Chopped Season 46, Episode 12: Fries and Thighs

Beasts and Bourbon

It's a match made in culinary heaven as four chefs must tame wild game meat in every round and use a different bourbon to accent and complement their dishes. The meaty surprise in the appetizer basket is a giant one, and a crispy, carnivorous bite is a tasty part of the challenge in round two. The chefs who move on to the dessert round find that the beasts and bourbon theme plays out with a challenging and sweet final basket.

Here to Persevere!

The competing chefs work quickly to make appetizers in just 20 minutes from chewy candy and a canned sauce. The three remaining competitors make some creative choices in the second round, hoping the judges think their dishes are brilliant, not blah. Finally, inspiring sweets in the dessert basket, including a nostalgic powder, keep the final two chefs churning out unique, spontaneous recipes to the end.

Skilfish Coping Skills

The competing chefs are in for a surprise when they open the appetizer basket to find a peculiar pate. In round two, the competitors must work with a fish that they've never cooked before. When one of the final competitors has difficulty making ice cream in the dessert round, their Plan B may be meant to be.

Booza Blues

Creativity is crucial for the competing chefs trying to impress the judges, starting with deviled ham spread in the first basket. Sweet booza ice cream in the second basket is an unwelcome surprise for savory entree plates, and the competitors who make it to the dessert round get a colorful basket that includes a bright green fruit and a deep red spice.

Sweet and Sour Notes

Four chefs embrace a sweet-and-sour theme and seek to harmonize opposite flavors on their plates. A furious first round has them racing to figure out what to do with a ready-to-serve soup and three other basket finds. The goodies in the second basket might point the chefs in an Italian direction, and the remaining competitors invent two very different desserts from the sweet-and-sour surprises they find in the final basket.

Pass the Popcorn Shoots

The competing chefs attack an appetizer basket that includes a classic Italian sauce and a simple sandwich. A popcorn product not available at movie theaters plays a starring role in round two, and the final two chefs attempt to make incredible final plates with the bouncy cake and sweet wine they find in the dessert basket.

Plumb Loco Moco

It's wild times in the Chopped kitchen as the chefs get loco with Loco Moco, a Hawaiian comfort food, in round one. It's three cheers for the pom pom mushrooms in the entree basket, and the finalists are challenged to use a weird coffee and a crunchy cake in their desserts.

Soup and Sandwich Savvy

The competing chefs are challenged to make a scrumptious soup-and-sandwich duo for every round. In the appetizer round, they set out to make dunkable, slurpable creations while utilizing an unusual egg in the basket. In round two, duck bones in the basket seem to hint at the competitors making a stock, but they're short on time. The last two competitors break into a dessert basket that includes prunes in a form the chefs wouldn't ordinarily consume.

Want a Gnocchi Sandwich?

The competing chefs are under pressure as the clock ticks down and the judges wonder whether all the steak and dandelion green appetizers will be plated in time. In the entree basket, the chefs get more than they bargained for with gnocchi in sandwich form. Finally, the judges dispense pearls of wisdom after eating desserts that include balsamic pearls.

Finer Diner Dining

Four chefs enter the Chopped kitchen for a diner-themed battle with three courses of elevated comfort food, all under the watchful eyes of guest judge Neil Patrick Harris. The chefs find pie in the first basket and must rise to the challenge of making an appetizer with it. A play on pancakes is a clever addition to the second basket, and a breakfast-inspired final basket leads the chefs in two distinct directions.

Pancake Panic

The competing chefs get a ton of sugar in the first basket in the form of a breakfast classic with a twist, and the level of cooking in the entree round seems extraordinary as the chefs excitedly dig into a seven-layer dip. In the dessert round, the remaining chefs are happy to see loquats in the basket, but ice cream machine drama threatens their plans.

Dressed for Success

The chefs open the first basket to find dressed beer and three other surprises. A weird fungus and a peculiar pizza pie are the shockers in the entree round, and the two remaining chefs break down some adorable dumplings on a quest to build remarkable desserts.

42 min