Top Moments of Chopped After Hours: Teen Invasion

Chopped judges Amanda Freitag, Marc Murphy and Marcus Samuelsson take on an entree basket of rhubarb, goat leg, frisee and hummus.

Episode: Teen Invasion

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Chopped After Hours: Teen Invasion

After three teens tackled an entree-round basket, Chopped judges Marc, Marcus and Amanda try their hands at the same four mystery ingredients with 30 minutes on the clock.

All in Good Fun

When it comes to playful competition, the chefs aren't shy about cracking lighthearted jokes with each other. Amanda tells Marc as she prepares to grind the goat into meatballs, "You're going to know that I've been working when I beat you." To serve alongside these "albondigas," she's making a basil-laced ricotta hummus and stewed rhubarb.

Competing Flavors

"Everything is strong," Marcus says of these particular ingredients, which together make up "a powerful basket." After breaking down the goat leg, he grills it with herbs and starts work on his potato salad with frisee and a bacon-rhubarb sauce.

Salad Likeness

Aarón isn't surprised to see red potatoes at Marc's station, the latter chef remarking, "I like to have a little starch on my plate." He, like Marcus, is making a potato salad with frisee, but instead of grilling the goat, he'll roast it.

Extra Set of Hands

Aarón drops by Amanda's station just as she's rolling meatballs, and the competitor doesn't hesitate to ask her peer for assistance. Unfortunately for her, however, Aarón is more interested in having fun than helping, and he questions her use of bread in the binder and even playfully tosses the rolled meatballs onto the counter.

Temperature Matters

While large cuts of meat can be difficult to turn out juicy within the short window of cooking time, Marc manages to make his goat leg "tender" by only cooking it slightly. "I did have another piece that I cooked further, and it wasn't right," he admits to the group. Aarón tells him of the finished plate with grilled lettuce and hummus potato salad, "I think it speaks a lot to your sensibility and the ingredients that you like."

Elevating the Great

"The flavors that they were able to get onto these dishes were absolutely amazing," Marcus says of the teens' cooking. The panel is wowed by Marcus' final offering, particularly the red wine-bacon sauce, which Amanda says "feels like it's been cooking for hours."

Camera-Ready

Before even tasting Amanda's dish of meatballs with crunchy chickpeas, Marc, Marcus and Aarón are quick to notice its stellar appearance. "I have to say, right away, presentation — hats off to you," Marcus tells her. "I think it's a beautiful idea of using tomato and rhubarb together," Aarón adds, speaking of the sauce she's made for her meatballs.

Future Motivation

After tasting, the group recognizes how well the teens fared with these ingredients. Amanda says of the young competitors, "I loved the way they cooked, and I hope we made them proud and gave them some new ideas."