The "Pope of Barbecue" traded his smoker for a scorecard this summer. Here's how Burnt Bean Co.'s Ernest Servantes landed on the judging panel of Food Network's Pitmasters, and where to watch.
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Ernest Servantes spent years collecting trophies on the competition barbecue circuit before he and Dave Kirkland opened Burnt Bean Co. in downtown Seguin in 2020. This summer, the man folks call the "Pope of Barbecue" switched sides. Servantes is one of four judges on Pitmasters, Food Network's live-fire competition series. Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.
Take nine pairs of pitmasters, drop them in the Utah wilderness, and keep the fires going for a week straight. That's Pitmasters. The pay-off for the team that outlasts everyone else? Up to $50,000.
The challenges cover the full range of barbecue craft. Teams break down a whole hog. They work through the "core four" of chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and brisket. In a nose-to-tail round, each team turns a hog, goat, or lamb into two main dishes and two sides. The first episode set the tone: teams had nine hours to build a family-style platter with two proteins and at least one side. Partway through, the judges added a one-hour side challenge for the best single bite of barbecue.
Servantes shares the judges' table with host and judge Andrew Zimmern, Austin-based barbecue expert Jess Pryles, and Moe Cason, who has competed in more than 250 barbecue competitions. The hours weren't easy on the judges either. Servantes told Texas Monthly, "I was on set for twenty hours, and I was just a judge."
Servantes has been on both sides of the competition before. He won Food Network's Chopped: Grill Masters in 2012, taking home $50,000, the same top prize now on the line in Pitmasters. In 2018, he judged Grill Masters: Texas. That experience lets him see a competition the way the cooks do, from managing a fire under pressure to delivering on a tight clock.
Several contestants will be familiar to San Antonio-area barbecue fans. Grecia and Esaul Ramos, the husband-and-wife team behind San Antonio's 2M Smokehouse, are competing. For Esaul, it's a bit of a reunion: he competed on Grill Masters: Texas in 2018, the season Servantes judged.
Boerne's Al Frugoni is also competing. He's known for Argentine asado-style cooking and his own line of seasonings, and he's paired with Louisville, Kentucky, influencer Jeremy Yoder. Ruben Santana, listed as a Boerne competitor, is best known as the founder of Brooklyn's Bark Barbecue, which blends Dominican and Texas styles. He's paired with Hector Garate of Palmira Barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina.
Pitmasters premiered July 13 on Food Network, with new episodes on Monday nights. Every Season 1 episode is available to stream on HBO Max.
Watching a week of live-fire cooking will make anyone hungry. Burnt Bean Co. is at 108 S. Austin St. in downtown Seguin. It's open Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., or until the meat sells out. Come on the weekend for specials like the beef rib, or on Sunday for Tejano-style breakfast. Can't make the drive? Burnt Bean ships brisket, ribs, and sides nationwide through Goldbelly.
Want the full story on how Burnt Bean earned its reputation? Read about our No. 1 ranking from Texas Monthly.
