The pressure reached an entirely new level in Episode 5 as the remaining five teams faced what may have been the most brutal challenge of the season so far: the Core Four.

The teams were ordered to tackle the four pillars of American barbecue—chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and beef brisket—while simultaneously managing live-fire cooking over an extended period. Each protein came with its own timing, temperature and technical demands, leaving virtually no room for error.

To make matters even more intense, each successful protein round offered a $1,000 prize, giving the pitmasters another reason to push their smokers and grills to the limit.

But then the weather turned against them.

THE RAIN TURNS THE PIT INTO CHAOS

In the middle of the challenge, a sudden rainstorm transformed the competition. The pitmasters were already fighting to maintain consistent temperatures, but the wet conditions made controlling the fires dramatically more difficult.

Smoke began building around the cooking stations, visibility became worse and maintaining the right airflow became a constant battle. Teams had to protect their fires while simultaneously keeping four different proteins on schedule.

For a challenge built around precision, the rain introduced an unpredictable element that nobody could completely control.

The scramble for cooking space only made matters worse.

With multiple teams relying on limited pit space, the competition became increasingly tense as contestants fought to keep their meat positioned where the heat was most reliable. The combination of rain, smoke and crowded cooking areas created an environment that quickly descended into chaos.

JOHN JACKSON AND CONNIE DESOUSA CRACK UNDER PRESSURE

Among the teams struggling to regain control were professional chefs John Jackson and Connie DeSousa.

The pair found themselves increasingly overwhelmed as they attempted to manage the Core Four under deteriorating conditions. Their biggest problem ultimately became the brisket—the centerpiece of any serious barbecue challenge.

Instead of producing the tender, juicy texture required from a properly cooked brisket, their meat came out tough and chewy, with the texture compared to a “shoe sole.”

It was a devastating blow.

Brisket is notoriously unforgiving, and once a team loses control of temperature and timing, recovering the meat can become nearly impossible. For Jackson and DeSousa, the combination of the demanding schedule, smoke-filled cooking area and unstable conditions proved too much.

Their failure demonstrated just how brutal the Core Four challenge really was. A team could excel with one protein and still find itself in serious trouble if another component went wrong.

Ultimately, the brisket disaster proved costly enough to send John Jackson and Connie DeSousa out of the competition.

Their elimination also underscored one of the central lessons of Episode 5: in barbecue, one mistake can erase hours of excellent cooking.

With the remaining teams still battling through the season, the Core Four challenge established a new standard of difficulty. Four proteins, relentless time pressure, competing for pit space—and then a storm arriving at exactly the wrong moment.

For the pitmasters, it wasn’t simply a barbecue competition anymore.

It was a fight to keep the fire alive.