After watching three full hours of Beat Bobby Flay on Food Network, I decided it was my turn to take down the Iron Chef.
A little background here. Beat Bobby Flay brings in professional chefs from around the country to try and beat Chef Flay in a blind taste test by high ranking food critics. The half hour program consists of two separate rounds, both filmed in front of a live studio audience. In the first , two professionals take on each other to create the best dish containing an ingredient of Bobby’s choice (i.e. onion, cheddar cheese, flank steaks, etc). Then whoever wins that round moves on to try and beat Bobby Flay. This time though, Bobby is at the disadvantage; the guest chef chooses his or her own signature dish for both of them to create.
Spoiler Alert: Bobby usually wins.
I was inspired. It was my turn to take on the Iron Chef. I decided to make one of my favorite foods, meatballs. After a quick google search, I was able to acquire a copy of Bobby’s recipe. All I needed now was a competitor to take down in the first round. Stop & Shop was my grocery superstore destination that day, so their pre-rolled, ready to cook meatballs would have to do.
I use a 1 lb. of a ground beef and ground pork mix, available in most local grocery stores. Mix one egg, ground black pepper, parsley, garlic salt, grated Parmesan cheese, seasoned bread crumbs, and a dash of oregano in a large bowl. Pull off a chunk of meat and roll into 1 inch balls. If the meatballs are too wet, and don't stick well together, add more breadcrumbs. If the opposite occurs, and they are too dry to stick, add a little bit of water until desired consistency. In a large skillet, fry up onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Once the onion and garlic are browned, add in the meatballs and cook until you reach desired doneness, rolling them occasionally.
The Results
As for the blind taste test, my roommates graciously agreed to spend some time eating and judging the three meatballs.
And the winner is…
my meatballs!
According to one of the judges, Zach Higgins, “[Bobby’s] meatball was a little bland and I was not a fan of the minced garlic inside, while [Stop & Shop’s] meatball was a little too sweet for my liking. I think [Bryan’s] meatball was very good – a great seasoning and you could taste the onion and garlic flavoring, which added a nice taste to it”.
(FYI: Bobby came in second, with Stop & Shop coming in third.)
Now of course, I’m sure if Bobby was to create a meatball in the studio, his would be much better than any meatball we have ever tasted – but we will never know since it is highly unlikely I will ever face Chef Flay in a cook-off. So, until then, we can just assume that I won!
That's enough procrastination for the day, back to watching the Thursday afternoon Beat Bobby Flay marathon.