Tournament of Champions ™

Baker:

Season:

Week:

Kevin

Tournament of Champions ™ Season 07

Challenge Type:

Country Fried Bone-In Ribeye Steak

Country Fried Bone-In Ribeye Steak with Grinder Gravy of Ribeye and Pepperoni Cup, Grilled and Fresh Escarole Salad, and Crispy Pepperoni Cup Crumble.

Voiceover: "In front of you is a country fried bone-in ribeye steak with a grinder gravy of ribeye and pepperoni cup, a grilled and fresh escarole salad, and crispy pepperoni cup crumble. The spinalis and pepperoni cups became the base of the meat grinder gravy. The chef took the ribeye and fried it to a golden-brown crust. The baby inside leaves of the escarole were picked out for the raw salad, while the outer escarole was treated to the grill with a little olive oil. A crispy pepperoni cup crumble finished the top of the steak."

Kevin Lee: "I'm not gonna do your generic chain restaurant country fried steak. This is going to be the dragon slayer style country fried steak."

Kevin Lee: "First I'm going to start the gravy. I take the spinalis of the rib eye and some pepperoni cups and put it through the meat grinder. Spinalis is the outer muscle cap of the ribeye, which has beautiful texture and flavor. Rendering down the fat on the ribeye, rendering down the pepperoni. Starting my roux."

Kevin Lee: "Something heavy like country fried steak needs something sour. A little kimchi. Something acidic, spicy, bright. Country fried steak can be very rich. It's gonna need something bright to break up that richness. It is guilty pleasure, but you still want a balanced dish. This is TOC. You're not just serving country fried steak to your neighbour."

Kevin Lee: "I think it'll be a great idea to keep the bone on the meat. I'm frenching the bone, pounding it down with a meat mallet, breading it and frying like fried chicken. I want to grill this escarole to really get the bitterness out. It's going to break down the fibers and add a nice smokiness to the dish."

Kevin Lee: "I had the spinalis pepperoni gravy going on the bottom of the plate. Beautiful bone-in country ribeye steak going on the side of the gravy. Finishing with my escarole kimchi with some chives and Fresno."

Geoffrey Zakarian: "This is the most expensive chicken fried steak I've ever had. I love the look of this dish. It's sexy. They kept the moisture on the steak. The crust held up. I love the escarole. That is how you cook escarole. Bitter, vinegary. I didn't really get the pepperoni. It was just strewn about. And I love the spinalis gravy." Michelle Bernstein: "A Kevin Lee chicken fried steak, but with ribeye. Kind of my dream. I do love gravy and the spinalis gravy is actually delicious. Super guilty pleasure here. The soy, to me, is fighting just a little bit. The escarole is great. The pepperoni is there but it's a little bit of an afterthought." Kenny Oringer: "I applaud this, chef. This is a delicious dish. All the chilies and the soy and all the flavor. When I eat a rib eye, especially a really great cut of beef, I still want there to be some juice in it. This is like medium well. The crust and the gravy more than make up for it, but I would have liked maybe a little bit more juice." Final score: 80. Winner.

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