Blue Hound’s Bryner wins Food Network’s ‘BBQ Brawl’
Rabun County’s “Mountain Man” became king of the mountain as he edged out two of the nation’s top chefs for the coveted “Master of ‘Cue” on season six of the Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.”
The razor-thin victory came in episode 10 on July 27 as Kyle Bryner, Dillard’s Blue Hound Barbecue and Grill owner and pitmaster, and Brad Leighninger of Branson, Mo., tied for first. Tyler Anderson of Hartford, Conn., was only one point behind the two fellow brawlers.
After the reality show’s three judges huddled up once more to decide between Bryner and Leighninger, more than 200 in attendance at a watch party at Clayton Baptist Church’s Ministry Activities erupted in applause with judge Carson Kressley’s announcement of Bryner as champion.
“This is an incredible turnout and this really shows us as a community how much you care,” Bryner said of the packed MAC who got to be the first residents to see the winning trophy.
The show’s barbecue experts gained each other’s respect and became friends throughout the weeks.
“Look, two of us tied for first place and it’s a fitting end to this competition because Tyler and Kyle are the most talented people I’ve ever cooked with,” Leighninger, a winner of hundreds of barbecue competitions, said in the final broadcast.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” Bryner said, nearing the conclusion of a grueling competition on episode 10 that started with 12 brawlers. “This is my first time I’ve ever put myself out there. I just put my heart on a plate and showed my story through my food, feeling sick to my stomach, but I’m ready.”
In the deciding tally, Bryner and Leighninger each had 52 points and Anderson had 51 from the brawlers’ “Feast All Night” 15-hour cook-off that stretched over two days. With two extra-point advantages tossed in by the judges during the overnight cook, Bryner was sitting in third place.
The feast was worth a maximum of 50 points as the three remaining brawlers’ five dishes could earn 10 points apiece.
Just minutes after episode nine concluded, the brawlers in episode 10 were given 30 minutes to plan and start the final feast with the captains serving as their sous-chef with limited availability the next morning for two hours.
With dusk approaching in Texas, the brawlers needed to cook through the night to make the next day’s deadline. Episode nine’s two elimination challenges and the mega finale feast wore on the cooks’ ability, planning, stamina and determination.
Leighninger was given five points by the judges for being the MVB (Most Valuable Brawler) through the first nine episodes at the Star Hill Ranch in Austin, Texas.
“Brad got five bonus points,” Bryner said with a smile to the watch-party audience. “I thought that was odd (of the judges’ advantage points), but Brad was the consistent.”
After 5 a.m., as the brawlers prepared their feasts, judge Kressley announced the second advantage challenge as the sleep-deprived competitors had one hour to prepare a breakfast dish to give the judges a sneak peek of the competitors’ feasts. The dishes were scored on a scale of 1 to 10. The bonus points would be added to the overall scores.
Bryner made a fritter with pimento cheese sausage and corn with a peach-pepper jelly crema underneath.
“Wow,” judge Brooke Williamson said with her first bite of the fritter.
“It’s savory and delicious – lots of surprises in this, like, kind of little arancini,” Kressley said.
“Yep, pimento cheese is never something I order, it’s not something I crave,” said Williamson. “This is like the perfect balance of salty, sweet.”
Anderson would earn nine points, Bryner eight and Leighninger seven. With Leighninger’s five additional points, he had 12 with Anderson and Bryner at nine and eight, respectively.
The points earned from the five feast dishes would translate into the final scores.
Bryner rose to the challenge for the win, which brings with it bragging rights, a tall “Master of ‘Cue” trophy, and a consistent presence on the Food Network’s social media platforms.
“I can’t wait to put this big ole trophy in the window of the Blue Hound,” a beaming Bryner told the watch party crowd.
“What you see on TV is the person he is in real life,” Erin Bryner said of her husband.
She said his level of kindness and caring is visible to their three children. Seeing this husband-wife companionship firsthand teaches their offspring how to be good spouses in the future, she said.
“People see how much you love Jesus and how well you treat us,” Erin said. “I have loved you since I was 16.”
“Erin is my best friend and the love of my life,” said Kyle, who also owns the Blue Bike Café in Highlands.
Bryner said he wanted to share his family and his faith on “BBQ Brawl.” He said for him to come up with dishes with shiitake mushrooms and other non-traditional food items during the season were inspirations from God.
“I am made in the image of the Creator,” Bryner said. “It wouldn’t have come through on camera if it hadn’t been for my Lord.”
Hearing the “Master of ‘Cue” decree Sunday night, Bryner’s chef captain Maneet Chauhan raced around the long dinner table to give the “Mountain Man” a big hug.
“I’m sitting here, like a really proud mama,” Chauhan said. “What I really love is the pride that you have coming from the Appalachians. And other than the food, that’s my favorite thing about you.”
In episode 10, Bryner said, “I definitely wanna win this for my dad. He passed away before our first barbecue competition together, so to come this far in this competition, my dad would be over the moon for me.”
“I just won freaking ‘Master of ‘Cue’ and it feels amazing,” Bryner said on episode 10. “I came here just a simple mountain man from Georgia to the Hill Country of Texas, but here I am, the winning ‘Master of ‘Cue’ and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Bryner told the watch party crowd that after he won, he made one phone call and then went to bed.
“I called Erin and then I think I slept 18 hours straight,” he said, adding that another Food Network reality show may be in the works for him and potentially a cookbook.
Todd Faircloth, executive director of the Foxfire Museum, said Bryner and Blue Hound Barbecue in Dillard have a lot of support in the community and now across the nation.
“Every time we go into your restaurant, you greet everyone,” Faircloth said. “You brought who you are to this region and to national TV. Thank you, your family, and your staff. … We love you, brother.”
“The whole process was super,” Bryner said of “BBQ Brawl.” The days were 15 hours long with quite a bit of time sitting in front of a “green screen,” he said.
It was a chilly 35 degrees the night of the final feast, Bryner said.
His feast was an “Ode to Appalachia.” It consisted of chicken fried ribs with Alabama white sauce; beef cheeks with potato bread and pickles; sausage trio of a garlic kielbasa, jalapeno cheek and all pork; pimento cheese grits with fried green tomatoes; and sweet potato crunch.
- Enoch Autry
CNI News Service