Erica Blaire, season two winner of BBQ Brawl, talks how she utilized her experience as a criminal defense lawyer to be named Master of ’Cue. Erica, otherwise known as Blue Smoke Blaire in the pit, reveals her reaction to being chosen for Bobby Flay’s team and what she learned from him during the competition. She shares her worst barbecue disaster, ever, and how her dad’s love for barbecue and dream to open a barbecue restaurant inspired her to pursue her grilling passion. Erica talks about her career pivots from attorney to sommelier to pitmaster and how she used those skills to stay focused and win BBQ Brawl. Erica shares her hopes for the future of the food scene in her home of Dayton, Ohio and the signature items that will be on the menu for her food truck. She gives her best advice for grilling with confidence and what inspires the unique grilling recipes that she teaches on her new Food Network digital series.
Erica Blaire, season two winner of BBQ Brawl, talks how she utilized her experience as a criminal defense lawyer to be named Master of ’Cue. Erica, otherwise known as Blue Smoke Blaire in the pit, reveals her reaction to being chosen for Bobby Flay’s team and what she learned from him during the competition. She shares her worst barbecue disaster, ever, and how her dad’s love for barbecue and dream to open a barbecue restaurant inspired her to pursue her grilling passion. Erica talks about her career pivots from attorney to sommelier to pitmaster and how she used those skills to stay focused and win BBQ Brawl. Erica shares her hopes for the future of the food scene in her home of Dayton, Ohio and the signature items that will be on the menu for her food truck. She gives her best advice for grilling with confidence and what inspires the unique grilling recipes that she teaches on her new Food Network digital series.
Connect with the podcast: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/food-network-obsessed-the-official-podcast-of-food-network
Follow Food Network on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodnetwork
Follow Jaymee on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaymeesire
Follow Erica Blaire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluesmokeblaire/
Watch Erica’s Digital Series: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/bbq-brawl-flay-v-symon/master-of-cue
Learn More About BBQ Brawl: https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/bbq-brawl-flay-v-symon
Start Your Free Trial of discovery+: https://www.discoveryplus.com/foodobsessed
Find episode transcript here: https://food-network-obsessed.simplecast.com/episodes/bbq-brawl-winner-erica-blaire-reveals-her-barbecue-commandments
[MUSIC PLAYING] JAYMEE SIRE: Happy Friday and welcome to Food Network Obsessed. This is the podcast where we dish on all things Food Network with your favorite Food Network stars. I'm your host Jaymee Sire, and today we have the winner of season two of BBQ Brawl. She chats with us about her life as a woman in barbecue and what was going through her mind when she was picked for Bobby Flay's team.
She started out as a lawyer. She was a sommelier, and now she is Food Network's Master of 'Cue. Let's welcome Erika Blaire.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Erica, or should I say blue smoke Blaire, welcome to the podcast and, more importantly, congratulations.
ERICA BLAIRE: Thank you.
JAYMEE SIRE: You were just announced Master of 'Cue on the second season of BBQ Brawl. How are you feeling now that the secret is out? And more importantly, how did you celebrate?
ERICA BLAIRE: I am so relieved. It was the hardest secret to keep because I just wanted to tell everybody, but I knew I had months that I wasn't allowed to say anything. So it actually probably helped me in the long run because now I know I can keep a secret.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's amazing. Did you celebrate at the time or are you going to have a little celebration now that the secret is out?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yes. So I just did a little celebration with my parents and my son and my husband. So we just sat down. We made some barbecue, and we all just kind of talked about it. And it was really exciting to do that. So I'm happy.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's so awesome. How did you even get selected for the show in the first place?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. So that was actually pretty wild. They slid into my DMs.
JAYMEE SIRE: Modern day casting. I love it.
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. And I thought it might be fake. So at first I didn't respond. They were like, hey, will you Skype us? And I'm like, oh yeah, right, whatever. And then I--
JAYMEE SIRE: That's amazing.
ERICA BLAIRE: I asked one of my friends, and he told me that it was real and that he had worked with him before when he was going to be on a show, and that I should definitely respond to them. So I did it. I took a leap of faith and I said yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: So what was it like when you got the call that you're actually going to be cast on the show?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. So that was kind of crazy because there was a year of silence. So I thought-- I thought it was over. I was like, OK, I applied. They didn't like me, but it was a fun dream and it got me reignited.
Then one day in January, I get a phone call, and they're really going in and asking me questions. And then they're like, be here in Austin, Texas, right at this time. Here's your ticket. And all of a sudden it just became so real. And I had no idea what I was in store for, but I knew no matter what, I was going to do it because it was just going to be the opportunity of a lifetime regardless of what happened.
JAYMEE SIRE: 100%. Did you watch season one of BBQ Brawl?
ERICA BLAIRE: Religiously. I had that thing on freeze frame. I was looking at all the smokers and the grills and every item in the pantry. I dissected that thing like I was going to trial.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. You did your research, and I like the trial reference. We're going to talk about that a little bit later on. Aside from analyzing every frame of the first season, how else did you prepare for a competition?
ERICA BLAIRE: I just started cooking like crazy. I started trying to cook things that were out of my comfort zone, and I started really digging deep into recipes that I cook all the time and figuring out ways to make them better and faster. I timed myself.
I was like, if you can cook it in 20 minutes at your house, then that means no matter what happens, you'll be able to cook it on the show and hopefully it'll be foolproof. I would put my son to bed. I would cook dinner for the family. And then once I knew everybody was taken care of in the house, I would just like creep downstairs and just go for it all night.
JAYMEE SIRE: Wow. You really did your research. You prepared, and it definitely showed throughout the competition because obviously we are sitting here talking to you on Food Network Obsessed. How did it feel when Bobby picked you for his team? Especially knowing that he won last season, just how good at competition he is.
ERICA BLAIRE: I was intimidated. I literally could not look him in the eyes for about three days. I was like, what do you do if you encounter a bear? Like what do you do? I was so terrified, but at the same time I was so honored because I was like, maybe he sees something in me that I haven't fully realized yet, and I know that with his help I'm going to get there.
So I felt like I was in such good hands, and I just had a really strong confidence about being on the show after he picked me.
JAYMEE SIRE: What's something valuable that you learned from your time cooking with Bobby?
ERICA BLAIRE: Bobby on the first cook, he said, do you want to know what makes me successful when I was coming up? I cook what I know. I don't try to do anything out of my wheelhouse. He said cook what you know and do it well.
And no matter what was thrown at me, it was like a centering moment. Every time I just heard him like karate kid, you know, Mr Miyagi. I was like, cook what you know girl, cook what you know. That really helped me get through it all.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's awesome. I mean, I tell people all the time just how good he is, especially in a competitive setting. What impressed you the most about just the way he approaches not just cooking but competitive cooking?
ERICA BLAIRE: He has this sense of calmness about him and directed targeted steps to achieve a goal. He was very calm. He was very collected and everything he did was targeted. And even when the clock was just like running down, he never panicked. He stayed calm, and he just stayed focused. And that really, really inspired me. And I was like, I need to apply that in my normal life.
JAYMEE SIRE: Absolutely. What was it like having him as your sous-chef in the final challenge?
ERICA BLAIRE: It was so funny because I was like, there's on no planet this should be happening, right? I was like, should I tell him to go chop something? No. That's Bobby Flay. You don't tell him anything. But he was like, no, Erica, I'm here for you. Tell me what you need done and let's get this done.
So I just made sure that I was very direct and very succinct in what I wanted, and I try to use as few words as possible so that we had like a targeted goal together that we could work in within a framework and within the time constraint. And that really translated well for the both of us.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. I mean, you could see it. You were confident, and you knew what you needed him to do, and you kind of just delegated that responsibility. I mean, did you feel like that confidence grew throughout the time you were on the show?
ERICA BLAIRE: It definitely did. It really came out of the fact that I knew that no matter what happened, I'm here. And I also knew that this is something that there might be other people out there that are non-traditional like me that are watching this. And I really wanted to let them know you can do this. You don't have to be a classically trained chef. You can do this if your heart is into it. So that really just played out throughout the season.
And then I was like, I know that my dad and all my uncles and all my family is going to be watching this, and they're always looking for a reason to heckle me, so you got to look cool girl. You got to look cool.
JAYMEE SIRE: You did, you did. But you still described yourself as the underdog going into that final episode. What do you think it was that kind of set you apart from the other more seasoned competitors?
ERICA BLAIRE: I think the fact that everything to me was new and everything was a first impression. So my eyes were really open because I hadn't done it that much, and I only had a handful of experiences that I could rely on to get me through. So I was hyper vigilant, and I was really looking at every single thing I did and analyzing it.
Everybody else, they've done this. They've done restaurants. They've done everything. So they had like this comfort and this ease that I didn't necessarily have, but I knew that I needed. I really feel like I was just hyper focused and hyper vigilant on producing a great, great product. And that's what really got me through and what kind of made me different from everybody else that was out there.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. I feel like you had some of the most creative dishes that I've seen in a grilling competition, and I think the judges would agree with that. Do you have a favorite though, that you made throughout the course of this competition?
ERICA BLAIRE: It would definitely have to be my Lomo al Trapo because that's something that I do a lot, that I learned about, and I thought it was so cool. And so when I was able to actually execute that, and I was praying that it worked. So that was my favorite dish that I did.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love that the winners of BBQ Brawl so far have both been women. We had Lee Ann Whippen winning last season. Do you find as a woman in the barbecue community that you are typically underestimated?
ERICA BLAIRE: Actually not. And that was something that was a big shock to me. I thought of course like, oh, maybe they're going to be like, oh, here's a little lady. But they treated me as an equal and they still do. And they go hard on me just like they would go on anybody, but they also help me so much. And they're always bringing me in, giving me tips, being, you know, here's what I've done, here's what I learned during my time.
Some of my best friends now are mentors from the barbecue circuit that just saw me out there competing and they came over and they're like, hey, we're going to help you. And it didn't matter that I was new. It didn't matter that I was a woman or that anything. They were like, you love barbecue, we love barbecue, let's get you to the finish line.
That's something that I've never experienced as a lawyer. I never experienced that as a sommelier, but I did experience that in the barbecue community, and that's why I'm obsessed and I love them.
JAYMEE SIRE: On that note, I mean, what advice would you give to other women or really anyone who might feel intimidated when it comes to grilling or to barbecue that's kind of looking to break into that?
ERICA BLAIRE: Girl get out there. Light your fire. Light your fire and learn. I mean, I've blown up many grills. I have set uncontrollable fires. Get out there, work it, learn your craft, learn your pit and you'll be unstoppable.
JAYMEE SIRE: Speaking of the fires, what is the most-- what's the biggest mistake that you've made during your grilling career?
ERICA BLAIRE: Well, there's probably two, and they happened probably back to back on the same day. So first, I've never been great at my math. And so I went online, and I ordered a cord of wood. And I didn't know what a cord of wood was. I thought it was like a little bundle. And so all of a sudden, a humongous delivery truck come with like the most wood I've ever seen, like a mini--
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh my gosh.
ERICA BLAIRE: A mini forest, and I hadn't told my husband or anything, and they just dropped it off in the driveway. And I was like, no, no, this is not what I ordered. You got to move this. Everybody's going to kill me in my neighborhood, please. I just wanted like six logs. I did not want 600.
JAYMEE SIRE: Did they take it back?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. They did.
JAYMEE SIRE: OK.
ERICA BLAIRE: They felt so bad for me. The guys were laughing hysterically. They felt so bad. They were like, we got you. They were like, next time just go to Home Depot or Lowe's and grab some wood. But it was so cheap. It tricked me. But then after that-- shortly thereafter, the house that I lived in, it was in San Diego. And so, you know San Diego. All the houses are very connected. We share walls.
So there was an Airbnb behind me that was connected to my backyard, and there was a British family there for Halloween, and I had just built this new smoker. And so I was like, OK, let's start working on fires and fire management.
So I load up the fire box with like 20 pieces of wood, set that bad boy on fire. The next thing I know, there is like a plume of fire. There's more smoke than I've ever seen in my life. They're coughing. I hear their kids choking.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, no.
ERICA BLAIRE: And I'm hiding because I don't want them to see me and realize what I've done. And I'm on the floor, and I'm calling my dad and I'm like, dad, I'm in trouble. There's a fire, and it's out of control. It started melting our umbrella tent. It hit the tree leaves, everything was bad.
And so I'm like, dad, what do I do? And I hear them choking, so I'm panicking. All my neighbors were shutting their windows. They're so mad at me. And so my dad's like just douse it, just douse it and start over. You can't save this. Just get out of there. So I doused it as quickly as I could, and I just ran inside and hid for about two days until the Airbnb people left.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh my gosh. That's an amazing story. I mean, from that to BBQ Brawl champion. I mean, it can be done guys.
ERICA BLAIRE: If I can do it, you can do it.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love that you brought up your dad too because I know you guys share a mutual love for barbecue. What are some of your favorite things to whip up together?
ERICA BLAIRE: So my dad is a rib man. He's always working on different ribs and different rubs. He really likes to be a chemist in the kitchen. So we are constantly trying to reinvent different types of rubs and different ways of preparing ribs. So that's something that we do, that we can spend all night just hanging out. And then we do tons of pork dishes.
My dad's from New Orleans. All his family is there. So we love to try and look at old cookbooks from Louisiana, and we'll find ways of reinventing those recipes, adding a twist and bringing them to the forefront. So I love doing that with my dad.
JAYMEE SIRE: What's your favorite Louisiana dish, just in general?
ERICA BLAIRE: I am all about just a really good crawfish broil or shrimp broil. Those just make me happy because that signifies a party. You know a party is about to happen. You know something's going to go down.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love that. And I love that-- I love your background as well. You've kind of alluded to it a little bit and obviously people know if they watched the show. But you had a long career as a lawyer, a sommelier before becoming this barbecue aficionado, which is an impressive shift for sure. What ignited that passion? Was it your dad or was there another spark?
ERICA BLAIRE: Well, there was two. So first, it was my dad. He was just going over things that he wanted to do once he retired. And one was start a barbecue restaurant, or a food truck, or a pop up, and I was already working in food service at the time as a somm. So I was like, heck yeah, dad. We can do this. And then we were like, well, one of us needs to know how to do everything in case one day nobody shows up to work. And you got to get in there on the ones and twos.
And so, of course, that's a challenge. So I just went knee-deep into that, headfirst into learning about barbecue, then I found out about barbecue competitions. And I just I started going hard on that. And I was like, you know what? I want to see what I'm made of, let's do it. I'm not scared. I'm not fearful. I just want to see what it is. And it came from a position of just trying to learn as much as I could about the industry. And then the world went into a shut down.
And so one of the first positions is going to go at a restaurant as the luxury position, which is being a somm. So when everything shut down, I didn't know if I was going to get my job back. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew, you what? Maybe this is the universe's way of telling me everything has its season. It's time to go. It's time to jump off that ledge and go forward. And so I had nothing to lose.
I was like, let's get into barbecue full-time now because you got time on your hands. So I didn't look back. I kind of did what you did. I took a leap of faith, and I didn't look back. And I said there is no room for failure. We're only going to succeed, and we're only going forward. And that's what I did. And being at home, and I had my baby with me.
So in between taking care of him, I had on his sleep schedule I would go out to the grill. I would go on social media and talk to all my little barbecue friends and learn what they were doing and then go try it and make myself better. And it was just a whole year of that. And that's what really was the turning point and just changed the trajectory of my life.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's an incredible story. I love hearing how people kind of make that shift and just really go for it. But I'm wondering if kind of looking back at your career as a lawyer and a somm, were there things that you learn in those professions that you think help you in barbecue?
ERICA BLAIRE: Oh, definitely. So I was a criminal defense attorney for years down in Miami, Florida, and I was a public defender. So I had some of the toughest cases, the most hopeless cases, where I was only 24 years old when I started.
And I would walk into a courtroom and feel like it was completely stacked against me, completely stacked against my client. And I had no choice but to come out swinging, because I knew that somebody's life depended on it, somebody's freedom depended on me doing my thing. And that gives you nerves of steel.
If you can walk into a prison and be locked in for hours at a time and you're just by yourself, and you got to cut through the bravado and cut through all the positioning that people do and really get to a relationship with your client so that you're able to try and get them the best result possible and get justice, that's something that it just it changed me because I had nerves of steel now.
I was like, I got a guy over here possibly facing life. And so the little thing that you're challenging me on right now, it is not going to throw me off my game because I'm laser focused. So to have that at 24, 25, 26, 27, that was an invaluable skill.
And I was able to really rely on that a lot during BBQ Brawl because having that clock run down on you, having the judges maybe give you a really scathing review on something you did, you had to learn-- you have to take your ego out of it and you have to listen. You have to listen to what they say and learn because they're actually giving you clues on how you can win.
So I know like a lot of people, they can't take criticism. I learned at a young age to take criticism very well because it could end up saving your life. And then being a sommelier, you're on the floor and you're trying-- you have a product that the person can't try before they buy.
They're buying a bottle of wine and if it's not a stock wine that's opened by the glass, you have to really sell that to them, and you have to be able to describe it, and you have to be able to think and make a connection with them and what they're eating and what they're really looking for. So it had like a lot of intuitiveness in its nature in order to be a very successful sommelier on the floor out in California.
And so I learned to do that every single night, night after night. I really make connections with people and listen to them to see what they wanted, and that was something I did with the judges on BBQ Brawl. I listened to them. I listened to everything they said to see what they wanted and tried to be still authentic to myself but make it for something that it would make them happy as well.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. I think that's so important, especially in a competition show like this where it's judges giving you feedback and trying to see if you're going to take that and really apply it to the next challenge. And I think we definitely saw that throughout the course of the show, which is really fun to see that evolve. And now you live in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Same town as Dave Chappelle.
ERICA BLAIRE: Yes.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. I know it's just outside Dayton. You plan to open a barbecue food truck there this year. Tell us what the food scene is like in Dayton and how you hope to make an impact there?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. So for the longest time, Dayton was considered a food desert, and we have a lot of the big box chains and everything like that. But there's really been this resurgence of just like creativity in craft food and craft beverages, and there's just this whole vibe. There's a whole new place coming, a food hall. And there is markets and farmers markets.
And all these places are popping up, and there are so many just really talented chefs and foodies, and everybody is really incubating this culture of culinary greatness here. And it's like a renaissance for Dayton, and I'm so happy to be a part of it.
And I hope that my barbecue will be craft and it will be down-home and soulful, and that people will really get to experience just a different level of the way barbecue is prepared and really get to just enjoy that with their families and with all the other amazing restaurants that are coming up really, really soon.
JAYMEE SIRE: Can you share any of the barbecue specialties that might be on the menu or is it top secret right now?
ERICA BLAIRE: Oh, no. There's definitely going to be my award-winning ribs.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yes. The black-- with the blackberry?
ERICA BLAIRE: With the blackberry. Those are going to be on there.
JAYMEE SIRE: Yeah. Those look so good.
ERICA BLAIRE: They were so good. I know I was praying the entire time I was making them, but when I opened it up from the foil, I knew they were perfect.
JAYMEE SIRE: You knew.
ERICA BLAIRE: And they were the best ribs I ever made. And then when Bobby came over with the sauce and we were going back and forth making it and getting it just kind of like titrating it perfect, and I knew that we had something special, and I instantly was like, I'm not mad, no matter what happens right now because these are the best ribs I've ever made in my life.
So I'm definitely going to have that on the menu because I want people to kind of experience what they got to see. And I'm definitely going to have my 90-minute collard greens that everybody was talking about me for.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love it. I love it. I definitely-- I'll need to make a trip out at some point to taste all this delicious food. When we come back, Erica shares all of the details about her New Food Network digital series.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Well, as the winner of BBQ Brawl, you now have your own digital series on Food Network that is no surprise all about grilling. So what can we expect to learn from you on the series?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yes. So I definitely want to try and do things that are not traditional. So you're going to see different tools incorporated, bamboo. We're going to use fire and flames with alcohol and dessert. A lot of North African spices being brought into things. Just a lot of different kind of ways that traditionally have been prepared over open fire. I'm going to bring in salt blocks and different ways of preparing food.
So you can see it's quick. It's not scary, don't be intimidated, and you can do it. And it's all about presentation too. So when you make food, you can give people a show because that's what they want, and people are going to love to come over to your house.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's the most important thing. People like to keep coming back. By the way, what should I be making on my salt block? I have one that my boyfriend gave me a while ago and I always forget it. It's up in the cupboard, and then he's like, you never use that salt block I got you.
ERICA BLAIRE: You will be obsessed when you finally break out the salt block. You're going to be like, how come I haven't used this my whole life? So put your rib-eyes on there. Put some steak on there. It's also forgiving, so you can play around and you can learn temperature. And it's interactive. You can heat up a salt block, put it in the middle of the table, chop up a bunch of different meats and veggies, and let everybody cook their own food all at the same block. And that's really fun.
JAYMEE SIRE: That sounds like a great time. I'm going to have to-- I need to bust it out and actually use it. You seemed so relaxed and comfortable and excited in front of the camera, and right now talking about food, what is your personal approach just to kind of teaching people and getting people excited about grilling and excited about all the same things that you're excited about?
ERICA BLAIRE: I think it's just really showing people that you love what you do and making sure that everybody realizes that they have a skill set and that they can do it too. I never ever want anybody to feel like they can't do something that I can do or that they have a limitation. I know a lot of people are actually scared of girls.
So they're like, oh, I'm not touching that big monstrosity in the backyard. But I really like to just have a humble approach so that everybody can see that it's not scary and just take the fear out of cooking and trying new things.
JAYMEE SIRE: It seems like the recipes in the series are unique. They use the grill in different ways. What inspires you and your recipes? And how maybe-- you kind of talked about the Louisiana influence, how do you kind of take recipes and then make them work on a grill if they weren't already a grilling recipe?
ERICA BLAIRE: It really is trial and error. It's going out and seeing what happens. I love to just go out and see what happens. And I probably have a lot of failures. I won't lie. I've had things where I'm like, oh man, I'm going to have to clean up. This girl is going to be like three hours and why did I think I could do that?
But it really is just having a fearless attitude and trying everything on the grill because if you think about it, our ancestors, they were pit masters. They were over live fire, and they were cooking to support humankind and civilization. So you have it in you. You just have to tap into it.
JAYMEE SIRE: Is that why you think grilling is so important to you and your cooking?
ERICA BLAIRE: Definitely. I feel a connection. I feel like I'm paying respect, and I feel like I'm preserving the past when I grill. So it's a very special experience to start your first fire and to start cooking over it whether you're grilling, whether you're smoking, whatever you're doing, and you can probably see it in your own life when somebody does a bonfire or a campfire.
You have a certain feeling because you get this ancestral connection, and I think everybody has that and you just have to really hone in on that. And that's how I approach everything.
JAYMEE SIRE: What do you think that adds to your dishes? Having that approach and that respect for every-- the history that has come before you.
ERICA BLAIRE: It's love. It adds love. Harry Soo actually told me when I took his class, he wrapped up a brisket, and he had me hold it against my chest. And I'm like, what is going on here? Why am I like cradling a brisket like he's my newborn baby? And he told me-- he said we are energy, the food is energy, the foil is energy, everything is energy.
So if you put positive energy out there while you're cooking, while you're serving your food, your food is going to taste better. So as long as nobody's looking, I like to hug my brisket sometimes before I turn them in that competition.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love that. Did you hug any of your food on BBQ Brawl?
ERICA BLAIRE: I did hug my ribs. I tried to be real slick about it because I didn't want people to see and be like, oh, she's lost her mind. But I did when I was carrying them from the grill back to the table. I just gave them like a quick little hug and I was like, please--
JAYMEE SIRE: I love you guys.
ERICA BLAIRE: I love you little ribs, please.
JAYMEE SIRE: I love hearing the inside behind the scenes scoop. I have to know, what are your barbecue commandments? Do you have any major do's and don'ts when it comes to getting things right on the grill?
ERICA BLAIRE: Leave it alone, don't keep checking. Don't keep checking because you're actually hurting yourself. Once your temperature is dialed in, leave it alone. Go do something, go watch like an hour of one of your favorite TV shows, go take a shower, then you can check it. But don't keep just sitting there because you're going to get antsy, and you're going to keep lifting the lid and that's just going to ruin everything for you.
JAYMEE SIRE: What are some of your favorite items that you always have on hand in your arsenal, so to speak?
ERICA BLAIRE: So I'm always going to have some Wagyu. I'm always going to have some rib-eyes. I'm always going to have some kebab meat because those are something you can throw on really quick. Five to seven minutes, they're done. I'm always having chicken wings. Even now, there's like a little bit of a shortage, so I'm being stingy now.
JAYMEE SIRE: There are?
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: I've not heard about this.
ERICA BLAIRE: Yeah. It's like a big deal. They're talking about the chicken wing shortage.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh my gosh. I have a bunch in my freezer. So maybe it's my fault.
ERICA BLAIRE: You can sell them-- you could sell them for triple the price.
JAYMEE SIRE: What's your favorite way to make wings?
ERICA BLAIRE: So my favorite way is I like to actually fry them first and then smoke them with a hint of cherry wood at the very end for color, and it just gives it a really good aroma that people don't realize that they're tasting by smelling. And so those are my favorite. I like to do just like southern hard fried chicken wings. I still use a brown paper bag to shake all the seasoning on them, and then always dust them with a little bit of like finely ground lemon pepper.
JAYMEE SIRE: That sounds absolutely delicious. Do you have a favorite dish that you've ever made, or is it the ribs or is it something else?
ERICA BLAIRE: So, yeah. One of my favorite dishes I ever made, it was a bone marrow with a really, really beautiful bavette steak, which just has its own flavor. It's really special. It's a really special cut. And so I actually used the bone marrow and I turned it into a compound butter, but I smoked-- I smoked it first. And I mean, it was silent at the table, nobody was talking, and I was like, is everything OK?
JAYMEE SIRE: That could be either a really good or really bad sign, for sure.
ERICA BLAIRE: I was like, do we need to go out somewhere? Is everything good? And people were in heaven with it. So it made me really, really happy.
JAYMEE SIRE: That's awesome. Well, this has been such a blast. I love getting to know you and hearing your story and, of course, watching you rise to the occasion on BBQ Brawl. We are going to finish things off with a few rapid fire questions, and then we have one final question for you--
ERICA BLAIRE: All right--
JAYMEE SIRE: Here on Food Network Obsessed. So cedar plank or salt block?
ERICA BLAIRE: Salt block.
JAYMEE SIRE: Charcoal or gas?
ERICA BLAIRE: Charcoal.
JAYMEE SIRE: Of course. Would you rather go up against Bobby, Michael, or Eddie in a grill off?
ERICA BLAIRE: I would go up against Bobby because it wouldn't be so bad. People would expect me to lose.
JAYMEE SIRE: And you know him now. So you know maybe what his weaknesses are. I like that he refused to help with the dessert. That's where you can get him. If you could only have one spice in your pantry, what would it be?
ERICA BLAIRE: Definitely going to be pepper.
JAYMEE SIRE: Favorite protein to grill?
ERICA BLAIRE: Beef.
JAYMEE SIRE: Favorite unexpected thing to grill?
ERICA BLAIRE: Randomly, for some reason I was grilling jackfruit the other day.
JAYMEE SIRE: Oh, OK.
ERICA BLAIRE: So yeah.
JAYMEE SIRE: And it turned out well?
ERICA BLAIRE: Turned out really good.
JAYMEE SIRE: OK. All right. Jackfruit. All right. So our final question that we ask everybody here on the podcast is what would be on the menu for your perfect food day? So we want to know your breakfast, your lunch, your dinner, your dessert. Some people throw in snacks.
It's your day. You can do whatever you want. I think Giada had just cake for every meal. So there are no rules, whatever you want. We just want to hear what is your idea of a perfect food day.
ERICA BLAIRE: So we're waking up with some beignets and chicory coffee. That's how you start it. That's perfect. Then we're going to have a little pause and drink some champagne.
JAYMEE SIRE: Of course. Got to celebrate.
ERICA BLAIRE: Got to celebrate. Then we're going to go into a really cool steak salad with like those little pepita seeds and maybe like some pickled onions and some feta. That would be a great lunch, then we're going back to champagne.
JAYMEE SIRE: All right. I feel like we would get along really well because I am a champagne girl as well. So we need to hang out at some point and drink some champagne.
ERICA BLAIRE: We do. And then for dinner, I'm definitely going to do a filet and just very simply prepared, and then probably with either a nice like truffle risotto. I love when I get a really good truffle risotto that just takes me to heaven. And then we're going to end it with a lava cake. I mean--
JAYMEE SIRE: OK. I love that. No, I mean, that's always a fun way to end any meal. So sounds perfect. It sounds very on brand. I love that there's a lot of beef involved. You've got your Louisiana roots and we've got champagne. So what more could you ask for? It sounds perfect. And it was so fun talking to you. And once again, congratulations, well deserved, and looking forward to seeing more of you on Food Network.
ERICA BLAIRE: Thank you so much, and thank you for being an awesome strong female that people look up to as well. You rock.
JAYMEE SIRE: That makes me so happy. Thank you so much.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It certainly sounds like Erica can do just about anything that she puts her mind to, and I absolutely need to try those ribs at some point. You can binge all of BBQ Brawls streaming on Discovery Plus and catch Erica's new digital series on foodnetwork.com.
As always, thanks so much for listening and make sure you follow us wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss a thing. And, of course, if you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review. That is my favorite. That's all for now. We'll catch you foodies next Friday.
[MUSIC PLAYING]