Transcript: Ground Beef, Peas, Coffee

Stump the Chef
Episode “Ground beef, Peas, Coffee”

Male Announcer: One seasoned chef, three random ingredients, and three tough judges. Its time for Stump the Chef. Today award winning chef Matt Weaver will set his creative culinary skills against his toughest opponent yet, lets see today’s random ingredients.
Female Announcer: Ground beef, frozen peas, and coffee?
Male Announcer: Now lets play Stump the Chef.
Matt: Let’s see, you know what I am going to make some fast food; I am going to go American. I am going to make something they have never seen before.
Male Announcer: And he’s off.
Announcer 1: Well definitely not afraid to get his hands dirty, Matt is digging right into his meat.
Announcer 2: He sure is, you know he said American food, he said fast food, but something that we never seen before. But this looks like a hamburger, so I don’t know where the surprise is going to come from.
Announcer 1: It looks like he added some sugar to the coffee and now he is putting in some black pepper?
Announcer 2: Oh you know coffee with black pepper is kind of like eating liquorish with pork rinds, it just doesn’t work out.
Announcer 1: I am going to go out on a limb here and say he is probably not going to be brewing that.
Announcer 2: Yeah well we will see about that.
Announcer 1: He chopped up some onion as well. He is keeping that off to the side, not sure if that is going to be incorporated into the meat.
Announcer 2: Man he is really working his meat here that kind of love comes through in the flavor.
Announcer 1: It absolutely does, it makes all the difference in the world. He is also chopping up some garlic. You know he could be making a meatloaf here.
Announcer 2: No, you know he said American food, you don’t think meatloaf when you say American food or fast food.
Announcer 1: You got a point there in fact it looks like he is making some sort of patty shape, you know these could be hamburgers.
Announcer 2: That’s right because hamburgers come in patties Matlock, you cracked the case.
Announcer 1: And into the sauté pan with the onion. I got to say that’s looking pretty good so far.
Announcer 2: Yeah, you are pretty easy to please aren’t you onion lover?
Announcer 1: He is putting the frozen peas in there with them, cooking them together with some fresh spices it looks like. And I believe that’s fresh parsley.
Announcer 2: Oh I love fresh parsley; it goes good on so many things.
Announcer 1: It is going to be interesting to see what part this plays in the recipe. I am assuming here that what we are seeing is some sort of side dish.
Announcer 2: Yeah, you know some nutritionist claim that parsley increases mental acuity.
Announcer 1: You know seeing as he is making this pea side dish, I am curious to see if the burger is going to have a sort of classic presentation on a bun or are we just going to see it plated?
Announcer 2: Yeah, parsley actually is a good breath freshener too. I have tons of it at home if you want some.
Announcer 1: What are you saying?
Male Announcer: Sorry to interrupt guys, but its time for Matt’s tangent.
Matt: Ground beef, usually chuck or sirloin, can now be bought in many degrees of leanness, ranging from fat free up to thirty percent. It may not be good for you but the higher the fat content, the better it is going to taste. By law, ground beef can have seasoning, but no phosphates, preservatives or binders can be added.
Here is a question. When you cook a hamburger at home does it shrink up and then blow up in the center? Well here is how you remedy that. Make your patty wider, and then put some dimples in the middle, on the top and bottom. That way when you are done grilling it will be both flat and wide.
My favorite way to use ground beef is to make garlic meatballs, and stew them over marinara sauce. Then you and put them over pasta, or make a great meatball sub. Enjoy.
Male Announcer: Meanwhile, back in the kitchen.
Announcer 1: Firing up that food processor it looks like Matt is pureeing down his pea mixture.
Announcer 2: Yeah this is a little weird for me, because he wouldn’t make the coffee liquid, but he is making the peas a liquid. C’mon.
Announcer 1: You know that brings up interesting point, because we haven’t even seen the coffee since the very beginning. I am interested to see if this played a part in this pea sauce that we see.
Announcer 2: Yeah black pepper coffee, then you add some peas, forget about it. Not drinking it.
Announcer 1: He added some salt as well as some juice from a lemon. And it looks like a little bit of oil to this, not exactly sure how this is going to work together with the burger.
Announcer 2: All I know is I feel like I am in a health food store, and not a fast food restaurant Matt.
Announcer 1: Well there is the coffee that we have been waiting for; it looks like he is going to be sprinkling that on top of the burgers.
Announcer 2: Ah, espresso burgers, coming to a Starbucks near you soon.
Announcer 1: I have to say this is something I didn’t see coming. I was pretty sure we were going to see it mixed in with the peas, but on the burgers themselves, interesting move.
Grilling up those coffee covered burgers now, I have to say those smell really good.
Announcer 2: They really do and this solves a problem for me, because when I eat hamburgers in the morning on the way to work I get sluggish. Now I won’t.
Announcer 1: You know I have heard of people putting coffee on steaks and then grilling them. But I have never actually seen this done with hamburgers before. I am going to find it interesting to see if this kind of technique translates.
Announcer 2: So its kind of a gourmet meets fast food.
Announcer 1: That is exactly what it is; this is the kind of thing that Matt likes to ply around with. He also sliced up some red onions there. I am assuming that’s going to go on top of the burger along with the tomatoes that he cut up. So it looks like he is going to go with a sort of classic hamburger presentation.
Announcer 2: Yeah but where are the peas fitting in to this?
Announcer 1: I got to be honest with you; I have absolutely no idea what part the peas are going to play in this. I am interested however to see how Matt’s feeling about this right now. Matt, what can you tell us?
Matt: Well, I have got my coffee burgers down. I have got my buns in the oven. My peas turned out pretty good and I think these are going to be really good. But all together I think it will be alright. And if not at least it will wake them up. I hope they will like it.
Announcer 1: Matt not sounding too confident right now, which is kind of surprising to me. What do you think?
Announcer 2: I am surprised as well, because Matt has worked his meat very hard today. His buns are in the oven, and I think everything hinges on his all important pea sauce.
Announcer 1: I couldn’t agree more.
Male Announcer: Its plating time.
Announcer 1: And there are Matt’s toasty buns that he mentioned earlier. He has got the Dijon mustard on top, the burgers going directly on there, really a classic burger presentation.
Announcer 2: And finally the pea sauce.
Announcer 1: Finally the pea sauce is apparently going directly on top of the burger. Almost like a cheese replacement.
Announcer 2: That s a really fascinating idea.
Announcer 1: It’s a really good approach, I am liking this a lot. He has got the red onion and tomato slices going on top, pulling him back to the classic hamburger presentation, capping it off with the other half of those buns. Matt’s looking really proud of himself right now, and I got to say. I don’t blame him.
Announcer 2: I think Matt has the full package here. I am very impressed.
Male Announcer: Its judgment time,
Matt: Here we have a coffee dusted hamburger with a green pea spread. I wasn’t sure what to do. I then when I came up with the hamburger, I made the green pea spread to replace the cheese and the mayonnaise. I really like it, I hope you do to. Try it out, enjoy.
Joe: I tell you what matt, just tell you, it’s just how I like it; medium rare, nice and gooey. Being a little health conscious though, I have to tell you that the fatter side of the beef. You might be able to substitute that for the little bit leaner side. When I first heard the ingredients I was initially thinking, oh the beef stroganoff, with the peas to play off some noodles. But the burger was a great idea and the coffee really added a nice kick to the meat itself. So good job, I give this one a winner.
Shiraz: Love the burger; love the coffee on top of the burger. I think it’s fantastic. Where I am conflicted is in the pea sauce. It is a little too garlicky, and it is at times overriding the beef. If I were to go to a restaurant where I paid for this, I got to say no on this one man, I am really sorry, so I guess you’ve been stumped on this one.
Tali: It is great burger, but I have to say I didn’t taste the coffee in it. The peas completed the meat real well; I am not a big fan of mayonnaise so it was a really good complement to the burger. Really I would have liked to taste more coffee. It was ok, but whether or not you met the challenge, that’s where, you know I am going to have to say I think you’re stumped on this.
Matt: Uh huh.
Male Announcer: Let’s tally the votes. I demand a recount, Matt you have been stumped.
Matt: Well, the scoreboard may say I got stumped, but I know I won. I made a really good hamburger today, and for some reason all the hamburgers are gone. The judges kept eating them, what does that say? Well I had fun and I made good food. I hope you had fun, don’t be afraid of the kitchen. See you next time.
Male Announcer: That’s it for this episode, of Stump the Chef.