MasterChef cracks a million viewers

Reality cooking series MasterChef had its best night out in the kitchen as more than a million viewers watched an undercooked pork loin send the first contestant packing.

Brisbane retail manager Brendan Langfield took a punt on pork in the Kylie Kwong challenge but failed, becoming the first elimination in the reality cooking show.

The Network Ten show, which only launched on Monday, has been reduced to playing second "ladle" to rival reality programs The Voice and House Rules.

But neither The Voice or House Rules aired on Thursday night, leaving MasterChef to grab the limelight.

Brendan's elimination on Thursday was watched by 1.001 million viewers, landing MasterChef in fifth spot on OzTAM's overnight ratings.

MasterChef was also the highest non-news program on Thursday and the episode attracted the biggest audience so far this season.

Nine News (1.154 million) won the night while Seven News (1.102 million) was second and Nine News 6.30pm (1.077 million) was third.