Hell's Kitchen Season 22 Episode 4

Recipes, foods, hints and tips from the show

The aim of this page is to help you feel increasingly comfortable in the kitchen. If you're anything like me, then you'll sit and watch Hell's Kitchen and ask yourself questions like "well, what should that chef have done about the burnt salmon?" or "if the lobster is sweet, what could that chef have done to balance that?"

There are lots of sites that teach you about the show "Hell's Kitchen" and lots of copies of Gordon Ramsay's recipes, but I can't find any other site which gives you insight into the cooking highs and lows and lessons we can learn from this show.

Here, I will shout out about the culinary highs and lows of the episode and try to answer questions and provide useful hints and tips.

The Episode

This was the fourth episode of Hell's Kitchen Season 22. The first half of the episode was set with the contestants being paired up and each pair was asked to elevate a household dish of American comfort food. For each dish, I'll write below about the dishes, the elevations and other interesting recipe hints.

Culinary learnings from Episode 4

Cheeseburgers

Chef Brad and Chef Melissa lined up to serve the most elevated Cheeseburger.

Mediterranean/Lebanese Cheeseburger

This was served by Melissa and included grilled eggplant, fresh spinach and heirloom tomatoes. It was highly ranked.

Cheeseburger 'au poivre'

Brad smothered his cheeseburger with an 'au poivre' sauce and was critiqued for the messy presentation, but the taste won out and he earned a point. See here for the recipe for a great Sauce au Poivre.

Pizza

Chefs Mattias and Ranesha were the couple selected to serve up an elevated pizza.

Tomato Pizza

Chef Mattias was congratulated by Gordon Ramsay for his pizza with tomatoes (braised in red wine) and shaved parmesan. For the red-wine braised tomatoes, see a winning recipe here.

Pizza Dip

Chef Ranesha had deconstructed pizza, putting the topping in a bowl covered in what Gordon Ramsay described as a 'duvet' of cheese, and she had deep-fried the pizza dough to make dippable crisps. This dish was not greeted well.

Lobster Roll

Chefs Donya and Jermaine served up competing Lobster Rolls.

East Side Lobster Roll

Chef Donya poached her lobster in garlic butter and added a hint of chili. She won a point for this dish which Gordon Ramsay described as "simple and fresh".

Warm Lobster Roll

Chef Jermaine toasted his bread roll, added butter and aioli, then added bacon to the lobster to balance the sweet shellfish with a hint of salt.

Fried Chicken

Chefs Johnathan and Sammy were chosen to elevate the classic dish of Fried Chicken.

Double breaded Fried Chicken

Johnathan described his fried chicken as 'double breaded' but it appeared from watching him prepare his dish that it was actually 'double coated'. This is likely to mean that his chicken breast was dipped in buttermilk and then rolled in seasoned flour, and that the whole process was repeated before deep frying.

Fried Chicken with Chili Aioli

An aoili is an emulsification of two things that must be 'forced' to mix together. In this case, most likely a stunning olive oil (see the oil that I consider the finest on the market, below) was merged carefully with egg yolks, an acid and a fine chili paste.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chefs Ryan and Atoye were selected for his classic American comfort food.

Tri-blend Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ryan had ground and blended veal, beef and pork for the meatballs that won the congratulations of Gordon Ramsay.

Penne Pasta, Meatballs and Thyme

Chef Atoye was critiqued for using penne pasta instead of spaghetti and for changing, instead of elevating the classic dish. She had used veal and pork (no beef) for the meatballs, along with garlic and thyme.

Chicken Wings

Chefs Jason and Carmen were chosen to prepare traditional, but elevated, Chicken Wings.

Sweet and salty glazed Chicken Wings

This was interesting. Chef Jason claimed that he cooked the chicken wings "confit-style" before glazing and searing them. Gordon Ramsay asked how it could be possible to cook anything 'confit style' when given a total of 45 minutes and we didn't get a satisfactory answer. To 'confit' food means, by definition, to immerse it in fat and cook very low and slow. Any preparation that is hurried CANNOT be considered 'confit'! If you want to confit chicken, set aside 4 - 5 hours. Prick the skin and the fat pockets on chicken legs/wings and then smother it in duck fat. Cook at 200 - 250° for at least two hours, then turn the meat and put back for another two to three hours.

Gochujang Marinated Chicken Wings

Chef Carmen won a point for her spicy Chicken Wings which she served with Peruvian Ocopa Sauce (recipe below).

Philly Cheesesteak

Chefs Sandra and Devon were asked to elevate the classic Philly Cheesesteak.

Italian -style Cheesesteak

Sandra added Calabrian chili, olives and Romanesco. She was congratulated for color and flavor.

Coffee and pepper marinated Sirloin

Chef Devon marinated his steak and added a tri-blend of peppers and white onions.

They both earned a point.

Mac'n'Cheese

The final two chefs (Leigh and Dahmere) were left to serve up elevated Macaroni Cheese.

Sage Cream Mac'n'Cheese

Boccolotti Pasta with Shrimp, Lobster and Tarragon

Both chefs earned a point.

Evening Service

Some extra dishes were introduced into the evening service, in addition to the menu here:

Truffle Carbonara

French onion Crostini (table side)

Beet Salad

As always, there were problems with cooking times for the proteins. Lobster was served raw, Halibut was burnt and Chef Jason was caught rubbing cold butter onto a cooked steak which Gordon Ramsay said would turn the steak grey.