Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend (2022) s01e02 Episode Script
Battle Tailgate
1
[drum beats, whistle blows]
The game is still on
and this is my touchdown dance.
Touchdown!
[dramatic music plays]
[cheering and applause]
Hi, food fans, I'm Alton Brown,
and it is game time
here in Kitchen Stadium.
The mood is electric,
and the food will be eclectic.
See what I did there?
And I'm Kristen Kish,
and as always in this arena,
we'll be cooking up
some fierce culinary competition.
Our esteemed Chairman
has picked five superstar chef athletes
to represent him
in this game of gastronomy.
Only our most successful challenger
will get the chance to face off
against all five of our Iron Chefs
in the final epic battle.
And only if they succeed
in defeating them all
they will be crowned the Iron Legend.
Mr. Chairman, care to kick things off?
Competitive cooking is our sport,
and who will be game enough
to take on a true culinary champion?
I believe I have found a worthy challenger
tough enough to tackle this task.
Please welcome Chef Esther Choi.
[cheering and applause]
[Alton]At a young age,
she rocketed to culinary fame
in New York City with Mokbar,
her humble take on Korean cuisine.
She views food as an ambassador
and brings about a greater appreciation
of Korean culture with every bite.
[soothing music plays]
[Esther] I started cooking
at a very young age with my grandmother.
She's this amazing, amazing cook.
She really put every ounce
of love and energy into a dish.
That ultimately inspired me,
and it really shaped who I am today.
I opened my first restaurant in 2018.
Mokbar is ultimate comfort food.
I took very classic,
traditional Korean dishes
and made it ramen.
I love my culture.
I'm obsessed with Korean food.
Kimchi is definitely my heart.
It represents who I am so well.
And I have this thing where I love
to kimchify anything and everything,
so I take the most unexpected ingredients
and I make kimchi out of it.
Like, I can make kimchi with beef.
Kimchify. I need to trademark that.
[chuckles]
I am competing
every single moment of my life.
I'm not here for the chance
to win the Golden Knife,
I'm here to win it.
Chef Choi, welcome.
Thanks for having me.
You are a renowned chef
from New York City.
Yes, I am.
You will face unrivaled pressure here
because all of my Iron Chefs are
merciless MVPs of Kitchen Stadium.
And for today's tasty trial,
you will have to face a chef
with competitive fire
flowing through his veins.
Please welcome
Iron Chef Marcus Samuelsson!
[cheering and applause]
[upbeat music plays]
[Alton]Born in Ethiopia
and raised in Sweden,
he's a man with a unique culinary story,
who now calls New York City home.
His food celebrates
diverse cultures and flavors
and has made him one of the most
well-known chefs on the planet.
[relaxed piano music plays]
[Marcus] It's been
a long, delicious journey
to become an Iron Chef.
My journey begins in Ethiopia.
I was born in a hut
the size of two restaurant tables
in my restaurant.
At the age of three,
my mother unfortunately passed away,
but sometimes, in life,
the worst thing that can happen to you
can also be a blessing.
And my sister and I got adopted
from Ethiopia to Sweden.
So when people asked me, "Who are you?"
I said I'm Swediopian.
I came to America at the age of 23
with $300 in my pocket.
I came here to work
in a Swedish restaurant called Aquavit,
and I was part of
sort of new Nordic cuisine
for a long time.
Ten years ago, you know, I shifted that.
I moved to Harlem.
I opened Red Rooster
and really dug
into Southern-inspired food,
much more rustic, comfort food.
You know, we built the restaurant
around our cornbread
and our fried chicken.
People come from all over the world
to experience that.
As a Black chef,
I definitely feel a responsibility
to create a space that tells a story
about Black culture, Black history,
but also share with the world
African ingredients
that have been here forever.
Working in New York City for 25 years,
you need to be competitive
'cause New Yorkers will tell you
if your stuff is good, or it's not.
So, I can't wait to battle.
Iron Chef Samuelsson, welcome.
Thank you.
This is your most confident opponent,
Chef Choi, another luminary
from the New York dining scene.
So, the question is,
who will win this Big Apple battle?
-I will.
-[Esther scoffs]
Are you sure, Chef?
I love the fact that you're confident,
but Iron Chef will win.
We'll see about that.
To turn this battle
into a whole new ball game,
I have invited some big-time ballers
who are accustomed
to the fierce fire of
football!
Wow.
Please welcome NFL players
Keyshawn Johnson and Vernon Davis.
[cheering and applause]
[upbeat music plays]
[Esther] Yes.
Yes.
Keyshawn, Vernon, welcome.
-Thank you.
-Good to be here.
These NFL superstars are not just here
to watch the action.
Oh no, they are here to participate.
Meet your new sous-chefs.
-Vernon, you will be on Chef Choi's team.
-[Vernon] Nice.
-[Esther] Yes.
-Keyshawn, you will join Chef Samuelsson.
Let's get it.
-What's up, boss?
-All right.
And Chefs, I have not
left you in the lurch.
They're both quite skilled at cooking,
and very competitive.
How do you feel about the new members
of your team?
I'm excited.
Keyshawn's own restaurant has
been in the industry for a long time.
I couldn't ask for a better sous-chef.
I feel like I got my muscles here.
Let's go.
This battle will focus on the food
of a tasty tradition at sporting events.
Yes!
[dramatic music builds]
Tailgating!
[Esther gasps, chuckles]
[Esther] Yes.
All right.
There is a wide world of tailgate food,
so I will help focus the field
with our secret ingredient.
Ribs.
Chefs, you will have just 75 minutes
to make four championship-worthy
tailgate dishes,
and your first dish is due in 30 minutes.
[softly] Thirty!
So now, with an open heart
and empty stomach,
I say unto you in the words of my uncle
Allez cuisine!
[Marcus] Y'all, where are we at?
[Alton] And the tailgate battle is on here
in Kitchen Stadium.
[Esther] Okay, guys,
so veal and short ribs.
[Alton] Our rib-centric challenge.
[Esther] Your five steps
is like my ten steps.
[Alton] We've got pork, we've got beef,
but we've also got lamb, fish,
rabbit, venison, and buffalo.
[Esther] Look at that.
[Andrew] Tomahawk chops for the win.
-[Nilou] Oof.
-Very exciting.
The beauty of these ribs,
you can take a short rib,
kiss it on the grill, and it's beautiful,
chewy, you gnaw on it.
Or that low, slow long method,
that falls-off-the-bone ribs.
I think we'll be seeing
some pressure cookers
because we've
got a 75-minute challenge here
and a lot of connective tissue
to break down.
They are going
to strip a lot of this meat.
Some is gonna get browned.
Hopefully fryer, king cookers,
and grills all get utilized.
[Marcus] Let's go.
[Alton] All right,
we're gonna see four rib dishes
manufactured out of each side
of the kitchen in this tailgate challenge.
That first course has got to be
up to the judges in half an hour.
Okay, ready?
[Marcus] Bring it in.
-Do you like tailgating?
-I don't tailgate.
We're making fried chicken.
We have to do a fried-chicken dish.
-What's a good tailgating dish for you?
-Ooh, some kind of sandwich.
Yes, and we'll do it with short ribs.
-Ooh, yes.
-We'll do Korean barbecue short ribs.
Let's think about first course, right?
Super strong.
I want to do something with peanuts.
[chef] I think this lamb
will be good. Chops.
-Beer
-Beautiful.
-Beer?
-I want a beer sauce. Fish second.
[chef] This looks
like some cool fish ribs.
And then, Keyshawn, corn.
Something light.
What Auntie would cook at home.
I got you.
What else? Chili. Right, chili?
You can't have tailgate
without some chili and beer.
[Marcus] That's gonna be
our finish, right? Rice.
-All the meat and fish.
-A big rice.
Almost like a paella.
Big touchdown in the end, okay?
[Kristen] It looks like Chef Choi
has beef, lamb, pork, veal.
Over on Iron Chef Samuelsson's side,
beef, lamb, goat, and the halibut.
Obviously, I can spot the halibut
from a mile away.
Literally a mile away because it's big.
[Kristen] It's huge.
Okay, one, two, three, Team Choi!
[Marcus] Win!
[Alton] The cooking begins
in Kitchen Stadium.
-[Marcus] Let's go.
-Your grinder for me.
[Kristen] And of course,
a crucial component to Kitchen Stadium,
our judges.
Nilou Motamed.
Hi.
[Kristen] Andrew Zimmern.
And our very special guest,
actor, restaurateur, and sports superfan,
Danny Trejo.
Look at that smile, Danny Trejo.
-Joyful.
-Big.
[laughs]
Tailgating is the best part of sports.
I grew up in Michigan
and there was always a Crock-Pot chili.
It's hot dogs, it's barbecue
on, like, a grill that's barely working,
but it's still so memorable
and carries a lot of good memories
for my childhood.
We'll have to see if there are
good memories made here today.
Okay, a lot of chefs, actually,
we do a lot of tailgating.
It's fun, right? It's a party that kind of
engages both the fan and the team.
[Alton] Looking at the Iron Chef's side,
racks of lamb have gone
into a cast-iron skillet.
[Marcus] So we're just gonna
sear off some lamb chops
and just season it with a little bit
of mustard, peanuts, garlic,
just to add flavors to it.
It's gonna really be a celebration
of beer, peanuts, and lamb.
That's what
we're gonna start this battle off.
They're doing lamb for that first course.
Iron Chef Samuelsson is gonna be
bringing a lot of stuff, I imagine,
from not only his home country of Ethiopia
but other parts of Africa
and West Africa
[Kristen] Also that Swedish influence
of his upbringing.
And the Swedish influence.
And helping the Iron Chef today
is sous-chef Jason,
the Executive Chef at Marcus,
the Iron Chef's restaurant in Montreal.
And sous-chef Tristen
is the Iron Chef's chef de cuisine
at his restaurant Red Rooster in Miami.
Sous-chef Tristen taking apart,
they're like pork chops, but of beef
Look at the way
they're cutting that rib. Oh!
[Marcus] with a very large knife.
It is a small machete.
They've got the full bone
leading down the side of the animal,
which is why we call them tomahawk chops,
technically, a rib-eye steak.
[Kristen] Chef Choi
breaking down a rack of veal.
[Esther] This is for my first course
to go in the grinder.
This is gonna be stuffed
into the chicken wing.
Did she say chicken wing?
It's tailgate time.
Itistailgate time.
[Alton] Chicken wings. What else
is gonna go with that? We don't know.
I love tailgating because the food
and, of course, all the drinking.
All right, okay, Vernon, here you go.
[Kristen] I think on both sides,
we are gonna see a lot of spice
and layering of depth and flavor
through the spice method.
Kimchi coming out on Chef Choi's side,
which is a traditional Korean dish
of salted and fermented vegetables.
Traditionally, Napa cabbage
and Korean radish,
has a sour, tangy, pungent flavor
filled with umami.
Kimchi is like a specialty of Chef Choi.
[Alton] Of course,
she can't make kimchi here.
It normally takes days to ferment.
[Kristen] But she can use that idea
of having fermented flavors
hitting every single dish.
[Esther] Okay, that looks good.
Okay, Chef, here you go.
Yes, Chef. Thank you.
[Kristen] Chef Choi now dropping off
that ground veal to sous-chef Ilji.
Ilji is the head chef at Choi's Mokbar
in Brooklyn.
And her other sous-chef, Jin,
is Director of Operations
for all of Chef Choi's Mokbar restaurants.
-You good?
-[Vernon] We're good, Esther.
-Just keep going.
-Oh yeah. Now we rockin'.
[Alton] And let's not forget
our guest sous-chefs for the day,
Vernon Davis and Keyshawn Johnson,
who lend an extra pair of hands
to Chef Choi and Iron Chef Samuelsson
in this challenge.
And already looking
like professional sous-chefs
here in Kitchen Stadium.
Nobody's telling Keyshawn or Vernon
what to do. They're just doing it all
[Andrew] Keyshawn,
he's got the proper technique,
and he's not afraid to lift something up
and stir it in.
Vernon is doing the same thing
on the other side.
These guys know their way
around a kitchen.
You can't stop them.
You can only hope to contain them.
Just like on the field.
Vernon, how's it going?
It's going well.
Mind your business, buddy!
[Keyshawn chuckles]
-[Esther] Keep going with this.
-[Vernon] Lamb.
-Hey, Vernon.
-Yo.
[Kristen] What are you putting
in that grinder?
This is lamb. It has a lot of fat on it.
[Kristen] That's good. Flavor.
[Esther] This is gonna be ground up
into the chili.
[Alton] Chili. That would make a lot
of sense, especially if we're tailgating.
What course that's for, I don't know.
[Kristen] Keyshawn is taking
those gorgeous tomahawks
and what I assume is a berbere spice?
[Alton] Berbere.
Berbere, that's got ajowan in it,
cardamom, black cumin, fenugreek,
cinnamon and various chilies.
[Kristen] Coating that,
hitting us with flavor,
as expected from the Iron Chef side.
Of course, that's really
kind of the curry powder of Africa.
[Keyshawn] 100% it feels like tailgating,
only difference is
it's in a pretty kitchen.
Yeah, leave it on, you're good.
[Alton] A lot of the meat has
moved down to the grinder position
that sous-chef Jason is manning.
[Jason] I'm grinding meat for the chili.
We've got beef in here,
we've got a little pork in here,
a little bit of goat as well.
[Alton] So we've got chilies
on both sides of Kitchen Stadium.
Sous-chef Tristen, right now,
over in that blender,
a mixture of spices, tomatoes, onions,
that's all I really can see right now.
So I'm making obe ata.
[Alton] Obe ata, which is a red,
almost kind of like stewed pepper
with onion and red palm oil.
[Tristen] This is for our final dish.
Oh, look at that rack. Oh my God.
-Tristen.
-Yes, Chef.
[Marcus] Lamb chop going in.
-Count seven minutes.
-Yes, Chef.
[Alton] The Iron Chef working
on his first course.
He set those lamb racks in a very hot pan,
which enhances the flavor of the meat,
creates a nice char on the outside.
He's putting them in the oven
to finish and get them up to temperature.
This is a common technique
seen a lot with steaks and chops.
Why is everything so high?
[Alton] Fifty-seven minutes
remaining in the cook,
and 12 minutes until that first dish
must be up to the judges.
That good enough, Esther?
-That's perfect.
-Okay.
-Thank you, Vernon.
-You're welcome.
[Esther] All right,
can you set up our cocktails?
I want you to grab some lemons.
[Vernon] Yes. Absolutely.
I'm on it, boss.
[Alton] On the challenger's side,
sous-chef Ilji's
working on that first course.
Now, she's piping some ground veal.
She mixed that up with garlic, chive,
I think there was some tofu
and ginger in there.
And she's piping that into chicken wings.
[Esther] I'm making a kimchi ranch.
What I love about Chef Choi
is that her approach to Korean food
is so authentic,
but she just puts a 10% spin.
This is gonna go with the first course.
[Kristen] And so in that blender,
chives, kimchi, crème fraîche.
I just heard her say
it's for her first course.
It's a dipping sauce.
Like a ranch. Kimchi ranch, almost.
-I want that.
-Right?
-[Esther] How you doing, Vernon?
-Ooh!
Vernon is actually doing a light bit
of showmanship over there.
-[Vernon] Oh, no!
-Fumble!
Yeah, you gotta cook, man, not juggle.
[Alton] All right, looking around
over on the Iron Chef's side, buns!
Buns going down on the grill.
[Kristen] What's on his binchotan?
[Alton] I can't tell through the smoke
what the hell that is.
-Meat.
-Yes.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
[Jason] This is lamb belly. It's gonna be
burnt lamb belly for his first course.
[Alton] Lamb belly, which is why
we're getting so much smoke,
because there's a huge amount
of subcutaneous fat that's burning away.
Get The Chairman to turn the hoods on.
Timer for lamb.
[Marcus] Okay.
[sizzles]
[Marcus] Hot.
[Alton] I'm looking over
to the challenger's side,
that big bottle of kimchi
being dealt with by sous-chef Jin.
[Andrew] Maybe they're utilizing
that juice?
[Nilou] What if it's a drink?
What if there's a Spicy Mary in my future?
-Dear Heavenly Father.
-[Nilou chuckles]
-Chef, dropping chicken wings.
-[Esther] Dropping chicken wings?
[Alton] Looks like
they're gonna fry those stuffed wings.
[Kristen] Ugh! Korean fried chicken
is by farthebest fried chicken
on the face of the Earth.
[Alton] And you know why?
Because it was taught to Korean cooks
by African American GIs
after the World War.
[Kristen] If I had a mic,
I'd drop it right now. Great fact.
[Alton] Eight minutes
until that first course
needs to be up to the judges,
if you can see them through all the smoke.
Is there a way to get that not happening?
[Alton] Back on the Iron Chef's side,
tomahawks have been seared off,
they have now moved over to the grill,
where Keyshawn Johnson
is working on those.
-Those are beautiful.
-[Tristen] Got skills, huh?
You know I'm at the crib,
so gotta make sure that they cook right.
[Tristen] There you go.
[Alton] Iron Chef Samuelsson right now,
in the blender, avocados,
some of the yellow tomatoes
that he cooked,
and shallots that he charred,
some peanuts, and I think there might be
a bit of chickpea flour in there.
And also added some beer to that.
[chuckling] And I think a little bit
of the hamburger bun went into that,
so I'm imagining that that is
going to go with those lamb racks
and the lamb belly,
which will be his first course.
-[Esther] Vernon, can you grab the vodka?
-Vodka?
[Andrew] I think
your Bloody Mary is happening.
Oh, yes.
Chef, do you have a minute
to take a look at the fry?
Yes, Chef.
[Vernon] Cocktails!
[Alton] A bottle cap?
Dump it in!
Hey, just enough to keep us stable.
[Vernon] Cocktails!
[Kristen] I'm seeing drinks being made.
I'm going to go down there.
If you don't come back with one,
we're done.
I'm gonna try.
[Alton] Looking back over
on the challenger's side of the world,
we can see sous-chef Vernon right now,
tossing the wings in some gochujang,
corn syrup, sugar, and garlic.
They're going to be sweet and hot.
Gochujang, which is
a spicy Korean chili paste
that's based on fermented soybeans
and chilies.
Chef, I know this is the best time
to talk to you
-I hate you.
-with five more minutes to plate,
but I'm already seeing cocktails,
which I love.
[Esther] Every course, cocktail.
Tailgate, you know? We gotta drink.
How many kimchis are we gonna see
throughout your menu?
In every course,
in some form or some way.
Thank you, Chef.
How's the short rib?
Eight minutes, Chef.
Looking on the challenger's side,
a terribly gigantic green papaya
being dismantled.
That suggests that there's
going to be a slaw.
She's also got some kind of a sauce.
I'm making all the condiments
for the sandwich.
[Alton] I bet we're gonna have
a barbecue short-rib sandwich
of some type with green papaya slaw.
What else will go in there? I don't know.
-[Vernon] Running like I got a football!
-[Esther chuckles]
[Alton] Two and a half minutes
to get those courses to the judges.
[Jin] Sorry.
[Alton] Right now, that kimchi ranch,
uh, going into bowls
in the hands of our challenger.
That's going with that chicken wing.
-[Esther] All right!
-Makes perfect sense.
[Esther] Okay, you gonna
bring this up to the judges for me?
-Hello, Chef.
-Hello.
-[Nilou] Wow!
-[Andrew] Ho-ho-ohh!
Chef Choi, tell us what you've made.
[Esther] Veal-rib-stuffed chicken wing,
and a kimchi ranch,
and a kimchi Bloody Mary. Please enjoy.
Cheers to you.
-Thank you.
-That's it? Okay! All right, let's go!
I'm gonna need a bathtub
because I wanna bathe in this.
Iron Chef, you have 55 seconds.
[Marcus] I need the meat now!
[Alton] Got that peanut sauce down,
that pickle-y tomato salad of some type.
-Jason, I need the meat!
-Yes, Chef.
Coming with the meat right now.
[Alton] And it looks like the meat
is coming off of the lamb.
[Marcus] Let's go.
-What do you want?
-Just give it to me.
-You want meat, no?
-Fifteen seconds.
[Marcus] I need help.
Come on. Come here. Jason.
-Good?
-Yeah.
[Alton] Five, four, three, two, one.
And the Iron Chef gets his dish up
in the nick of time.
So today it's a celebration
of lamb chop with beer and peanuts.
In the bottom, we have a little bit
of Ethiopian injera bread
that you can rip and dip
into this peanut, chickpea-flour sauce,
salad with pickled tomatoes,
a little bit of lamb fat,
and then seared some lamb chops
that we dusted in peanuts.
-Amazing.
-Enjoy.
-Thank you.
-Thank you, Chef.
[Kristen] Uh, Nilou, what do you think
of Chef Choi's dish?
She knows her way around Korean food,
but then also making it feel more joyful
than anything I've ever, honestly, had.
And the Bloody Mary?
It was so smart of them to use
that kimchi juice in here. It is great.
To be able to do fried chicken this way,
you know, stained-glass shattering crust,
maybe one of the best pieces
of fried chicken I've ever eaten.
And when I temper it
with that kimchi ranch,
it's like throwing an accelerant on it,
and I love it.
High praise. Danny,
what do you think of Chef Choi's dish?
Could I have about four of these to go?
-[all chuckle]
-I love it.
[Alton] Don't forget, we've got 25 points
that could be awarded for that dish.
Now, let's get caught up
with the challenger, Chef Choi.
The short ribs for their sandwich
have come out of the pressure cooker.
[Jin] Chef, coming around hot. Pork.
[Alton] The pork ribs
went into the pressure cooker
with oranges
and that Korean chili paste, gochujang.
Chef Choi heavily seasoned
two racks of lamb ribs
with garlic powder, paprika,
and gochugaru.
Now, gochugaru is a smoky,
but relatively mild red pepper flake.
Now, that is sure to bring out
a nice spice in their chili.
Sous-chef Jin has some sort of dough
coming together.
[Jin] Dough's ready to prove.
What do you think
about Chef Samuelsson's lamb-chop dish?
The lamb, this is like,
reminds me of when I was a kid,
we used to dobarbacoa
and when you pick it up,
the meat falls off.
It's absolutely delicious.
I was promised a party,
but to me, I'm tasting neither beer
and very little of the peanut.
Um, I would've preferred less fat,
but if you serve fat like that,
I think it needs to be charred.
I can't disagree with Andrew on the fat
that hasn't quite rendered on this bone.
That said, the lamb fat
that are little chunks of it
-[Andrew] Gorgeous.
-[Nilou] are pure joy.
I'll take the Bloody Mary.
I'll leave you to doing judge business
-[Nilou] Take the Bloody Mary and run.
-We'll touch back later.
[Alton] All right, let's get caught up
in the kitchen.
The Iron Chef, wrapping
cooked collard greens
around kind of like a meatball or patty.
Ground lamb, beef, fermented honey,
peanut butter and spices went into that.
[Marcus] This is a riff onkåldolmar,
which is a cabbage roll
that we just want to serve
with a grand jollof dish.
[Tristen] So I'm making
chili and some beer.
[Alton] The pork-goat-beef mixture
for their chili has gone into a pot
with spices, tomato paste, and beer.
Poaching some lobsters for our final dish.
[Alton] There's also lobsters poaching
and some type of rice dish.
[Tristen] Coming through
hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!
I brought you a gift.
-I love you very much.
-[Kristen chuckles]
-Can we get a time check, please?
-[Kristen] 35 minutes, Chef.
[Marcus] How's the rice, Tristen? We good?
[Tristen] It's going.
[Alton] Over on the Iron Chef's side,
going into that paella pan right now,
that's some of the obe ata
that they made earlier.
That is also where the broken rice landed.
Traditionally, this is a paella pan,
but we're using it to do,
like, a really great West African dish
that's kind of a staple, jollof rice.
[Alton] Jollof rice,
this is a West African dish,
made with long-grain rice
that's been broken up,
tomatoes, onions, spices,
vegetables, meat that is cooked in a pan.
[Tristen] Rice is in.
Chefs, if I may have your attention
on the floor please.
Uh, we have the scores
from the first dishes.
Iron Chef Samuelsson,
you raked in 18 points.
-Congratulations.
-Thank you.
[Alton] Chef Choi,
uh, you have racked up 23 points
with your first dish.
Good job, guys. Proud of you.
[Alton] The challenger Chef Choi
pulls into the lead with her first course.
No worries, guys, we got it.
It's a long battle. First quarter.
Keyshawn knows all about that.
[Alton] Sous-chef Keyshawn
has grilled some corn,
cut it off the cob, and mixed it
with tomatoes, fresh herbs, and spices.
Let's call that a corn salad.
Beautiful, beautiful, great job.
Where are you on your fish?
-[Jason] I'm grilling up the bones.
-[Kristen] I see halibut.
[Alton] Yes, over on the Iron Chef's side,
halibut's been taken apart
into rib sections.
[Marcus] Jason, come on, let's go.
Let's go, Tristen.
[Kristen] Now, big heads of Napa cabbage
going onto the grill.
-Hey, Chef Choi?
-[Esther] Yes?
The kimchi on the grill,
what is that gonna turn into?
[Esther] That is gonna go inside my chili.
-Some Korean riff on chili is going down.
-[Marcus] Come on, let's go.
-[Esther] Vernon, how you doing?
-[Vernon] Doing well. We smoking, baby!
[Kristen] Chef Choi
definitely loves a spiralizer,
and they have this thing in
Korean cuisine, these potato chips.
-[Alton] Butterfly chips.
-Correct.
Which I think Vernon is
spiralizing a potato for butterfly chips.
[Danny] We got
something burning over there.
Oh, whoa.
[Vernon] Hey, Esther.
I don't know if that's supposed
to be on fire like that, Chef, but okay.
[Ilji] Yes, I'm going.
[Esther] Oh, gosh.
[Alton] It's okay,
sous-chef Ilji to the rescue.
-Don't burn anything!
-[Kristen & Alton] Vernon doesn't care.
[Kristen chuckles]
Work of art, baby. Work of art.
I'm currently working on the filling
for our pork donut.
[Alton] Now she's added some
of that chopped up braised pork meat
from the pressure cooker to that.
[Kristen] Oh my God,
they're giving you dessert ribs.
-[Kristen] Chef Choi?
-Yes?
Sous-chef Jin has this thing
in a large sauté pan. What is that?
She is making toasted sesame ice cream.
-[Kristen] Ice cream?
-We're making milkshakes.
[Alton] Okay, Iron Chef's side
of the world,
sous-chef Keyshawn
has taken some Parmesan,
and he's grated that into a batter
that Tristen made a few minutes ago,
that had buttermilk in it, some teff,
an ancient grain that is a staple
in many parts of Africa, and some beer.
But it's not a batter
like you coat something,
it's a batter like for a pancake.
[Marcus] Okay, give me the batter.
Nice, Keyshawn.
-Ho-kay?
-No, hoecake.
Oh, hoecake.
Yeah, beautiful.
Hoecake's gonna go great with the chili.
Just a bit more flavor.
-Hi, Chef.
-Hey.
-How are you?
-I'm good!
I noticed you were talking
about the party and the peanuts.
I'm trying to track your theme
and the point of view.
[Marcus] For me, NFL and tailgating,
right, it's super inclusive.
You know,
I wanna look at the players.
Sixty percent of the players
are African American,
so I wanted to celebrate the food
from the continent.
Then, also, serving diverse dishes
that represent America now, you know?
[Vernon] Need to turn that down.
[Esther] Come help me
with the cocktails please.
I need my mixologist.
We're just under the six-minute mark
here in Kitchen Stadium.
-[Marcus] Okay, we gotta plate.
-[Jason] How do you want the tomahawk cut?
[Marcus] Off the bone.
That is a perfectly-cooked
piece of very delicious-looking meat.
That's plantain puree.
[Alton] That's the plantain mixture
that was being made at the back station.
-[Marcus] Where's my fish rib?
-[Jason] Coming now.
-[Marcus] We good with oysters?
-[Keyshawn] Yep.
Fried oysters? I'm game.
-[Marcus] We have caviar, Tristen?
-[Tristen] Caviar coming.
Someone say caviar? My love language.
All right, guys,
I'm just waiting on my donuts.
[Ilji] Dropping now.
[Alton] Looking at the challenger's side,
sous-chef Ilji has got that yeast dough
that they made earlier.
And they've got that
candied bacon-pork mixture
that they're putting inside of it.
What is that?
Hotteok, it's a Korean donut.
Those hotteok are gonna hit the griddle
and then they're gonna go
into the deep fryer.
The beauty of a wet dough like that,
it's so sticky and stretchy,
is that when it gets cooked,
it's so light.
Cup-a-Soup thing happening.
Which dish is that?
[Esther] This is our kim-chili
made with lamb ribs
with pan-fried ramen.
Hey, how's my lamb? Rack of lamb?
[Ilji] We have to wait
'til the very last second.
Got it, and that will go with the chili.
Three minutes. Three minutes!
Excuse me. I need to spread out.
[Alton] There's a lot of plating
on the Iron Chef's side.
Everything at once.
-Where's your chili, Tristen?
-[Tristen] Right here.
[Marcus] Let's go, plate the chili.
[Alton] So the caviar's going
onto the hoecake,
and that's gonna go
with this chili and the crispy oysters.
That's not all.
We've also got halibut ribs
and that giant jollof rice dish.
Look at all those beautiful onions.
Some ribs are gonna go on there.
[Marcus] Lobster, Tristen,
go on the lobster.
[Kristen] The lobster went on it.
[Alton] That is
a spectacular plate of food.
That's gonna be his last dish.
That is over the top.
[Alton] Multiple cocktails
coming out of the challenger's kitchen.
[Esther] You guys,
I need my short rib and my donut.
Short rib and donut. What can I help with?
The rib?
We have braised short ribs
going onto that milk bun.
[Alton] Oh my God, it's a sandwich.
[Nilou] Oh yes.
-[Alton] That's the barbecue sandwich.
-Oh, look at that.
[Alton] And it's getting a little bit
of green papaya slaw.
[Esther] I need my fries.
Almost.
[Kristen] That's where Chef Choi
is putting those butterfly chips.
What's that big hunk of animal
on top of the wood chips?
Lamb rib.
[Kristen] That is gonna go
with the kim-chili.
[Esther] Come on, we can do it.
[Kristen] And there's our ice cream
going into the sundae cup
with that fried yummy donut.
-[Alton] Thirty seconds!
-Thirty seconds. I need that fry here.
[Alton] This will not be one of those
walkin'-across-the-finish-line deals.
[Marcus] Just make it rain, come on!
[Alton] Five, four, three, two, one.
-[Marcus] Perfect.
-[Alton] And Battle Tailgate is over.
Judges, please head over
to the tasting table.
-Ah, we did it!
-We'll see you shortly.
[laughs]
-Thank you!
-Thank you, Vernon!
Thank you so much.
-Vernon, you might wanna come over here.
-I don't need to.
I need to stay right here
with my teammates.
Been waiting for this day my entire life.
I'm very proud
of what we put on the plate.
I know everything tastes amazing
and that's what matters.
[Keyshawn] That was fun.
I really feel like we're serving
some fun, surprising dishes.
I loved how we fought,
you know, we really battled.
We wanted to leave it all here
in Kitchen Stadium, and we did.
Judges, welcome to the table.
As you will recall, at this point,
Chef Choi has a total of 23 points
and the Iron Chef 18,
but there is a lot of food to come.
And so don't forget, you are
judging based on taste, presentation,
and use of the secret ingredient,
and you have 75 more points
to award for the next three dishes.
So that being said, I think we should
start with Iron Chef Samuelsson.
-Hi.
-[Andrew] Iron Chef.
-Thank you.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
-Thank you very much.
-[Marcus] Thank you.
Iron Chef, please give us some idea about
your overall strategy for the challenge.
So this idea of tailgating, celebrating,
is really, really global,
so I want to bring delicious flavors
from all over the world.
Thank you. Tell us aboutthisdish.
[Marcus] This is roasted halibut bone.
On the bottom, it's plantains
with Asian pear, that's the puree,
and then, we made a sauce
that is coconut, ginger, and cardamom.
Judge Andrew is doing the right thing,
he's sucking on the bone,
and it's not gonna be pretty.
[Nilou] Mm!
This is such elegant food.
The flavor profile
is just the right hit of acid,
the char on the bone is delicious.
I would like to get into it,
but I feel like it might not be suitable
for television.
-[chortles]
-That might be after the cameras turn off.
-[Marcus] It's the right idea.
-[Nilou] It is.
Grease on the elbow.
If this food were served to me
at a tailgate, I'd be happy.
Thank you.
You happened to pick one
of my most favorite cuts of the fish,
and one that you rarely see anywhere.
My only regret
is that it was butchered in a way,
I would have liked just maybe
a little more fish on it.
-That being said, this was beautiful.
-Danny.
I'm not a real connoisseur
of succulent bone meat,
I don't know, but I just wish
you woulda had more fish on it.
-It was delicious, though.
-Thank you.
Thank you very much, Chef.
We're ready to continue.
-[Alton] Thank you.
-The flavors were amazing in that dish.
-Flavors were great.
-Great flavors.
For me, tailgating, it's a paper plate.
It's not, like, this fancy.
I'd be mad if I was at a tailgating party
and someone handed me a fish bone.
Ooooh.
-[Kristen] Oh yeah. Thank you.
-[Nilou] Oh!
[Kristen] Thank you.
Iron Chef Samuelsson,
please tell us about your dish.
Tailgating, for me,
chili has to be on the menu at some place.
Keyshawn's roots are in Texas,
so we wanted to go with the Texas chili.
So this dish, it's all based on ribs,
so goat ribs, pork ribs,
and beef ribs, grinded that.
I went back to my Ethiopian roots a bit,
cooked with berbere and a lot of onions,
and then a little bit of oyster
and osetra caviar.
Then the hoecake is made with
the oldest grain in the world called teff.
I love the depth of flavor
that you've developed
in such a short time in this chili.
-You ground all the meats, right?
-Yep.
It's a little bit less velvety
than I would want it to be.
My idea of perfection is this fried oyster
topped with a bunch of osetra caviar.
Not because I'm obsessed with caviar,
but because they're
just such a nice salty addition,
and then the crispiness was lovely.
Admitting you have a problem is step one.
-[Marcus and Nilou chuckle]
-It's not a problem, it's a solution.
-[chuckles]
-Thank you, Iron Chef.
-Thank you very much.
-Andrew?
I've had hoecakes
I think now about 15 times?
Not a single one of them
has been true to the roots of it,
where it's firm, and it's meant
to stand up, and do that.
Thank you.
The chili, to me,
it was smooth and perfect.
I didn't get that same vibe that you had
and it's so gloriously seasoned,
so I'm a very happy tailgater.
Danny.
You know, I love the chili.
The taste was awesome and caviar,
who doesn't like caviar?
It's like, even the name
Even the name.
[chuckles]
-Thank you.
-Iron Chef, thank you.
Thank you very much.
All together now.
The battle is rib. I mean,
you sort of lose the fact that it's rib.
He happened to use
the ingredient in there,
but you lose the ribby-ness.
[Nilou] Right.
[Marcus] Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
-Oh-ho-ho!
-Yes.
[Marcus] Ooh-ooh!
[straining] Ooh!
[Nilou] Damn!
[excited chatter]
-[Marcus] Thank you, Chef.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
Did you bring some for the others?
-That's it.
-Iron Chef, what is this?
[Marcus] We wanted to honor the fact
that almost 60% of the players in the NFL
are of African American heritage.
And jollof rice is out of West Africa,
where the slave trade started.
So, this is the grand jollof.
It's really broken rice,
almost like a paella.
Iron Chef,
we wanna be fabulous.
We used the tomahawk, we havekåldolmar,
which is a cabbage roll
inspired a little bit from Sweden,
so we rolled goat and beef
with collard greens.
And then of course
added a little bit of lobster.
Uh, Chef, I know
how much this dish means to you.
Thank you.
This much meaning behind food,
you can taste it.
The butter-poached lobster.
I know the ribs
were also used on the tomahawk.
That also worked for me.
But it's this broken rice,
and the way it's cooked and seasoned,
that may be the star of the dish.
It's beautiful.
[Danny] This was tailgating.
Big plate.
Hey, let me get this spatula
and get my portion.
-You know what? I want another plate.
-[laughter]
This was delicious.
Don't come and pick this up, okay?
The flavor of that bone stock, I could
really get the sense of unctuousness.
The rice is still very, very creamy.
I think that corn salad may be actually
one of the highlights of the whole dish.
-Keyshawn, by the way.
-[Nilou] Oh yeah, Keyshawn?
Yeah! I did see him charring
and cutting them.
Yeah, Keyshawn.
This is a dish that is way more
than the sum of its parts
and makes us proud in this kitchen.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I get a little taken back, because, um
I've cooked all over the world
and for the first 15 years of my life,
I had to hide the story of African food,
it just didn't ever
I I felt it belonged, but there wasn't
a language and a place in fine dining.
And now to be able to serve it
atIron Chef,
which means people
all over the world's gonna see it,
it makes me cry, you know.
It's a long road, uh,
and, yeah, anyway,
it makes me very emotional.
-Iron Chef, thank you very, very much.
-Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
-Thank you so much, guys.
-Thank you, Chef.
This is the kind of showpiece,
this is what tailgate is all about.
If you want to go over the top
on tailgate, do this.
Next up, Chef Choi.
[Esther] Hello!
-[Nilou] Hello.
-[Esther] Hi.
-[Andrew] Ooh-hoo.
-[Kristen] Amazing. Holy moly.
-Look at that.
-Somebody went big on the football theme!
-Go big or go home.
-[Kristen] Wow.
Chef Choi, give us a little bit
of background
for the theme and secret ingredient.
So, I'm from Jersey and I went to Rutgers,
it's a huge football school,
so tailgating has kind of
been in my college years,
so I wanted the food to mimic that,
like super playful.
This is a Korean barbecue beef
rib sandwich
with a green papaya and apple slaw
served with something
that I call butterfly fry,
and then I paired it
with a yuzu-strawberry shandy.
[Nilou] Chef Choi,
you came here on a mission,
to beat our Iron Chef.
-Yes.
-[Nilou] And you came out swinging.
Your sandwich is a lot.
The rib, the meat itself,
is cooked perfectly.
It's set off beautifully by the freshness
of the slaw that you have.
I'm trying to figure out if there needed
to be, like, a piece pulled out of it,
'cause there's sweetness from the slaw,
there's sweetness from the drink.
So there's a lot of sweet.
That said, I can see
everyone's still eating.
They might not hold my opinion
in the same regard that I do.
There is a lot of sweetness in the dish,
you're absolutely right.
The mystery for me
is how it keeps working.
[Nilou] Right.
Maybe it's because of the fermented nature
of some of the ingredients
in the sandwich.
-I've had these in Korea, in Seoul
-Right, right.
and these are superb.
-I love this plate of food.
-Thank you so much.
Danny.
-Is that a touchdown?
-Yeah.
You know what?
I've never had these, honest to God.
-It's absolutely delicious.
-Interesting texture, right?
It's gotta be fun, it's gotta be easy,
it's gotta be happy.
Melts in your mouth.
-And you're almost finished with it too.
-[laughter]
Yeah. Oh, wait
'til you see my next course!
-All right!
-We look forward to the next course.
-Thank you, Chef.
-Thank you, judges.
To me, Chef Choi
has really embraced the challenge
and is coming at us strong.
-She took tailgate and just
-[Nilou] Yeah.
Wow. Thank you very much.
-Hello, Chef. Wow.
-Hi.
-[Nilou] Beautiful.
-[Esther chuckles]
Chef, whatcha got?
I know, talk about being playful.
When you are tailgating, you just
have to find a group of Asian people,
and they'll all have instant noodles
in their hands,
so I had to do a ramen dish.
It is a lamb-rib kim-chili ramen
with a grilled kimchi on the side.
Also in front of you,
I have a rack of lamb, rib.
So, I'm gonna carve this for you,
and this goes really well with the ramen.
-What are the beverages?
-[Esther] It's a play on pickleback.
So you got a shot of soju,
and then a shot of kimchi juice
to kind of just, like,
cleanse your palate.
Nilou.
[Nilou] Chef Choi,
this is what I want from you.
The meat in your kimchi stew is perfect.
The cabbage is great.
This dish is breathtakingly good.
Yes!
Grilled kimchi? Like, where have I been?
Um, if I had to just give you
some honest feedback,
if the lamb wasn't there,
I think this might've
been more successful.
But, again, there's so much
overlap of fun, well-cooked food.
I mean, how fun is this?!
Thank you. I put a lot of thought into it.
In a penitentiary, Top Ramen,
Cup of Noodles, is money.
-I wish they woulda had this recipe!
-Yeah.
[laughter]
'Cause this was delicious.
I only had kimchi once before,
and it didn't taste this good.
This was really delicious.
I loved everything about it.
-Chef, thank you very much.
-Thank you.
Thank you.
There's so much going on.
That smoked lamb could have been left off.
Should have been.
Thank you.
[chuckles]
-[Nilou] Cute.
-[Danny] Whoa.
Chef, um tell it.
I have a present for you. Please open it.
When you are tailgating, I feel like
dessert is sometimes an afterthought,
but everybody always has a box of donuts.
-So
-[Nilou] What the
I have stuffed this donut
with pork ribs
that I braised in gochujang and orange.
And then we dusted it
with an orange sugar.
And then now, of course,
we can't forget your sesame milkshakes.
And to end it all, a dalgona cookie.
Your creativity knows no bounds.
Your yeasted donut is a great idea.
The fact that you stuffed it with pork
is genius.
I love how you celebrate Korean culture.
Yeah, yeah, the sweet bun with the pork,
the orange in there
with the natural char and crispiness,
it's actually the orange
and the bittersweetness
that ties it together.
You've also restored my faith
in the fun and joyous part of eating.
I can overanalyze all that I want,
but at the end of the day,
this made me happy, so thank you.
Thank you very much.
[Danny] This, I'm telling you right now,
don't open a restaurant in L.A., okay?
-I got a donut shop.
-[Esther chuckles]
Do not bring this to L.A.
'cause this was delicious.
Thank you so much.
-[cookie snaps]
-Chef Choi, thank you very much.
I'm gonna go find a bush to lay under
for three weeks.
-[laughter]
-Thank you for your offerings.
-Thank you.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
There's no question that Chef Choi
is a real talent.
Yeah.
But with youth comes the idea
that everything needs to be
put on the table.
I don't think it was too much. I think
-This was like the whole buffet table.
-I think the theme is
-Excess.
-tailgate.
It's excess.
Well, judges, um,
you know what comes next.
-You have some math to do.
-[Nilou] Mm.
-You're gonna go over there to do it.
-Thank you.
We're gonna go over there
and and try to walk,
which is gonna be a lot harder
than it was when I came over here.
-Ooh!
-[Nilou] Oh my gosh.
[Alton] Ooh!
[Alton]Will it be Chef Choi's
Korean-inspired tailgate menu
or Iron Chef Samuelsson's global approach
to The Chairman's challenge?
Mr. Chairman,
the ball is in your court, sir.
Chef Choi.
Iron Chef Samuelsson.
Today, the competition was fierce,
but on the field of Kitchen Stadium,
only one chef can be the food MVP.
And that winner is
Chef Choi.
[cheering and applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
Chef Choi, congratulations.
Thank you so much.
[Chairman] You have achieved
the nearly impossible,
and to commemorate this miraculous moment,
I present you with this.
Thank you.
[triumphant music plays]
Well, food fans, there you have it.
Battle Tailgate has come to a satisfying
and very tasty conclusion.
The Chairman has declared
Chef Choi the winner.
The final score, 86 to 81
in favor of the challenger.
Chef Choi made a joyous bunch
of Korean tailgate noise,
showcasing the secret ingredient, ribs,
in a more creative way
and served beverages
with almost every course.
And if she has the highest score
amongst all of the challengers,
she will be going against
all five of the Iron Chefs
to try to become
the first-ever Iron Legend.
I personally cannot wait
for that showdown to happen.
It's too mind-numbing,
the idea of going up against all of them.
It's just too inconceivable.
And yet, it could happen.
Anyone's game.
Chairman, any final words, sir?
Yes.
In the next battle,
I'm prepared to ruffle some feathers
with a very special celebrity guest!
[hen clucks softly]
Cock-a-doodle doo.
[hen clucks]
[closing theme music plays]
[drum beats, whistle blows]
The game is still on
and this is my touchdown dance.
Touchdown!
[dramatic music plays]
[cheering and applause]
Hi, food fans, I'm Alton Brown,
and it is game time
here in Kitchen Stadium.
The mood is electric,
and the food will be eclectic.
See what I did there?
And I'm Kristen Kish,
and as always in this arena,
we'll be cooking up
some fierce culinary competition.
Our esteemed Chairman
has picked five superstar chef athletes
to represent him
in this game of gastronomy.
Only our most successful challenger
will get the chance to face off
against all five of our Iron Chefs
in the final epic battle.
And only if they succeed
in defeating them all
they will be crowned the Iron Legend.
Mr. Chairman, care to kick things off?
Competitive cooking is our sport,
and who will be game enough
to take on a true culinary champion?
I believe I have found a worthy challenger
tough enough to tackle this task.
Please welcome Chef Esther Choi.
[cheering and applause]
[Alton]At a young age,
she rocketed to culinary fame
in New York City with Mokbar,
her humble take on Korean cuisine.
She views food as an ambassador
and brings about a greater appreciation
of Korean culture with every bite.
[soothing music plays]
[Esther] I started cooking
at a very young age with my grandmother.
She's this amazing, amazing cook.
She really put every ounce
of love and energy into a dish.
That ultimately inspired me,
and it really shaped who I am today.
I opened my first restaurant in 2018.
Mokbar is ultimate comfort food.
I took very classic,
traditional Korean dishes
and made it ramen.
I love my culture.
I'm obsessed with Korean food.
Kimchi is definitely my heart.
It represents who I am so well.
And I have this thing where I love
to kimchify anything and everything,
so I take the most unexpected ingredients
and I make kimchi out of it.
Like, I can make kimchi with beef.
Kimchify. I need to trademark that.
[chuckles]
I am competing
every single moment of my life.
I'm not here for the chance
to win the Golden Knife,
I'm here to win it.
Chef Choi, welcome.
Thanks for having me.
You are a renowned chef
from New York City.
Yes, I am.
You will face unrivaled pressure here
because all of my Iron Chefs are
merciless MVPs of Kitchen Stadium.
And for today's tasty trial,
you will have to face a chef
with competitive fire
flowing through his veins.
Please welcome
Iron Chef Marcus Samuelsson!
[cheering and applause]
[upbeat music plays]
[Alton]Born in Ethiopia
and raised in Sweden,
he's a man with a unique culinary story,
who now calls New York City home.
His food celebrates
diverse cultures and flavors
and has made him one of the most
well-known chefs on the planet.
[relaxed piano music plays]
[Marcus] It's been
a long, delicious journey
to become an Iron Chef.
My journey begins in Ethiopia.
I was born in a hut
the size of two restaurant tables
in my restaurant.
At the age of three,
my mother unfortunately passed away,
but sometimes, in life,
the worst thing that can happen to you
can also be a blessing.
And my sister and I got adopted
from Ethiopia to Sweden.
So when people asked me, "Who are you?"
I said I'm Swediopian.
I came to America at the age of 23
with $300 in my pocket.
I came here to work
in a Swedish restaurant called Aquavit,
and I was part of
sort of new Nordic cuisine
for a long time.
Ten years ago, you know, I shifted that.
I moved to Harlem.
I opened Red Rooster
and really dug
into Southern-inspired food,
much more rustic, comfort food.
You know, we built the restaurant
around our cornbread
and our fried chicken.
People come from all over the world
to experience that.
As a Black chef,
I definitely feel a responsibility
to create a space that tells a story
about Black culture, Black history,
but also share with the world
African ingredients
that have been here forever.
Working in New York City for 25 years,
you need to be competitive
'cause New Yorkers will tell you
if your stuff is good, or it's not.
So, I can't wait to battle.
Iron Chef Samuelsson, welcome.
Thank you.
This is your most confident opponent,
Chef Choi, another luminary
from the New York dining scene.
So, the question is,
who will win this Big Apple battle?
-I will.
-[Esther scoffs]
Are you sure, Chef?
I love the fact that you're confident,
but Iron Chef will win.
We'll see about that.
To turn this battle
into a whole new ball game,
I have invited some big-time ballers
who are accustomed
to the fierce fire of
football!
Wow.
Please welcome NFL players
Keyshawn Johnson and Vernon Davis.
[cheering and applause]
[upbeat music plays]
[Esther] Yes.
Yes.
Keyshawn, Vernon, welcome.
-Thank you.
-Good to be here.
These NFL superstars are not just here
to watch the action.
Oh no, they are here to participate.
Meet your new sous-chefs.
-Vernon, you will be on Chef Choi's team.
-[Vernon] Nice.
-[Esther] Yes.
-Keyshawn, you will join Chef Samuelsson.
Let's get it.
-What's up, boss?
-All right.
And Chefs, I have not
left you in the lurch.
They're both quite skilled at cooking,
and very competitive.
How do you feel about the new members
of your team?
I'm excited.
Keyshawn's own restaurant has
been in the industry for a long time.
I couldn't ask for a better sous-chef.
I feel like I got my muscles here.
Let's go.
This battle will focus on the food
of a tasty tradition at sporting events.
Yes!
[dramatic music builds]
Tailgating!
[Esther gasps, chuckles]
[Esther] Yes.
All right.
There is a wide world of tailgate food,
so I will help focus the field
with our secret ingredient.
Ribs.
Chefs, you will have just 75 minutes
to make four championship-worthy
tailgate dishes,
and your first dish is due in 30 minutes.
[softly] Thirty!
So now, with an open heart
and empty stomach,
I say unto you in the words of my uncle
Allez cuisine!
[Marcus] Y'all, where are we at?
[Alton] And the tailgate battle is on here
in Kitchen Stadium.
[Esther] Okay, guys,
so veal and short ribs.
[Alton] Our rib-centric challenge.
[Esther] Your five steps
is like my ten steps.
[Alton] We've got pork, we've got beef,
but we've also got lamb, fish,
rabbit, venison, and buffalo.
[Esther] Look at that.
[Andrew] Tomahawk chops for the win.
-[Nilou] Oof.
-Very exciting.
The beauty of these ribs,
you can take a short rib,
kiss it on the grill, and it's beautiful,
chewy, you gnaw on it.
Or that low, slow long method,
that falls-off-the-bone ribs.
I think we'll be seeing
some pressure cookers
because we've
got a 75-minute challenge here
and a lot of connective tissue
to break down.
They are going
to strip a lot of this meat.
Some is gonna get browned.
Hopefully fryer, king cookers,
and grills all get utilized.
[Marcus] Let's go.
[Alton] All right,
we're gonna see four rib dishes
manufactured out of each side
of the kitchen in this tailgate challenge.
That first course has got to be
up to the judges in half an hour.
Okay, ready?
[Marcus] Bring it in.
-Do you like tailgating?
-I don't tailgate.
We're making fried chicken.
We have to do a fried-chicken dish.
-What's a good tailgating dish for you?
-Ooh, some kind of sandwich.
Yes, and we'll do it with short ribs.
-Ooh, yes.
-We'll do Korean barbecue short ribs.
Let's think about first course, right?
Super strong.
I want to do something with peanuts.
[chef] I think this lamb
will be good. Chops.
-Beer
-Beautiful.
-Beer?
-I want a beer sauce. Fish second.
[chef] This looks
like some cool fish ribs.
And then, Keyshawn, corn.
Something light.
What Auntie would cook at home.
I got you.
What else? Chili. Right, chili?
You can't have tailgate
without some chili and beer.
[Marcus] That's gonna be
our finish, right? Rice.
-All the meat and fish.
-A big rice.
Almost like a paella.
Big touchdown in the end, okay?
[Kristen] It looks like Chef Choi
has beef, lamb, pork, veal.
Over on Iron Chef Samuelsson's side,
beef, lamb, goat, and the halibut.
Obviously, I can spot the halibut
from a mile away.
Literally a mile away because it's big.
[Kristen] It's huge.
Okay, one, two, three, Team Choi!
[Marcus] Win!
[Alton] The cooking begins
in Kitchen Stadium.
-[Marcus] Let's go.
-Your grinder for me.
[Kristen] And of course,
a crucial component to Kitchen Stadium,
our judges.
Nilou Motamed.
Hi.
[Kristen] Andrew Zimmern.
And our very special guest,
actor, restaurateur, and sports superfan,
Danny Trejo.
Look at that smile, Danny Trejo.
-Joyful.
-Big.
[laughs]
Tailgating is the best part of sports.
I grew up in Michigan
and there was always a Crock-Pot chili.
It's hot dogs, it's barbecue
on, like, a grill that's barely working,
but it's still so memorable
and carries a lot of good memories
for my childhood.
We'll have to see if there are
good memories made here today.
Okay, a lot of chefs, actually,
we do a lot of tailgating.
It's fun, right? It's a party that kind of
engages both the fan and the team.
[Alton] Looking at the Iron Chef's side,
racks of lamb have gone
into a cast-iron skillet.
[Marcus] So we're just gonna
sear off some lamb chops
and just season it with a little bit
of mustard, peanuts, garlic,
just to add flavors to it.
It's gonna really be a celebration
of beer, peanuts, and lamb.
That's what
we're gonna start this battle off.
They're doing lamb for that first course.
Iron Chef Samuelsson is gonna be
bringing a lot of stuff, I imagine,
from not only his home country of Ethiopia
but other parts of Africa
and West Africa
[Kristen] Also that Swedish influence
of his upbringing.
And the Swedish influence.
And helping the Iron Chef today
is sous-chef Jason,
the Executive Chef at Marcus,
the Iron Chef's restaurant in Montreal.
And sous-chef Tristen
is the Iron Chef's chef de cuisine
at his restaurant Red Rooster in Miami.
Sous-chef Tristen taking apart,
they're like pork chops, but of beef
Look at the way
they're cutting that rib. Oh!
[Marcus] with a very large knife.
It is a small machete.
They've got the full bone
leading down the side of the animal,
which is why we call them tomahawk chops,
technically, a rib-eye steak.
[Kristen] Chef Choi
breaking down a rack of veal.
[Esther] This is for my first course
to go in the grinder.
This is gonna be stuffed
into the chicken wing.
Did she say chicken wing?
It's tailgate time.
Itistailgate time.
[Alton] Chicken wings. What else
is gonna go with that? We don't know.
I love tailgating because the food
and, of course, all the drinking.
All right, okay, Vernon, here you go.
[Kristen] I think on both sides,
we are gonna see a lot of spice
and layering of depth and flavor
through the spice method.
Kimchi coming out on Chef Choi's side,
which is a traditional Korean dish
of salted and fermented vegetables.
Traditionally, Napa cabbage
and Korean radish,
has a sour, tangy, pungent flavor
filled with umami.
Kimchi is like a specialty of Chef Choi.
[Alton] Of course,
she can't make kimchi here.
It normally takes days to ferment.
[Kristen] But she can use that idea
of having fermented flavors
hitting every single dish.
[Esther] Okay, that looks good.
Okay, Chef, here you go.
Yes, Chef. Thank you.
[Kristen] Chef Choi now dropping off
that ground veal to sous-chef Ilji.
Ilji is the head chef at Choi's Mokbar
in Brooklyn.
And her other sous-chef, Jin,
is Director of Operations
for all of Chef Choi's Mokbar restaurants.
-You good?
-[Vernon] We're good, Esther.
-Just keep going.
-Oh yeah. Now we rockin'.
[Alton] And let's not forget
our guest sous-chefs for the day,
Vernon Davis and Keyshawn Johnson,
who lend an extra pair of hands
to Chef Choi and Iron Chef Samuelsson
in this challenge.
And already looking
like professional sous-chefs
here in Kitchen Stadium.
Nobody's telling Keyshawn or Vernon
what to do. They're just doing it all
[Andrew] Keyshawn,
he's got the proper technique,
and he's not afraid to lift something up
and stir it in.
Vernon is doing the same thing
on the other side.
These guys know their way
around a kitchen.
You can't stop them.
You can only hope to contain them.
Just like on the field.
Vernon, how's it going?
It's going well.
Mind your business, buddy!
[Keyshawn chuckles]
-[Esther] Keep going with this.
-[Vernon] Lamb.
-Hey, Vernon.
-Yo.
[Kristen] What are you putting
in that grinder?
This is lamb. It has a lot of fat on it.
[Kristen] That's good. Flavor.
[Esther] This is gonna be ground up
into the chili.
[Alton] Chili. That would make a lot
of sense, especially if we're tailgating.
What course that's for, I don't know.
[Kristen] Keyshawn is taking
those gorgeous tomahawks
and what I assume is a berbere spice?
[Alton] Berbere.
Berbere, that's got ajowan in it,
cardamom, black cumin, fenugreek,
cinnamon and various chilies.
[Kristen] Coating that,
hitting us with flavor,
as expected from the Iron Chef side.
Of course, that's really
kind of the curry powder of Africa.
[Keyshawn] 100% it feels like tailgating,
only difference is
it's in a pretty kitchen.
Yeah, leave it on, you're good.
[Alton] A lot of the meat has
moved down to the grinder position
that sous-chef Jason is manning.
[Jason] I'm grinding meat for the chili.
We've got beef in here,
we've got a little pork in here,
a little bit of goat as well.
[Alton] So we've got chilies
on both sides of Kitchen Stadium.
Sous-chef Tristen, right now,
over in that blender,
a mixture of spices, tomatoes, onions,
that's all I really can see right now.
So I'm making obe ata.
[Alton] Obe ata, which is a red,
almost kind of like stewed pepper
with onion and red palm oil.
[Tristen] This is for our final dish.
Oh, look at that rack. Oh my God.
-Tristen.
-Yes, Chef.
[Marcus] Lamb chop going in.
-Count seven minutes.
-Yes, Chef.
[Alton] The Iron Chef working
on his first course.
He set those lamb racks in a very hot pan,
which enhances the flavor of the meat,
creates a nice char on the outside.
He's putting them in the oven
to finish and get them up to temperature.
This is a common technique
seen a lot with steaks and chops.
Why is everything so high?
[Alton] Fifty-seven minutes
remaining in the cook,
and 12 minutes until that first dish
must be up to the judges.
That good enough, Esther?
-That's perfect.
-Okay.
-Thank you, Vernon.
-You're welcome.
[Esther] All right,
can you set up our cocktails?
I want you to grab some lemons.
[Vernon] Yes. Absolutely.
I'm on it, boss.
[Alton] On the challenger's side,
sous-chef Ilji's
working on that first course.
Now, she's piping some ground veal.
She mixed that up with garlic, chive,
I think there was some tofu
and ginger in there.
And she's piping that into chicken wings.
[Esther] I'm making a kimchi ranch.
What I love about Chef Choi
is that her approach to Korean food
is so authentic,
but she just puts a 10% spin.
This is gonna go with the first course.
[Kristen] And so in that blender,
chives, kimchi, crème fraîche.
I just heard her say
it's for her first course.
It's a dipping sauce.
Like a ranch. Kimchi ranch, almost.
-I want that.
-Right?
-[Esther] How you doing, Vernon?
-Ooh!
Vernon is actually doing a light bit
of showmanship over there.
-[Vernon] Oh, no!
-Fumble!
Yeah, you gotta cook, man, not juggle.
[Alton] All right, looking around
over on the Iron Chef's side, buns!
Buns going down on the grill.
[Kristen] What's on his binchotan?
[Alton] I can't tell through the smoke
what the hell that is.
-Meat.
-Yes.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
[Jason] This is lamb belly. It's gonna be
burnt lamb belly for his first course.
[Alton] Lamb belly, which is why
we're getting so much smoke,
because there's a huge amount
of subcutaneous fat that's burning away.
Get The Chairman to turn the hoods on.
Timer for lamb.
[Marcus] Okay.
[sizzles]
[Marcus] Hot.
[Alton] I'm looking over
to the challenger's side,
that big bottle of kimchi
being dealt with by sous-chef Jin.
[Andrew] Maybe they're utilizing
that juice?
[Nilou] What if it's a drink?
What if there's a Spicy Mary in my future?
-Dear Heavenly Father.
-[Nilou chuckles]
-Chef, dropping chicken wings.
-[Esther] Dropping chicken wings?
[Alton] Looks like
they're gonna fry those stuffed wings.
[Kristen] Ugh! Korean fried chicken
is by farthebest fried chicken
on the face of the Earth.
[Alton] And you know why?
Because it was taught to Korean cooks
by African American GIs
after the World War.
[Kristen] If I had a mic,
I'd drop it right now. Great fact.
[Alton] Eight minutes
until that first course
needs to be up to the judges,
if you can see them through all the smoke.
Is there a way to get that not happening?
[Alton] Back on the Iron Chef's side,
tomahawks have been seared off,
they have now moved over to the grill,
where Keyshawn Johnson
is working on those.
-Those are beautiful.
-[Tristen] Got skills, huh?
You know I'm at the crib,
so gotta make sure that they cook right.
[Tristen] There you go.
[Alton] Iron Chef Samuelsson right now,
in the blender, avocados,
some of the yellow tomatoes
that he cooked,
and shallots that he charred,
some peanuts, and I think there might be
a bit of chickpea flour in there.
And also added some beer to that.
[chuckling] And I think a little bit
of the hamburger bun went into that,
so I'm imagining that that is
going to go with those lamb racks
and the lamb belly,
which will be his first course.
-[Esther] Vernon, can you grab the vodka?
-Vodka?
[Andrew] I think
your Bloody Mary is happening.
Oh, yes.
Chef, do you have a minute
to take a look at the fry?
Yes, Chef.
[Vernon] Cocktails!
[Alton] A bottle cap?
Dump it in!
Hey, just enough to keep us stable.
[Vernon] Cocktails!
[Kristen] I'm seeing drinks being made.
I'm going to go down there.
If you don't come back with one,
we're done.
I'm gonna try.
[Alton] Looking back over
on the challenger's side of the world,
we can see sous-chef Vernon right now,
tossing the wings in some gochujang,
corn syrup, sugar, and garlic.
They're going to be sweet and hot.
Gochujang, which is
a spicy Korean chili paste
that's based on fermented soybeans
and chilies.
Chef, I know this is the best time
to talk to you
-I hate you.
-with five more minutes to plate,
but I'm already seeing cocktails,
which I love.
[Esther] Every course, cocktail.
Tailgate, you know? We gotta drink.
How many kimchis are we gonna see
throughout your menu?
In every course,
in some form or some way.
Thank you, Chef.
How's the short rib?
Eight minutes, Chef.
Looking on the challenger's side,
a terribly gigantic green papaya
being dismantled.
That suggests that there's
going to be a slaw.
She's also got some kind of a sauce.
I'm making all the condiments
for the sandwich.
[Alton] I bet we're gonna have
a barbecue short-rib sandwich
of some type with green papaya slaw.
What else will go in there? I don't know.
-[Vernon] Running like I got a football!
-[Esther chuckles]
[Alton] Two and a half minutes
to get those courses to the judges.
[Jin] Sorry.
[Alton] Right now, that kimchi ranch,
uh, going into bowls
in the hands of our challenger.
That's going with that chicken wing.
-[Esther] All right!
-Makes perfect sense.
[Esther] Okay, you gonna
bring this up to the judges for me?
-Hello, Chef.
-Hello.
-[Nilou] Wow!
-[Andrew] Ho-ho-ohh!
Chef Choi, tell us what you've made.
[Esther] Veal-rib-stuffed chicken wing,
and a kimchi ranch,
and a kimchi Bloody Mary. Please enjoy.
Cheers to you.
-Thank you.
-That's it? Okay! All right, let's go!
I'm gonna need a bathtub
because I wanna bathe in this.
Iron Chef, you have 55 seconds.
[Marcus] I need the meat now!
[Alton] Got that peanut sauce down,
that pickle-y tomato salad of some type.
-Jason, I need the meat!
-Yes, Chef.
Coming with the meat right now.
[Alton] And it looks like the meat
is coming off of the lamb.
[Marcus] Let's go.
-What do you want?
-Just give it to me.
-You want meat, no?
-Fifteen seconds.
[Marcus] I need help.
Come on. Come here. Jason.
-Good?
-Yeah.
[Alton] Five, four, three, two, one.
And the Iron Chef gets his dish up
in the nick of time.
So today it's a celebration
of lamb chop with beer and peanuts.
In the bottom, we have a little bit
of Ethiopian injera bread
that you can rip and dip
into this peanut, chickpea-flour sauce,
salad with pickled tomatoes,
a little bit of lamb fat,
and then seared some lamb chops
that we dusted in peanuts.
-Amazing.
-Enjoy.
-Thank you.
-Thank you, Chef.
[Kristen] Uh, Nilou, what do you think
of Chef Choi's dish?
She knows her way around Korean food,
but then also making it feel more joyful
than anything I've ever, honestly, had.
And the Bloody Mary?
It was so smart of them to use
that kimchi juice in here. It is great.
To be able to do fried chicken this way,
you know, stained-glass shattering crust,
maybe one of the best pieces
of fried chicken I've ever eaten.
And when I temper it
with that kimchi ranch,
it's like throwing an accelerant on it,
and I love it.
High praise. Danny,
what do you think of Chef Choi's dish?
Could I have about four of these to go?
-[all chuckle]
-I love it.
[Alton] Don't forget, we've got 25 points
that could be awarded for that dish.
Now, let's get caught up
with the challenger, Chef Choi.
The short ribs for their sandwich
have come out of the pressure cooker.
[Jin] Chef, coming around hot. Pork.
[Alton] The pork ribs
went into the pressure cooker
with oranges
and that Korean chili paste, gochujang.
Chef Choi heavily seasoned
two racks of lamb ribs
with garlic powder, paprika,
and gochugaru.
Now, gochugaru is a smoky,
but relatively mild red pepper flake.
Now, that is sure to bring out
a nice spice in their chili.
Sous-chef Jin has some sort of dough
coming together.
[Jin] Dough's ready to prove.
What do you think
about Chef Samuelsson's lamb-chop dish?
The lamb, this is like,
reminds me of when I was a kid,
we used to dobarbacoa
and when you pick it up,
the meat falls off.
It's absolutely delicious.
I was promised a party,
but to me, I'm tasting neither beer
and very little of the peanut.
Um, I would've preferred less fat,
but if you serve fat like that,
I think it needs to be charred.
I can't disagree with Andrew on the fat
that hasn't quite rendered on this bone.
That said, the lamb fat
that are little chunks of it
-[Andrew] Gorgeous.
-[Nilou] are pure joy.
I'll take the Bloody Mary.
I'll leave you to doing judge business
-[Nilou] Take the Bloody Mary and run.
-We'll touch back later.
[Alton] All right, let's get caught up
in the kitchen.
The Iron Chef, wrapping
cooked collard greens
around kind of like a meatball or patty.
Ground lamb, beef, fermented honey,
peanut butter and spices went into that.
[Marcus] This is a riff onkåldolmar,
which is a cabbage roll
that we just want to serve
with a grand jollof dish.
[Tristen] So I'm making
chili and some beer.
[Alton] The pork-goat-beef mixture
for their chili has gone into a pot
with spices, tomato paste, and beer.
Poaching some lobsters for our final dish.
[Alton] There's also lobsters poaching
and some type of rice dish.
[Tristen] Coming through
hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!
I brought you a gift.
-I love you very much.
-[Kristen chuckles]
-Can we get a time check, please?
-[Kristen] 35 minutes, Chef.
[Marcus] How's the rice, Tristen? We good?
[Tristen] It's going.
[Alton] Over on the Iron Chef's side,
going into that paella pan right now,
that's some of the obe ata
that they made earlier.
That is also where the broken rice landed.
Traditionally, this is a paella pan,
but we're using it to do,
like, a really great West African dish
that's kind of a staple, jollof rice.
[Alton] Jollof rice,
this is a West African dish,
made with long-grain rice
that's been broken up,
tomatoes, onions, spices,
vegetables, meat that is cooked in a pan.
[Tristen] Rice is in.
Chefs, if I may have your attention
on the floor please.
Uh, we have the scores
from the first dishes.
Iron Chef Samuelsson,
you raked in 18 points.
-Congratulations.
-Thank you.
[Alton] Chef Choi,
uh, you have racked up 23 points
with your first dish.
Good job, guys. Proud of you.
[Alton] The challenger Chef Choi
pulls into the lead with her first course.
No worries, guys, we got it.
It's a long battle. First quarter.
Keyshawn knows all about that.
[Alton] Sous-chef Keyshawn
has grilled some corn,
cut it off the cob, and mixed it
with tomatoes, fresh herbs, and spices.
Let's call that a corn salad.
Beautiful, beautiful, great job.
Where are you on your fish?
-[Jason] I'm grilling up the bones.
-[Kristen] I see halibut.
[Alton] Yes, over on the Iron Chef's side,
halibut's been taken apart
into rib sections.
[Marcus] Jason, come on, let's go.
Let's go, Tristen.
[Kristen] Now, big heads of Napa cabbage
going onto the grill.
-Hey, Chef Choi?
-[Esther] Yes?
The kimchi on the grill,
what is that gonna turn into?
[Esther] That is gonna go inside my chili.
-Some Korean riff on chili is going down.
-[Marcus] Come on, let's go.
-[Esther] Vernon, how you doing?
-[Vernon] Doing well. We smoking, baby!
[Kristen] Chef Choi
definitely loves a spiralizer,
and they have this thing in
Korean cuisine, these potato chips.
-[Alton] Butterfly chips.
-Correct.
Which I think Vernon is
spiralizing a potato for butterfly chips.
[Danny] We got
something burning over there.
Oh, whoa.
[Vernon] Hey, Esther.
I don't know if that's supposed
to be on fire like that, Chef, but okay.
[Ilji] Yes, I'm going.
[Esther] Oh, gosh.
[Alton] It's okay,
sous-chef Ilji to the rescue.
-Don't burn anything!
-[Kristen & Alton] Vernon doesn't care.
[Kristen chuckles]
Work of art, baby. Work of art.
I'm currently working on the filling
for our pork donut.
[Alton] Now she's added some
of that chopped up braised pork meat
from the pressure cooker to that.
[Kristen] Oh my God,
they're giving you dessert ribs.
-[Kristen] Chef Choi?
-Yes?
Sous-chef Jin has this thing
in a large sauté pan. What is that?
She is making toasted sesame ice cream.
-[Kristen] Ice cream?
-We're making milkshakes.
[Alton] Okay, Iron Chef's side
of the world,
sous-chef Keyshawn
has taken some Parmesan,
and he's grated that into a batter
that Tristen made a few minutes ago,
that had buttermilk in it, some teff,
an ancient grain that is a staple
in many parts of Africa, and some beer.
But it's not a batter
like you coat something,
it's a batter like for a pancake.
[Marcus] Okay, give me the batter.
Nice, Keyshawn.
-Ho-kay?
-No, hoecake.
Oh, hoecake.
Yeah, beautiful.
Hoecake's gonna go great with the chili.
Just a bit more flavor.
-Hi, Chef.
-Hey.
-How are you?
-I'm good!
I noticed you were talking
about the party and the peanuts.
I'm trying to track your theme
and the point of view.
[Marcus] For me, NFL and tailgating,
right, it's super inclusive.
You know,
I wanna look at the players.
Sixty percent of the players
are African American,
so I wanted to celebrate the food
from the continent.
Then, also, serving diverse dishes
that represent America now, you know?
[Vernon] Need to turn that down.
[Esther] Come help me
with the cocktails please.
I need my mixologist.
We're just under the six-minute mark
here in Kitchen Stadium.
-[Marcus] Okay, we gotta plate.
-[Jason] How do you want the tomahawk cut?
[Marcus] Off the bone.
That is a perfectly-cooked
piece of very delicious-looking meat.
That's plantain puree.
[Alton] That's the plantain mixture
that was being made at the back station.
-[Marcus] Where's my fish rib?
-[Jason] Coming now.
-[Marcus] We good with oysters?
-[Keyshawn] Yep.
Fried oysters? I'm game.
-[Marcus] We have caviar, Tristen?
-[Tristen] Caviar coming.
Someone say caviar? My love language.
All right, guys,
I'm just waiting on my donuts.
[Ilji] Dropping now.
[Alton] Looking at the challenger's side,
sous-chef Ilji has got that yeast dough
that they made earlier.
And they've got that
candied bacon-pork mixture
that they're putting inside of it.
What is that?
Hotteok, it's a Korean donut.
Those hotteok are gonna hit the griddle
and then they're gonna go
into the deep fryer.
The beauty of a wet dough like that,
it's so sticky and stretchy,
is that when it gets cooked,
it's so light.
Cup-a-Soup thing happening.
Which dish is that?
[Esther] This is our kim-chili
made with lamb ribs
with pan-fried ramen.
Hey, how's my lamb? Rack of lamb?
[Ilji] We have to wait
'til the very last second.
Got it, and that will go with the chili.
Three minutes. Three minutes!
Excuse me. I need to spread out.
[Alton] There's a lot of plating
on the Iron Chef's side.
Everything at once.
-Where's your chili, Tristen?
-[Tristen] Right here.
[Marcus] Let's go, plate the chili.
[Alton] So the caviar's going
onto the hoecake,
and that's gonna go
with this chili and the crispy oysters.
That's not all.
We've also got halibut ribs
and that giant jollof rice dish.
Look at all those beautiful onions.
Some ribs are gonna go on there.
[Marcus] Lobster, Tristen,
go on the lobster.
[Kristen] The lobster went on it.
[Alton] That is
a spectacular plate of food.
That's gonna be his last dish.
That is over the top.
[Alton] Multiple cocktails
coming out of the challenger's kitchen.
[Esther] You guys,
I need my short rib and my donut.
Short rib and donut. What can I help with?
The rib?
We have braised short ribs
going onto that milk bun.
[Alton] Oh my God, it's a sandwich.
[Nilou] Oh yes.
-[Alton] That's the barbecue sandwich.
-Oh, look at that.
[Alton] And it's getting a little bit
of green papaya slaw.
[Esther] I need my fries.
Almost.
[Kristen] That's where Chef Choi
is putting those butterfly chips.
What's that big hunk of animal
on top of the wood chips?
Lamb rib.
[Kristen] That is gonna go
with the kim-chili.
[Esther] Come on, we can do it.
[Kristen] And there's our ice cream
going into the sundae cup
with that fried yummy donut.
-[Alton] Thirty seconds!
-Thirty seconds. I need that fry here.
[Alton] This will not be one of those
walkin'-across-the-finish-line deals.
[Marcus] Just make it rain, come on!
[Alton] Five, four, three, two, one.
-[Marcus] Perfect.
-[Alton] And Battle Tailgate is over.
Judges, please head over
to the tasting table.
-Ah, we did it!
-We'll see you shortly.
[laughs]
-Thank you!
-Thank you, Vernon!
Thank you so much.
-Vernon, you might wanna come over here.
-I don't need to.
I need to stay right here
with my teammates.
Been waiting for this day my entire life.
I'm very proud
of what we put on the plate.
I know everything tastes amazing
and that's what matters.
[Keyshawn] That was fun.
I really feel like we're serving
some fun, surprising dishes.
I loved how we fought,
you know, we really battled.
We wanted to leave it all here
in Kitchen Stadium, and we did.
Judges, welcome to the table.
As you will recall, at this point,
Chef Choi has a total of 23 points
and the Iron Chef 18,
but there is a lot of food to come.
And so don't forget, you are
judging based on taste, presentation,
and use of the secret ingredient,
and you have 75 more points
to award for the next three dishes.
So that being said, I think we should
start with Iron Chef Samuelsson.
-Hi.
-[Andrew] Iron Chef.
-Thank you.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
-Thank you very much.
-[Marcus] Thank you.
Iron Chef, please give us some idea about
your overall strategy for the challenge.
So this idea of tailgating, celebrating,
is really, really global,
so I want to bring delicious flavors
from all over the world.
Thank you. Tell us aboutthisdish.
[Marcus] This is roasted halibut bone.
On the bottom, it's plantains
with Asian pear, that's the puree,
and then, we made a sauce
that is coconut, ginger, and cardamom.
Judge Andrew is doing the right thing,
he's sucking on the bone,
and it's not gonna be pretty.
[Nilou] Mm!
This is such elegant food.
The flavor profile
is just the right hit of acid,
the char on the bone is delicious.
I would like to get into it,
but I feel like it might not be suitable
for television.
-[chortles]
-That might be after the cameras turn off.
-[Marcus] It's the right idea.
-[Nilou] It is.
Grease on the elbow.
If this food were served to me
at a tailgate, I'd be happy.
Thank you.
You happened to pick one
of my most favorite cuts of the fish,
and one that you rarely see anywhere.
My only regret
is that it was butchered in a way,
I would have liked just maybe
a little more fish on it.
-That being said, this was beautiful.
-Danny.
I'm not a real connoisseur
of succulent bone meat,
I don't know, but I just wish
you woulda had more fish on it.
-It was delicious, though.
-Thank you.
Thank you very much, Chef.
We're ready to continue.
-[Alton] Thank you.
-The flavors were amazing in that dish.
-Flavors were great.
-Great flavors.
For me, tailgating, it's a paper plate.
It's not, like, this fancy.
I'd be mad if I was at a tailgating party
and someone handed me a fish bone.
Ooooh.
-[Kristen] Oh yeah. Thank you.
-[Nilou] Oh!
[Kristen] Thank you.
Iron Chef Samuelsson,
please tell us about your dish.
Tailgating, for me,
chili has to be on the menu at some place.
Keyshawn's roots are in Texas,
so we wanted to go with the Texas chili.
So this dish, it's all based on ribs,
so goat ribs, pork ribs,
and beef ribs, grinded that.
I went back to my Ethiopian roots a bit,
cooked with berbere and a lot of onions,
and then a little bit of oyster
and osetra caviar.
Then the hoecake is made with
the oldest grain in the world called teff.
I love the depth of flavor
that you've developed
in such a short time in this chili.
-You ground all the meats, right?
-Yep.
It's a little bit less velvety
than I would want it to be.
My idea of perfection is this fried oyster
topped with a bunch of osetra caviar.
Not because I'm obsessed with caviar,
but because they're
just such a nice salty addition,
and then the crispiness was lovely.
Admitting you have a problem is step one.
-[Marcus and Nilou chuckle]
-It's not a problem, it's a solution.
-[chuckles]
-Thank you, Iron Chef.
-Thank you very much.
-Andrew?
I've had hoecakes
I think now about 15 times?
Not a single one of them
has been true to the roots of it,
where it's firm, and it's meant
to stand up, and do that.
Thank you.
The chili, to me,
it was smooth and perfect.
I didn't get that same vibe that you had
and it's so gloriously seasoned,
so I'm a very happy tailgater.
Danny.
You know, I love the chili.
The taste was awesome and caviar,
who doesn't like caviar?
It's like, even the name
Even the name.
[chuckles]
-Thank you.
-Iron Chef, thank you.
Thank you very much.
All together now.
The battle is rib. I mean,
you sort of lose the fact that it's rib.
He happened to use
the ingredient in there,
but you lose the ribby-ness.
[Nilou] Right.
[Marcus] Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
-Oh-ho-ho!
-Yes.
[Marcus] Ooh-ooh!
[straining] Ooh!
[Nilou] Damn!
[excited chatter]
-[Marcus] Thank you, Chef.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
Did you bring some for the others?
-That's it.
-Iron Chef, what is this?
[Marcus] We wanted to honor the fact
that almost 60% of the players in the NFL
are of African American heritage.
And jollof rice is out of West Africa,
where the slave trade started.
So, this is the grand jollof.
It's really broken rice,
almost like a paella.
Iron Chef,
we wanna be fabulous.
We used the tomahawk, we havekåldolmar,
which is a cabbage roll
inspired a little bit from Sweden,
so we rolled goat and beef
with collard greens.
And then of course
added a little bit of lobster.
Uh, Chef, I know
how much this dish means to you.
Thank you.
This much meaning behind food,
you can taste it.
The butter-poached lobster.
I know the ribs
were also used on the tomahawk.
That also worked for me.
But it's this broken rice,
and the way it's cooked and seasoned,
that may be the star of the dish.
It's beautiful.
[Danny] This was tailgating.
Big plate.
Hey, let me get this spatula
and get my portion.
-You know what? I want another plate.
-[laughter]
This was delicious.
Don't come and pick this up, okay?
The flavor of that bone stock, I could
really get the sense of unctuousness.
The rice is still very, very creamy.
I think that corn salad may be actually
one of the highlights of the whole dish.
-Keyshawn, by the way.
-[Nilou] Oh yeah, Keyshawn?
Yeah! I did see him charring
and cutting them.
Yeah, Keyshawn.
This is a dish that is way more
than the sum of its parts
and makes us proud in this kitchen.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
I get a little taken back, because, um
I've cooked all over the world
and for the first 15 years of my life,
I had to hide the story of African food,
it just didn't ever
I I felt it belonged, but there wasn't
a language and a place in fine dining.
And now to be able to serve it
atIron Chef,
which means people
all over the world's gonna see it,
it makes me cry, you know.
It's a long road, uh,
and, yeah, anyway,
it makes me very emotional.
-Iron Chef, thank you very, very much.
-Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
-Thank you so much, guys.
-Thank you, Chef.
This is the kind of showpiece,
this is what tailgate is all about.
If you want to go over the top
on tailgate, do this.
Next up, Chef Choi.
[Esther] Hello!
-[Nilou] Hello.
-[Esther] Hi.
-[Andrew] Ooh-hoo.
-[Kristen] Amazing. Holy moly.
-Look at that.
-Somebody went big on the football theme!
-Go big or go home.
-[Kristen] Wow.
Chef Choi, give us a little bit
of background
for the theme and secret ingredient.
So, I'm from Jersey and I went to Rutgers,
it's a huge football school,
so tailgating has kind of
been in my college years,
so I wanted the food to mimic that,
like super playful.
This is a Korean barbecue beef
rib sandwich
with a green papaya and apple slaw
served with something
that I call butterfly fry,
and then I paired it
with a yuzu-strawberry shandy.
[Nilou] Chef Choi,
you came here on a mission,
to beat our Iron Chef.
-Yes.
-[Nilou] And you came out swinging.
Your sandwich is a lot.
The rib, the meat itself,
is cooked perfectly.
It's set off beautifully by the freshness
of the slaw that you have.
I'm trying to figure out if there needed
to be, like, a piece pulled out of it,
'cause there's sweetness from the slaw,
there's sweetness from the drink.
So there's a lot of sweet.
That said, I can see
everyone's still eating.
They might not hold my opinion
in the same regard that I do.
There is a lot of sweetness in the dish,
you're absolutely right.
The mystery for me
is how it keeps working.
[Nilou] Right.
Maybe it's because of the fermented nature
of some of the ingredients
in the sandwich.
-I've had these in Korea, in Seoul
-Right, right.
and these are superb.
-I love this plate of food.
-Thank you so much.
Danny.
-Is that a touchdown?
-Yeah.
You know what?
I've never had these, honest to God.
-It's absolutely delicious.
-Interesting texture, right?
It's gotta be fun, it's gotta be easy,
it's gotta be happy.
Melts in your mouth.
-And you're almost finished with it too.
-[laughter]
Yeah. Oh, wait
'til you see my next course!
-All right!
-We look forward to the next course.
-Thank you, Chef.
-Thank you, judges.
To me, Chef Choi
has really embraced the challenge
and is coming at us strong.
-She took tailgate and just
-[Nilou] Yeah.
Wow. Thank you very much.
-Hello, Chef. Wow.
-Hi.
-[Nilou] Beautiful.
-[Esther chuckles]
Chef, whatcha got?
I know, talk about being playful.
When you are tailgating, you just
have to find a group of Asian people,
and they'll all have instant noodles
in their hands,
so I had to do a ramen dish.
It is a lamb-rib kim-chili ramen
with a grilled kimchi on the side.
Also in front of you,
I have a rack of lamb, rib.
So, I'm gonna carve this for you,
and this goes really well with the ramen.
-What are the beverages?
-[Esther] It's a play on pickleback.
So you got a shot of soju,
and then a shot of kimchi juice
to kind of just, like,
cleanse your palate.
Nilou.
[Nilou] Chef Choi,
this is what I want from you.
The meat in your kimchi stew is perfect.
The cabbage is great.
This dish is breathtakingly good.
Yes!
Grilled kimchi? Like, where have I been?
Um, if I had to just give you
some honest feedback,
if the lamb wasn't there,
I think this might've
been more successful.
But, again, there's so much
overlap of fun, well-cooked food.
I mean, how fun is this?!
Thank you. I put a lot of thought into it.
In a penitentiary, Top Ramen,
Cup of Noodles, is money.
-I wish they woulda had this recipe!
-Yeah.
[laughter]
'Cause this was delicious.
I only had kimchi once before,
and it didn't taste this good.
This was really delicious.
I loved everything about it.
-Chef, thank you very much.
-Thank you.
Thank you.
There's so much going on.
That smoked lamb could have been left off.
Should have been.
Thank you.
[chuckles]
-[Nilou] Cute.
-[Danny] Whoa.
Chef, um tell it.
I have a present for you. Please open it.
When you are tailgating, I feel like
dessert is sometimes an afterthought,
but everybody always has a box of donuts.
-So
-[Nilou] What the
I have stuffed this donut
with pork ribs
that I braised in gochujang and orange.
And then we dusted it
with an orange sugar.
And then now, of course,
we can't forget your sesame milkshakes.
And to end it all, a dalgona cookie.
Your creativity knows no bounds.
Your yeasted donut is a great idea.
The fact that you stuffed it with pork
is genius.
I love how you celebrate Korean culture.
Yeah, yeah, the sweet bun with the pork,
the orange in there
with the natural char and crispiness,
it's actually the orange
and the bittersweetness
that ties it together.
You've also restored my faith
in the fun and joyous part of eating.
I can overanalyze all that I want,
but at the end of the day,
this made me happy, so thank you.
Thank you very much.
[Danny] This, I'm telling you right now,
don't open a restaurant in L.A., okay?
-I got a donut shop.
-[Esther chuckles]
Do not bring this to L.A.
'cause this was delicious.
Thank you so much.
-[cookie snaps]
-Chef Choi, thank you very much.
I'm gonna go find a bush to lay under
for three weeks.
-[laughter]
-Thank you for your offerings.
-Thank you.
-[Nilou] Thank you.
There's no question that Chef Choi
is a real talent.
Yeah.
But with youth comes the idea
that everything needs to be
put on the table.
I don't think it was too much. I think
-This was like the whole buffet table.
-I think the theme is
-Excess.
-tailgate.
It's excess.
Well, judges, um,
you know what comes next.
-You have some math to do.
-[Nilou] Mm.
-You're gonna go over there to do it.
-Thank you.
We're gonna go over there
and and try to walk,
which is gonna be a lot harder
than it was when I came over here.
-Ooh!
-[Nilou] Oh my gosh.
[Alton] Ooh!
[Alton]Will it be Chef Choi's
Korean-inspired tailgate menu
or Iron Chef Samuelsson's global approach
to The Chairman's challenge?
Mr. Chairman,
the ball is in your court, sir.
Chef Choi.
Iron Chef Samuelsson.
Today, the competition was fierce,
but on the field of Kitchen Stadium,
only one chef can be the food MVP.
And that winner is
Chef Choi.
[cheering and applause]
Thank you.
Thank you.
Chef Choi, congratulations.
Thank you so much.
[Chairman] You have achieved
the nearly impossible,
and to commemorate this miraculous moment,
I present you with this.
Thank you.
[triumphant music plays]
Well, food fans, there you have it.
Battle Tailgate has come to a satisfying
and very tasty conclusion.
The Chairman has declared
Chef Choi the winner.
The final score, 86 to 81
in favor of the challenger.
Chef Choi made a joyous bunch
of Korean tailgate noise,
showcasing the secret ingredient, ribs,
in a more creative way
and served beverages
with almost every course.
And if she has the highest score
amongst all of the challengers,
she will be going against
all five of the Iron Chefs
to try to become
the first-ever Iron Legend.
I personally cannot wait
for that showdown to happen.
It's too mind-numbing,
the idea of going up against all of them.
It's just too inconceivable.
And yet, it could happen.
Anyone's game.
Chairman, any final words, sir?
Yes.
In the next battle,
I'm prepared to ruffle some feathers
with a very special celebrity guest!
[hen clucks softly]
Cock-a-doodle doo.
[hen clucks]
[closing theme music plays]