The competition kicks off with a smokin' staple: the barbecue combo plate. That's two mouthwatering meats and two succulent sides.

The competitors make a feast for 50 first responders in a Fourth of July throwdown. Tri-tip, pork chops, cheeseburgers and more are on the menu.

Time to celebrate the greatest invention in the history of food: ribs! The cooks tackle pork and beef ribs — one with a dry rub, one with a wet sauce.

The smokers serve up a trio of sandwiches: savory chicken with crunchy slaw, tender and tangy pork, and five-layer stacks of beef and sausage.

The pitmasters sink their teeth into some wild meats, delivering dishes like lizard stew, beaver tail crackling and pulled alligator.

Working in pairs, the barbecuers prepare popular proteins from the past, cooking mutton, goat and whole salmon on wooden platforms and over open pits.

Ingredients and equipment from Morocco, Argentina and Japan spice things up and force the contestants to cook outside their comfort zones.

The final two tackle their biggest challenge yet: building their own pits and cooking a whole hog and brisket. It's gonna be a long night!

The contestants craft signature barbecue plates to show what they can make over an open flame, including one dish cooked al fresco in the all-new Trench.

Things get spicy when the judges ask the cooks to take their pick from a pantry packed with peppers that range from friendly to face-melting.

The pitmasters dig deep in the Trench to make a mouthwatering surf and turf menu, cooking their proteins both above and below ground.

After a dramatic campfire breakfast cook-off, the competitors roll through a new challenge: barbecuing a stuffed roast with a delicious surprise inside.

The four fire tamers still in the game get creative to cook perfectly pulled meat and sides using an array of rickety, makeshift smoker rigs.

The competition gets personal as the barbecuers race to make family-style holiday feasts inspired by their own most delicious traditions.

Semifinalists tackle a new test in close quarters, sharing one dome to suspend their dishes over open fire as they attempt Brazilian-style churrasco.

The last two pitmasters standing go whole hog in this fiery finale, serving snout-to-tail spreads to determine who will go home a barbecue champion.