BBQ Pitmasters on TLC: Episode 05

American Royal Day 2

The fifth episode was filmed at Day 2 of the American Royal for the Open Competition. This day is for teams that are vying for the Grand Champion title that will allow them to joint the Invitational next year.

The competitors on this episode are LeAnn, Harry Soo, Paul Peterson, and newcomer Jaime Geer, none of which were eligible for the Open competition the previous day. Between car trouble and a fender bender, LeAnn had trouble getting ready for the competition. Harry had issues being placed right next to the stage where the big party would be going down the night before the Royal, and Paul was feeling confident after his one-on-one cooking classes with Johnny Trigg.

With Myron cooking in the Invitational, it's unclear why we have to deal with his idiotic dialect in this episode, but I guess the producers see him as the star of the show. He spent most of his time complaining about the quality of the BBQ judges, whihc I must admit, I have to agree with his point that it's tough to get a fair shot at a competition where so many of the judges are not certified.

LeAnn had some real issues with Billy's prep and cooking performance, but she seems to rely on his help in the cooking process more than any of the other cookers. Harry is thrown off throughout the day by oversleeping by an hour, and his ribs have to be cooked at a higher temp, and his chicken getting overcooked in the process.

In the end, there were 488 teams competing. Of those on the show, the highest spot went to Johnny Trigg at 46th, Myron came in at 49th, LeAnn was 139th overall and 3rd in brisket, Paul Peterson was 177th overall (in the top third) and 62nd in ribs which he correctly assumed was his best entry. Harry Soo was the lowest at 266th overall.

We'll see you next episode at Diamond State BBQ in Dover, Delaware.

- BBQ Snob