custom offset stick burner using a mixture of hickory, post oak, and pecan.

For his pork butts, he keeps it simple with just a salt and pepper rub and smoked 10 hours. He mixes in his Carolina Vinegar sauce and puts a tray of that away for service.

Back to the Boss Hog, Brandon walks through the making of his Carolina Gold mustard sauce with yellow and Dijon mustards plus his Carolina Vinegar sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire and a bunch of spices.

For the sandwich, the bun is brushed with beef tallow (!!) and garlic before starting the stack of slaw, sausage, pulled pork, Carolina Gold sauce, pickled red onions to create a behemoth of a sandwich.

Next, onto the “Spicy Heifer,” another big boy of a sandwich made with prime brisket.

The brisket is doused with a mixture of Carolina Gold sauce and pickle juice before covering in salt, pepper, seasoning salt, and granulated garlic. It is then smoked at 225F for 12-16 hours.

Shepard’s red barbecue sauce is a vinegar-based sauce with ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Carolina Vinegar, molasses, brown sugar, and other spices before taking a smoke bath.

Shepard then assembles the Spicy Heifer starting with pickles then sausage then brisket then Carolina red sauce and finally topped with pickled jalapenos and white onion. Behold:

Among the house made sides mentioned are Helen’s collards (inspired by his grandmother), pit beans, and street corn salad. Congrats on a great showing by Shepard Barbecue to Brandon and his wife Elizabeth!