Beat Bobby Flay (2013–…): Season 6, Episode 8 - Let's Talk Turkey - full transcript

I'm Bobby Flay.

Each week, one brave chef will
try to take me down in my house.

Bobby,
it's going down today.

Let's go.
Let's go!

This culinary battle is gonna
shake down in two rounds.

Round 1 -- To get to me,

two contenders
have to go through each other

using an ingredient
of my choice.

It tastes like a win!

Let the games begin!

Two people that know me well



will decide
who's got the skills to beat me.

I think you're
in trouble.

We chose the right guy.

Round 2 -- I go head-to-head
with the winning contender.

It's their turn to surprise me
with their signature dish.

You gotta put your
big-boy pants on now.

Ooh!

We have let the lion
out of the cage!

Bring it on.

Bottom line --
everyone's out to beat me.

Whew.

Happy Thanksgiving, guys.

I hope you're ready for a feast.

And my guests of honor tonight:



Chefs Michael Simon
-Aha!

and Geoffrey Zakarian.
-Boom!

You're in trouble,
buddy.

Is your favorite part
of Thanksgiving

the actual meal
or the midnight snack,

the cold turkey sandwich?

I'm in bed by 7:30
on Thanksgiving.

I can't keep my eyes open.
-Yeah, it's tough.

I watched your Thanksgiving
special last year.

I haven't been invited yet,
but I watched it.

Yeah, you didn't make the cut.
There was only 20 of us.

Last time I was there,
I did all the work.

You did nothing!

So what are you turkeys
bringin' in here tonight?

Our first contender
took down Mr. Zakarian

on "Iron Chef America."

Please welcome Jeff Haskell.

Our next contender
might come from a small town,

but he has big creds.

Chef Nick Rabar.

Happy Thanksgiving, guys.

Geoffrey and Michael
have one job to do,

and that's to get me beat.

But, first, you guys
have to go through each other.

Ooh.

You're gonna have
20 minutes to make

an ingredient of my choice
the star of your dish

and that ingredient is...

acorn squash.

Acorn squash is dense and,
to cook it in 20 minutes?

I'm like mind-blown.

I love working
with acorn squash.

It's a perfect star ingredient
for Thanksgiving.

Don't forget: these guys
will be tasting your dish

and deciding which one of you
goes up against me in round 2.

Thanksgiving in 20 minutes.

Go.

Acorn squash can throw both
of these chefs for a curve.

The flavor is pretty mild.

It can use some enhancement.

We're looking for someone
that really

has great flavor
development.

It's a tough ingredient
to get done in 20 minutes,

I think, too.

It's a really firm squash,

so you need to kinda
break it down.

I grew up in New Hampshire,

so I really like cooking
with fall vegetables.

I'm making a purée
with the acorn squash,

and I'm gonna
serve it with a scallop

and a brown-butter
pomegranate sauce.

Growing up, I started out
baking with my mom

and then, that progressed into
helping cook dinner every night.

Now, I'm an executive chef
and I've worked at some

of the best restaurants
in New York City.

In 2010,

I did "Iron Chef America," went
up against Geoffrey Zakarian.

Bobby Flay
was the original Iron Chef.

Beating him would solidify
my place

in New York City
culinary landscape.

Comin' for you, Bobby.

So I'm makin'
an acorn-squash latke

with a whole-grain-mustard aioli
and apricot-bacon jam.

At age 15, I begged for a job
at a local pizza place.

Once I was in the kitchen,
it just felt so natural to me.

At 25, I had commanded

some of the most elite kitchens
in Rhode Island

and I was named Best and
Brightest Young American Chef

by Spirit magazine.

When you're
in the restaurant industry,

you have to be competitive.

I come from a little town

and, now,
here I am on the big stage

against the biggest chef
in America.

Bobby Flay, I'm bringin'
my small town to the big city

to go up against you.

Hope you're ready.

One of my main concerns
is slicing the squash

thin enough so that I
can cook it in 20 minutes.

Jeff looks like he's gonna
do a squash purée.

I'm curious to see whether he

can get that squash broken down
without any pieces in it.

So Nick's grating all his.

I think it's a good idea.
-Me too.

All right,
17 minutes, guys.

Are you gonna make like
a cake or something?

Exactly right. It's like
a potato latke would be.

I love that.

What flavors are you
gonna kinda work into that?

I'm tryin'
to make a bacon jam

and a little
grain-mustard aioli.

So why do you want
a piece o' Flay?

I wanna take that guy down
right now.

All right. All right.
I like that idea.

I start droppin' these latkes
right into the olive oil,

just to crisp it up
a little bit.

I'm feelin' good.
-How are you doin'?

So these are
in a little bit of cream?

What's your plan?

Scallops, acorn-squash
purée, guanciale.

So you're goin' a whole,
composed dish?

We're gonna try it.
-That's good.

Be aggressive.

For my brown-butter sauce,
I grab guanciale, butter,

sherry vinegar,
and pomegranate seeds.

Guanciale is jowl bacon,
also called face bacon.

It's gonna add rustic flavors
to the sauce.

Nick's got like
a latke-style going.

He's just gonna really let
that cake stand on its own.

I'm concerned
that it's gonna be

like crusty on the outside
and raw in the middle.

Over here, Jeff's
gonna do a purée

with some panseared
scallops and pomegranates.

Whoo!

He's cheating!
He's using power tools!

I'm makin'
a whole-grain-mustard aioli

because it goes perfect
with acorn squash and bacon.

I'm adding mayo,
whole grain mustard, honey,

and a pinch of salt.

Whoa. That's a flavor bomb.
-Yeah.

Bring it on, baby.
Bring it on.

The scallops are
in the pan already,

which is
a little early.

8 minutes!

Hi, Jeff.
-Good to see you, Chef.

So, why are your scallops
in the pan so early?

I like to get a little
ahead of the game.

You've got 7 minutes.
Don't overcook 'em.

Squash is delicious,
but this is gonna be

the star
of the plate, right?

Oh, we're gonna try to make it
the star of the plate.

Good job.

Mr. Providence,
what are those, latkes?

Yes.
Don't burn them,
'cause you have four.

Next, my bacon jam.

I've got bacon, apricots,

honey, and a little bit
of apple cider vinegar.

Come on, we can get a better
"whoo" than that.

- Whoo!

I love the flavors
of that. Excellent.

Thank you very much.
-Excellent.

5 minutes.

The apricot-bacon jam
is very good.

The -- have a lotta flavor.

But I'm worried about
the latkes bein' too dense.

I think it's hard
for them to cook evenly.

Right.
-Jeff's purée is delicious,

but I'm a little concerned
about Jeff doing scallops.

They could easily overwhelm
the acorn squash.

3 minutes.
Oh, my god.

So, on the plate,
I have the acorn-squash purée,

seared scallop on top.

Then, I sauce with the
guanciale-brown butter sauce

and the pomegranate seeds.

I think they
both look really good.

Yeah.
-Obviously very,

very good cooks.
1 minute.

So, on my plate, I start with
the whole-grain-mustard aioli,

top that with the latke,
and they are looking perfect.

And then,
I top with the bacon jam.

Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3,

2, 1.

I was able to showcase

some different flavors
and techniques.

I know I'm delivering
a great dish,

but I look over at Jeff's dish;
it looks a little more refined,

so it's any chef's game
right now.

All right, guys.

Bobby's very confident,

when it comes to Thanksgiving,

so we wanna see someone take him
down on his favorite holiday.

Jeff, tell us what we have here.

Acorn-squash purée
with seared sea scallop,

guanciale, pomegranate,
brown butter.

I was worried
about overcooking the scallop,

but it's cooked really well.

The squash has a finesse to it.

You know, I typically am not
a huge fan of pomegranate,

but, in this case,
I think that,

texturally, it added
a lot to the dish.

I am a sucker for guanciale
and brown butter.

I think that adds
a nice element,

but I think
it's a touch salty.

But if you ask me what
the star of the dish was,

it's fighting the squash a bit.

So, Nick,
tell us what you made.

I made
an acorn-squash latke

with whole-grain-mustard aioli
and an apricot-bacon jam.

I like what you did
with the latke.

I think that's very creative.

But I would like it
a little thinner and crisper.

Just get a bit more caramel
out of it, and I think that

that bacon jam with the apricots
is a very good idea.

Mine has nice texture
and crunch,

which shows you like me
more than Geoffrey,

which I appreciate very much.

I did like the bacon
jam on top.

I think it gave it
a sweet, salty note.

Really interesting way to handle
an ingredient like this.

I think it made it the star
of the plate.

But the aioli added
a bitter note to the dish.

So Nick
really had great technique,

did a really great job,
but Jeff's purée,

I wouldn't have thought of that.

I don't know
who's gonna win this.

We can only pick one person

to take down Bobby Flay
on Thanksgiving

and the chef
we chose is...

Nick.

I have no regrets.
I'm happy with my dish.

I showcased the flavors
that I wanted to showcase.

Good job.

We just think that you went
another level into the squash.

That edge right there
is what we're lookin' for.

Goin' against Bobby,
in this next round,

you need that same
kinda focus.

Thank you, guys.

Nick, congratulations.
-Thank you, Bobby.

Think you're ready
to take me down?

I think I'm ready.
-What is your signature dish?

As much as I love
Thanksgiving dinner,

I'm also a big fan
of the leftovers, so,

My man.
-In the spirit of Thanksgiving,

my signature dish is...

open-face turkey sandwich.

Ah! That's a tough one.

You cook with big flavors,
which I love.

If I just do a nice dish,
I'm gonna lose.

I gotta do a mean dish.
-You gotta get mean, baby.

Yeah.
-Nick, I think the good news is

that he falls asleep at 7:00
on Thanksgiving Day,

so maybe
he'll just pass out.

Down he goes.

I'm not doin' that.

Geoffrey and I
can't judge this round.

Instead, we're gonna
bring in three food experts.

They're gonna choose the dish
they like the best.

45 minutes.

Let's go.

I'm like the leftover guru.

Forget Thanksgiving itself.

Next day: that's mine.

When I was a kid, my mother
would take me to a diner

and I'd have
an open-face turkey sandwich.

It's such a classic
American dish.

Open-face turkey sandwich
usually is a hot dish,

it's got one slice of bread,
and there's some gravy on top.

I like having
Thanksgiving ideas,

but then bringing different
cultures and cuisines into it,

so, today, I'm gonna go
Jamaican.

I'm making an open-face
jerk turkey sandwich

with cranberry-mango relish,
green-onion gravy,

and served on a slice
of brioche.

The first thing
that Bobby grabbed:

mango, ginger, orange juice?
I'm not too certain.

Yeah, but classic
Bobby flavors.

So, my signature dish
is an open-face turkey sandwich:

white gravy, creamed kale,
a thyme-sage biscuit,

and a cranberry/
red wine/butter sauce.

The first thing I wanna do
is reheat this turkey,

but I'm a little worried
I could dry it out,

so, to make sure
it doesn't get too dry,

I grab some chicken stock, pour
it right on top of the turkey,

pop that right into the oven,

so it sort of braises up
and stays perfectly moist.

He's taking the pan juice
and the turkey

and he's gonna bake it
in the oven.

When I hear that,
my mouth waters.

Right.

So my game plan is to, first,
make the cranberry-mango relish.

I take cranberries;
I have some tangerine juice,

some sugar, and some ginger.

I let that cook
for a little while,

until the cranberries pop open

and the mangoes
become part of the sauce.

I see Nick has some flour
in a bowl.

Is he gonna make
his own bread?

Just can't pull out
a slice of toast here.

39 minutes.

This dish is ambitious.

I gotta make scratch biscuits,
which is definitely a risk.

Then, I'm gonna add
the thyme, the sage,

the celery, the onions,

right into the biscuit,
to sort of resemble stuffing.

What are you makin',
Nick?

I'm gonna start
by making a biscuit.

Whoa!

Bobby, he's makin'
a biscuit.

What are you making?

Shut up, Michael.

So I'm adding
the onions and the celery

right into the stand mixer,
I'm mixin' it up,

and, now, it's time for me
to form these into patties

and get 'em to the oven.

I've got it preheated
at 425 degrees.

That way, they don't
get too dark on the outside

before the inside's cooked.

So, now, I have to get
my turkey out of the oven

because I don't want
it to dry out.

That's Thanksgiving right
there. You can see that.

You can smell it.
-That looks great.

Thank you.
-Really good.

It gives me so much
pleasure to taunt you.

Thank you. I'm glad
you're havin' a good time.

Tell me where
ginger and mango sit

in the Thanksgiving
world.

I'm gonna do a Jamaican jerk rub
on the turkey breast.

Wow. I don't know
what to say to that.

I gotta bring the flavor.

Nick, I'm goin'
to Jamaica, baby.

Bring it on, mon.

Got this.
-Great.

What's goin' on, there,
Geoffrey?

I mean, nothin' says
Thanksgiving like a mango.

All right, take it easy.

Geoffrey and Michael are like

"What does a mango
have to do with Thanksgiving?"

And they're right, unless you
pair it with cranberries,

and then it's part
of Thanksgiving.

But time's running out,
and I still

haven't started my turkey yet.

Sounds like
totally different.

Nick is taking all the
flavors of Thanksgiving

and putting it
into the biscuit.

I think the judges are
gonna really respect that.

Yeah, and the kid
really knows his stuff.

You nervous, yet,
over there, Bob?

What?

Nick, what do you think
about Bobby's dish, so far?

Well, I heard "mango" and, then,
I just stopped listening.

Bobby, he's made a green-
onion gravy, then a butter

made of maple and ginger,
mango on the side,

and then, he's taking
his turkey

and he's gonna add
jerk spices.

It all sounds good together.
A lot of big flavors.

And when Bobby loses,
it's always because

he puts too much stuff
on the plate.

I'm goin' for it.
I like to bring big,

bold flavors
and take a big swing

and if it works, it's great.

If it doesn't, mm,
I might be in trouble.

Wow, that tastes like nothing.

Less than 30, chefs.

So, with 30 minutes to go,

I'm gonna make
maple-and-ginger butter.

I have butter, maple syrup,
ginger.

And then I mix it all together.

It's gonna give it
that Thanksgiving flavor.

Next, I grab my bread.

Brioche is a bread
that I like 'cause

you can toast it
and get it a little bit crispy,

but also white at the same time.

Bobby, I can't believe,
in 45 minutes,

you're makin' brioche.

You're even better
than I thought.

All right, guys. Enough.

I know you wanted me
to make my own bread,

but I'm just gonna concentrate
on the flavors themselves.

That white toast
looks amazing.

What am I doin'?
Stop interruptin' me.

He's so crabby today.

It's unbelievable.

I'm gonna slice the brioche

and I'm gonna put it under
the salamander to toast it.

Bobby. Bobby!

Bobby.
-Nick. Nick! Nick!

Left side, baby!
-Nick. Nick. Nick.

Okay.

I'm makin' a white gravy,
so I'm adding flour, butter,

whole-grain mustard,
Parmesan, and milk,

and I'm gonna whisk it together.

What Nick is doing's great.

Turkey, you gotta wake it up.
-Right.

He has a sharp cheese
with mustard.

20 minutes, guys.

How ya doin', Chef?
-I'm feelin' it.

Smellin' delicious over here.
-This is Thanksgiving.

I love a lot of great
traditional flavors.

I'm pulling my biscuits
out of the oven

and they look perfect.
-Oh, man!

I just wanted to dry it
out a little bit.

Wow!
Move over, brioche.

Hello, biscuit.
-Shut up, Michael.

Bobby, I'd just go home
now, if I were you.

What are you lookin' for?

You don't have any food.

I'm orderin' in.

What have you been doin'
for the past 20 minutes?

Little roux.
I start with a little bit

of butter and flour
and then I put the stock

in there,
a little bit of white wine.

I'm makin' gravy.

Someone hide the salt?
-I'm doin' it now.

I'm just checkin'.

I'm just askin' a question.

The gravy still
needs more flavor.

I'm gonna put some green onions,
a little more punch.

Oh!

Well, it's not like you made
the brioche from scratch.

You could've just
sliced another loaf.

Nick, you just keep goin'
at your pace.

I don't know what
he's doin' over here.

He's got somethin'
up his sleeve.

Bobby's a little
more stressed than normal.

I think he feels
the pressure

that's comin'
from Nick's kitchen.

It's an open-face
turkey sandwich.

I would say the turkey
is certainly the main component.

Turkey breast
can certainly be dry,

so I used a lot
of warm chicken stock

to kinda reheat turkey breast.

I saw that method of
keeping your turkey moist

on your Thanksgiving
special,

the one I wasn't
invited to.

I'm glad you watched, though.

Now, I gotta get
my creamed kale goin' here.

Otherwise, that's never gonna
get done on time.

I'm adding heavy cream
and I want that to reduce down.

So much of what I have
going on here

is about reduction and timing.

That cream has to get
to just the right consistency

to make a great creamed kale.

Creamed kale
is a fantastic idea.

It's got a little bit
of bitterness to it,

little bit of pepperiness

and that creaminess of greens
reminds me of Thanksgiving.

I'm takin' a risk.
I'm takin' the jerk flavors

and I'm combining it
with some of the more classic

Thanksgiving flavors.

So if it works, I have a shot.

If it don't,
Nick's gonna win, easy.

Bobby, what's
in your spice rub?

Clove, coriander, cinnamon,
some Chile de árbol.

I'll send you the recipe.

I get a castiron pan on

and I'm going to crust
the jerk rub into the turkey.

Don't be afraid, Bobby.

It's just a little
bit of fire.

You should do a new show:
"Boy Meets Castiron Pan."

I got a full range over here.

I feel like I'm making progress,

but time is goin' by
way too fast.

I'm gonna make this beautiful
red-wine and cranberry sauce.

Fresh cranberries
are gonna add

that natural cranberry flavor
with a touch of tartness.

Nick, make sure
you taste it.

Make sure there's
a textural element on top.

Doin' just fine.

I think he needs a crunch.

Somethin' to bust it.

I know the special guests
are a little concerned,

but I got this.
No worries.

Crack o' pepper.

I'm not succumbing
to the pressure.

I'm holdin' my dish.

4 minutes.

Time to plate. I slather some
of the maple-ginger butter

on top, layer some of the jerk
rub turkey on there,

the green-onion gravy, and then,
the cranberry-mango relish.

It's time to start building
this open-face turkey sandwich.

First, I start with the biscuit.

Next, I'm grabbin'
the creamed kale.

Turkey goes on.

Then, I'm gonna top it
with the white gravy.

And, last but not least,

to garnish,
I have some celery leaves

and I'm gonna pour on a little
bit of that cranberry butter

right around the outside.

Thanks, everybody.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6,

5, 4, 3,

2, 1.

Good job.

I think that Nick's
looks really good.

It's gravy, biscuits,

turkey, and all the other things
that go for Thanksgiving.

I'm lookin' at my dish,
and it's a little

more traditional than what I see
goin' on over in Bobby's camp,

but I like that about it.
Guess we'll see.

Biscuits and gravy,
everybody.

Congratulations,
Nick and Bobby.

An amazing job.

Thank you.
-Thank you.

Let's meet the judges.

First, we have the president
of the James Beard Foundation...

Next up, the owner
and executive chef

at Delicatessen,
Chef...

and the chef/owner
of Birds & Bubbles...

So judges, as you know,
this is a blind taste test,

so if you could please
dig into the first

open-face turkey sandwich
in front of you.

I like the use of kale.

I think it is surprisingly light
on the heavy dish.

As a Southerner,

I appreciate anything
that's served on a biscuit.

This white gravy
is really delicious.

What I'm missing is cranberry.

This glaze doesn't deliver
the hit that I'm looking for.

A little bit of texture
would've been really nice,

but turkey at Thanksgiving time
is the moistness,

and I think the chef
here got that.

Okay, judges, if you guys
could switch your plates

and taste the next dish.

What was definitely
in this dish

that wasn't in the first
is that texture,

and I got that with the outside
of the brioche.

The turkey, because of
the technique of pansearing it,

it's a little bit more dry
than the first one.

The cranberry-and-mango relish
is so bright and so delicious

and really gives you
that feeling of Thanksgiving.

What I'm missing here
is the stuffing.

I just really want that layer
of old, second-day stuffing.

I love the brown gravy.

I think Thanksgiving isn't
Thanksgiving without gravy.

There is a lot to be said
about trying something new

on an old classic.

All right, judges.
It's that time.

You guys have to pick a winner.

Nick went classic turkey.

They kinda beat up a little
on the cranberries.

They actually liked my mango
and cranberries,

but they beat me up
on the turkey,

so it's sort of up in the air,
at this point.

The judges have voted...
-and the winner is...

Bobby Flay.

It was a really
hard choice, in many ways.

Clearly, Bobby, this is

a dish James Beard
would've loved.

Today, I was very proud
of the dish I put forward.

Bobby got me by that much.

Looks like the best chef
won today,

but you have not seen
the last of me.

Great job, Nick.

Disturbing.

First of all, I don't get
invited to his Thanksgiving.

Then, we fail
to beat him.

It's a hot mess.

I'm never
gonna get invited.

It's terrible. Bobby,
Geoffrey, and I are gonna

be doing a new version of
"Beat Bobby Flay."

It's gonna be
in the back parking lot.

Only thing better
than a leftover sandwich

is being left with a win.

Happy Thanksgiving.