Texans know better than anybody that the Lone Star State is home to some of the best barbecue in the United States, if not the world, and now smoked meats from the state’s capital city will soon be getting a new spotlight. Two new Food Network shows are set to showcase what Austin BBQ is all about this summer.
In June, the Food Network’s new Top 10 series will visit a beloved Egyptian barbecue truck and BBQ Brawl will be a competition amongst pitmasters for highlighting Austin’s food and city culture. While both shows haven’t revealed all the details of each new episode yet, they clearly have the Texas capital in common when it comes down to finding and making the best barbecue.
Food Network’s Top 10, which premiered in late May, ranks the top 10 dishes in a certain food category selected by award-winning chefs that break down the the most delicious and inspiring dishes that they believe are worth the hype, money and even a road trip, according to its website. The show features opinions from renowned chefs like Michael Voltaggio, Andrew Zimmern, and Aarón Sánchez.
Top 10’s upcoming Episode 103 will center around the, “10 most fire-kissed, sauce-drenched, fall-off-the-bone barbecue in America,” per the Food Network TV schedule. The episode includes an “Egyptian cowboy” in Austin, who is most likely KG BBQ pitmaster Kareem El-Ghayesh. His East Austin food truck specializes in blending Egyptian flavors into Texas barbecue with menu items like pork ribs glazed in a pomegranate molasses, lamb bacon ribs, kebabs and more.
Lamb chop from KG BBQ. (Peter L. Scamardo II/MySA)
KG BBQ at 3108 Manor Rd, Austin, TX 78723. (Peter L. Scamardo II/MySA)
Food Network said that in Episode 103 he “redefines pit mastery with a North African-spiced rack of lamb,” but it’s unclear if it will beat a Chinatown-inspired platter in Charleston, South Carolina that’s also teased in the description. The episode is set to air on Monday, June 8 at 10 p.m.
As for Food Network’s BBQ Brawl, fans will have to wait a little longer to see Austin BBQ in the limelight. In the show, celebrity chef Bobby Flay and his culinary friends, Maneet Chauhan and Brooke Williamson, mentor and coach the country’s most-respected pitmasters in an intense competition.
BBQ Brawl’s Episode 706 is inspired by the live music scene in Austin. The barbecue competitors will be asked to “listen closely and hit all the right notes with their BBQ feasts,” according to the show’s description on the Food Network TV schedule. This episode is set to premier Monday, June 15 at 8 p.m.
This article originally published at Central Texas BBQ set to receive star treatment in 2 Food Network shows.