Masterchef (2010) s02e08 Episode Script
Top 14 Compete
Previously, on MasterChef I have no idea what this is.
Are you out of your mind? The remaining home cooks manage to catch the judges' attention, some for the right reasons Absolutely beautiful.
Yeah! And others for the wrong ones.
What are you thinking, trying to serve us raw food? I would send you home now.
And the home cooks got a chance to show off their sweeter sides, which led to some bitter results.
It's like I've just gone to the doctor's for a skin graft on my butt.
And an elimination that shocked everybody.
Alvin, your time is done on MasterChef.
Tonight, 14 home cooks find themselves in uncharted territory.
Welcome to Point Mugu.
What do you want me to do? Do we need a tutorial? I need to prove myself so these other scumbags don't discount me.
And for one home cook, tonight will be their last time cooking in the MasterChef kitchen.
I'm a fighter, I'm a fighter, so don't with me.
Almost 30 miles from the MasterChef kitchen, the remaining find themselves on the California coast with no idea of the colossal cooking challenge ahead.
I'm on the beach, and I'm thinking, "this is awesome.
" I have been missing nature so much in this competition.
I don't like the beach.
I don't like anything about the beach.
It's just boring.
We make the trek up this little dirt path, and at the top of that dirt path, is literally picnic tables, a Harley, and some food trucks.
And I'm starting to put two and two together.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! There they come! That's Graham on the right, for sure! Where's Joe? Here he is! Joe rolls up on a Pee-Wee Herman-looking Vespa.
Yeah! And I'm just waiting for him to get his little eek-eek.
What took you so long? Hey, listen, that may be fast, but this is stylish.
Welcome to Point Mugu.
And the Pacific Coast Highway.
Okay, this challenge is not going to be an easy ride.
An hour and a half from now, will be coming this way.
And they'll be ridden by some super-hungry bikers.
Your task is to give every one of them a hearty sausage sandwich.
All right! But how many have actually made them from scratch? Because that's what we'll be doing today.
I'm immediately worried because I don't know how to make a sausage.
You'll be split into two teams.
Each team will have We'll give you all the meats and spices and vegetables you'll need to make the most amazing sausages and a stunning tasty topping.
I'm from Texas.
I have biker friends.
I know exactly what those kind of guys like to eat.
Each biker will taste a sausage from the blue team and a sausage from the red team.
Then, they will vote for their favorite by getting on this amazing chopper and revving either the blue handle for the blue sausage or the red handle for the red sausage.
The first team to hit 51 votes will win this challenge.
The losing team will face a pressure test.
With that comes a minimum of one elimination.
Tracy and Esther, the two best dishes in the last challenge, you two are now the team captains.
All right, ladies! I am feeling extremely nervous because I know that either the win falls on my shoulders or the loss falls on my shoulders.
Okay, Tracy, the first person you want to pick for your team.
I'm picking this person, chef, because I think they have amazing flavor profiles and holds up really well under pressure.
Okay, who is that person? Alejandra.
Esther.
I'm choosing this person because he's familiar with making sausages, and I need someone who can do that because-- Why? I have no idea.
Who is that guy? It's going to be Derrick.
Christian.
All right.
Esther.
I'm going for Adrien.
Adrien.
Jennie.
Jennie.
Jennie.
Aaron.
Aaron.
Wow.
It's going to be Ben.
I know I can cook with these people.
They're good people.
I would not have wanted to be on the blue team at all.
Tracy.
Suzy.
Suzy.
I'm really, really surprised that Tracy didn't choose me earlier on because I am a great asset.
Esther.
Christine.
Christine.
Congratulations, man.
We're the last picks.
Okay, Tracy.
Which way you going? Giuseppe.
Giuseppe.
I'm picked last, I really don't give a .
I need to prove myself so these other scumbags don't discount me.
Okay, Max, apron on.
I'd rather have Giuseppe, but hopefully, I can keep Max in check.
Teams.
Your time Starts now! Off you go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Both teams of home cooks have 90 minutes to choose their meats and then season, case and cook their sausages, plus the delicious topping, before the bikers arrive.
The first team with 51 votes is the winner.
The first thing we have to do is pick our meat.
Let's do Italian sausage.
Yeah.
Do we have sun-dried tomatoes? Yes.
The blue team is fast to decide on a plan.
We're going to go with an Italian sausage.
And we pull in like a sweeter, kind of honey type of sauce.
Caramelized onions.
Caramelized onions.
Caramelized onions and peppers.
Garlic, peppers, onions.
While Tracy is taking charge of the blue team, Esther's team is a committee of decision-makers.
Wait! Wait! Wait! Stop! What kind of meat? Pork.
Pork.
A little bit spicy, that's what I'm thinking.
We gotta make sure it's not too spicy.
We decide on a spicy sausage.
So what's gonna be on the topping? That jalapeno and his avocado cream sauce mixed together.
Are bikers cool with avocado cream sauce? Yeah, you're going-- I had to be like guys, guys, these are bikers! They want beer, beer, beer, beer.
It's gotta be in the sausage.
You gotta boil it in beer.
Beer, sauteed onions, red peppers.
The red team will be making a beer-soaked pork sausage with drunken onion and pepper relish.
Max and I are getting prepped for the sausage.
Derrick is working on the seasoning for it.
And the rest of my team is working on the prep for the toppings.
The blue team is making a spicy Italian pork sausage with caramelized onions, peppers and molasses.
We immediately get working, off goes Giuseppe and Alejandra working on the seasoning, Aaron goes into starting up the grill, Jennie and Suzy immediately go into prepping the topping and Christian goes off to cutting the meat.
So when you're making a sausage, you want to grind your meat up first, then you gotta season it, and put it into a casing.
Christian is extremely confident.
And so are the sausage makers on the red team.
I make sausage all the time, so this is pretty awesome.
Um, I'm almost done with the spice mix.
I'm just trying-I mean, I'm taking a little more time to do this now, because I want to have enough to make this.
The main things that make chorizo chorizo is a great mix of fat and meat.
Chilies, vinegar, paprika, and cumin too.
I got this one down.
Although her teammates don't agree with her, blue team leader Tracy decides to change their topping.
We're going to have like a sweet kind of caramelly spicy onion instead of the pepper.
I decided that we weren't going to go with the green peppers because they weren't going to add that much of a difference to the flavor profile.
I just think peppers and onions complement each other, especially on Italian sausage.
I think it's too basic.
Onions and peppers go really, really well together, especially with sausage.
If it had been my way, the peppers would have stayed.
I think we'll be fine.
Blue team, what are they doing? Um, they're doing like a classic Italian with some sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella.
Sun-dried tomatoes is a little bit worrying to me because I think that the sausage should be a contrast to the sauce.
Right.
For me, it'd be something hearty.
The red, they're poaching it in a beer, so that's going to give it a nice flavor, but it's the texture of that sausage I'm really concerned about.
Just keep working.
Spoken like a true dictator.
With just over an hour of prep left, attorney Esther is laying down the law with the red team.
Why are we taking that out right now? How's that going over there? I don't want this to be too spicy.
Do we need a tutorial? Esther's bouncing all around the kitchen, screaming, "Chop this, don't do this, do that.
" It's ridiculous.
Can we keep it separate for now? The fat and the meat? I'm not going to say anything.
Max.
It's just two bins.
I want Max to stay in his corner and do his job.
Can you just chop? What do you want me to do? Stop, guys.
Chop.
They're going to treat me like that, fine.
See what happens.
The red team looks chaotic.
They're kind of-- they're running around, and they seem like they're not really as focused as we are.
Let's all try this together, okay? Let's try this.
You really need to taste the sausage before you case it, so you take a little bit of the sausage meat, you fry it up in a pan and you taste that.
Not too much salt.
Okay, enough with the salt.
We're having the first bite? Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
I think it needs a little more red pepper flakes.
I just tasted the first batch out of the frying pan, guys.
How was it? It was good.
We all agreed that the flavor was there so we went for it.
The blue team is happy with their sausage filling, so it's time to start casing.
This is so much fun.
Oh, my God.
The red team hasn't tasted their meat, but they're moving on to casing anyway.
You just have to slowly put it on this without tearing it, like a condom.
Christine has the casings ready to go so you know, they're starting to start getting my meat mixture in their casings.
Turn it off.
Christine's very confident.
She says that she makes venison sausage all the time with her dad, and I'm feeling okay about it at the moment.
Don't make them too big, guys.
Everything was going great until Gordon came over.
Have you really pureed yours, I mean, because you're turning into almost like a mousse.
What you're telling me, that's like a hot dog texture.
That's not a coarse sausage.
Is that the way-- is that exactly what you want? This, right here? This right here? Uh, yes.
Okay.
Okay, so it's grainy, and it's pureed.
I'm just asking.
You know, is that the texture you want on the sausage? Gordon's concerned with the texture of the sausage so we're trying to get one on the grill and get a final exact mouth feel of what it tastes like.
It's like barbecued dog .
Let him taste it, give it to Derrick.
You got to taste this.
It's a horrible texture.
It's far too spicy.
And it's just miles away.
My team is in a lot of trouble.
How? With just 45 minutes before 101 bikers arrive to chow down on both teams' sausages, the red team is facing a huge setback.
It's like barbecued dog .
It's grainy and it's pureed.
That's like a hot dog texture.
That's not a coarse sausage.
Esther's red team decides to change the recipe and the way they're grinding, aiming for a coarser sausage.
Now our mouth feel is up to par, and you know, I feel like these guys are going to get rocking and rolling, and really start pumping out these links and they're going to be great.
Yeah? Tracy's blue team is pleased with their Italian style sausage, and are now turning their attention to the topping.
All right, Suzy, what have you got here? We've got some caramelized onions.
I've got molasses, brown sugar.
It's going to be sweet sweet, or spicy, salty? Yeah, it's just going to be sweet.
That's it.
Just caramelized onions.
They're really sweet.
Too sweet.
Graham and Joe said it was too sweet.
Um, I think it tastes really good.
My entire team tried them as well, so I'm actually okay with it.
Restaurant server Adrien is in charge of the red team's topping.
My biggest concern is getting this topping cooked down to the texture and consistency it needs to be.
No raw onions, nothing too crunchy, just enough bite.
I think we're going to be okay.
Things are going smoothly for the blue team.
With 30 minutes left until the bikers arrive, they've already made over 60 sausages.
Everything tastes good, looks good.
I'm feeling good right now.
But the red team had to scrap their first batch and start over.
They've only just started casing, and they're facing yet another disastrous problem.
Whoa! Stop.
Why's it going so fast? We're going to have to have another person if it's going to come out so fast.
Hold on, Max.
They're too tight.
I start to notice that the sausages are way too tight in the casing.
I'm telling Christine, but she won't listen.
It's not the casing.
It's not my fault.
If Max is messing up the meat A little more, Max, a little more.
Okay.
Okay, okay, stop.
I'm just the monkey on the machine.
I put the meat in the hole.
That's it.
Then it's Christine's job.
As Max and Christine continue to case, the first red team sausages move onto the grill.
Red team.
All of you come over here.
Quickly.
Max.
Quickly.
It's just coming out of the sides.
You're making them too tight.
They normally dehydrate overnight so they spring, but we haven't got that time on our hands.
Yes, chef, so looser fill.
The problem basically is the casings.
You know, Christine said she-- she knows how to do it.
Christine is sinking the entire ship right now.
I think I could've done a better job, but Captain Esther gave us specific assignments, and I'm not going to make a scene.
It's just a disgusting mess at this point.
Just under 10 minutes to go.
We're still having problems with sausages rupturing, guys.
I think we need to consider abandoning cased sausages.
Do we need to use-- utilize the casings? What's the danger of taking them straight from filling onto grill? Can you change course and put patties on the grill? Of course, you're allowed to do that.
You think on your feet.
Let's go.
We're doing that.
I mean, it's definite-- it's definitely time to go to plan B.
We're making sausage patties.
We're not even going to bother stuffing the links.
I know it's going to handicap us.
Whoa.
Hey.
Hey.
That's okay.
Well, let's eat.
They're not figuring it out.
It's kind of a disaster.
Esther is crumbling under pressure.
And the blue team, they're all in their positions and working as a team.
Christian has absolutely nailed that sausage machine.
Now, the ultimate judges will be the bikers, of course.
But at this rate, it's going to and zero to the red.
Two minutes to go.
Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys, I see the motorcycles! Here come the bikers.
And my God, they look hungry.
Oh, my God.
They weren't lying.
! Start plating right now.
Get a whole bunch of buns in there.
We have 101 bikers coming.
And I have no sausages coming out.
I realized at that point that we are screwed.
Oh, my God.
Here come the bikers! And my God, they look hungry! Time is up, and 101 bikers have arrived.
They'll try a sausage from each team and vote for their favorite.
Adrien, do you need any help with that? You all right? Help? He needs a Helicopter out of here.
The bikers pull up, and we're five minutes away from even our first sausage getting off the grill.
Focus.
Focus.
Focus.
Focus, guys.
Now we know the heat is on.
Now we know it's just-- it's just a matter of seconds before we have to serve them.
Quickly.
Quickly.
Quickly.
Tracy, we need help.
Dump that sauce on there.
Here you go, gentlemen.
Enjoy.
It's an Italian sausage with our caramelized onions.
I need one right here, Suzy.
Thank you.
There we go.
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Vote blue! Vote blue.
While the blue team is busy handing out sausages It's my pleasure.
The red team has to rely on stall tactics, as not one of their sausage patties is ready to serve.
Hi, guys.
How are you today? I'm just going to check on the buns.
Two shakes.
Two shakes.
I'm the only one up front.
They go to the blue team first, and they're in front of us, and I'm like, hi, guys.
I'll be right with you.
Someone start taking control.
Step up.
Step up.
I'm happy I'm not captain of this ship.
Are these ready? A couple of them, yes.
Come on.
No, no, no, guys.
No, no, no.
Stay with us.
Stay with us.
We're doing the best we can.
A spicy beer sausage with drunk onions and peppers.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy.
What do you think? Red or blue? I like the blue.
You like the blue.
You like the sweeter sausage.
Yeah.
I really like the red one.
Red.
Wow.
It had more kick to it, a good spice, and the blue one was just-- I don't know, too sweet.
Right.
The blue team is running smoothly, but the red team is still scrambling as the first votes start coming in.
Come on, blue.
Pick red.
Sir? Red.
First one for the reds.
Yeah.
Whoooo.
Let's keep going! Okay, sir, where are you going? Come on.
Go red.
Vote blue.
Vote blue.
Red as well.
We start getting points and we're in the lead, so we have a fighting chance.
Red team starts getting the first votes.
They were starting to really kind of climb quick and I looked at my team, and they're all really like-- come on, help us out.
Just 'cause they got three votes it ain't over yet.
We have a spicy beer sausage and we have drunk-ass relish.
You know what I mean? Go sausage! It's now 18 to the red team and 9 to the blue team.
Don't stop.
Don't stop.
Don't stop.
It's not over.
It's not over till the fat lady sings.
I mean, we're getting blown out of the water right now, and the first one to 51 wins.
A lot of the early votes are going red because they're saying that these are too sweet.
Too sweet.
Too sweet.
Too sweet.
Our onions are too sweet.
So we need to bring out the flavor in the sausage by counteracting it with something that's a little bit spicy.
I really wanted our topping to be onions and peppers at one point.
Tracy decided to pull the peppers.
We need hot.
I know, hot peppers.
I think they kind of realized like, "Maybe we should have listened to Christian.
" So we decide to go right into cutting that sweetness with some banana peppers, hitting it with a little bit of red wine vinegar so it cuts that sweetness with a little bit more acidity.
Always, yeah.
Oh, that's good.
And all of a sudden, bam, we have our flavor.
Yeah, come on, guys, let's do this.
Okay, do you want to do this here? That's good.
Is it good? Very good.
That's good.
All right.
It's not too sweet.
Not too sweet.
Once we realized that that spice and that heat was working, stick with it.
It's not too late to come back.
Got it? How is it? Good? Awesome.
Here we go! Our lead just keeps dwindling.
You guys, we're catching up.
I think it's working.
The blue team's catching up, and I need to figure out what's going wrong.
Hot friggin' buns.
Ready! Is it going to be a tie? Where are you going? Red or blue? Wow.
It's now even, 19 to the red, All right! Yeah! Come on, guys, come on! Come on, red, let's go.
I know our sausage is better, we cannot lose this.
Big red.
Let's go.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Pick red.
Whoooo.
Now that the blue team's sausages have a new peppered topping, the red team is losing their lead with the patties.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Red or blue? It's now even.
19 to the red, The first team to 51 votes will win the challenge.
I liked the blue better.
Even though red was late, I gave them a chance and waited, and I thought blue was like incomparably better.
Here we go, blue team.
Sir, where are you going? Blue again, well done.
Thank you.
The score of the blue, we keep climbing and climbing and climbing.
Whoooo.
How can they not vote for us? We have beer in our sausage.
Now we're starting to kick some butt.
We're not giving up.
I know it's an uphill battle but we haven't lost it yet.
Blue team pulled it back.
I mean, they changed course with that topping.
They went from less sweet to something a little bit more sort of heated.
Wow, 44 to 31.
Red team, you're 15 behind.
It's not over yet.
Now that the last bikers have been served, both teams hope to claim the few remaining votes.
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! 32, 33 34 The suspense is killing us because red will get a vote, blue will get a vote, red will get three votes.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Blue team, you need three more votes to win the challenge.
It is chaos.
38.
Blue team, you need one vote to win the challenge.
Red team, you need ten votes to win.
It's 50 to 41, and all we need is one more vote.
Here we go.
Please.
Let's go, red.
Red, red, red! Let's go, red.
Just do it! This is a huge win.
I'm not going home.
This is amazing.
We did it! Oh, my God.
Red team, you will stare elimination in the face with the next pressure test where, sadly, at least one of you will be leaving MasterChef.
We couldn't get those sausages cased.
That just screwed us over.
I think it's Esther's fault.
She couldn't get it together.
She was the captain.
She's the reason why we failed.
One of us is leaving.
One of us is going to that pressure test and not coming back.
We're walking into a pressure test and I feel sick to my stomach.
I feel like I'm walking to the hangman.
Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.
Red team, obviously you lost the challenge by cooking the weakest links.
Blue team, congratulations.
The victory means you're safe, and you can cruise up to the gallery.
Off you go.
Good job.
Whew.
I can just stand from that little balcony and know that it's not my ass on the line.
Right, listen carefully because this pressure test is very different from the last pressure test.
Why? Because only two of you will be competing in it.
Esther.
Yes, chef.
You were the team captain.
In your mind, from your team, who are the weakest two? Oh, my God.
My initial reaction is uh-oh.
I just know that the singling out is going to really exacerbate the tensions that exist on our team.
I asked you a very straightforward question.
Which two were the weakest? It would have to be the two that were casing.
That was Max and Christine.
I'm mad.
I'm just mad.
And it's too early for me to go home.
It's too soon for me to go home.
I'm flabbergasted with Esther's decision and how easily she threw two people under the bus.
Max and Christine, why? They led me both to believe that they could have gotten this done.
Had I known, I would have switched someone out earlier.
So, Christine.
Max.
Esther.
Stand here.
You four Join the blue team from the gallery.
Let's go.
Christine, how do you feel? I feel pissed off.
I'm not the only person on the casing.
That's all I've got to say.
Max.
I wasn't casing sausages.
I was just putting meat in the machine.
Obviously wrong.
Esther.
I have a question to you.
Yes.
As the team captain, are you prepared to swap places with Christine or Max? Or, are you going to walk up the stairs with a clear conscience, and join the rest of your team? Esther, are you prepared to swap places with Christine or Max, or are you going to walk up the stairs and join the rest of your team? I'm going to go upstairs.
Even though I was the leader, I don't think it was my fault.
Esther should have really taken responsibility.
Don't give up.
Fight back.
I am.
I'm a fighter.
I'm a fighter, so don't with me.
If there was a problem, then somebody should have stepped up and said there was a problem, but obviously, they don't have enough guts to say anything.
Christine is acting pretty crazy.
I'm upset too, but I know how to put that aside and focus on the task at hand.
The theme of today's pressure test is the most amazing Yes.
Fillet steak.
Bring it, baby.
I'm so psyched.
Give me a grill, and give me some meat, and I can cook it.
Bring it.
Ooh.
Aah.
Yes.
I'm from the south, man.
Give me some steak.
Max, how are you feeling about the girl from down south? Maybe she can cook a steak.
I think I can, so we'll see what happens.
He's a New Yorker.
We've provided you each with three stunning fillet steaks.
Your task is to cook them three ways.
The first way is rare.
The second steak will be cooked in the way that a vast majority of customers in this country want their steak cooked, and that's medium.
And finally, a temperature that even chefs can't master properly.
Well done.
The person with the most consistent temperatures will remain in MasterChef.
Got it? Yes, chef.
What the--? This is painful.
Christine is really mad.
I hope she's not imagining my face on that cutting board.
I'm going to use all this anger and all this energy, and I'm going to come out with three perfect steaks.
Stay focused, Christine.
Come on.
What the do you think I'm doing over here? Come on, Christine.
Somebody give them some wine so they be quiet, please.
I think they want me to go home because they view me as a threat and I'm really dangerous in the kitchen.
This is a real pressure test.
I mean, the well done steak has to be moist with a beautiful sear, and the rare and the medium wouldn't necessarily go in the oven.
Yeah.
If you cook it long enough in the pan.
Max, coating it in olive oil, putting the salt and pepper down and then, rubbing it on the board, actually.
He's already got some stock and butter for the well done.
He looks like he knows what he's doing.
She's the southern single mom, from Sopchoppy, up against the young gun from the East Coast.
I think you definitely have two completely different styles.
It's going to be about texture and flavor and temperature.
Right.
Right.
Just over 20 minutes to go.
So you'd start off already.
You'd have the well done one in.
Christine hasn't got hers in.
It's her game to play, right? You okay, Christine? I'm awesome, man.
Sir.
Chef.
Just under 15 minutes to go.
Over halfway.
I'm going to start the medium steak.
The rare steak I'm not worried about.
I'm going to do that in five minutes.
The well done steak is in the oven right now.
Now, with just under Christine finally begins cooking.
Christine's cooking her rare and the medium together, which is a bit strange.
Max is cooking the medium in the oven, which is a bit of a disappointment because it'll cook too fast.
Yeah, that's gonna help.
I have my first steak out.
It's rare.
I'm setting it to the side.
I have my well done in the oven.
I have my medium on the stove, but I've put a little lid on it just to kind of help it a little bit.
Max is using a thermometer, checking all his temps.
Every time you Pierce that meat-- juices are going to come out.
Juices are gonna come out, yeah.
But I love the way Max is searing all the sides as well.
Four minutes to go.
He's out of the pan.
He's got three on the board, Max.
You done, Max? Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Three minutes to go, guys.
You okay, Christine? Awesome, man.
I don't want to go home.
Every time she cooks in a challenge, she's flustered, she's crazy, she's crying.
I mean, she's a mess.
Max is out of the pan.
He's got three on the board.
For Max and Christine, the stakes have never been higher.
One minute to go.
When this pressure test is over, one of them will be going home.
You okay, Christine? Awesome, man.
I don't want to go home.
I was like, don't be stupid.
Collect yourself together.
Focus now.
I need to fight.
Ten-- nine-- eight-- seven-- six-- five-- four-- three-- two-- one-- and stop.
Well done.
Okay.
Max and Christine.
This is a pressure test, and one of you will be leaving MasterChef.
Bring your steaks up, please.
Thank you.
I'm confident each one of my steaks is pretty close to the margin that the chefs are looking for.
All right.
Rare steak is first.
With the rare, we're looking for a gorgeous sear on all sides.
A nice deep crust.
And the beautiful red interior.
So, Christine, this is your first steak.
It's a pretty nice rare, but I would have liked to have seen a harder sear on all sides.
So, Max, this is your rare.
Yes, chef.
Just looking at both steaks, I can see that this had more of a sear, but it looks like it's only on the one side.
The bottom looks like it's almost poached.
This looks to be a little-- more than rare.
You can see that it starts to get a little lighter color as you get to the outside of the actual steak.
It looks like you'd left it in the pan a little too long.
Okay? The next temperature we called for was medium.
When we cut it open, no more red, certainly no more blood.
I should see a center that's perfectly pink.
So Christine, let's see how yours looks.
So the color is pink, perhaps a little more red than I would expect.
The seasoning's good.
You can definitely taste the garlic.
I usually like a little bit more salt.
Okay, Max.
You got a nice sear on your exterior.
Let's see how this looks.
So this is definitely more of a brick red, less pink than I might have expected.
A generous coating of salt, and the thyme herb seasoning, very nice.
All right.
Last temperature required.
Well done.
So the color I'm looking for on the inside, gone is the redness, but it has to stay moist.
Gordon is cutting into my well done steak, and I'm about to throw up.
Does that look well done? No, chef.
This color should be there.
You're three minutes short of oven time there.
But the flavor is delicious.
Max, I'm going to do exactly the same, right down the middle.
It was a little pinker than I anticipated, but I think that I did damn good.
His looks pretty damn close.
Max is 50 seconds away from perfection.
Taste--it's glistening.
It's got moisture.
Good job.
Thank you, chef.
My stomach is in a knot, I have a headache, I think I'm about to pass out.
I just don't want to be the one going home.
I think they both missed the mark in terms of temperature.
Strengths in the rare, strengths in the well done.
So difficult.
Very, very difficult.
Okay, first off, both of you did a phenomenal job, and the margin is that.
Joe, tough decision? One cook achieved the temperature we asked for in a more clear and resounding way And broadly across all the steaks on seasoning and flavor.
Based on all three temperatures, from rare, medium, well done, the person leaving MasterChef This is so hard.
Whew.
The person leaving MasterChef is Max.
I'm sorry, buddy.
Congrats.
Keep your head up high.
Stay on that trail.
Don't underestimate your potential.
I'm sad that I'm leaving MasterChef.
It would have helped to stay a little bit longer, but I proved that there are some 18-year-olds that can cook better than older people.
Christine needs this title more than I do.
She's a single mother, and I think this would be very good for her.
Alejandra, Derrick, Jennie, I wish you the best of luck.
Christian, Suzy and Esther, I can't wait to see you crash and burn.
Your time's coming.
They've gave me another chance, and I'm gonna take that chance and I'm going to run with it.
Nobody's getting rid of me yet.
That was scary , man.
Next time on MasterChef Pray for me.
The competition heats up.
I'll cook her under the table any day of the week.
And the knives come out.
We were very disappointed.
Disgusting.
I think you're wrong.
Christian is acting like a little punk.
If you were a man, you would take it on the chin.
In the elimination test, some of the cooks crumble under pressure.
Like, sort of soggy crap, and it's bland, and it's oily.
You've missed the trick.
And another home cook is sent packing.
Are you out of your mind? The remaining home cooks manage to catch the judges' attention, some for the right reasons Absolutely beautiful.
Yeah! And others for the wrong ones.
What are you thinking, trying to serve us raw food? I would send you home now.
And the home cooks got a chance to show off their sweeter sides, which led to some bitter results.
It's like I've just gone to the doctor's for a skin graft on my butt.
And an elimination that shocked everybody.
Alvin, your time is done on MasterChef.
Tonight, 14 home cooks find themselves in uncharted territory.
Welcome to Point Mugu.
What do you want me to do? Do we need a tutorial? I need to prove myself so these other scumbags don't discount me.
And for one home cook, tonight will be their last time cooking in the MasterChef kitchen.
I'm a fighter, I'm a fighter, so don't with me.
Almost 30 miles from the MasterChef kitchen, the remaining find themselves on the California coast with no idea of the colossal cooking challenge ahead.
I'm on the beach, and I'm thinking, "this is awesome.
" I have been missing nature so much in this competition.
I don't like the beach.
I don't like anything about the beach.
It's just boring.
We make the trek up this little dirt path, and at the top of that dirt path, is literally picnic tables, a Harley, and some food trucks.
And I'm starting to put two and two together.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! There they come! That's Graham on the right, for sure! Where's Joe? Here he is! Joe rolls up on a Pee-Wee Herman-looking Vespa.
Yeah! And I'm just waiting for him to get his little eek-eek.
What took you so long? Hey, listen, that may be fast, but this is stylish.
Welcome to Point Mugu.
And the Pacific Coast Highway.
Okay, this challenge is not going to be an easy ride.
An hour and a half from now, will be coming this way.
And they'll be ridden by some super-hungry bikers.
Your task is to give every one of them a hearty sausage sandwich.
All right! But how many have actually made them from scratch? Because that's what we'll be doing today.
I'm immediately worried because I don't know how to make a sausage.
You'll be split into two teams.
Each team will have We'll give you all the meats and spices and vegetables you'll need to make the most amazing sausages and a stunning tasty topping.
I'm from Texas.
I have biker friends.
I know exactly what those kind of guys like to eat.
Each biker will taste a sausage from the blue team and a sausage from the red team.
Then, they will vote for their favorite by getting on this amazing chopper and revving either the blue handle for the blue sausage or the red handle for the red sausage.
The first team to hit 51 votes will win this challenge.
The losing team will face a pressure test.
With that comes a minimum of one elimination.
Tracy and Esther, the two best dishes in the last challenge, you two are now the team captains.
All right, ladies! I am feeling extremely nervous because I know that either the win falls on my shoulders or the loss falls on my shoulders.
Okay, Tracy, the first person you want to pick for your team.
I'm picking this person, chef, because I think they have amazing flavor profiles and holds up really well under pressure.
Okay, who is that person? Alejandra.
Esther.
I'm choosing this person because he's familiar with making sausages, and I need someone who can do that because-- Why? I have no idea.
Who is that guy? It's going to be Derrick.
Christian.
All right.
Esther.
I'm going for Adrien.
Adrien.
Jennie.
Jennie.
Jennie.
Aaron.
Aaron.
Wow.
It's going to be Ben.
I know I can cook with these people.
They're good people.
I would not have wanted to be on the blue team at all.
Tracy.
Suzy.
Suzy.
I'm really, really surprised that Tracy didn't choose me earlier on because I am a great asset.
Esther.
Christine.
Christine.
Congratulations, man.
We're the last picks.
Okay, Tracy.
Which way you going? Giuseppe.
Giuseppe.
I'm picked last, I really don't give a .
I need to prove myself so these other scumbags don't discount me.
Okay, Max, apron on.
I'd rather have Giuseppe, but hopefully, I can keep Max in check.
Teams.
Your time Starts now! Off you go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Both teams of home cooks have 90 minutes to choose their meats and then season, case and cook their sausages, plus the delicious topping, before the bikers arrive.
The first team with 51 votes is the winner.
The first thing we have to do is pick our meat.
Let's do Italian sausage.
Yeah.
Do we have sun-dried tomatoes? Yes.
The blue team is fast to decide on a plan.
We're going to go with an Italian sausage.
And we pull in like a sweeter, kind of honey type of sauce.
Caramelized onions.
Caramelized onions.
Caramelized onions and peppers.
Garlic, peppers, onions.
While Tracy is taking charge of the blue team, Esther's team is a committee of decision-makers.
Wait! Wait! Wait! Stop! What kind of meat? Pork.
Pork.
A little bit spicy, that's what I'm thinking.
We gotta make sure it's not too spicy.
We decide on a spicy sausage.
So what's gonna be on the topping? That jalapeno and his avocado cream sauce mixed together.
Are bikers cool with avocado cream sauce? Yeah, you're going-- I had to be like guys, guys, these are bikers! They want beer, beer, beer, beer.
It's gotta be in the sausage.
You gotta boil it in beer.
Beer, sauteed onions, red peppers.
The red team will be making a beer-soaked pork sausage with drunken onion and pepper relish.
Max and I are getting prepped for the sausage.
Derrick is working on the seasoning for it.
And the rest of my team is working on the prep for the toppings.
The blue team is making a spicy Italian pork sausage with caramelized onions, peppers and molasses.
We immediately get working, off goes Giuseppe and Alejandra working on the seasoning, Aaron goes into starting up the grill, Jennie and Suzy immediately go into prepping the topping and Christian goes off to cutting the meat.
So when you're making a sausage, you want to grind your meat up first, then you gotta season it, and put it into a casing.
Christian is extremely confident.
And so are the sausage makers on the red team.
I make sausage all the time, so this is pretty awesome.
Um, I'm almost done with the spice mix.
I'm just trying-I mean, I'm taking a little more time to do this now, because I want to have enough to make this.
The main things that make chorizo chorizo is a great mix of fat and meat.
Chilies, vinegar, paprika, and cumin too.
I got this one down.
Although her teammates don't agree with her, blue team leader Tracy decides to change their topping.
We're going to have like a sweet kind of caramelly spicy onion instead of the pepper.
I decided that we weren't going to go with the green peppers because they weren't going to add that much of a difference to the flavor profile.
I just think peppers and onions complement each other, especially on Italian sausage.
I think it's too basic.
Onions and peppers go really, really well together, especially with sausage.
If it had been my way, the peppers would have stayed.
I think we'll be fine.
Blue team, what are they doing? Um, they're doing like a classic Italian with some sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella.
Sun-dried tomatoes is a little bit worrying to me because I think that the sausage should be a contrast to the sauce.
Right.
For me, it'd be something hearty.
The red, they're poaching it in a beer, so that's going to give it a nice flavor, but it's the texture of that sausage I'm really concerned about.
Just keep working.
Spoken like a true dictator.
With just over an hour of prep left, attorney Esther is laying down the law with the red team.
Why are we taking that out right now? How's that going over there? I don't want this to be too spicy.
Do we need a tutorial? Esther's bouncing all around the kitchen, screaming, "Chop this, don't do this, do that.
" It's ridiculous.
Can we keep it separate for now? The fat and the meat? I'm not going to say anything.
Max.
It's just two bins.
I want Max to stay in his corner and do his job.
Can you just chop? What do you want me to do? Stop, guys.
Chop.
They're going to treat me like that, fine.
See what happens.
The red team looks chaotic.
They're kind of-- they're running around, and they seem like they're not really as focused as we are.
Let's all try this together, okay? Let's try this.
You really need to taste the sausage before you case it, so you take a little bit of the sausage meat, you fry it up in a pan and you taste that.
Not too much salt.
Okay, enough with the salt.
We're having the first bite? Yes, sir.
Go ahead.
I think it needs a little more red pepper flakes.
I just tasted the first batch out of the frying pan, guys.
How was it? It was good.
We all agreed that the flavor was there so we went for it.
The blue team is happy with their sausage filling, so it's time to start casing.
This is so much fun.
Oh, my God.
The red team hasn't tasted their meat, but they're moving on to casing anyway.
You just have to slowly put it on this without tearing it, like a condom.
Christine has the casings ready to go so you know, they're starting to start getting my meat mixture in their casings.
Turn it off.
Christine's very confident.
She says that she makes venison sausage all the time with her dad, and I'm feeling okay about it at the moment.
Don't make them too big, guys.
Everything was going great until Gordon came over.
Have you really pureed yours, I mean, because you're turning into almost like a mousse.
What you're telling me, that's like a hot dog texture.
That's not a coarse sausage.
Is that the way-- is that exactly what you want? This, right here? This right here? Uh, yes.
Okay.
Okay, so it's grainy, and it's pureed.
I'm just asking.
You know, is that the texture you want on the sausage? Gordon's concerned with the texture of the sausage so we're trying to get one on the grill and get a final exact mouth feel of what it tastes like.
It's like barbecued dog .
Let him taste it, give it to Derrick.
You got to taste this.
It's a horrible texture.
It's far too spicy.
And it's just miles away.
My team is in a lot of trouble.
How? With just 45 minutes before 101 bikers arrive to chow down on both teams' sausages, the red team is facing a huge setback.
It's like barbecued dog .
It's grainy and it's pureed.
That's like a hot dog texture.
That's not a coarse sausage.
Esther's red team decides to change the recipe and the way they're grinding, aiming for a coarser sausage.
Now our mouth feel is up to par, and you know, I feel like these guys are going to get rocking and rolling, and really start pumping out these links and they're going to be great.
Yeah? Tracy's blue team is pleased with their Italian style sausage, and are now turning their attention to the topping.
All right, Suzy, what have you got here? We've got some caramelized onions.
I've got molasses, brown sugar.
It's going to be sweet sweet, or spicy, salty? Yeah, it's just going to be sweet.
That's it.
Just caramelized onions.
They're really sweet.
Too sweet.
Graham and Joe said it was too sweet.
Um, I think it tastes really good.
My entire team tried them as well, so I'm actually okay with it.
Restaurant server Adrien is in charge of the red team's topping.
My biggest concern is getting this topping cooked down to the texture and consistency it needs to be.
No raw onions, nothing too crunchy, just enough bite.
I think we're going to be okay.
Things are going smoothly for the blue team.
With 30 minutes left until the bikers arrive, they've already made over 60 sausages.
Everything tastes good, looks good.
I'm feeling good right now.
But the red team had to scrap their first batch and start over.
They've only just started casing, and they're facing yet another disastrous problem.
Whoa! Stop.
Why's it going so fast? We're going to have to have another person if it's going to come out so fast.
Hold on, Max.
They're too tight.
I start to notice that the sausages are way too tight in the casing.
I'm telling Christine, but she won't listen.
It's not the casing.
It's not my fault.
If Max is messing up the meat A little more, Max, a little more.
Okay.
Okay, okay, stop.
I'm just the monkey on the machine.
I put the meat in the hole.
That's it.
Then it's Christine's job.
As Max and Christine continue to case, the first red team sausages move onto the grill.
Red team.
All of you come over here.
Quickly.
Max.
Quickly.
It's just coming out of the sides.
You're making them too tight.
They normally dehydrate overnight so they spring, but we haven't got that time on our hands.
Yes, chef, so looser fill.
The problem basically is the casings.
You know, Christine said she-- she knows how to do it.
Christine is sinking the entire ship right now.
I think I could've done a better job, but Captain Esther gave us specific assignments, and I'm not going to make a scene.
It's just a disgusting mess at this point.
Just under 10 minutes to go.
We're still having problems with sausages rupturing, guys.
I think we need to consider abandoning cased sausages.
Do we need to use-- utilize the casings? What's the danger of taking them straight from filling onto grill? Can you change course and put patties on the grill? Of course, you're allowed to do that.
You think on your feet.
Let's go.
We're doing that.
I mean, it's definite-- it's definitely time to go to plan B.
We're making sausage patties.
We're not even going to bother stuffing the links.
I know it's going to handicap us.
Whoa.
Hey.
Hey.
That's okay.
Well, let's eat.
They're not figuring it out.
It's kind of a disaster.
Esther is crumbling under pressure.
And the blue team, they're all in their positions and working as a team.
Christian has absolutely nailed that sausage machine.
Now, the ultimate judges will be the bikers, of course.
But at this rate, it's going to and zero to the red.
Two minutes to go.
Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys, I see the motorcycles! Here come the bikers.
And my God, they look hungry.
Oh, my God.
They weren't lying.
! Start plating right now.
Get a whole bunch of buns in there.
We have 101 bikers coming.
And I have no sausages coming out.
I realized at that point that we are screwed.
Oh, my God.
Here come the bikers! And my God, they look hungry! Time is up, and 101 bikers have arrived.
They'll try a sausage from each team and vote for their favorite.
Adrien, do you need any help with that? You all right? Help? He needs a Helicopter out of here.
The bikers pull up, and we're five minutes away from even our first sausage getting off the grill.
Focus.
Focus.
Focus.
Focus, guys.
Now we know the heat is on.
Now we know it's just-- it's just a matter of seconds before we have to serve them.
Quickly.
Quickly.
Quickly.
Tracy, we need help.
Dump that sauce on there.
Here you go, gentlemen.
Enjoy.
It's an Italian sausage with our caramelized onions.
I need one right here, Suzy.
Thank you.
There we go.
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Vote blue! Vote blue.
While the blue team is busy handing out sausages It's my pleasure.
The red team has to rely on stall tactics, as not one of their sausage patties is ready to serve.
Hi, guys.
How are you today? I'm just going to check on the buns.
Two shakes.
Two shakes.
I'm the only one up front.
They go to the blue team first, and they're in front of us, and I'm like, hi, guys.
I'll be right with you.
Someone start taking control.
Step up.
Step up.
I'm happy I'm not captain of this ship.
Are these ready? A couple of them, yes.
Come on.
No, no, no, guys.
No, no, no.
Stay with us.
Stay with us.
We're doing the best we can.
A spicy beer sausage with drunk onions and peppers.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy.
What do you think? Red or blue? I like the blue.
You like the blue.
You like the sweeter sausage.
Yeah.
I really like the red one.
Red.
Wow.
It had more kick to it, a good spice, and the blue one was just-- I don't know, too sweet.
Right.
The blue team is running smoothly, but the red team is still scrambling as the first votes start coming in.
Come on, blue.
Pick red.
Sir? Red.
First one for the reds.
Yeah.
Whoooo.
Let's keep going! Okay, sir, where are you going? Come on.
Go red.
Vote blue.
Vote blue.
Red as well.
We start getting points and we're in the lead, so we have a fighting chance.
Red team starts getting the first votes.
They were starting to really kind of climb quick and I looked at my team, and they're all really like-- come on, help us out.
Just 'cause they got three votes it ain't over yet.
We have a spicy beer sausage and we have drunk-ass relish.
You know what I mean? Go sausage! It's now 18 to the red team and 9 to the blue team.
Don't stop.
Don't stop.
Don't stop.
It's not over.
It's not over till the fat lady sings.
I mean, we're getting blown out of the water right now, and the first one to 51 wins.
A lot of the early votes are going red because they're saying that these are too sweet.
Too sweet.
Too sweet.
Too sweet.
Our onions are too sweet.
So we need to bring out the flavor in the sausage by counteracting it with something that's a little bit spicy.
I really wanted our topping to be onions and peppers at one point.
Tracy decided to pull the peppers.
We need hot.
I know, hot peppers.
I think they kind of realized like, "Maybe we should have listened to Christian.
" So we decide to go right into cutting that sweetness with some banana peppers, hitting it with a little bit of red wine vinegar so it cuts that sweetness with a little bit more acidity.
Always, yeah.
Oh, that's good.
And all of a sudden, bam, we have our flavor.
Yeah, come on, guys, let's do this.
Okay, do you want to do this here? That's good.
Is it good? Very good.
That's good.
All right.
It's not too sweet.
Not too sweet.
Once we realized that that spice and that heat was working, stick with it.
It's not too late to come back.
Got it? How is it? Good? Awesome.
Here we go! Our lead just keeps dwindling.
You guys, we're catching up.
I think it's working.
The blue team's catching up, and I need to figure out what's going wrong.
Hot friggin' buns.
Ready! Is it going to be a tie? Where are you going? Red or blue? Wow.
It's now even, 19 to the red, All right! Yeah! Come on, guys, come on! Come on, red, let's go.
I know our sausage is better, we cannot lose this.
Big red.
Let's go.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Pick red.
Whoooo.
Now that the blue team's sausages have a new peppered topping, the red team is losing their lead with the patties.
Blue.
Blue.
Blue.
Red or blue? It's now even.
19 to the red, The first team to 51 votes will win the challenge.
I liked the blue better.
Even though red was late, I gave them a chance and waited, and I thought blue was like incomparably better.
Here we go, blue team.
Sir, where are you going? Blue again, well done.
Thank you.
The score of the blue, we keep climbing and climbing and climbing.
Whoooo.
How can they not vote for us? We have beer in our sausage.
Now we're starting to kick some butt.
We're not giving up.
I know it's an uphill battle but we haven't lost it yet.
Blue team pulled it back.
I mean, they changed course with that topping.
They went from less sweet to something a little bit more sort of heated.
Wow, 44 to 31.
Red team, you're 15 behind.
It's not over yet.
Now that the last bikers have been served, both teams hope to claim the few remaining votes.
Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! 32, 33 34 The suspense is killing us because red will get a vote, blue will get a vote, red will get three votes.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Red.
Blue team, you need three more votes to win the challenge.
It is chaos.
38.
Blue team, you need one vote to win the challenge.
Red team, you need ten votes to win.
It's 50 to 41, and all we need is one more vote.
Here we go.
Please.
Let's go, red.
Red, red, red! Let's go, red.
Just do it! This is a huge win.
I'm not going home.
This is amazing.
We did it! Oh, my God.
Red team, you will stare elimination in the face with the next pressure test where, sadly, at least one of you will be leaving MasterChef.
We couldn't get those sausages cased.
That just screwed us over.
I think it's Esther's fault.
She couldn't get it together.
She was the captain.
She's the reason why we failed.
One of us is leaving.
One of us is going to that pressure test and not coming back.
We're walking into a pressure test and I feel sick to my stomach.
I feel like I'm walking to the hangman.
Welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen.
Red team, obviously you lost the challenge by cooking the weakest links.
Blue team, congratulations.
The victory means you're safe, and you can cruise up to the gallery.
Off you go.
Good job.
Whew.
I can just stand from that little balcony and know that it's not my ass on the line.
Right, listen carefully because this pressure test is very different from the last pressure test.
Why? Because only two of you will be competing in it.
Esther.
Yes, chef.
You were the team captain.
In your mind, from your team, who are the weakest two? Oh, my God.
My initial reaction is uh-oh.
I just know that the singling out is going to really exacerbate the tensions that exist on our team.
I asked you a very straightforward question.
Which two were the weakest? It would have to be the two that were casing.
That was Max and Christine.
I'm mad.
I'm just mad.
And it's too early for me to go home.
It's too soon for me to go home.
I'm flabbergasted with Esther's decision and how easily she threw two people under the bus.
Max and Christine, why? They led me both to believe that they could have gotten this done.
Had I known, I would have switched someone out earlier.
So, Christine.
Max.
Esther.
Stand here.
You four Join the blue team from the gallery.
Let's go.
Christine, how do you feel? I feel pissed off.
I'm not the only person on the casing.
That's all I've got to say.
Max.
I wasn't casing sausages.
I was just putting meat in the machine.
Obviously wrong.
Esther.
I have a question to you.
Yes.
As the team captain, are you prepared to swap places with Christine or Max? Or, are you going to walk up the stairs with a clear conscience, and join the rest of your team? Esther, are you prepared to swap places with Christine or Max, or are you going to walk up the stairs and join the rest of your team? I'm going to go upstairs.
Even though I was the leader, I don't think it was my fault.
Esther should have really taken responsibility.
Don't give up.
Fight back.
I am.
I'm a fighter.
I'm a fighter, so don't with me.
If there was a problem, then somebody should have stepped up and said there was a problem, but obviously, they don't have enough guts to say anything.
Christine is acting pretty crazy.
I'm upset too, but I know how to put that aside and focus on the task at hand.
The theme of today's pressure test is the most amazing Yes.
Fillet steak.
Bring it, baby.
I'm so psyched.
Give me a grill, and give me some meat, and I can cook it.
Bring it.
Ooh.
Aah.
Yes.
I'm from the south, man.
Give me some steak.
Max, how are you feeling about the girl from down south? Maybe she can cook a steak.
I think I can, so we'll see what happens.
He's a New Yorker.
We've provided you each with three stunning fillet steaks.
Your task is to cook them three ways.
The first way is rare.
The second steak will be cooked in the way that a vast majority of customers in this country want their steak cooked, and that's medium.
And finally, a temperature that even chefs can't master properly.
Well done.
The person with the most consistent temperatures will remain in MasterChef.
Got it? Yes, chef.
What the--? This is painful.
Christine is really mad.
I hope she's not imagining my face on that cutting board.
I'm going to use all this anger and all this energy, and I'm going to come out with three perfect steaks.
Stay focused, Christine.
Come on.
What the do you think I'm doing over here? Come on, Christine.
Somebody give them some wine so they be quiet, please.
I think they want me to go home because they view me as a threat and I'm really dangerous in the kitchen.
This is a real pressure test.
I mean, the well done steak has to be moist with a beautiful sear, and the rare and the medium wouldn't necessarily go in the oven.
Yeah.
If you cook it long enough in the pan.
Max, coating it in olive oil, putting the salt and pepper down and then, rubbing it on the board, actually.
He's already got some stock and butter for the well done.
He looks like he knows what he's doing.
She's the southern single mom, from Sopchoppy, up against the young gun from the East Coast.
I think you definitely have two completely different styles.
It's going to be about texture and flavor and temperature.
Right.
Right.
Just over 20 minutes to go.
So you'd start off already.
You'd have the well done one in.
Christine hasn't got hers in.
It's her game to play, right? You okay, Christine? I'm awesome, man.
Sir.
Chef.
Just under 15 minutes to go.
Over halfway.
I'm going to start the medium steak.
The rare steak I'm not worried about.
I'm going to do that in five minutes.
The well done steak is in the oven right now.
Now, with just under Christine finally begins cooking.
Christine's cooking her rare and the medium together, which is a bit strange.
Max is cooking the medium in the oven, which is a bit of a disappointment because it'll cook too fast.
Yeah, that's gonna help.
I have my first steak out.
It's rare.
I'm setting it to the side.
I have my well done in the oven.
I have my medium on the stove, but I've put a little lid on it just to kind of help it a little bit.
Max is using a thermometer, checking all his temps.
Every time you Pierce that meat-- juices are going to come out.
Juices are gonna come out, yeah.
But I love the way Max is searing all the sides as well.
Four minutes to go.
He's out of the pan.
He's got three on the board, Max.
You done, Max? Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Three minutes to go, guys.
You okay, Christine? Awesome, man.
I don't want to go home.
Every time she cooks in a challenge, she's flustered, she's crazy, she's crying.
I mean, she's a mess.
Max is out of the pan.
He's got three on the board.
For Max and Christine, the stakes have never been higher.
One minute to go.
When this pressure test is over, one of them will be going home.
You okay, Christine? Awesome, man.
I don't want to go home.
I was like, don't be stupid.
Collect yourself together.
Focus now.
I need to fight.
Ten-- nine-- eight-- seven-- six-- five-- four-- three-- two-- one-- and stop.
Well done.
Okay.
Max and Christine.
This is a pressure test, and one of you will be leaving MasterChef.
Bring your steaks up, please.
Thank you.
I'm confident each one of my steaks is pretty close to the margin that the chefs are looking for.
All right.
Rare steak is first.
With the rare, we're looking for a gorgeous sear on all sides.
A nice deep crust.
And the beautiful red interior.
So, Christine, this is your first steak.
It's a pretty nice rare, but I would have liked to have seen a harder sear on all sides.
So, Max, this is your rare.
Yes, chef.
Just looking at both steaks, I can see that this had more of a sear, but it looks like it's only on the one side.
The bottom looks like it's almost poached.
This looks to be a little-- more than rare.
You can see that it starts to get a little lighter color as you get to the outside of the actual steak.
It looks like you'd left it in the pan a little too long.
Okay? The next temperature we called for was medium.
When we cut it open, no more red, certainly no more blood.
I should see a center that's perfectly pink.
So Christine, let's see how yours looks.
So the color is pink, perhaps a little more red than I would expect.
The seasoning's good.
You can definitely taste the garlic.
I usually like a little bit more salt.
Okay, Max.
You got a nice sear on your exterior.
Let's see how this looks.
So this is definitely more of a brick red, less pink than I might have expected.
A generous coating of salt, and the thyme herb seasoning, very nice.
All right.
Last temperature required.
Well done.
So the color I'm looking for on the inside, gone is the redness, but it has to stay moist.
Gordon is cutting into my well done steak, and I'm about to throw up.
Does that look well done? No, chef.
This color should be there.
You're three minutes short of oven time there.
But the flavor is delicious.
Max, I'm going to do exactly the same, right down the middle.
It was a little pinker than I anticipated, but I think that I did damn good.
His looks pretty damn close.
Max is 50 seconds away from perfection.
Taste--it's glistening.
It's got moisture.
Good job.
Thank you, chef.
My stomach is in a knot, I have a headache, I think I'm about to pass out.
I just don't want to be the one going home.
I think they both missed the mark in terms of temperature.
Strengths in the rare, strengths in the well done.
So difficult.
Very, very difficult.
Okay, first off, both of you did a phenomenal job, and the margin is that.
Joe, tough decision? One cook achieved the temperature we asked for in a more clear and resounding way And broadly across all the steaks on seasoning and flavor.
Based on all three temperatures, from rare, medium, well done, the person leaving MasterChef This is so hard.
Whew.
The person leaving MasterChef is Max.
I'm sorry, buddy.
Congrats.
Keep your head up high.
Stay on that trail.
Don't underestimate your potential.
I'm sad that I'm leaving MasterChef.
It would have helped to stay a little bit longer, but I proved that there are some 18-year-olds that can cook better than older people.
Christine needs this title more than I do.
She's a single mother, and I think this would be very good for her.
Alejandra, Derrick, Jennie, I wish you the best of luck.
Christian, Suzy and Esther, I can't wait to see you crash and burn.
Your time's coming.
They've gave me another chance, and I'm gonna take that chance and I'm going to run with it.
Nobody's getting rid of me yet.
That was scary , man.
Next time on MasterChef Pray for me.
The competition heats up.
I'll cook her under the table any day of the week.
And the knives come out.
We were very disappointed.
Disgusting.
I think you're wrong.
Christian is acting like a little punk.
If you were a man, you would take it on the chin.
In the elimination test, some of the cooks crumble under pressure.
Like, sort of soggy crap, and it's bland, and it's oily.
You've missed the trick.
And another home cook is sent packing.