Hell's Kitchen Season 22 Episode 5

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 fifth episode of Hell's Kitchen Season 22. The first half of the episode was essentially a test of the taste buds. The contestants sampled four stunning Surf'n'Turf dishes and for each one, they were tasked with guessing the two leading proteins in the dish. Below I identify for each dish the actual proteins and the guesses made by the contestants, with some analysis of comparative tastes and textures.

Dish One: Venison and Oyster Surf'n'Turf

Venison has a bold, earthy flavor with a hint of sweetness. It is lean and has a delicate texture. Many people find the flavor to be a little gamey.

Oysters have a mild, salty flavor and a creamy texture. They are much less 'fishy' than other shellfish.

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for Venison:

Ostrich
Lamb

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for Oysters:

Crab
Crawfish
Mussels
Clams

Dish Two: Ostrich and Crab Surf'n'Turf

Ostrich has a lean, mild meat - not dissimilar to beef.

Crab has a very famous 'shredded' nature and is rarely found in chunks. It has a mild flavor.

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for Ostrich:

Beef
Elk

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for Crab:

Langoustine

Dish Three: Veal and Halibut Surf'n'Turf

Veal has a mild, delicate flavor and a velvety texture. It is much less tough than most other meats.

Halibut has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and a firm, flaky texture.

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for veal:

Pork
Chicken
Beef

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for halibut:

Shrimp
Langoustine
Swordfish
Branzino
Lobster
Snapper
Flounder

Dish Four: Rabbit and Monkfish Surf'n'Turf

Rabbit has

Monkfish has

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for rabbit:

Turkey
Chicken
Squab
Pork

The following proteins were mistaken by the Hell's Kitchen contestants for monkfish:

Scallops
Swordfish
Sea Bass

Culinary learnings from Episode 5

Ostrich Meat

Anyone could be forgiven for blind tasting ostrich in place of venison, Both are gamey, but venison is less so. Unless you taste them both side by side, it's an easy mistake to make.

Venison is not usually served rare or medium rare, whereas ostrich meat is popular when medium-rare.

Langoustine

Langoustine has a sweet, delicate flavor and a firm, yet tender, texture. It can easily be differentiated from crab which is much stronger and more briny. Crab is also less meaty than langoustine.

Langoustine are often grilled or roasted - treatments that are unusual for crab.

Branzino

Branzino has a mild, slightly sweet flavor with a hint of nuttiness. It is not noticeably briny. It has a firm, flaky texture and it is understandable that it could be confused with halibut.

Halibut is slightly firmer and stronger, but unless they were both on the plate at the same time, confusion is understandable.

Swordfish

Swordfish has a strong, pronounced flavor and is slightly sweet and briny. It is firm and dense, not dissimilar in texture to beef.

A taster could be forgiven for confusing swordfish with halibut, although halibut is much milder in flavor. The texture is also different - halibut is more flaky.

Snapper

Snapper has quite a strong briny flavor and doesn't bring any sweetness. It breaks into slices rather than flakes. The meat, when cooked, is off-white.

There are clear taste and textural differences between snapper and halibut.

Flounder

Seeing a flounder and a halibut on a slab would showcase the real difference, which is in the size of the native fish. (Halibut is typically eight times longer than a typical flounder).

Otherwise both flounder and halibut are mild, slightly sweet and flaky. Both are white when cooked.

Squab

Squab is the name of a very young pigeon. It is prized for tender meat that is full of flavor. It is mildly gamey and tender and juicy. It is fatty, which gives the cooked meat a lot of flavor.

Sea Bass

Sea bass is mild, and sweet and can be cooked in a variety of ways, but it is typically grilled, roasted, baked, or pan-fried. Sea bass is a relatively delicate fish, so it is important to cook it carefully to avoid overcooking it. Sea bass is natively firm and flaky.

Turkey

Turkey meat has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and a lean, juicy texture. It is a versatile meat that can be cooked in a variety of ways, including roasting, grilling, baking, and frying. Turkey meat is a relatively lean meat, so it is important to cook it carefully to avoid overcooking it.