Male: One seasoned Chef, three random ingredients, and three tough judges; it’s time for Stump the Chef! Today award winning chef Matt Weaver will set his creative culinary skills against his toughest opponent yet. Let’s see today’s random ingredients.
Female: Brussels sprouts, fruit cocktail, and shark meat?
Male: Now, let’s play Stump the Chef!
Matt: If only I had a vacuum sealer and a thermo circulation regulator. Wait I got a bag and a straw!
Male: And he’s off.
Male: Back with another tough combination, looks like Matt is starting out with the fruit cocktail, draining the juice out of there and also chopping up some chalets.
Male: Why do they call it fruit cocktail? There is no alcohol in there at all; I have wasted so much money on this stuff.
Male: No indication of what he is going to be making today but I have got a feeling that no matter what we are going to see some pretty interesting cooking techniques.
And with the fruit cocktail and the chalets out of the way now Matt has moved on to the shark. Putting the shark into the bag he mentioned earlier looks like he is topping that off with his fruit cocktail mixture. I guess he is going to be marinating the shark in that, not exactly sure how this is going to all be cooked together but I know I am interested so far.
Male: I have no interest whatsoever because I hate sharks, they freak me out.
Male: You’re kidding me why is that?
Male: Because I was attacked by one once.
Male: Where did that happen?
Male: At the Baltimore aquarium.
Male Okay, you can see there he added salt, red pepper and the chalets, in with the fruit cocktail also adding a big sprig of rosemary to it. That is going to give the shark a nice interesting flavor.
Male: That fish had it coming; he was giving me the stink eye sideways.
Male: I am wondering how long he is going to leave the shark marinating in this. You can see there he is making sure that the mixture on all sides to really get the flavor into the flesh of the fish.
Male 3: I have to tell you I was banned for life.
Male: It looks like Matt is trying to get all of the air out of the bag now. I am starting to wonder if he is just going to be marinating the fish in there, or if he has something else in mind.
Male: I mean really do you know how hard it is to get banned from a public institution like the Baltimore aquarium, the Baltimore aquarium.
Male: He is taking out a straw now; it looks like he is going to be using that to suck out the rest of the air. And I think I know what it is he has in mind here. I think Matt is attempting to do a lower tech version of the French technique Su vide.
Male: Ah French for under vacuum.
Male: That’s absolutely right; when the food is cooked under vacuum over a long period of time it keeps the integrity and the flavor of the food. You can see there he is going to be keeping the water at a constant 240 degrees, well below boiling. It’s going to be interesting to see if this actually works
Male: Sorry to interrupt guys, but its time for Matt’s tangent.
Matt: Modern sharks have existed for over 200 million years. Today there are about 360 species. And about 25 million sharks are caught yearly in recreational and commercial fishing. Shark fin soup, which is made for dried fins, is a 2000 year old Chinese delicacy. Commercial fisheries produce steaks from species such as Mako and Hammerhead. Shark steaks are a lean flake meat with a neutral flavor that are excellent grilled. My shark favorite is a leek and shark chowder, so good. Enjoy.
Male: Meanwhile back in the kitchen.
Male: And finally an ingredient that I like, I love Brussels sprouts. It’s one of my favorite vegetables.
Male: I can’t say I agree with you on this, I have never been a fan of the Brussel sprouts and you would think otherwise being that I am Belgian.
Male: Yeah well you need to pronounce it correctly as Brussels sprouts. And you know one of the reasons why people don’t like it is because they are usually not prepared properly. When they are overcooked it has kind of a sulfur taste to it, and that what gives it the pungent taste to it that people don’t like.
Male: You can see Matt cut the Brussels sprouts in half, added some salt and some sugar, pepper, and now he is throwing a little balsamic vinegar in there. That is going to give it a nice flavor.
Male: I have to say this may be one of the best Brussels sprouts preparations I have ever seen in my entire life. And believe me I have seen a lot.
Male: The question is how well is this going to meld with the Sou vide cooked shark? And it looks like the shark is coming out of the bag.
Male: Yeah this is really reminding me of my Mema, because she had to cook with a bag in the great depression. They couldn’t afford no pots and pans.
Male: And Matt is taking that shark directly out of the bag and into the sauté pan now. A little bit of olive oil. His going to get a real nice color on that fish, but my guess is he is doing this to cover his bases. If done incorrectly the Su vide technique could actually cause botulism poisoning.
Male: That’s how my grandmother killed her whole family. But she didn’t really cook with shark too much I think living in the dust bowl. It was more like bark and tree frogs.
Male: I have to say that shark is actually looking pretty appetizing to me at that point. Just look at that color.
Male: Still not going to eat it. They freak me out. Do you want to see my scar?
Male For god’s sake put your pants back on. And it looks like the fruit cocktail is coming out of the bag.
Male: You seem really excited about stuff coming out of the bag. Do you have something that you want to tell us?
Male: I just really enjoy seeing Matt use new innovative techniques that we haven’t seen him used before. You know his given him three difficult ingredients to work with and he always finds a way to take it to another level.
Male: Yeah well this time I think it’s just going to suck.
Male: Well let’s find out how Matt’s feeling about this. Matt, what do you think about these ingredients.
Matt: Well let’s see, I got fruit cocktail and shark. Not my first choice for any dish. But I am trying a recipe from the school of molecular gastronomy. I didn’t get quite the vacuum I wanted, but I think it’s going to work, about 75% sure, fruit cocktail.
Male: The fruit cocktail is not the problem Matt, the problem it is the shark.
Male: It’s plating time.
Male: Starting the dish off with the Brussels sprouts.
Male: Yeah if he stopped right there I’d actually eat it.
Male: Unfortunately for you it keeps on going with the shark going right on top of that. It’s got a nice color. It’s looking pretty appetizing.
Male: Yeah here comes the fruit cocktail.
Male: Yeah with the fruit cocktail mixture being spooned right on the top there I have to say he is starting to loose me on this one. And he has got a nice rosemary sprig right on top.
Male: I claimed this dish in the name of Matt.
Male: Looks good to me. But let’s see what our judges have to say about that.
Matt: Today I was given Brussels sprouts, shark, and a can of fruit cocktail. So what I have done is I have used method called Su vide, where I cooked the fruit cocktail and shark in a vacuum for a long time at a low temperature. I then seared the shark, and I caramelized the Brussels sprouts. So, this dish I like to call the fruity shark attack. Go for it.
Shawn: Well Matt the saga continues I apparently am the very picky eater. I can not stand Brussels sprouts. But I am going to make this short and sweet, this is fantastic. Nothing overpowered the dish. I could taste every ingredient, everything was very balanced. You hit a home run with this one I love it.
Carlos: Personally I would have used a different herb other than rosemary. Because I think it is kind of overpowering when I am working with fish. But it is great. And I would have liked to actually maybe blended up the fruit. Maybe make it a little finer looking. People wouldn’t even know it was fruit cocktail at that point. But based on what you had to work with, which is very difficult. You did a great job and I definitely would order this and eat it many times over, so good job.
Rex: Growing up in the south, my mother always cooked Brussels sprouts for me, most of the time locally they are a little bit too shi shi. But these are spot on. The right amount of just butter flavor and seasoning I think its great and I think it pulls together with the shark and the fruit topping as well. I think it’s a homerun.
Matt: Thanks. I am glad you liked the Brussels sprouts.
Male: Let’s tally the votes. Matt, Julia Childes is smiling from above. You passed!
Matt: Yeah, it looks like my poor mans version of a gourmet technique worked, and with shark and fruit cocktail. Well I had fun, I hope you had fun. Don’t be afraid of the kitchen, thanks for joining us. See you next time. Ooh a cherry.
Male: That’s it for this episode of Stump the Chef.
Male: All original show all on HD from Onnetwork.com.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services