Life of Fire

Pat Martin travels to a picturesque regenerative cattle farm in California's Santa Maria Valley, to hear firsthand from a young vibrant pitmaster named Nick Preidite who has uncovered the secrets and true history of real Santa Maria barbecue.

Pat Martin visits his old buddy Chef Adam Perry Lang in the heart of Los Angeles, where the pair look to new ideas to cook using traditional barbecue methods, using a Texas-style offset smoker to cook a prized catch castoff cut - bluefin tuna collars.

Pat heads to the frozen tundra of Minnesota to visit chef Yia Vang and dives into the rich barbecue culture of the Hmong immigrants of the United States; they brave the cold and break nearly-frozen ground to barbecue a whole pig's head in the earth.

When Pat's friends and fellow pitmasters, Bryan Furman and Dr. Howard Conyers, come to town, the guys dig deep into the history of barbecue and moonshine within rural black communities and how they carry that tradition on today.

Back home in Nashville, Pat links up with his pal and local restaurateur Bill Darsinos to enjoy a tradition from the heart of Bill's Greek history and culture: cooking a whole lamb on a spit roast.

Pat heads down to Decatur, Alabama to visit Chris Lilly and the storied institution of barbecue, Big Bob Gibson's BBQ; he learns the ins and outs, and the history of a regional delicacy: pit-cooked chicken with Alabama white sauce.

Pat travels to Richmond, Virginia with his buddy Jason McConnell to visit Professor Tuffy Stone, and gets a history lesson on the origin of American-style barbecue.

Pat travels to Gainesboro, Tennessee to visit Stockton Farms, a regenerative hog farm, to learn about their operations and to grill up pork steaks with chef Trevor Stockton.

Pat Martin heads to the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee for a day of fly fishing with his old friend, Chef Joseph Lenn; they cook up their fresh catch, over the campfire.

Pat Martin opens with his roots in BBQ; he invites Zach Parker and Daryl Ramey to join him in Corinth, Miss. for the thirty-hour process of cooking a whole hog west Tennessee-style.

Pat and his buddy Leonard Botello use the flavours of the beloved native Post Oak to smoke a perfect Central Texas-style beef brisket.

Pat grills riverside with renowned chef Vivek Surti, crafting lamb mamna and chicken kebabs inspired by his Indian heritage.

Pat fishes the coastal inlets of Charleston, South Carolina, in search of a delicious sheepshead, which he plans to grill with his friend and chef James London.

Pat meets the trio behind Blood Bros BBQ to discover how three childhood friends seamlessly blended their Asian-American culture with the Texas barbecue traditions they grew up with.

Pat and his pal Jason Stanhope meet up outside of Charleston for a day of quail hunting and grilling birds over live coals.

Pat visits Houston to go Gulf Bay fishing with chef Chris Shepherd, hoping to catch some redfish and gather a side of blue crabs.

Pat visits Edgar Victoria, known for bringing the street foods of Mexico City to Nashville, to do some live fire cooking out in nature as they prepare one of his favourite dishes - skirt steak tlayuda.

Pat heads to Birmingham to team up with artist and chef Roscoe Hall, cooking ribs inspired by Roscoe's family legacy.

Pat travels to the Emerald Coast of Destin, Florida, to join his friend Adam Evans on a spearfishing adventure, sourcing fresh fish to cook over live fire.

Pat visits his close friend Wayne Mueller, third-generation pitmaster of Louis Mueller's BBQ, to learn the ins and outs of his famous dino beef ribs.