You’ve probably heard of “The Horse Whisperer” and the “Dog Whisperer.” But did you know that Alabama has its very own steak whisperer?

Tim Van Doren, an Alabaster resident, knows exactly how to tame those quality cuts of beef, cooking them to perfection in his backyard, at grilling competitions and on social media.

Van Doren, known as @BamaGrillMaster, has attracted more than 2 million followers with his skillful, down-to-earth videos, showcasing everything from Waygu steaks to smashburgers to smoked brisket.

Steaks have been his specialty for the past several years, however, and Van Doren can definitely back it up when he’s touted as “The Steak Whisperer!” on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

He was a top five finisher in the 2019 World Food Steak Championship, for example, and Van Doren has won plenty of competitions sanctioned by the SCA Steak Cookoff Association.

Van Doren’s daughter, 17-year-old Kailey Van Doren, has been following in her father’s footsteps, as well, grilling and competing and sharing her love for food on social media.

“Steaks are where we’re at,” Van Doren, 47, told AL.com during a phone interview. “Steak is one of those things that’s just good. I mean, good grief. It’s hard to beat a good old ribeye.”

This gregarious guy can grill just about anything, however, and his talents were put to the test when he agreed to compete on a Food Network show. Van Doren is one of 12 contestants featured on Season 6 of “BBQ Brawl,” a reality series led by celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

Flay is one of three mentors on the show, all of whom oversee teams that focus on difficult grilling challenges. Season 6, which debuts on Sunday, June 1, also includes chef mentors Maneet Chauhan and Antonia Lofaso.

Under their guidance, one of the contestants will earn the title of “Master of ‘Cue” and be featured across the Food Network’s social platforms. The title doesn’t come with a cash prize, but it promises to significantly increase the public profile of the season’s winner.

Judges for “BBQ Brawl” are TV personality Carson Kressley, chef Brooke Williamson and Rodney Scott, a South Carolina pitmaster with two restaurants in the Birmingham metro area.

Over the course of 10 episodes, the list of contestants is trimmed via weekly eliminations, and the winner is announced on the season finale. Season 6 was filmed in advance at the Star Hill Ranch in Austin, Texas.

Van Doren, a self-professed “backyard barbecue dude,” said he’d been approached by producers for “BBQ Brawl” in the past, but initially was reluctant to appear on the show.

He has confidence working on all types of grills, for sure, and experience preparing a variety of proteins — chicken, pork, fish, lamb, venison and even elk, along with his signature beef dishes. Van Doren has learned to be comfortable on camera over the years, and his down-home personality earns praise from followers on social media.

Most of Van Doren’s videos start with the grillmaster saying, “Aight guys!” and his Southern accent is much in evidence. (Van Doren teamed with Lane’s Rubs & Sauces to put his catchphrase on the labels of two barbecue rubs, one “smokey sweet” and and one described as “AbsolutelyFreakinKiller.”)

To outsiders, Van Doren seems like a natural for a series like “BBQ Brawl,” but the grillmaster wasn’t so sure. Contestants face tight cooking times on the series, and the challenges come with unusual twists. Gourmet-style plating, a cooking show staple, is not in Van Doren’s wheelhouse, and certainly not required at the steak grilling competitions he favors.

“I got that phone call (to be on the show), and I’m just like, ‘Huh, now what?’” Van Doren said. “Being in your backyard and doing videos, we’ve got all the time in the world. I’m not on any timeframe, just doing my thing. So that was a biggie.

“I make seasoning sometimes, I make sauces sometimes, but I have so many (commercial) rubs and sauces that I don’t think about making my own. Well, out there you gotta make your own, right? So I’m just racking my brain about that. … I can cook, but trying to make it look pretty, that’s not my cup of tea. There’s so many things going through your head. But I just dug in and went with it.”

Daughter Kailey had a big role to play in her father’s decision-making, urging him to compete on “BBQ Brawl” in no uncertain terms.

“My daughter, she’s like, ‘Dad, it’s your time. You’ve got to. People would kill for that opportunity. And if you don’t take it, you’re crazy. You have to. You don’t have a choice,’” Van Doren said. “And so here we are. So that’s why I decided to do it. I said to her, ‘OK, I’ll blame it on you, whatever happens.’”

Van Doren also received encouragement from two grillmaster friends in Alabama, Mike and Bryson McGlynn. Mike is the founder of the Auburn BBQ/Grill Association; his son Bryson is the reigning champ on “MasterChef Junior.”

“They came to the house, we sat down, we talked,” Van Doren said. “I’ve known Bryson since he was little, watching him grow up, cooking the junior competitions. Just to see what he’s done has been amazing. He’s been an inspiration to me, for sure. He kept telling me, ‘Be you. Let Bama Grill Master shine. Stick to your story. You know who you are, you know how to cook, so just be you.’ And that’s what I did.”

Van Doren, a Mississippi native, comes from a family of foodies who relish great ingredients, dishes and meals. “We’re one of those that, we sit down for breakfast and we’re talking about what we’re having for lunch and dinner,“ he said.

Van Doren traces his fondness for grilling back to his childhood, as he watched his parents prepare delectable meals.

“My mom was always in the kitchen, great at casseroles, baking, anything like that,” Van Doren said, “My dad always had a big old 55-gallon drum that he would use to cook some of the best barbecue chicken and smoked sausage. And he had his little PK Grill that he cooked steaks on. Every Friday night was steak night. Our whole life really revolved around food.”

Although he’s a determined competitor, outdoor cooking remains a pleasurable experience for Van Doren, allowing him to kick back and relax at home. When he’s not grilling, Van Doren runs his own bail bonds company, Bail Bond Brothers LLC. (“I tell people, ‘We cook and get people out of jail,’” Van Doren said.)

“It’s one of those things that if I’ve had a rough day, I can go outside, I can light my grill, I can turn on some music, and it puts me in the happiest mood ever,” Van Doren said. “Another thing about cooking or grilling or barbecue, it brings people together. It puts smiles on people’s faces, and it’s just therapy for me a lot of times.”

He realized, of course, that grilling on reality TV was likely to be far from relaxing, testing his mettle and jangling his nerves. But Van Doren decided to cook in high gear on “BBQ Brawl,” because he was in it to win it.

“No doubt about it, 100%,” Van Doren said. “You give it everything you got. A lot of people come up to me, and they’re like, ‘Man, how did you get on there?’ I stayed away for a long time. I was just scared to do it, and just didn’t want to put myself out there. But you gotta go for it.”

Believe it or not, his on-camera wardrobe proved to be a sticking point: Van Doren dislikes wearing aprons, which are a must for team members on “BBQ Brawl.” While ceding to that rule, he held his ground on another issue, advocating strongly for his favorite ball cap.

“It was a big ordeal for me to wear a hat,” Van Doren said. “I told the producers on the show, ‘Guys, I have one stipulation. I have my hat that I cook in. I don’t cook without it.’ They balked at it, but (my producer) was able to pull it off and let me wear it. There were some brawlers on the show that are the same way. Some of them didn’t get to wear their hat. They’re like, ‘How in the world are you wearing your hat? They won’t let me wear mine.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that was a deal breaker for me.’”

Van Doren can’t go into detail about his experiences on “BBQ Brawl,” and spoilers for Season 6 are verboten. He did emphasize, though, that his first venture into reality TV was a positive one.

“This was like a ‘fish out of water’ for me,” Van Doren said. “It was a learning experience. It was a great experience. I wouldn’t change it for the world. No way, no how.”

If you watch: The Season 6 premiere of “BBQ Brawl” is set for Sunday, June 1, at 8 p.m. CT on the Food Network. New episodes air on Sundays, and stream the next day on HBO Max. Episodes also repeat on Food Network at various times during the week.