I'm Bobby Flay. Each week, one brave chef will try to
take me down in my house.
This is my show.
Today it is. Tomorrow, who knows?
-Ooh. -Trash talking.
This culinary battle is gonna shake down
in two rounds.
-[bell dings] -Round one, to get to me,
two contenders have to go through each other
using an ingredient of my choice.
It's do or die, Bobby.
Two people that know me well will decide who's got
the skills to beat me. -Yeah!
-[bell dings] -[Bobby] Round two, I go head-to-head
with the winning contender.
Let's go!
It's their turn to surprise me
with their signature dish.
-What? -Ah!
-Don't try this at home. -I know you didn't, Bobby!
[Bobby] Bottom line?
You're gonna run out of time!
Everyone's out to beat me.
[snaps]
[bell dings]
[cheering]
All right, everybody, get ready to fire up the grill.
-Hoping to smoke me out... -I'm on fire.
-It's Chef Josh Capon. -Oh, let's go!
And from the Today Show, Dylan Dreyer.
Come on, we got one! We got one grilling!
Oh, I forgot my giant tongs.
-Welcome, you guys. Nice to see you, Dylan. -Thanks.
-I can't believe you came back. -Thanks for having me.
Dylan, let me ask you a question.
Bobby and I both do a lot of cooking segments
on the "Today Show." Who gets higher ratings?
-Well... -You sure you want to ask that question?
[laughter]
All right, tonight's a grilling night, apparently.
That's the only thing I know. I don't know who's coming out.
So, grilling -- I know you have a gluten-free house.
Yes, once my oldest was diagnosed
with celiac disease, it does not enter the house.
And I find grilling is such an easy way to not introduce
any kind of gluten at all. -[Josh] Yeah.
You cook gluten-free at home, right?
Wife and kids are gluten- and dairy-free.
I think there's nothing better than grilling.
[Josh] It's good, it's fun. No cleanup?
-Come on. -Yeah.
OK, why don't you bring us some chefs?
[Bobby] Let's get grilling.
Our first contender is actually a "Beat Bobby Flay" judge
that's ready to get up all in your grill, Bobby.
The chef-owner of Pig Beach BBQ, Matt Abdoo.
-[suspenseful beat plays] -[applause]
You guys have normal-sized utensils here?
[Josh] We don't like normal-sized utensils.
[Dylan] Our next contender has already been named
a master of 'cue.
It's the chef-owner from Lexington Betty Smokehouse,
Dominique Leach.
-[suspenseful beat plays] -[applause]
[indistinct encouragement]
[Bobby] Matt, Dominique,
nice to see you both again. -Likewise.
[Bobby] Dominique and I stood next to each other
for an entire season of "BBQ Brawl,"
and I watched her pick people off.
Not to add to any of the pressure, Bobby.
Well, I just want to let you know,
we know what your skills are.
[Bobby] So Matt has a place called Pig Beach,
and he's got crazy good accolades for it,
and also he's on "Beat Bobby Flay" as a judge all the time.
This is gonna be my favorite part of the night right here.
I'm gonna give you an ingredient of my choice,
and you must make that ingredient the superstar
of your dish. And that ingredient is...
flanken cut short ribs. -Nice.
[applause]
-You like this? -I love it.
-I prefer if I had more time. -Nothing I can do about that.
All right, guys, you got 20 minutes to braise some ribs.
-[bell dings] -[applause]
-[Josh] You ever have braised short ribs? -Yes.
So that's when you take a bunch of these
and before you cut them, it's a big hunk of meat.
When you cut it nice and thin, throw it on the grill,
it's just more fun to eat and gives you
a little bit of a chew. -You want a really hot grill
so you get it really crusty. -Yeah.
Usually you marinate it in things that flavor it
and also tenderize it.
Dominique, what are you making?
[Dominique] I'm gonna do a Asian-style short rib stir-fry,
marinated with some gochujang. -Nice.
[Dylan] I like a good stir-fry.
I think that'll pair well with the steak.
[Dominique] My mind immediately went to Asian
because they'll be bold flavors
and really penetrate the meat to make sure
the flank short ribs are gonna stand out.
I'm gonna use gochujang, Memphis rub, soy sauce.
[Dylan] You've been raving about Dominique.
You worked hand-in-hand with her.
-She's bringing the flavor. -Yeah, all right, all right.
You might remember me from a little show called
"BBQ Brawl." -Dominique.
All right.
Cheers to our new Master of 'Cue.
Whoo!
So, I was introduced to the kitchen
by my grandmother, Betty.
She would make us the best soul food.
And today, I'm the co-owner and executive chef
at Lexington Betty Smokehouse.
Of course, I named it after my grandmother.
On "BBQ Brawl," Bobby was my mentor.
So tonight, Bobby, mentor versus mentee, it's on.
Matt, what about you?
[Matt] Quick-grilled short ribs with a little chimichurri sauce
and a nice little fresh arugula salad.
-[Matt] Let's do it. -Chimichurri is delicious.
One of my favorite sauces to put on grilled meats,
grilled fish, anything.
[Matt] So I cut my meat off the bone
because I wanted them to cook evenly.
Just olive oil, salt, and pepper,
keep it real simple,
let the flavor of that meat shine.
We have Matt on the "Today Show" all the time.
He has never disappointed.
[Matt] So I'm coming from a classically trained,
fine dining background until it just came time for me
to do something different.
So I moved myself into the world of barbecue
because I love being able to put a smile on your face
with the things that I'm able to make.
Today, I'm the chef and owner of Pig Beach BBQ.
In my first year competing in Memphis in May,
we finished second place in "whole hog,"
and first place in "poultry."
And also, I've been a judge on this show many times.
Hopefully the knowledge that I have from judging will
give me a little leg up.
And today I found hidden in my backpack a sign
from my son, Luke, that said, "Beat Bobby, love Luke."
So we're gonna do everything we can, buddy.
Uh-oh, Abdoo, what's going on, buddy?
[Matt] We're gonna make a real quick chimichurri.
One of your big meat spice rubs, come on.
I'm at 20 minutes, chef.
We're keeping it nice and clean and tight
and we're doing what we gotta do.
[indistinct]...big meat spice rub in your back pocket.
[Matt] I'm adding cilantro, my parsley, my chives,
the garlic, and the shallots, red wine vinegar, olive oil.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Matt, I'm just telling you, she's got a really
nice marinade on these short ribs over here. -I'm loving it.
And you're doing a little bit of stir fry
to go along with it? -Oh, yeah.
I'm doing a nice char on these vegetables
and make that beef shine. -[Josh] Let's go.
You got 13 minutes left. Let's go.
-Yes, Chef, game on! -[Josh] Let's go.
-[applause] -[cheering]
[bell rings]
[Matt] Oh, I always wanted to do that.
I finally rang the bell at "Beat Bobby Flay."
-[sighs] -[Matt] Dominique is adding a lot of flavor in that marinade
to get right into that short rib,
which is what we're looking for.
I think Matt's really gonna bring it
with the chimichurri sauce.
[Matt] Now I'm gonna take a lemon, put it
on the grill to give it that little bit of charriness.
So I gotta make sure that that grill pan is really, really hot
to get that definitive char on the outside while still being
able to keep the inside like a medium doneness.
[Josh] Matt's already taking the short ribs off.
I do like the idea of letting the meat rest.
[Josh] Yeah, those juices redistribute to the meat.
For my stir-fry sauce, I'm gonna use miso,
mirin, and soy sauce.
I also put my steaks on, so those can start to get
a nice char on them quick.
And then I start my vegetable stir-fry...
-[fire whooshes] -[audience cheering]
...with some cabbage and peppers.
[Josh] I'm a little concerned that between the heavy marinade
on the stir fry and on the beef, it might be
a little overpowering. -[Dylan] All right.
I got to go see this up close. Yeah.
-What up, Dilly Dilly? -[Dylan] What's up, Matt?
I mean, I feel like this is more than the four minutes
you get on the "Today Show." -It's a lot more.
But right now, I'm wishing I was back on the "Today Show."
There's a lot less stress.
But we're making a little chimichurri to go with
these grilled... -This looks delicious.
...short ribs, and we're gonna finish with a little arugula salad
to go with the steaks. -OK.
Me growing up, steak and salad was kind of a thing.
-Hope you guys like it. -All right.
[Matt] So I'm thinking, keep it nice and fresh and light
with lemon, olive oil, and shaved Parmesan.
[Dylan] All right, so what's going on?
-Whoa, that is spice in there. -Mm-hmm.
I just got a whiff.
[laughing]
So Matt cut the bone off. You decided to leave yours on.
Yeah, why'd you do that?
I don't want to bite into a bone, chef.
[Dominique] That bone is where the flavor is.
If you're braising it, but you're grilling it
in five minutes. -[Dominique] Yeah.
You guys smell that up there? Oh, yeah.
Well, we're down in five and a half minutes,
so I'm gonna let you guys finish this up.
I'm gonna bring over the smell, because I think it
just attached to me right now. -It's starting to smell good in here, D.
[Dominique] I finish up my vegetables.
I cut my steaks, add them to the plate.
[Matt] I'm taking my arugula salad and putting it
right next to the lemon.
I take my grilled flank short ribs and slice them.
[crowd and judges] Ten, nine, eight...
And I finish the plate with that chimichurri.
...six, five, four, three,
two, one! -Let's go.
-[bell dings] -[crowd cheering]
Matt kept his dish very simple, but simple can be great.
I went bold, spicy.
The judges are gonna love it.
[Matt] I'm looking at my dish. It's simple, it's beautiful.
And more important than anything, it tastes delicious.
[Josh] Tonight is all about grilling.
Just by looking at these dishes, I think we got
a pretty good chance of beating Bobby tonight.
All right, Chef Matt, what'd you make?
Grilled short rib with a chimichurri and arugula salad
with a little grilled lemon.
[anticipatory music plays]
I got to commend you for the grilled lemon.
I'm a big fan of grilling lemons.
That chimichurri sauce is really nice and herbaceous.
I would have loved some more caramelization on the meat,
but the fact that you let it rest, it really is
a restaurant-quality dish. -Thank you, Chef.
I love a nice fatty steak with a nice bright salad,
and the chimichurri sauce is absolutely delicious.
I am glad that you took it off the bone
because I like the chew, but not too much chew,
and I think that does
help with it. -Thank you, Dylan.
[Josh] Chef Dominique, tell us what you did
with the flank short ribs.
I made a grilled marinated short rib with a stir-fry.
[anticipatory music plays]
[Josh] These packed a very powerful punch.
That marinade is fire.
I think between the combination of the marinade and the sauce
in the stir-fry, they kind of make it a little bit too heavy.
I wish there was just like a little something
to make it less heavy.
[Dylan] But I think it's cooked perfectly.
And the flavor is absolutely delicious.
[Josh] Two really well-prepared dishes.
This was a nice lunch. Thank you both very much.
Give Josh and I a moment to discuss.
[Matt] She made a great dish, so right now,
I'm just hoping for the best.
The chef moving on tonight is...
Chef Matt.
[applause]
I mean, I'm super surprised, but Matt's a talented chef.
So I'm happy he's going on to beat Bobby Flay.
Matt, I just think it ate better as an overall dish.
It's something that I would want to eat again and again.
Thank you, Chef.
All right, Matt, you do know that Bobby does know
his way around the grill. -Yeah, duh -- boy meets grill.
Why am I doing a grilling competition against him?
This is like, insanity.
[laughter]
♪ Are you ready or not? ♪
[electric guitar shredding]
Alright chef, feeling good about the second round?
Yeah, but I'm also cooking against you so
there's those challenges. -What's the worst that could happen?
I could beat you, and I'll just remind you every week.
[laughter]
What are we cooking tonight?
What is your signature dish?
Today Bobby, we're cooking...
grilled pork chops.
-Ooh. -[applause]
Pork chops are literally my favorite dish on the planet.
Wow -- can we judge, too?
No, I want to have a shot.
45 minutes on the clock,
and your time starts...
-[bell rings] -...now! Let's go!
[applause]
I don't know if Bobby likes you touching his bell.
I think I'm the first person that's ever rang Bobby's bell.
If you want Bobby to lose, that's the way to do it.
Just get under his skin every time.
[Matt] Here we go, Pork Chop City, everybody.
[Josh] So, I gotta tell you, Matt picked pork chops,
and tonight's battle is all about grilling, which is great
for people, especially who are gluten-free.
You can just throw anything on the grill, nothing more than
some olive oil, salt and pepper,
and you're ready to go.
And you would never know it's gluten-free.
-That's the most important thing. -Yeah.
[Josh] Those are some beautiful racks of pork
you're cutting there, Bobby. That's as good as it gets.
Center cut, baby.
[Josh] I think what it's really gonna
come down to is not just a spice rub,
but the actual cook on the pork chop.
You don't want a well-done pork chop.
You want a really nice, juicy, pink, medium-rare
pork chop when you're working with pork of this caliber.
[Matt] Those pork chops, they look gorgeous.
My signature dish is barbecue-seasoned
grilled pork chop with peach glaze,
bell pepper slaw, and crispy onions.
I put my peaches in, get them pureed.
We're doing a sticky peach glaze over these delicious
barbecue-seasoned pork chops.
Music to my ears! I gotta love ya!
[Matt] So in my rub I have dark brown sugar, paprika,
hatch chili powder, oregano, thyme,
and a little bit of fennel pollen.
So right now I'm feeling pretty ready to take Bobby down.
It would also make me just so happy to see the look on
my son's face when I get to tell him that I beat Bobby Flay.
Wow, Bobby, you're loading up on some spices over there?
[Bobby] I gotta bring the noise for this guy.
I'm gonna revisit my foundation.
I'm gonna do some Southwestern.
Oh, of course you are.
[laughter]
[Bobby] So I'm making a pork chop with a many-spice spice rub,
and a grilled sweet potato taco.
So in my spice rub, I'm combining paprika,
cumin, and coriander, brown sugar,
ancho chili powder, a little bit of pasilla chili powder.
Let's grill some pork chops.
Come on, guys. Battle of pork chops.
What do you got going on over here, big boy?
[Matt] All right, chef. We got a little barbecue seasoning.
[Josh] That is sweet heat right there.
I don't know if you noticed, but when you said battle of
the pork chops, I think Bobby actually got a little nervous.
I doubt that. Highly, highly doubt that.
-But I appreciate it. -You got him right where
you want him, Matty! Take it home, baby, take it home!
Come on. Let's hear it for Matty.
-Let's go. -[cheering]
[Josh] Wow. Bobby's already cooking away.
Bobby's already medium rare.
Get your pork chops on the grill.
We're on it, yes, Chef.
-Going right in the oven with those? -[Bobby] Yeah.
Matty, he's got a nice char on them.
Oh, love it -- nice job. Eat more pork.
I'm getting hired for the pork campaign.
Eat more pork! Eat more pork!
Come on. Let's hear it for Matty.
Come on, let's hear it for Matty!
-Hey -- let's go! -[bell dings]
[bell dings repeatedly]
-What am I doing? -[Josh] Keep 'em confused, guys.
[laughter]
-27 minutes. -[audience cheering]
Cook, cook, cook.
[Josh] Listen, anybody can take a pork chop,
throw it on the grill with some salt and pepper, call it a day.
Between the sauce and the smoke and the spice rub,
now this is cooking. -The bell peppers, I'm chopping up.
I throw those in the peach glaze.
And then I get my pork chops, into the oven they go.
Char is looking good.
Bobby, you're in that pantry a lot.
I know. A lot of ingredients.
So in my barbecue sauce, it's ketchup, Dijon mustard,
some red wine vinegar, some molasses, and chipotles.
I'm looking for that balance of spicy and some sweetness.
And then I'm gonna make a little avocado
and pickled shallot salad.
This is like a cooling effect, so it's avocados,
scallions, some lime juice, and cilantro.
-Josh, I can't hit this bell. -Tap it.
-It makes him so upset. -[bell dings]
Oh!
-[laughter] -[applause]
You know, I'm excited about this.
The producers have given me a list.
-OK. -How you can improve on the "Today Show."
-Oh, I'd love it. -"Today Show" producer notes for Bobby.
-Oh, my God. -They say you overuse chili peppers.
Is there any chili in this dish?
Many.
You don't need to keep talking about your cats.
We get it.
They'd like you to try baking something sometime.
No, you don't want to see that.
But you're trying to -- ooh, this smells good.
This is the barbecue sauce.
Insulting you, I got distracted.
-Want to taste it? -[Dylan] Yeah.
Oh, wow. That's good.
-[Bobby] Is it -- yeah. -It's spicy.
Come on, Dylan, supposed to be on my team.
Alright, going over to our other "Today Show" favorite.
-I mean, our only "Today Show" favorite. -[Matt] That's right.
[Dylan] What do you love about pork chops?
Pork chops is probably one of my earliest memories as a kid
of eating a dish my mom used to make.
You know, shake and bake pork chops with applesauce.
So we got our peach jam.
-Is that kind of your substitute for applesauce? -[Matt] Yes.
All right, I'm going to let you be.
-[Matt] Thank you. -22 minutes, chefs.
-Here we go. -[audience applauds]
[Dylan] Bobby's barbecue sauce is delicious.
I mean, it's got that spice,
but it doesn't last for too long.
[Josh] Matt making quick work of that cabbage.
Trying not to make a mess, chef.
For my slaw, I'm getting the cabbage shredded,
the bell pepper shredded, the onion shredded.
Next, I'm gonna make my vinaigrette by heating up
some apple cider vinegar, sugar, celery seed,
get that all to a boil,
and then I pour it over the slaw.
It's good.
So the last component I'm putting on this plate
adds nice texture.
So I have yellow Spanish onions, and I'm putting them
into a brine of buttermilk and pickle juice, toss them
in the dredge, which consists of flour, cornstarch,
salt, pepper, onion, and put them in the deep fryer,
and let them do their magic.
Hey Bobby, I heard you mention a taco.
We're grilling, I'm gonna make a grilled taco.
-Is the pork chop going in the taco? -[Bobby] No.
We're just a little confused is all.
I know, me too.
I used to make this at Mesa Grill.
So it's sweet potatoes that I blanched first,
and then there's blue corn tortilla, Monterey Jack cheese,
some honey, some hot smoked paprika,
and some fresh cilantro.
And then I'm making a Fresno chili hot sauce
to go with the taco.
So it's Fresnos, Piquillo peppers, some honey,
some Dijon mustard.
Oh, baby, look at those. Looking good, right, guys?
-Come on now! -[audience applauds]
[Josh] Ooh, look at him, he's basting those pork chops
with that peach barbecue sauce. Oh, baby.
We got the battle of basting going on right now.
[Josh] 10 minutes, guys. 10 minutes.
-[Josh] Oh, you know what's coming. -I don't want to make him mad.
-[Josh] Let's go. -All right, I'll make him mad.
-[Josh] Go. -[bell dings three times]
Are you throwing things at me from your kitchen?
He's getting rid of the bell.
[Josh] Pork chops in the oven or pork chops are out?
-[Bobby] They're in the oven. -Ooh, that does look good.
-[Josh] I do think they need a little more. -[Bobby] Yeah, a touch.
You guys know why you see chefs poke their meat all the time?
Because the more protein cooks, the more it firms up.
This is what you learn in culinary school.
Go like this. That's rare, right?
This, this is medium, and this is well, right?
You get a little more resistance.
[Matt] So I cut these pork chops,
and they're cooked beautifully.
-[Matt] A little taste. -Oh, my God!
Chef Bobby -- they're busy!
-[Matt] Yours is on the board. -Oh, my God.
-It's not bad, Matty. -That's good.
[Josh] Five minutes.
[Matt] We're gonna put these bones back on the grill,
get a nice little char on them, because that's gonna be
the best part of this plate. -[Josh] Oh, baby.
Those are some nice-looking chops, fellas, on both sides,
I gotta tell you.
[Bobby] OK, so the plate, I put the pork chop,
I add the sweet potato taco, some of the avocado,
a little bit of the Fresno hot sauce.
It's game time. So I put my pile of slaw, I put the bone,
and I take my pork chop slice and fan them out.
Finish them with a little bit more of that glaze.
Ten, nine, eight...
[Matt] And then I garnish the dish with those crispy onions.
[Bobby] Some fresh cilantro.
-Done. -[crowd]...three, two, one.
-[applause] -Now the pork chop is over.
That's beautiful. Wow.
[Bobby] Oh, Matt's dish is gorgeous, but my plate looks like
classic Mesa grill. It's a good memory.
That's one of the best battles I've ever seen here
at "Beat Bobby Flay." -[Matt] I'm feeling really good.
I put the best representation of that dish on the plate,
so win, lose, or draw, I'm feeling really, really good
about what I cooked today.
Matt, Bobby, congratulations on the battle of the pork chop.
Both dishes look absolutely phenomenal.
And now, we'd like to introduce you to your judges.
First up, chef and restaurateur Michael Lomonaco.
Founder and host of "Mama Tanya's Kitchen," Mama Tanya.
Chef and founder of Rye's Donuts and Mighty Quinn's
Barbecue, Hugh Mangum.
Judges, please try the first pork chop in front of you.
[anticipatory music plays]
This dish screams, "Enjoy me." The pork is nice and moist.
I love the peach glaze.
I could have used a little heat, though,
to balance out the sweetness.
But the little onion rings, they're so
crispy and delicious. This was really a fun dish.
I would have liked more acid in there, maybe a touch more salt.
But this is some top-tier pork chop right here.
She is showing out, girl.
The bone, I thought that was a very smart plating choice.
It was like a treat.
This is a perfectly cooked pork chop.
The sear, the char with the sweet,
it's end-to-end perfect. Nice slaw.
I agree with Michael, a little bit more heat.
[Dylan] All right, judges, we'd love for you to try
the second pork chop.
[anticipatory music plays]
[Michael] It's a great pork chop.
It has some amazing symphony of spices.
The flip side of that is I'm missing the sweetness
of the pork for the heat.
Soon as I bit into it, I was like, "Warming spices."
After a while, that heat starts to build, and your girl started
feeling warm, and it was a lot, OK?
But it's a great dish, and sweet potatoes
with this beautiful pork,
it was nice, and it was beautifully presented.
Another perfectly cooked pork chop.
The onions, the avocado on the pork chop, great composed
flavors, but the heat was overwhelming it a little bit.
I thought the taco was sneaky good.
All in all, a great dish.
Judges, thank you very much for your comments.
Time to vote.
[Matt] If I don't beat Bobby Flay, I'm missing out on
the chance to tell my son and my family
that I took down the king, but I did a delicious dish.
And the winner is...
[suspenseful music builds]
from Pig Beach BBQ, Chef Matt Abdoo!
[audience cheers and applauds]
-Congratulations. -Thank you, Chef.
Oh, Bobby! We got him!
I just beat Bobby Flay.
The feelings that are going through me right now, trying to
hold back the happy tears. Hey, Luke, guess what?
What? You beat the final round?
-I beat Bobby Flay! -[Luke] Yay!
-I did it! -Just wait, Bobby.
[playfully] Shut up.
Holy cow!
Hey, Bobby, don't ever underestimate the two of us.
-We got you this time, pal. -The power of pork chops.
I'm Matt Abdoo, and I just beat Bobby Flay.
Luke, we did it! Woo!