Original subtitles

I'm bringing it today.

I can't be on the bottom. I can't be on the bottom.

-Like, start bringing it. -We're all gonna bring it.

Every day is gonna get tougher.

The numbers are smaller, so it's gonna be intense.

Yeah, that's the crazy part. I remember when it was, what, nine of us?

A whole gang of us.

- It's going by so quickly. - Yeah.

Morning, everybody!

Morning!

Good morning!

Gather round!

What's going on, everybody?

Ooh!

You'll notice that I have my very serious host face on right now

because today's challenge is no joke.

Today, we are joined by a giant in the culinary world.

Uh-oh.

Chef Matheson!

Hey!

Whoo!

Hello! What's up, everybody?

Oh my God!

How's everybody doing?

-Oh wow. -Hey!

Man, that's tough!

World-renowned chef, author,

a master of fast, casual cuisine.

Actor and executive producer of the hit series The Bear.

Yeah!

It's exciting! Chef Matty Matheson!

Yeah!

I wanted to share some beautiful things. So here you go.

- A chicken sandwich. A little taco. - There you go.

Ooh!

Here we go. A little beautiful burger. There we go. Here we go.

-All right? -Yes!

Did Matty Matheson just toss me a taco?

Yeah, he did.

Well, now that you've had a little taste of today's challenge,

let's find out more about it. Matty?

We know usually barbecue is slow food. It takes time to do it right.

So I'd love to see what all of you can do with fast food

and do it the slow-barbecue way.

Creating your own original fast-food recipes the slow way.

- Yeah. - All right.

For this challenge,

you have five hours

to create your own slow fast-food meal,

featuring at least

one slow-cooked protein,

a creative and deliciously fried side,

and your own special sauce

to tie it all together.

-All right. -Okay.

Now, if that all sounds easy, it's not.

Nailing that addictive quality takes some real engineering.

You need to hit those perfect doses of salt, sugar, fat, crunch.

You need to make us want more if you're gonna make it through this one.

You guys should represent who you are

through your love of fast food and barbecue.

-Okay. -Gotcha. Okay.

All right.

That was my first job. In fast food.

So I know fast food, and I'm ready to bring it.

I don't know about y'all, but fast food makes me happy.

There's a joy you get when you order that 20-piece nugget.

Two for the kids, 18 for me.

We wanna feel that fun and enjoy it in your meals.

Make us wanna order it for the whole family.

- Are you guys excited? - Very.

- Are you ready? - Yes.

Are you gassy? 'Cause that tailgate...

I mean, thank God we're outside.

In three,

two, one!

Get smokin'!

I love fast food. I used to eat KFC in Egypt all the time.

If you look at Google Maps, there is KFC around every single corner.

Egyptians freaking love KFC.

I got lamb shoulder and chicken thighs.

There we go.

Okay. There we go.

Get ready for the show.

Ham. Forgot I needed my ham.

What makes great fast food?

Consistency and knowing that you're gonna get that same thing.

It's one of those things that you have actual muscle memory

when you're eating at these restaurants.

Every single element has a purpose.

Messy,

salty,

greasy.

Dripping. You know, you bite it, dripping down your lips.

Something like that.

America's favorite flavor is crunch. You want a crunch somewhere,

and that's gonna be either through an onion, a pickle.

All those textures, all those flavors,

that's what makes this such a difficult challenge.

Hair goes up, that means it's business time.

You went for brisket?

Yeah. Brisket and pork belly.

I wanted pork belly because that'll cover the slow aspect of it,

what I needed for the challenge.

And the brisket? I mean, it's brisket.

It's gonna make a good burger anyway.

Thank God I still got what I wanted.

It's a lot more softer of a bite than just regular ground meat.

When it comes to fast food and barbecue,

to me, these are things that don't go together.

But I feel excited for today

because I eat fast food back in Cairo all the time.

So there's a lot of sandwiches in Egypt

that can be so easily tweaked

to introduce and marry a slow-smoked meat.

What do I give the judges that gives them that addictive bite?

But how do I make it Egyptian?

Today, I'm making a combo shawarma of chicken and lamb.

For my fried side, I'm making fried cauliflower.

For my special sauce,

I'm making a garlic-parsley aioli

and an Egyptian shatta.

Shatta is a spicy sauce.

It's vinegary. It's garlicky.

It's definitely a sauce that's not for the weak.

Whenever I go out to eat food or fast food,

I always tend to over-order.

And whenever I see the word "combo,"

like, I get to try two different things, I'll go for that.

So that's what I'm giving the judges today.

The goal with this is to be shredded. So this is gonna get a dry rub.

It's gonna get smoked and then braised and then be pulled in the sandwich.

Shoulder can be a tough cut.

It needs low and slow cooking.

I also need to get the smoky flavor.

I need to get a nice color, a nice bark on the outside.

So I'm starting with a smoke and then finishing in a braise.

So you a big fast-food fan?

You're not gonna believe this, man. I do not eat fast food.

- You don't do fast food? What? - No.

My wife, she's the one in the family that will eat fast food.

Yeah, so how does that work?

If you don't like fast food, and your wife likes fast food,

how does that work?

Well, she doesn't get to eat a lot of it, then.

Today, I'm making a Texas Q Rodeo Burger.

Ground-chuck-and-bacon smashburger

with a double smoked candied bacon,

homemade Kraft pickles,

or cucumber dill pickles,

and Texas Q sauce.

And then a chicken-fried onion ring

with a spicy aioli on the side.

Cutting the slab bacon.

I think I'm gonna put some rub on 'em and make, like, a thick-cut candied bacon.

I'm rubbing it with some yellow mustard. This is a little binder for my rub.

This is my pork rub,

and it's a sweet heat.

I think I'm gonna do an hour, at least, smoke.

So she's smoking bacon, but isn't the bacon already smoked?

If it's cured, it's smoked already. She's doubling up on it.

Okay. And what does that do?

I mean, that could give a stronger flavor of smoke to it,

but it really is gonna depend on what piece of wood she uses.

I would go something real light since it's already smoked.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna smoke for about an hour.

I may braise it and then glaze it.

I've never double smoked bacon, but my thought was,

it had a very light smoke on it,

so I knew that I could double smoke it with a subtle wood, pecan,

and let it candy in the smoker.

It's bacon. It's the same element. It's just cooked a little different.

Okay. I'm good with that.

What kind of proteins do you think would really stand out in this challenge?

Brisket burgers are a huge thing right now.

I think anybody who's doing burgers should make some incredible burgers.

For one thing, the prep time is not gonna be that long

to grind 'em and cook.

Your burger and your sides better be incredible

for a five-hour burger.

Or lamb and chicken combination shawarma.

It's just like those crispy kinda pastor caramelized outside

and then moist on the inside.

Even the rib sandwich is what everybody thinks of.

I've made McRib sandwiches before.

The meat needs to fall off the bone but not overcook it.

I'm doing the famous rib sandwich.

-Like the McRib? -Yeah.

My first job out of high school was at McDonald's,

and I truly believe that led me down the career path I'm on now.

Yeah, you are definitely the sauce queen, ma'am.

Really excited for this challenge 'cause, I mean,

that brings back some memories,

very fond memories, and I'm excited to get with it.

- Only I'm gonna call it Rib-o-licious. - Rib-o-licious? Hey, I like that.

♪ Rib-o-licious! ♪

♪ So delicious! ♪

I've got a game plan, and I'm ready to execute.

For this challenge, I'm making the Rib-o-licious baby back rib sandwich

with a blackberry chipotle barbecue sauce,

homemade pickles, fried onions,

with fried mac-and-cheese balls,

and a jalapeño ranch sauce.

These are meaty. Meaty ribs.

I'm a little concerned about the baby backs being different sizes

'cause some I know won't take as long to cook,

but the fatter ones, they're gonna take a little while.

Ribs are really meaty,

and I wanna get 'em on the smoker as quick as I can.

All right.

What did you say you were doing, man?

I'm grounding up brisket for ground meat.

I'm also gonna ground up brisket to make a hot sausage.

Then I'm gonna smoke this pork belly as bacon, put it on the burger.

Almost like the pork is gonna be cooked like a brisket.

I'm making what I call a Big Papi Spillway Burger.

It's a burger that has ground brisket, hot sausage, smoked pork-belly bacon,

with crawfish fries with queso,

and I have two sauces,

which is a Cajun mayo,

and then a bourbon barbecue sauce.

The spillway is a area close to my house

where it's basically like a overflow for the Mississippi River.

When it's open, we used to go in there

and eat our hamburgers and ride four-wheelers,

fish, crab, and everything. So it's a area of my youth.

I wanted to be able to name my burger after that

just because of what that spillway meant to me.

So Big Papi Spillway Burger.

Pork belly is forgiving.

Since time has been an issue for me,

to be able to have a meat that I can increase the temp as high as I want to

if I need to finish it faster,

it's a good thing for me to have. That's why I chose pork belly.

-Hello, guys. How you doing? -Hey, Sloan.

Good! What are you making for us today?

I am doing a Texas Q Rodeo Burger using beef chuck.

I'm gonna grind that into some smashburgers.

You making sure you don't dry it out?

-The pork belly or slab bacon is one. -Right.

And the fat content in the chuck,

I'm gonna add bacon and grind it up. That's gonna give me some additional fat.

-Cool. -There we go.

-How are you cooking that bacon? -Thick-cut, double-smoked.

-So, hopefully, it'll turn out. -Have you ever double smoked bacon before?

No, sir.

- Good luck, Sloan. - Thank you.

Okay.

- Sloan has been a little conservative. - Mm-hmm.

But that's okay because she's cooking her proteins perfectly.

She knows how to work flavors.

I'm wondering about, like, with a double-smoked candy bacon.

It could get chewy too, right?

So like, on the burger, are we gonna be able to chew through it,

or are we gonna take a bite

and then, all of a sudden, that whole sticky bacon comes right off?

Watch out for the Egyptian Cowboy.

What are you making today, Shaticka?

Oh, I'm gonna make my take on a Cuban sandwich.

It's Petie's Incredible Cubano.

It's named after my husband.

Yeah, his name is Dwayne, but his family calls him Petie.

Let's go. Let's go.

First thing I'm doing is putting the ham on the smoker.

I gotta get this on.

Put that ham right there.

This is slow-cooked, so I need all the time that I can get

to make sure that I can produce a quality fast-food dish.

Put this ham over here.

Let's go. Let's go.

I'm making Petie's Incredible Cubano Sandwich.

It's a slow-cooked pork-butt sandwich with ham, with a mojo "Ticka" sauce,

sweet potato fries,

and chocolate chip cookies.

It's my husband's favorite sandwich.

I'm gonna go sit this out there just so I can get ready.

Doing this for you, baby.

Shaticka looks like she's got pork butt and ham.

It looks like she's trying to do a Cubano.

So what would be the risk making Cubano?

There's a lot of risks, especially with that pork butt.

And I think cooking a pork butt, it takes a long time.

You know, I would have definitely cheated a bit

and cooked it in some duck fat or in some pork fat.

If there's any cheat you can do to get it there quicker, do that.

Work smart, not hard.

- Can we get a time, please? Time? - Three hours and 30 minutes.

Everybody feeling good? Good mood?

I don't wanna jinx it, but I'm okay.

You okay?

- Yeah. You? - All right. Yeah.

Is this a fun challenge or what, guys?

So what really makes a great side dish that's fried?

There's so many amazing things. You can have french fries.

You can have tater tots.

You can have, like, even churro, do a savory churro.

And you always want that just golden exterior.

You don't wanna be frying at a high heat

and getting that kinda darker, kinda bitter feeling.

If you make french fries today,

you better be making me some chili cheese fries or something.

I think that there's so many options.

It's just a matter of think of something that makes them happy,

and it's gonna ripple that happiness, you know?

Two hours, 15 minutes!

For this fried cauliflower,

I'm gonna make a very simple batter to go with it.

My process here is I'm gonna dip them in the batter.

Gonna go even an extra step

and bread them in panko breadcrumbs

just to get an extra layer of crispiness.

I'm shredding the cheese for my cheese sauce

that's gonna go on to my crawfish fries.

Crawfish was a staple of my childhood. It's very Cajun. It's very New Orleans.

So we did crawfish boils literally all the time.

The food of my childhood. I just wanna be able to share that.

I'm working on the flour mixture for my onion rings.

I'm doing them a different way. I'm gonna use flour, paprika, cayenne,

some granulated garlic, salt, and black pepper.

As we all know, Sloan's onion rings were fantastic in a previous challenge.

She's doing an onion ring a different way, using a different technique.

The thing about onion rings when you cut 'em too thin is,

that's when you usually have batter issues.

She doesn't have time to freeze these onion rings,

which we typically do in order to get that breading to stay on.

The last ones that she made were super thick

and super crunchy and fantastic.

I hope that's the case this time too.

I'm excited. Everyone's talking so much about her onion rings.

And I'm just like... And now she's making a chicken-fried one.

Doing a good onion ring is something that's hard to do.

Ready to put my stuff together for the mac-and-cheese balls.

So for the mac-and-cheese balls, I make my cheese sauce.

Velveeta is the base again.

Smoked Gouda, mozzarella, and medium cheddar.

I always feel I've never got enough time.

Add some cheesy mac for the mac-and-cheese balls.

I have got to get this macaroni cheese in the freezer.

If it's not cooled down properly, I can't form the balls.

I put it on a sheet pan and pop it in the freezer to cool down.

Okay.

Yeah!

There you go.

- Hey, Staci. - Hey, guys.

-Hey, Staci. -Okay, Staci. What are you making for us?

Today, I'm actually doing a take on a McRib.

Why the McRib?

That was my first job when I got out of high school, was McDonald's.

- Are you scared at all? - Yeah.

Because is it gonna hold up to the memory of everyone's McRib memory?

Well, it's not gonna be exactly the same. I'm hoping it's gonna be a lot better.

There you go. And how do you plan to make it better

than everyone's memory of the McRib?

I'm gonna make it better by making... What I know best is my sauces.

- Bring that sauce over here. - I'll take that spoon.

- Queen Stingy with the Sauce. - I know.

Stingy with sauce in Kentucky?

Hell no. I get pissed if I get a McRib, and it looks like they've wiped it off.

It'll be a lot better once I take the blender

and blend all the blackberries and everything together.

- Good luck, Staci. - Thank you, all.

Keep doing what you're doing.

I am so looking forward to that Stace rib

'cause that's gonna be way better than a McRib, just the sauce in general.

She's risking it all, making a McRib.

Is it gonna be that memory? You're fighting that.

It's a lot of risk. I hope it comes with a lot of reward.

Lamb shoulder is looking great.

While lamb shoulder is cooking really hot,

I'm working on my chicken shawarma.

I go in and start my marinade real quick.

For the marinade, I'm using fresh garlic. I'm using salt, pepper, some sumac,

some tomato paste for color. It gives it a nice red color.

Some smoked paprika, a little bit of honey.

I put some turmeric in it

because turmeric gives meat a beautiful color

when it's slow roasting on a smoker or a spit like that.

It's packed with flavor.

Now I'm rubbing my lamb shoulder.

So I'm trying to think of how do I cook a meat

that you normally cook it hot and fast in a low and slow manner.

So I instantly think of chicken thighs on a rotisserie,

more of, like, a classic shawarma.

So now I'm gonna skewer the kebab on this giant rotisserie.

Something I've never done.

Normally, when I make kebab, I either grill the thighs on the grate,

or I just skewer them on smaller skewers.

I go ahead, and I start stacking the chicken thighs all together.

So I channeled this inner Egyptian "shawarmer" in it.

You know, if that's even a word.

This is a technique that I have never done before.

But I know this is the right way to do it.

This is the traditional way to cook a shawarma,

on a spit rotating skewer that just keeps rotating,

and then you would come in and shave the cooked parts

and make your sandwiches with that.

This thing is just rotating, and it's getting charred.

It looks so juicy. It looks so good.

It looks badass.

So we've gotten to know these cooks pretty well in these last challenges.

And Gerald is the only one that hasn't won a challenge.

Gerald may not have won a challenge, but he's been up there twice.

I mean, he has brought that Cajun soul, if you will, to his food.

What were some of the things that didn't allow him to win?

Somebody was just better.

Yeah, it's just like football when you see a team that's ready

'cause right now, we're getting close... to the playoffs.

Are you a pretender or a contender?

Ooh, put it on a magnet!

Let's go!

So I got my brisket burgers seasoned up.

The next thing I'm gonna do is make my hot sausage patties.

They're gonna be made out of brisket, too, but it'll be a thinner patty.

You got your meat on already?

- Your ribs? What you running those on? - Yeah.

I'm getting ready to check 'em and pull 'em and wrap 'em.

- Dang, already? - Yep.

They're thick, meaty ribs. I wanna make sure they get done.

I have to take time and go check on these ribs.

I open up the Lang.

They are a little darker than I want.

Yep, they are ready to be wrapped. They got a lot of dark color on 'em

to be running at such a low temp.

It's the paprika is what it is.

The sauce is gonna cover it up.

I'm not afraid they're overdone. They've still got a lot of time to go,

but they have got way too dark of a color on the outside from the rub.

So they have got to come off the smoker.

They have gotta be wrapped immediately.

I wish I had a wider roll of foil.

Wrapping helps hold the moisture in to the ribs,

and I add honey to add another flavor component.

I'm putting it on the foil, so it'll sweeten it up a little bit.

These ribs are thick, thick, thick.

Kentucky queen of the world over there.

That one up there. Just getting 'em where I want 'em to be.

One hour and 45 minutes, everybody!

My good sis, how you doing over there?

Working on a dessert right now.

- Making dessert? - Yeah, a dessert.

There you go again.

When you go to a fast-food restaurant, you want a quick, little dessert.

So here you have some warm chocolate chip cookies.

I'm gonna wrap that up and let it sit in the fridge.

♪ While I continue on my journey With fast food today ♪

♪ The struggle is real ♪

I'm very happy with this.

I think it's good to go.

This is braised lamb shoulder. It looks perfect.

It doesn't get better than this.

So it pulls really nicely, but it's still moist.

I wanted to present the judges with more of a pulled texture kind of meat

because you already are gonna have

the other texture in the chicken

where it's all stacked like the classic shawarma texture.

So I wanted to go with a different texture for the judges

and incorporate more

of that barbecue, slow-cooked pulled meat for the lamb shoulder.

There's something we've learned. More is not always better.

So Kareem has got this combo going.

He's also got three sauces.

-Fried cauliflower florets. -He's swinging for the fences.

It's one of those things I think, "Is it gonna be too much in one?"

It's so difficult to do simple because your ego wants you to do more.

Why go above and beyond and something that you put on the plate might lack

and might get you sent home

when you could have stuck with the original what we asked for?

Forty-five minutes, everybody!

Thank you.

Come on.

That one's got a little... There. It was stuck on the end.

Yep, perfect.

Check the rest of 'em too.

I'm very concerned on time at this point,

just considering how thick these ribs are.

Some ribs do not wanna pull.

They have all kinds of tension.

It almost feels a little...

Yeah, that's got a little tug to it. I'm gonna put that one back in.

Still got a long way to go.

How you looking, Staci?

If I can get them big fat-ass things tender,

I'll be okay!

So there's under 30 minutes left in this cook.

What should they be doing right now?

It depends what protein that you selected.

If you're making a burger, and I had 30 minutes left,

my burger would be going on right now

because a burger on a Santa Maria open is not gonna take that long.

That way, I'm gonna guarantee I won't dry it out.

If you're doing ribs or pork shoulder, that has to be done already.

Two at a time.

I like to smash 'em fairly early, not long after I get it on the pan. So...

Looking for the caramelization to happen on those edges, right?

That's a good burger. That's what I'm looking for on both sides.

I like that.

They're not too big, I don't feel.

So it's gonna be a burger.

I got too many things going on right now and a little bit of time.

So I'm pumping the temperature up on these burgers,

and I'm hoping they don't get away from me.

Now I'm looking at 'em, and they look overdone.

I'm hoping they're not too dry.

I don't exactly know how I'm gonna fix this right now.

At the same time, I still have to finish the cook of those hot sausage patties.

So I'm really feeling like this could be a major issue for me.

Fifteen minutes!

Let's get it!

I'm stressing 'cause I didn't realize how little time was left.

Ideally, I go through, check each rack of rib for the most perfect cuts,

the perfect bites, the perfect tenderness, but I just don't have the time.

I start grabbing rib pieces,

throwing 'em on the bun, slapping sauce on.

I don't know if I'm gonna get it done in time.

Get a couple on there.

So, with about 15 minutes left in the cook,

Shaticka just dropped her sweet potatoes in the fryer.

That's perfect timing. You trying to guarantee a crisp fry.

Three-fifty.

Oh, Gerald's going into his fryer. That oil doesn't look hot enough.

Oh, it's not 350. I'm tripping. It's 300.

I can see that his oil's not hot enough.

It's not Big Papi's time to go home yet.

Just crank it. Throw the propane tank in it.

Lord Jesus, just... Meat, be what you need to be for me, okay?

Dun, dun, dun!

Okay, I can do this.

Ha! I'm happy.

I always feel like I'm behind.

I've got some onion rings in, my first batch of onion rings,

and hopefully it tastes good.

I'm getting ready to say a Hail Mary on these darn mac and cheese balls

if they don't fall apart as soon as I drop 'em in there.

So far, so good.

I'm finishing these up with some Creole seasoning.

My crispy cauliflower is ready.

Yeah! Let's get it.

I saw Shaticka pour those sweet potato french fries out,

and they looked pretty... pretty golden brown.

I saw Gerald.

- My crawfish fries. - He's putting them in the bowl.

What's he gonna toss them with? I'm just a french-fry cam now.

I'm a human french-fry cam.

Ten minutes!

Hamburger time.

No matter how hard I try to plate on time, I never do.

I just don't like to plate too early, but I'm never learning the lesson.

It's so stupid.

It's coming down to the wire. We have to execute everything perfectly.

Okay, that weren't bad.

In a bite, you want everything.

You want fat. You want crunchy. You want it all, right?

This is my Texas Q Rodeo Burger.

♪ I'm the greatest ♪

♪ Come on, say it... ♪

Good God, don't drop it.

Woo-hoo! I feel good!

Ah, ha-ha-ha-ha!

Just trying to get it all plated at this moment.

One minute, everybody!

You have one minute left!

I did this to myself.

I have so many elements in my dish.

I'm feeling stressed out, and I'm trying to get it done as quickly as I can.

I had to just, like, pull the bones out, rip 'em out, so they're not that pretty.

Cubanos! Order up!

I'm gonna fail.

I don't know how I feel about this one.

Ten,

nine, eight,

seven,

six,

five, four,

three, two,

one!

Time is up!

Show me the meat!

Your number five is up!

- Whoo! - Golly!

God dog it!

Doesn't matter how much time you get.

- Hey. - What's up? What's going on?

Glad to be here.

Delicious!

You guys, this looks delicious.

This is, like, the cutest food court I've ever been to.

A round of applause for yourself.

Round of applause!

Today, we asked you to make us an original, slow fast-food meal

with a slow-cooked protein, a perfectly fried side, and a sauce.

Let's see if you succeeded.

Gerald, you're up first. Why don't you serve up your fast food?

So I made the Big Papi Spillway Burger.

They did Big N' Tasties back in the day for 99 cents

when I was in college.

Make a elevated version of it that has a brisket point, rounded down.

It had a homemade hot sausage.

And then for my slow-cooked protein, it was a pork belly.

It also includes a homemade barbecue sauce that is infused with a bourbon,

and it has a Cajun mayonnaise.

Crawfish fries in a homemade queso that has Louisiana crawfish on it,

just to give it an extra oomph.

Did you catch that crawfish after it rained?

- I brought it from the spillway. - Okay. That's what I thought.

I'm in love with the french fries. The fries were banging.

You know, coming from Canada, we don't have crawfish at all.

So it's really special. The crawfish, they're not chewy.

They got a beautiful bounce to 'em. The queso is great.

This is ten out of ten. It's great.

That barbecue sauce, that is so sweet and sultry to me.

- Gotcha. - I would like to bottle that for you.

- Thank you. - Okay?

The pork belly is very well cooked. I taste the smoke. I taste the seasoning.

But that two patties of the brisket burger that you have layered there?

Yeah, one's brisket. The other one is brisket made as hot sausage.

-It has more heat in it. -I wasn't picking up any heat.

I was kind of expecting some, you know, from you.

Were you happy with the cook on your meat, or did you think you went over?

I think I went a little bit over.

I think I grounded up too much brisket at one time.

That grind right on that meat, 'cause you're cooking that burger,

and if you don't have enough fat, that's such a big patty,

and it's a big, dry bite for me.

-Let's taste your food, Sloan. -All right.

All right!

I have made for you a Texas Q Rodeo Burger

that is comprised of a ground beef and bacon burger

topped with a double-smoked and candied slab bacon

with pickled red onions and a quick pickle cucumber

with a little bit of jalapeño.

You also have a chicken-fried onion ring and an aioli to dip it in.

There is barbecue sauce. Our Texas Q sauce is on the burger.

Sloan, um,

was... was this the cook that you intended on that burger patty?

When I flipped it, I had great caramelization on both sides.

Okay. I don't think I like this burger.

I understand.

I freaking love this burger.

You're too good at that.

- I freaking love this burger. - You are too good at that.

Let me tell you, the patty is so moist and has so much flavor.

I can taste the seasoning. The barbecue sauce is sweet.

It's savory. It's salty.

It's the perfect combination, and then a great soft bun.

Thank you very much.

We're asking these questions, like, "Does it make you want more?"

- Mm-hmm. - The sauce, the aioli, beautiful.

- Thank you. - Onion ring is strong.

I wish I could eat more of it, but, you know, I'm watching my calories.

Sloan, you've seen Samuel L. Jackson, right?

Yes, sir.

"This is a tasty burger."

I was nervous about you cutting your bacon thick.

- Yeah. - But you got a perfect cook.

So it's almost like when you bite through it, it's not there.

It's just showing

what type of professional you are on that pit.

And then you're matching up flavors on this burger

all the way down to the onions and pickles.

Nothing threw nothing off. Excellent job on that burger.

This is one of the best barbecue burgers I have ever had.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

All right, Kareem, serve it up!

Thank you.

So today, I made for you a combo shawarma sandwich.

This is a classic fast-food meal you get in Cairo.

I slow-cooked my chicken thighs in a rotisserie,

and I smoked lamb shoulder and braised it.

The lamb shoulder gets a fresh salad and tahini sauce.

The chicken gets sumac, pickled onions.

Is this spicy?

- It is spicy. - Okay.

I feel like I'm in Cairo!

Ooh, it's hot there, isn't it?

For my fried side, I made fried cauliflower.

For dessert, I made one of my favorite things,

a dessert sandwich.

We call it sakalans in Cairo.

It's basically just cream, strawberry jam, and crushed pistachios.

I really, really love the chicken shawarma.

It has so much grilled flavor.

When we talk about "I wanna taste the fire on my taste buds,"

that's what we mean.

I really, really wanted to like that lamb,

but sometimes when it goes over, it gets kinda mushy.

So then when you bite it,

it just gets real, real mushy and dry.

The peanut butter and jelly... What is this?

- Your dessert? - Yeah.

For me, it kinda works

because garlic and stuff is so strong everywhere.

So to bite something sweet at the end was kinda okay with me though.

But just control that damn garlic.

Understood, sir. Thank you.

The cauliflower, lights out.

Like, whatever you did to this cauliflower,

you do that to some shrimp.

You do anything. Put that just on ice cubes, and that thing's good.

Your sauce work, incredible.

Thank you.

What's this one called?

-Shatta. -This sauce is beautiful.

-Thank you. -I've never tasted a sauce just like that.

That was really nice.

- Thank you. - The lamb...

The lamb, I feel like it's just like you kinda overshot.

-Yeah. -You got banging cauliflower.

You got a chicken shawarma that's fire,

and then you did this thing, and it's just, like, more isn't better.

Showing your whole world at once, sometimes it's too much.

Just focus, especially with fast food.

If you can do one thing really good, legend.

You know? You gotta line up for days. Just one thing.

Yeah. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Kareem, for supporting the garlic industry...

...and for all your hard work.

Thank you so much.

- Shaticka. - Yes.

- Serve it up, please. - All right.

Thank you so much.

This is the Incredible Petie Cubano

with Ticka mojo sauce that's already on it.

I do have some on the side if you would like a little extra.

The sandwich also has homemade pickle and some candied jalapeños.

When you go to a fast-food restaurant, you can get a bit of everything,

so sweet potato fries

and my signature chocolate chip cookies.

-Do you think this is happy land? -I'm hoping.

I put a lot of love into it.

Shaticka, how did it feel being at the bottom on the last challenge?

Lord, it was horrible.

Looking at you now,

I'm thinking about the song "We Fall Down, But We Get Up."

Yes!

You got back up today, girl.

You made an incredible Cubano sandwich.

Give it up for yourself. Seriously.

The smoke, the layers of flavor,

the cheese that you selected, all the way down to the bun,

is excellent. Do you hear me?

- Yes. - I see you are a fighter.

Nobody likes being on the bottom.

-We've all been on the bottom before. -Many times.

When you're on the bottom, you can only go up.

-Very impressed. -Thank you. Thank you.

I will tell you, I don't even like Cubanos.

This is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had.

-Thank you. -I could probably eat this whole sandwich.

I don't know if you know this about me,

but my go-to pity party food is chocolate chip cookie dough.

I did not know.

You didn't even have to cook it for me. But that's okay 'cause it's real good.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Sweet potato fries.

When I want something crunchy and crispy, the sweet potato isn't it.

But this sandwich, I don't know.

This sandwich, world-class.

- Thank you. - Yes.

And you cooked the thing that's probably the hardest thing to cook.

You know, I'm really impressed.

And this sandwich is lights out. It really is amazing.

-Thank you so much, Shaticka. -Thank you.

- Staci. - Yes.

- You're up next. - Yay!

I call it a Rib-o-licious.

Is that also your rap name?

Yeah. Maybe I need to change it.

It is a baby back rib

with a blackberry chipotle barbecue sauce,

homemade pickles,

and fried red onions.

And then my side is fried macaroni-and-cheese bites

with a jalapeño ranch.

I've never had a McRib.

Oh!

I know you had your ribs on the smoker very, very quickly.

And for me, and it's just my opinion, I may be wrong,

but, you know, I'm probably not...

Uh...

So I think they might have benefited

if you had just taken some of that strip of loin meat off

and thinned it up.

And that way, it would have been more moist.

-And a little bit better chew. -Okay.

Were you happy with the cook on your ribs?

Some of them were thinner than others, and some were thicker.

The idea of the sandwich is perfect,

but I was just a little disappointed in the cook on my rib.

You had the right amount of sauce on this,

but it just didn't balance with the meat.

And next time, if it's meat that you don't feel is right,

put that right meat on every single thing that you put out.

Yeah, I let time get away from me on that one.

The thing good and bad about ribs is that every rib is kinda different.

Oh. Mm.

This rib right here, it's pretty good.

It's juicy. It's good. It's soft. I can taste the smoke.

What was the sauce? The black... No.

- The blackberry chipotle? - This is the blackberry chipotle?

Yeah, fire. Your fried mac-and-cheese ball

is good.

I honestly think that the inside just needed salt.

And it is one of those things. You're up against actual food memories.

- Yep. - You know?

You chose to go up against a mountain. Some people have had it. Some haven't.

But people all have an idea of it,

and to go up against something like that takes a lot.

You guys, that was some incredible fast-food meals.

Thank you so much for all your hard work.

Now Melissa and Kevin and our guest judge, Chef Matty,

have to deliberate.

So you guys go down to the pits so we can talk about you.

Bye.

-Bye. -Bye, guys.

- Man, that was a tough one. - Yeah.

It sounds like a lot of us could have left something out.

I think we all panicked a little bit, sounds like.

- Yeah. We're trying to overdo it. - Yeah.

So do we know what we're doing?

Yeah.

Okay.

I appreciate everyone's hard work.

It really feels good to enjoy other people's food.

There's nothing really that parallels that,

having somebody cook for you. It's really a beautiful thing.

I think you all reached new heights in slow fast food.

You should be proud of yourselves.

Fast-food chains take years to perfect their menu items.

And we gave you five hours.

It was no easy task.

But our favorite dish today

really embodied the challenge

and brought everything that makes us addicts of fast food.

You really brought it home

and made us wanna come back for more.

The best barbecue dish today

belongs to...

...Sloan.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

I can't even begin to tell you.

- Tell me. - Thank you. It's, um...

My first few competitions, I was really doubting myself, you know?

But for you to say the things that you have about my food,

I will take it with me the rest of my life. Thank you very much.

That was one of the best burgers I ever ate.

-That's why you won. -God!

I'm winning a beer challenge. I don't drink beer.

I'm winning a fast-food challenge. I don't eat it.

I think what has worked for me is that I understand flavor.

It may not be the prettiest,

but the flavors that I put together really work.

And now we're gonna give our honorable mention shout-out.

Shaticka, your food was a close second.

-So, well done. -Well done.

Come on!

I'm moving on back up!

We fall down!

But we get up!

Feels so good.

And when you just focus on what you are supposed to do,

you can redeem yourself.

-It's a comeback story right there. -Come on.

Unfortunately, not everybody today had that special sauce.

So one of you will be leaving the competition.

Kevin, who's facing elimination?

So right now, we are getting down to the best of the best.

When we eliminate tonight, we are down to the final four.

Staci and Gerald, I'm sorry to say, you both are up for elimination today.

Gerald, I felt your burger was just dry.

I think you didn't have a good fat-to-meat ratio on there.

Staci, I think your Rib-o-licious was a good idea.

But I think consistency got you today.

Both of you are incredible cooks. This is not easy for none of us.

The cook going home is...

I'm sorry, Staci. You're going home tonight.

Oh wow!

- Proud of you, Stace. - Oh, Stace.

Okay?

It's too early for me to go home because I know what I'm capable of.

I know that I can do better.

And I just, uh... failed miserably today.

But that's not who I am.

-I love you all. Y'all kick butt. -Thank you.

I've met some great people.

I love y'all.

People that I consider family, and I will continue to keep in touch with.

I plan to push forward

and strive even harder to, you know,

get somewhere in this barbecue world

and make a big name for myself.

I'm about to cry. If I start crying...

Barbecue is emotional, you guys.

- Yeah. For sure. - Yeah.

Unfortunately, we have to say one more goodbye tonight.

Chef Matty Matheson.

What? He's a guest judge.

-I'm going home. -Going home!

Thank you, everybody. Good night.

Good night.

You are the final four.

Wow!

Oh my God.

-Nice! -We gotta crank up the heat, honey.

Uh-oh!

Starting with our next cook.

We've got the mother of all challenges just for you.

That's right, honey. The holy grail of meat.

- Okay. - The one...

-All right. -The only...

-The brisket. -Yes!

Being the fourth-generation Texan that I am, brisket is king.

If you cannot create an incredible brisket,

you're not doing barbecue.

I've been waiting for this brisket!

Never done brisket a day of my life. That wasn't something I grew up eating.

That is extremely scary.

Like... scary like Michael Myers scary.

That's good.

Brisket is the most beloved

and probably the most challenging large-format meat to smoke perfectly.

Getting a brisket cooked right is no easy task,

and certainly not in eight hours.

Well, I'll be...

I moved across the entire world for brisket,

but my fastest brisket takes ten to twelve hours.

My brain started calculating.

"What the hell am I gonna do?"

This is the big one, guys.

And that's why you'll have 30 minutes right now to get started.

Wow.

Your time starts now.

Oh boy.