Brookhaven native Katie Dixon said she disappointed herself and her state with her fried chicken during Wednesday’s episode of the Fox reality show, MasterChef.

Described by guest judge Aaron Sanchez as “underwhelming,” Dixon’s healthy take on a classic dish wasn’t as bad as Manny Washington’s burnt chicken or Diana Billow’s cornmeal crust that tasted like a mouthful of sand, according to the judges.

��I feel like I did not do Mississippi justice,” the personal trainer, who lives with her husband and two daughters in Hattiesburg, said on the show after host Gordon Ramsay criticized her tasteless, dry chicken. “I’m disappointed in myself.”

Still, Dixon, 33, was declared safe and joined the other home cooks who will compete in next week’s episode. Washington, an Orlando firefighter, was sent packing.

This was Dixon’s first pressure test challenge, which tasked members of the red team with breaking down a whole chicken into eight pieces that were to be fried and boxed before being presented to the judges for tasting.

Dixon, the daughter of Henry and Vickie Newman of Brookhaven, wound up in the pressure test because her team lost the team challenge, which was to cook hanger steak, two sides and a sauce in 75 minutes for 101 military veterans. Dixon’s team prepared a steak seasoned with just salt and pepper with a bourbon mushroom sauce, bacon macaroni and cheese and grilled zucchini. Her team had several mishaps, including serving incomplete plates and raw steak. They lost the challenge 77 to 24 and headed into the pressure test.

In Wednesday’s upcoming episode, home cooks will be challenged to cook a meal for a family of four with a $20 budget.

The winner of MasterChef receives $250,000 and a cookbook deal.