NC pitmasters take on the ‘Chopped’ kitchen for barbecue glory and state pride

Deciding which type of barbecue is best is an impossible-to-answer-why-even-try kind-of question.

But Food Network’s “Chopped Grill Masters” will try to make an argument for which one can claim the best cooks, fanning regional rivalries at the same time.

Pitmasters from North Carolina, Texas, Memphis and Kansas City will compete in the famous Chopped kitchen under the typical format of making a composed dish of surprise ingredients in a specific time frame.

This “Chopped” spin-off isn’t trying to tackle the debate between brisket and whole hog, but which cooks can make the best barbecue-inspired dishes.

As the Food Network cooking show moves into the smoky realm of barbecue, prize money is $50,000.

In each episode, four cooks from each region will face off with winners then competing in a barbecue final four.

North Carolina is represented by heavy hitters on the competition circuit and by the chef at one of the state’s best-known barbecue joints.

The North Carolina episode, filmed earlier this year, airs Tuesday, Aug. 7, with the winner returning Aug. 28 to take on the winners of Memphis, Texas and Kansas City.

Here’s a look at who is going to represent North Carolina. The swath of North Carolina competitors is fairly narrow, with the western-most pitmaster on the show coming from Raleigh.

Melanie Dunia, The Pit, Raleigh

As the executive chef of the Pit in downtown Raleigh, Dunia steers one of North Carolina’s best-known barbecue restaurants. Dunia grew up in Raleigh and cooks whole hog barbecue day in and day out.

But she didn’t grow up on it. Hailing from New York State, Dunia said her parents know “barbecue” as hamburgers and hotdogs grilled out back on a summer day. Her own barbecue upbringing started as a sous chef at The Pit, where she eventually worked her way up to the executive chef spot.

While many of the Grill Master competitors are old-school barbecuers, Dunia’s kitchen chops may be her advantage in the Chopped studio.

“It gave me a chance to really show what I can do,” Dunia said. “At first I thought, there’s no way I could cook a hog for 10 hours in 30 minutes ... But I think it definitely does help me. At The Pit, guests are coming in and looking to get a meal in and out.”

The Pit serves brisket and the stylings of Eastern and Western Carolina, but Dunia said her heart belongs to whole hog, Eastern-style.

“North Carolina prides itself on cooking whole hogs and has been doing it for hundreds of years,” Dunia said.

She said she was a fan of “Chopped,” but when producers reached out to be on the show she was initially hesitant, preferring to tend to fires behind the scenes than star in front of the camera. But after a series of Skype interviews and an application, she took the plunge.

“I try to stay out of the spotlight,” Dunia said. “But it was everything I thought it would be. An intense environment.”

The Pit plans to host a viewing party Aug. 7. at 9 p.m.

Adam Hughes, Old Colony Smokehouse, Edenton

This general contractor from Edenton spends half his weekends a year at barbecue competitions.

Hughes started grilling while in college at East Carolina. Grilling turned into smoking, and smoking turned into trying out competition barbecue on a lark.

Under the name “Old Colony Smokehouse,” Hughes has been cooking on the Southeast competitive barbecue circuit since 2015, but has won three grand championships and has a few dozen Top 10 finishes.

Though he usually cooks shoulders, pork ribs, chicken and brisket, Hughes said North Carolina’s pit cooked whole hog is the most fundamental barbecue of all region.

“North Carolina is the most basic type of barbecue, it goes back to the roots of man,” Hughes said. “As far as representing North Carolina, the dishes we prepared spoke to North Carolina: traditional, simple ingredients.”

Hughes believes his passion for his home state is what landed him on the show.

“There’s probably not another person in the competitions that has as much pride in North Carolina,” he said. “I’m so proud to be from North Carolina — Eastern North Carolina. It’s something I wear on my sleeve.”

As a home cook whose hobby became a passion, Hughes said he felt a little out of place in the Chopped kitchen, a six-burner stovetop in the middle of a brightly lit studio. There’s TV magic, for sure, he said: hours of interviews and photo shoots, but the cooking is real.

“I was a nervous wreck the entire time I was there, but once the clock started and I was cooking, I was doing what I like to do and it was fun,” Hughes said. “When I watched (“Chopped”), I thought surely they have more than 20 minutes. But the time is the time. There’s no second take.”

Chris Prieto, Prime Barbecue, Knightdale

Raised in Texas, but settled in North Carolina, Prieto’s barbecue background is divided. He embraces them both — the brisket and the whole hog — but wants to see more Texas passion in North Carolina’s barbecue landscape.

“When I stand in line at barbecue places in Texas, everyone is happy to be there,” Prieto said. “There’s a deep barbecue culture in North Carolina, but no one really waiting in line. I think it’s time.”

Though he’s written barbecue cookbooks, appeared on the Destination America series “BBQ Pitmasters” and taught classes, Prieto just broke ground on his first restaurant, Prime Barbecue in Knightdale. It’s on track to open by the end of the year.

Prieto says he takes a cerebral approach to barbecue, researching and perfecting techniques. That includes the traditions of North Carolina.

“My culinary background really bloomed in North Carolina, I really matured here,” Prieto said. “I have a lot of passion for North Carolina. It’s where my kids were born, it’s where my wife is from. Every dish I made I wanted people to know they could drape a giant NC flag around it.”

Jerry Stephenson, Redneck BBQ Lab, Benson

Jerry Stephenson opened his first restaurant, the Redneck BBQ Lab, a year and a half ago, lining the walls of the Benson restaurant with dozens of competition trophies as a kind of barbecue bling. He and his sister, Roxanne Manley, spend half the year on the road competing under the name Redneck Scientific.

Stephenson is on the show because of his daughter, a Chopped fan who wanted her dad to give it a try. She pleaded with him to give it a go.

“Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from a television producer,” Stephenson said. “I was hesitant. I’m not really a public guy. I hate being the ‘I’ guy, the ‘Me’ guy. I did it for my daughters and Johnston County and to promote our shop and store.”

The hardest thing, Stephenson said, was being sworn to secrecy by an air-tight nondisclosure agreement. His wife didn’t know he would be on the show until about a month ago.

Stephenson knows competition barbecue like breathing, but said being on “Chopped” is like comparing apples and oranges. But even under the bright lights of studio camera, the pang of adrenaline and thinking on the fly is the same.

“The moment you’re standing over the basket, when they ask you to open it up, it’s like looking in the smoker and seeing the brisket drying out,” Stephenson said. “The show is split-decision stuff. You can’t really prepare for it.”

On TV

“Chopped Grill Masters” is on Food Network Aug. 7 at 9 p.m.

This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 1:35 PM with the headline "NC pitmasters take on the ‘Chopped’ kitchen for barbecue glory and state pride."