June 1, 2022

Cooking requires a steady hand, patience, and a whole lot of love. There's a reason some cooking shows ultimately fail, despite their association with one celebrity or another. Streaming platforms will try all manner of tricks and tropes to attract an audience to their culinary serials, from focusing on a specific mealtime to the various attempts to combine food and travel content in the hopes of recreating the brilliance of the late Anthony Bourdain. However, these novelties will wear off if the food seems contrived and the television chefs pretentious.

The want for authentic cuisine is why The American Barbecue Showdown on Netflix struck a chord with Netflix audiences around the world. It's all in the name. A crew of creative chefs, hailing from all corners of this great nation and possessing varying levels of professional cooking experience, compete to make meat. That's it, that's the show.

While this simple formula worked wonders in season one, the recently announced season two could add a few twists and turns to the carnivorous competitions without sacrificing The American Barbecue Showdown's heart and soul.

Vegetarian Vittles

For the more omnivorous of The American Barbecue Showdown's viewers, the notion of a vegetarian (or...gasp...even vegan) episode might bring about a squeal of terror to rival that of even the most fearful piglet. Of course, PETA isn't going to get on board with this savory show any time soon, but an expansion into the world of the herbivorous could be an exciting twist for season two.

Choosing to focus an entire episode of The American Barbecue Showdown season two on vegetarian cuisine would present a unique set of challenges to whichever carnivorous chefs populate the competition, as well as expand the range of fantastic foods audiences can attempt to recreate. A potential challenge for this theoretical episode could entail hand-crafting a unique veggie burger, or maybe the panel of celebrity judges could break the hearts of the competing pitmasters by substituting their pulled pork with a spiky jackfruit. Spare the pig, and maybe, spice up the show.

Cooking Creepy Crawlies

Given the current state of things, from the climatological to the political, everyone needs to get on board with the previously unthinkable -- we'll all be eating insects within the next few decades. Creepy crawlies contain an impressive array of fats, proteins, and vitamins within their crunchy carcasses. While the notion is utterly unthinkable to the likely largely American audience of The American Barbecue Showdown, our aversion to insects and arachnids on the dinner plate is not shared by the rest of the world, and frankly, ignoring these bountiful protein sources is a mark of privilege.

Here's where The American Barbecue Showdown comes in. The fifth episode of season one, "Raccoon, Iguana, and Hare- Oh My!," forced chefs to step outside their comfort zone, cooking critters that aren't usually found in the smoker or on the skillet. Could the show's creators push the envelope one step further and choose to focus an episode on creepy-crawly culinary challenges? In place of seared steak, pulled pork, and braised brisket, could audiences learn recipes for grilled grasshoppers, basted butterflies, sautéed spiders, medium-rare maggots, or mashed moths?

Rasheed Philips' Reckoning

One of the most beloved chefs from season one of The American Barbecue Showdown was Rasheed Philips, an amateur chef whose bold flavor profiles and creative choices propelled him to a second-place finish. In the final episode, he narrowly lost the whole hog cookout to the tiny titan Tina Cannon. While audiences certainly hope to see Philips in the upcoming season two, be it as a returning competitor or a guest judge, there are other ways in which his legacy could improve upon the show's format.

Barbecue is not, of course, a uniquely American creation. There is not a single type of cuisine that hasn't had the brilliant idea to throw a piece of meat on something hot. Rasheed Philips was perhaps the only contestant in season one of The American Barbecue Showdown who ventured beyond the parameters of traditional American 'que. In season two, taking notes from Rasheed Philips' radical roasting, there should be episodes that focus on the global tradition of meat making, with all the spice and seasoning that entails.

At the end of the day, The American Barbecue Showdown was successful because of its simple style and magnificent meats. The show's creators should be careful in disrupting the format for fear of losing out on the beautiful barbecuing that made season one so mouth-wateringly must-watchable. However, with a few simple twists and turns, be they a nod to vegetarian vittles, an interest in insects, or a reminder of Philips' revolutionary dry-rubs, could turn season two into an even tastier treat.

Original Article: What Could The American Barbecue Showdown Serve up in Season 2?