# Gordon Ramsay's American Food Adventure | America 250 Special | Uncharted MEGA Episode | Nat Geo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohqAnjY1_NM
Translation: fr

[00:06] GORDON: God, we are in the middle of nowhere Lane,

[00:08] look at it.

[00:09] You turn around, look, it's just water and water and water.

[00:15] I am so keen to catch something.

[00:17] A redfish would be a dream.

[00:19] Ooh, ooh! What was that?

[00:23] LANE: Something was going after your lure.

[00:24] GORDON: What was that?

[00:25] LANE: That was big, whatever it was.

[00:27] GORDON: Lane, what is that? What is that over there?

[00:30] LANE: It looks like a shark to me, I don't know.

[00:32] GORDON: Look at the size of the thing.

[00:40] ♪ ♪

[00:44] This is South Louisiana,

[00:46] a place locals call, "The end of the world."

[00:52] I'm here to explore the legendary Cajun cuisine.

[00:56] Often made with local game,

[00:57] this southern food was influenced by a melting pot of cultures from Europe,

[01:01] Africa and the Americas.

[01:04] My journey through the Bayou begins just a couple of hours south of New Orleans,

[01:09] in some of North America's most extensive wetlands.

[01:15] GORDON: Thanks guys.

[01:16] Now when it comes to going off-grid in America's south east,

[01:19] the marshes here in Louisiana honestly has to be

[01:21] one of the uncharted yet.

[01:23] Now down here on the Bayou,

[01:25] the locals have been surviving on some of the strangest creatures you'll ever

[01:28] put in your mouth, and it's fair to say that those

[01:29] animals could make a meal of you.

[01:32] But fortunately for me,

[01:33] I've got a badass marine turned award winning chef to watch my six.

[01:38] Eric!

[01:39] ERIC: Chef, how are you? GORDON: Good to see you bud. ERIC: Good to see you as well.

[01:49] GORDON: Eric Cook is one of Louisiana's top chefs.

[01:52] Long before Chef Cook could cook,

[01:54] he was a punk rock New Orleans native who

[01:56] went full metal as a combat vet in the US Marines.

[02:01] Now he runs voodoo-inspired Gris-Gris,

[02:04] an award winning restaurant that specializes in southern cuisine,

[02:08] using only the freshest ingredients found in Louisiana's wetlands.

[02:13] Eric swears Cajun cooking comes from the soul,

[02:15] but his dishes are so bloody delicious,

[02:18] I wonder he hasn't sold his own.

[02:23] ERIC: How was that ride?

[02:24] GORDON: That was insane.

[02:25] Man, it's got hot now all of a sudden.

[02:26] ERIC: Oh man, the weather down here is definitely unpredictable,

[02:28] I think you're going to find that out real soon.

[02:30] GORDON: Where have you brought me to?

[02:31] Because it feels like we are in the arse-end of nowhere.

[02:34] ERIC: This is the end of the world, we call it.

[02:36] It really is a spectacular place.

[02:38] You know, and the food you find down here is some of the

[02:40] most bizarre you're going to find in the world,

[02:42] but it's also some of the most plentiful and flavorful

[02:45] if you know what you're doing with it.

[02:46] GORDON: All sourced locally?

[02:47] ERIC: All sourced locally,

[02:48] all made locally, like hog head cheese.

[02:50] Literally the head of the hog, you boil down.

[02:53] GORDON: And so it's set naturally with a gelatin in there,

[02:55] that's just naturally jelly, and that's all hog?

[02:57] ERIC: Yep, just some spices in there,

[02:59] some natural herbs in there.

[03:00] GORDON: Wow.

[03:01] ERIC: And once you get out of this protein world,

[03:02] you go into things like satsuma jelly.

[03:04] Satsumas are in season.

[03:06] GORDON: Out here?

[03:07] ERIC: Absolutely.

[03:08] The Mississippi River is running right in our backyard.

[03:10] So now you get these incredibly fertile soil.

[03:14] So transplanting citrus into here, Meyer lemons, satsumas.

[03:18] GORDON: That's delicious. ERIC: Isn't this great? GORDON: Bloody hell.

[03:21] So for me, it's like this incredible little larder,

[03:23] because you want for nothing, right?

[03:24] ERIC: Exactly right. It's a swamp pantry.

[03:26] GORDON: Your troop as a marine must have loved you out in the wilderness,

[03:28] cooking those incredible dishes.

[03:30] ERIC: I laugh about it because, you know, I never was, you know,

[03:32] a trained professional cook in the military, you know, but every time

[03:35] we stopped somewhere, we'd pop the engines of the trucks,

[03:37] of the Humvees, and I would cook on top of the Humvee, on the engine.

[03:40] GORDON: That's amazing.

[03:41] My son's just joined the training for the Royal Marine Corps

[03:43] in the UK and the first message he sent back said,

[03:44] "Dad I'm missing your food."

[03:46] Now he understands what it's all about.

[03:47] ERIC: That's it.

[03:48] GORDON: And this, and in the pot there, what's in there?

[03:50] ERIC: We've got wild boar andouille gumbo.

[03:52] Look at this color.

[03:53] I'm sure you're super experienced on how to make a roux,

[03:55] but you've got to make a roux like this.

[03:57] GORDON: That's the secret, isn't it?

[03:58] ERIC: That's it. Look at that dark color.

[04:00] Take some of this popcorn rice, put it right on top.

[04:02] We'll do a little green onion.

[04:04] GORDON: Don't get fancy on me now Eric.

[04:05] ERIC: I'll try not to. GORDON: Thank you. Bloody hell.

[04:08] ERIC: Look at that color. GORDON: Even the smell there.

[04:10] ERIC: Smell that aroma, that dark, dark fudge roux

[04:12] is the basis of all good southern cooking.

[04:15] GORDON: Wow. That is delicious.

[04:18] A roux is a mixture of flour and fat, used to thicken sauces.

[04:22] It's the foundation of many southern classics.

[04:24] Traditionally animal fat was used by Cajuns who have lived off this land,

[04:29] but Eric tells me subsistence is getting harder each year.

[04:35] ERIC: We're losing probably a football field a day right now with land erosion.

[04:38] GORDON: No. Seriously?

[04:39] ERIC: And that doesn't include when big storms come in

[04:41] and we lose chunks at a time, you know.

[04:42] GORDON: A football field a day?

[04:44] ERIC: It's an amazing, amazing challenge we face here in south Louisiana.

[04:46] GORDON: That's incredible.

[04:47] ERIC: But the one thing we do have though,

[04:49] and one of the bigger problems here that we have

[04:50] down at the marsh unfortunately is an invasive species population rolling in,

[04:52] called the nutria.

[04:53] GORDON: And what is that, like a water rat?

[04:55] ERIC: It is.

[04:56] It looks like a straight tailed beaver, is what it looks like.

[04:58] GORDON: Right. ERIC: You see these canals,

[05:00] they run all the way through here,

[05:02] and they tear through all this which makes it easier for erosion to happen.

[05:04] GORDON: Wow.

[05:06] ERIC: There's actually a bounty on those guys now.

[05:07] GORDON: Is there really?

[05:08] ERIC: You can actually go out and you can get $6 per tail.

[05:10] But, you know, we're trying to get a better way to, not only,

[05:13] remove this invasive species,

[05:15] but manage it, conserve it,

[05:17] and then if we can incorporate maybe,

[05:19] you know, its meat into dishes, and locals do.

[05:22] GORDON: In terms of, we're now saying there's a rat on the menu?

[05:24] ERIC: Exactly right.

[05:25] But what you have to do,

[05:27] is you have to make it approachable,

[05:29] that's what you have to do.

[05:30] So the first thing you do is you lose the word nutria rat,

[05:31] call it a "Ragondin".

[05:33] GORDON: Call it a what?

[05:34] ERIC: Ragondin. Right? So now...

[05:35] GORDON: You've gone all French on me.

[05:36] ERIC: Right, exactly right.

[05:38] So what you do is just come in and you kind of incorporate it,

[05:39] gumbos, fricassees, you know, étouffées.

[05:42] GORDON: Stop it. We have a rat gumbo.

[05:43] Are they tasty?

[05:45] ERIC: They're not bad. GORDON: Rat gumbo. ERIC: You're absolutely...

[05:47] If I can find one, I'd throw it in there right now for you.

[05:50] GORDON: (bleep)!

[05:52] (laughter)

[05:55] (bleep).

[05:57] You've been a marine for too long.

[05:59] ERIC: You have to eat what you have to eat to survive, that's exactly right.

[06:01] GORDON: A long way from his last tour of duty,

[06:03] Eric's still working with people on the front lines,

[06:06] volunteer first responders who rescue storm victims.

[06:09] We'll be feeding them at the end of the week,

[06:11] so I need to master Cajun cuisine,

[06:14] not only for myself, but to honor these unsung heroes.

[06:18] ERIC: You have to learn to make that roux.

[06:20] You can make a roux, right,

[06:21] but it's got to come from here.

[06:23] And the only way it's going to come from here is getting out there.

[06:26] So we're going to send you on a mission.

[06:27] Get out there and hunt,

[06:28] because at the end of the week,

[06:30] we'll see what you have making that dark Cajun roux.

[06:33] GORDON: Head to head?

[06:34] ERIC: Head to head. Tip to tail.

[06:36] GORDON: So get out there and hunt,

[06:38] come back with a plethora of ingredients like this swamp larder here.

[06:41] ERIC: Absolutely. Let's put you on an adventure,

[06:42] GORDON: And then we go toe to toe for that roux.

[06:45] show you where it's coming from.

[06:47] GORDON: I'll see you at the end of the week. Yeah?

[06:49] ERIC: Yeah. GORDON: Maybe. ERIC: Maybe.

[06:52] GORDON: For my first mission,

[06:53] Eric has hooked me up with good old boys Walter and Cody.

[06:57] Together we're just three guys with killer accents and even better hair,

[07:02] doing our part to tackle this nutria problem.

[07:05] In the 1800s about 20 of the South American rodents were brought here

[07:09] for the fur industry.

[07:11] WALTER: Come and see Gordon,

[07:13] I'm going to show you one of their nests.

[07:14] GORDON: Now, millions run wild.

[07:16] WALTER: So that's what they do, they sit here,

[07:17] they'll cut the grass, pile it up under them,

[07:19] and they'll make a little home.

[07:21] GORDON: As they're growing,

[07:22] everything else is devastated, isn't it?

[07:23] WALTER: Look what one nutria did to this patch of grass.

[07:25] Just think what a million of them would do right here.

[07:28] Alright, let's go see if we can find some more.

[07:32] GORDON: Gearing up for our hunt,

[07:34] the camera crew and I are ready for battle.

[07:42] (thud)

[07:44] (bleep). (bleep) What the (bleep)?

[07:47] After hitting a cypress knee,

[07:49] we nearly use my camera operator Brenda overboard.

[07:53] GORDON: What the (bleep) was that? A root?

[07:56] WALTER: Yeah, that's the cypress root.

[07:58] GORDON: Bloody hell.

[08:00] Now firmly re-seated, the hunt is back on.

[08:10] WALTER: See them right there?

[08:14] Right there, Gordon, Gordon, get him, get him, get him.

[08:16] Right, here, right here, right here.

[08:17] GORDON: I finally get a look at the swamp rat that's

[08:19] destroying this fragile Ecosystem.

[08:21] (gunshot)

[08:23] WALTER: Got him? GORDON: No.

[08:25] And they must be bulletproof because I never miss.

[08:28] WALTER: Alright, we'll get the next one.

[08:29] There'll be another one.

[08:33] GORDON: Everywhere we look,

[08:34] nutria are diving out of the way.

[08:36] WALTER: Oh, right in front of us, right there, right there Gordon.

[08:38] Right there, right there!

[08:40] WALTER: See him? Get him. Get him.

[08:42] GORDON: (bleep)!

[08:48] ERIC: Get him right here Gordon, right here, right here, right here.

[08:51] Get him, get him.

[08:52] WALTER: Good shot.

[08:54] GORDON: Finally I hit my target.

[09:00] He looks like a rat on steroids.

[09:02] He looks truly vile.

[09:03] (bleep)! Bloody hell.

[09:07] I can't wait to eat it.

[09:08] Can we taste one now?

[09:10] WALTER: Yeah, we could taste one.

[09:11] I have some fixed up for us.

[09:13] GORDON: On a good day,

[09:14] how many nutria do you think you could kill?

[09:16] WALTER: A good day?

[09:17] 200 or 300.

[09:19] GORDON: 200 or 300? WALTER: Oh yeah. GORDON: Times $6 per tail.

[09:21] WALTER: They're eating us out of a home.

[09:23] WALTER: And you've got to think,

[09:24] we have everything against us.

[09:26] We have mother nature against us as far as storms,

[09:28] we have animals after us,

[09:29] we have just like a fight every day with this marsh.

[09:33] GORDON: Wow.

[09:36] Walter, as always, "Mr. Improvise",

[09:38] out pops his flask and he's got this stew,

[09:41] this rat stew in his flask.

[09:43] It doesn't look the most appetizing.

[09:46] You can call this thing nutria, ragondin, water rabbit,

[09:51] but trust me, every bite, you're still eating a rat.

[09:54] Let's go.

[09:56] It's weird eating this here with the things underneath your feet,

[09:57] I'm telling you, huh.

[10:03] See that's delicious.

[10:04] WALTER: Not bad, huh? GORDON: See, that is delicious.

[10:06] It's like a rabbit.

[10:08] WALTER: No game-y taste.

[10:09] GORDON: But there's no fat in that.

[10:11] There's no fat in my mouth.

[10:12] WALTER: Very lean.

[10:13] GORDON: This is delicious, seriously.

[10:14] Did you make this?

[10:15] WALTER: My mom made that. GORDON: Your mom?

[10:16] WALTER: Yep. GORDON: What's her name?

[10:18] WALTER: Julie.

[10:19] GORDON: You tell her I love her.

[10:20] WALTER: I sure will.

[10:21] GORDON: She's introduced me to rat now.

[10:22] I'm not too sure I'm going to use it at the end of the week, but it's good.

[10:26] I mean, can we not just change the name.

[10:27] Say you're cooking a romantic dinner for the girlfriend,

[10:29] and it's just the two of you...

[10:31] WALTER: Well nothing's more romantic than tell her you're eating nutria.

[10:34] GORDON: Are you, are you...

[10:38] That's why you're still (bleep) single.

[10:39] WALTER: Yeah.

[10:43] GORDON: Tasty as it was,

[10:44] I'm not sure nutria will crawl its way onto my big cook menu.

[10:48] I'll let Walter keep the meat and the $6 bounty.

[10:56] Heading inland,

[10:58] my destination is a town named for notorious pirate turned war hero,

[11:03] Lafitte is where I'll meet a local who I'm told knows the

[11:06] best fishing holes around.

[11:15] GORDON: Shaw! How are you bud?

[11:18] SHAW: Oh hey Gordon, how you doing today?

[11:20] GORDON: Very well thank you, good to see you bud.

[11:21] SHAW: Oh man, you ready to go fishing or what?

[11:23] GORDON: I am. This thing looks amazing.

[11:24] What's it called?

[11:25] SHAW: Man, it's called the Swamp Shark.

[11:28] It's only one of a handful of boats like this in the whole world so we're going

[11:31] to have some fun today.

[11:35] You gotta hold on, now!

[11:36] GORDON: Hold on.

[11:45] (laughs)

[11:50] GORDON: That's insane.

[11:51] So now I understand why it's called a swamp shark.

[11:53] SHAW: That's it brother.

[11:54] GORDON: Bloody hell.

[11:56] Are there some big fish out here?

[11:57] SHAW: Oh yeah man, there's some fish out here.

[11:58] This is fisherman's paradise.

[12:00] GORDON: Amazing. Shall we?

[12:03] With a name like fisherman's paradise,

[12:05] you know we're sure to get a few fish on the line.

[12:08] Come on fish.

[12:09] Shaw uses a dad joke to try to hook his first victim.

[12:13] SHAUN: You ever did the fish call?

[12:14] GORDON: No, go on.

[12:16] SHAUN: Never did it? Here fishy-fishy.

[12:20] GORDON: But the fish aren't biting.

[12:22] I just saw one, just rose over there.

[12:24] SHAUN: See how they do that to you?

[12:25] GORDON: Yeah.

[12:26] SHAUN: Make you feel confident,

[12:27] then you throw for two hours looking for them.

[12:29] GORDON: Come on man...

[12:33] Come on.

[12:37] Are you sure there's fish in here, Shaun?

[12:39] SHAUN: Don't worry, we got a backup plan for you.

[12:41] It's a little ways away from here.

[12:43] GORDON: But still local?

[12:44] SHAUN: Local can be 40 miles.

[12:46] We're going to need a different ride to get there.

[12:50] GORDON: Bloody hell.

[12:55] GORDON: Come on man, come on.

[12:57] Off the coast of South Louisiana,

[12:59] my near desperate fishing expedition just got a whole lot more interesting.

[13:08] Captain, how are we sir?

[13:09] LANE: Just fine, just fine.

[13:11] GORDON: My pilot and fishing guide is local legend Lane Panepinto.

[13:16] LANE: Let's go see if we can get these big fish man.

[13:17] GORDON: Yes sir.

[13:20] Our destination is 40 miles offshore to the eastern most point in Louisiana,

[13:25] to an uninhabited chain of islands marking the boundary of Chandeleur Sound.

[13:31] Now how long have you been flying?

[13:32] LANE: We've been up about 45, 50 minutes into the wind.

[13:35] GORDON: You've been flying only for 45 minutes?

[13:37] LANE: Right, yeah.

[13:38] GORDON: Is that all you've been flying?

[13:39] LANE: Well I read the book last night.

[13:41] Come on. I'm good.

[13:43] GORDON: You're good? LANE: (bleep)!

[13:49] GORDON (over radio): Can I, can I do anything?

[13:50] LANE (over radio): No, just hang on.

[13:53] GORDON (over radio): Hang on. Oh (bleep).

[14:45] LANE: Yeah.

[14:52] GORDON: The barrier islands have been battered like much of this coastline,

[14:56] and they'll likely be gone within decades,

[14:59] but for now it's said to be the best fishing in the Gulf.

[15:13] LANE: Here we go.

[15:19] GORDON: Wow.

[15:20] That was a smooth landing, as smooth as my butt-cheeks.

[15:27] GORDON (over radio): My God, this is so beautiful Lane.

[15:34] GORDON: God, we are in the middle of nowhere,

[15:35] Lane, look at it.

[15:37] You turn around and look,

[15:38] it's just water and water and water.

[15:43] What kind of fish do you think we'll catch?

[15:45] LANE: Probably more redfish right now than anything,

[15:47] but we may get in some nice trout also, you know.

[15:50] So we'll see what happens.

[15:52] We're just going to take what the good Lord up above gives us, you know.

[15:55] GORDON: Yep. I am so keen to catch something.

[15:58] A redfish would be a dream.

[16:02] After another hour of casting,

[16:04] I'm both desperate and determined.

[16:07] I can't disappoint Eric and the first responder guests at the big cook.

[16:11] Have you ever gone out and not caught anything?

[16:13] LANE: They're here. We've just got to find them.

[16:17] GORDON: Come on baby.

[16:18] Everyone here is sure the fish are biting, but it just occurred to me,

[16:22] what if we're the bait?

[16:24] Lane, what is that?

[16:28] Lane, what's that over there?

[16:30] LANE: That looks like a shark to me, I don't know.

[16:32] GORDON: A shark.

[16:33] Look at the size of the thing.

[16:35] I'd say we need a bigger boat.

[16:36] But we don't even have a boat.

[16:42] GORDON: Food. Oh boy.

[16:45] LANE: Don't let me catch the first one on you there Gordon.

[16:48] GORDON: Thankfully the shark appears to have found tastier prey elsewhere.

[16:52] It's a good thing, if it got any closer,

[16:54] I was going to fill my waders.

[16:56] LANE: Oh! GORDON: You got it? LANE: Got it.

[16:59] GORDON: What is it? LANE: Nice trout. Oh! GORDON: That's a beauty.

[17:03] LANE: Woohoo.

[17:04] GORDON: Wow, and look at that, there's yellow inside.

[17:06] LANE: Yellow mouth,

[17:07] that's what we call them, yellow mouth trout.

[17:09] GORDON: Lane lands a beautiful speckled trout.

[17:11] I've fished most of the day without as much as a bite,

[17:14] and I've got full on fish envy.

[17:17] Suddenly I get a very big nibble.

[17:19] Ooh, ooh. What was that? What was that?

[17:22] LANE: Something was going after your lure.

[17:24] GORDON: What was it?

[17:25] Oh (bleep).

[17:28] Did you see that turn around at the last minute there?

[17:30] LANE: That was big, whatever it was.

[17:32] GORDON: What the (bleep) was that?

[17:35] LANE: Some love, show me some love.

[17:37] GORDON: I don't want a lot of love, just a little love.

[17:40] Come on baby.

[17:41] I can't go back to Eric empty handed.

[17:45] Come on man.

[17:47] Just give me a trout,

[17:48] give me a redfish, give me anything.

[17:50] LANE: Well, you're getting something there.

[17:52] GORDON: Yep.

[17:53] LANE: There you go. Stay with him.

[17:58] Get him in the net,

[17:59] get your net, get your net, get your net.

[18:00] Get him in that net before he get's off.

[18:03] GORDON: (bleep)!

[18:05] LANE: Yeah!

[18:07] GORDON: Woohoo!

[18:08] LANE: God, that lure came right out of his mouth.

[18:10] You see what I'm saying?

[18:11] That net's your best friend brother.

[18:12] GORDON: Man, boy you said, get it in there quick.

[18:15] (bleep). Woo! Finally! Oh ma!

[18:20] LANE: Watch he don't, watch he don't shake, he's going to shake.

[18:22] GORDON: Oh my god.

[18:23] LANE: Watch he don't shake, watch he don't shake,

[18:26] GORDON: I (bleep) love you.

[18:27] Oh bam!

[18:29] LANE: Here we go, that's Chandeleur Island trout at its best.

[18:33] GORDON: Good job. Man.

[18:41] Now making my way further inland,

[18:44] I'm reminded yet again that everything I see is

[18:46] within that flood zone.

[18:49] There's no telling if and when all of this in front of me could be lost at sea.

[18:54] But for now, this is where you'll find the best freshwater ingredients,

[18:57] in the surrounding ponds and marshes.

[19:01] So I'm meeting with two seafood restaurateurs who have promised to teach me all

[19:06] there is to know about a Louisiana staple, crawfish.

[19:10] How are you both?

[19:12] -What a journey. -How are you?

[19:14] TIENG: How you doing Chef? NU: Hey, how are you doing?

[19:15] GORDON: How are you darling.

[19:17] TIENG: This is my cousin Nu. GORDON: Good to see you.

[19:18] TIENG: We kind of have a little set up here for you for a little crawfish,

[19:20] how we normally do it in the backyard,

[19:22] but of course this is kind of our backyard.

[19:23] GORDON: Right. TIENG: But before then,

[19:25] we've got to go get the crawfish.

[19:26] GORDON: We haven't got them yet?

[19:28] NU: Not yet.

[19:29] TIENG: No. GORDON: Where are they?

[19:30] TIENG: That's what I need you for.

[19:31] GORDON: They're out there? TIENG: Yes sir.

[19:33] GORDON: Wow. TIENG: Let's go.

[19:34] GORDON: So how many traps are out there?

[19:35] TIENG: Roughly about 900 traps Gordon.

[19:37] GORDON: 900? TIENG: 900.

[19:39] GORDON: Are you kidding me?

[19:40] TIENG: I'm running about three, you're doing the rest.

[19:43] TIENG: That's it. Captain Wilbur.

[19:45] GORDON: Wilbur, good to see you. Let's go.

[19:48] TIENG: Let's go.

[19:49] GORDON: How old were you when you first started fishing for crawfish?

[19:51] TIENG: I would say probably like seven or eight.

[19:53] GORDON: Seven or eight, amazing.

[19:54] TIENG: That's the only thing we know how to do in the summer.

[19:56] I was born in Vietnam.

[19:57] My whole family as a refugee kind of left the country,

[20:00] I don't remember much of it at all.

[20:02] But as a child, this was what we did, catch crawfish,

[20:06] and we enjoyed every bit of it.

[20:08] GORDON: The good old days.

[20:09] TIENG: Yeah, the good old days.

[20:12] I'm going to load this first one right here.

[20:13] GORDON: This first one here?

[20:15] So, lift them up.

[20:16] TIENG: Lift them up, kinda empty it.

[20:21] GORDON: There's not that many, you know, little ones go back.

[20:24] TIENG: Got the next one coming.

[20:25] GORDON: I'll get this one.

[20:26] TIENG: You're going to get it?

[20:27] Let's go.

[20:28] GORDON: If you don't mind.

[20:29] Here we go.

[20:31] (bleep) It's (bleep) empty man.

[20:33] What the (bleep)?

[20:36] TIENG: It's not an easy business there Ramsay.

[20:38] GORDON: So far no good.

[20:40] This is one ingredient I was banking on,

[20:42] and if the next row of traps don't improve,

[20:45] we're not eating.

[20:46] Bloody hell.

[20:47] (bleep) man. Is that it?

[20:56] TIENG: Lift them up. Kinda empty it.

[21:00] GORDON: There's not many, you know that?

[21:02] I'm in the marshes of South Louisiana with local Viet Cajun Tieng.

[21:06] We're collecting crawfish traps,

[21:08] and so far the haul is as bad as my language.

[21:12] (bleep)!

[21:13] These are (bleep) empty man.

[21:14] What the (bleep)?

[21:15] TIENG: It's not an easy business there Ramsay.

[21:17] GORDON: But as we get further into the marsh, the traps begin to fill up a bit.

[21:22] TIENG: There you go.

[21:23] GORDON: It's fine that size, no?

[21:24] TIENG: Yeah, that's the perfect size to (bleep) eat right there.

[21:26] GORDON: 900 of these (bleep) things?

[21:28] TIENG: Yeah.

[21:29] GORDON: Whey!

[21:32] TIENG: These are a really good size right now.

[21:35] Are you enjoying it so far Gordon?

[21:36] GORDON: I love this.

[21:38] TIENG: There you go, now you're getting a little bit better.

[21:40] GORDON: That's 900 pots on a daily basis.

[21:43] Now we've done a handful.

[21:44] The yield is there, but my god you've got to work with your back.

[21:46] TIENG: There you go.

[21:47] GORDON: There's some big ones in there.

[21:49] These are big.

[21:52] That was a slow start,

[21:53] but a very strong finish and we got half a basket full.

[21:55] So in there first off we've got lemon, garlic...

[21:59] TIENG: That's all base. GORDON: That's your base. TIENG: That's all base.

[22:00] NU: Here we go, this is our Louisiana seasoning.

[22:04] GORDON: All that?

[22:05] NU: All this.

[22:06] TIENG: Roughly about 20 pounds of seasoning that's going in this baby.

[22:08] GORDON: All that seasoning.

[22:10] NU: All this, yes.

[22:11] More salt, there you go.

[22:13] TIENG: I'll take this.

[22:14] GORDON: So... That is crazy.

[22:16] NU: It's a lot of seasoning, yeah.

[22:18] GORDON: More seasoning?

[22:19] TIENG: This is cayenne pepper.

[22:21] NU: Be careful. GORDON: All of that?

[22:23] TIENG: All that. Just all of it.

[22:25] Never enough seasoning.

[22:27] GORDON: You're crazy.

[22:29] My goodness me.

[22:31] Look at this thing.

[22:32] It's like Harry Potter meets Louisiana.

[22:35] Bring that up to the boil?

[22:37] NU: Yeah, let's bring it back to the boil.

[22:38] TIENG: Something about the south,

[22:40] if you don't, if you under-season it and don't have a bite,

[22:42] they just won't eat it.

[22:43] GORDON: I can promise you that is not under-seasoned.

[22:46] Oh my god.

[22:47] If the heat doesn't kill the crawfish, the seasoning will.

[22:50] TIENG: So this is pretty much the crawfish that we've just caught,

[22:53] washed and pretty much now we're going to just dump it in there.

[22:57] There you go. The whole thing.

[23:00] GORDON: Wow.

[23:02] And you leave it to soak so all that spice absorbs through the tail.

[23:04] TIENG: In the head. NU: In the head. GORDON: Oh, in the head.

[23:07] It's amazing the way they changed color.

[23:08] NU: Yeah.

[23:09] GORDON: The very well-seasoned pot hits a rolling boil,

[23:12] so we kill the flame and after a quick 20 minute soak,

[23:15] we're nearly ready to tuck in, but first,

[23:18] Nu shares her secret recipe she often uses to finish the crawfish.

[23:22] NU: This is our butter garlic sauce.

[23:23] It has Cajun spice, some celery seed, some lemon pepper.

[23:27] GORDON: That is delicious.

[23:28] NU: Yeah, with a lot of garlic.

[23:29] GORDON: So I've never seen this style before,

[23:30] so what would you call this style?

[23:32] TIENG: The Viet-Cajun.

[23:34] GORDON: So it's a sort of cross between a Vietnamese and a Cajun?

[23:36] NU: Yes.

[23:37] GORDON: So far I've learned cooking crawfish

[23:39] Viet-Cajun style means when it comes to seasoning,

[23:42] you can't be shy.

[23:44] Apparently that applies to eating them as well.

[23:49] TIENG: Oh man.

[23:50] NU: And then you start enjoying the head,

[23:52] this is the best part here, so I use my nail.

[23:54] (sucking)

[23:57] That's the best part and that's how you do it.

[24:02] Everybody eats it differently.

[24:04] TIENG: Well with me, I just...

[24:05] I'm a guy so I get down and dirty with it.

[24:07] NU: That's where all the flavor is.

[24:10] GORDON: You're chewing the head?

[24:11] TIENG: Yeah. And then.

[24:13] For me I just pop it in and take out the meat right there.

[24:17] GORDON: And push the end.

[24:18] TIENG: Suck out the meat, that's it.

[24:19] GORDON: I'm going to go your way, in there like that.

[24:21] NU: See how the crawfish, you cook it and the meat's so...

[24:24] There you go.

[24:25] TIENG: Seems like you've been here your whole life.

[24:30] GORDON: Now I know why you go through two sacks a day.

[24:32] TIENG: It's like eating candy, you pop it in your mouth and just...

[24:34] GORDON: Amazing. Messy but delicious.

[24:36] I love the take on it.

[24:38] Now crawfish may not look as glamorous as a beautiful big lobster,

[24:41] but here in Louisiana they're a staple.

[24:44] At the beginning I thought it was too heavy on the seasoning,

[24:46] but at the end,

[24:47] with that garlic and that butter and that chili,

[24:49] I may cherry-pick some of those cool ideas

[24:51] for the final cook.

[24:52] My mouth is on fire.

[24:53] Tieng take care bud.

[24:55] TIENG: Thank you brother.

[25:00] GORDON: I'm down to the final day before I go head to head against Chef Eric,

[25:04] and I'm not quite feeling battle ready.

[25:08] So I've enlisted the help of a local forager,

[25:11] who was raised eating delicacies found in the

[25:13] swamps of Louisiana.

[25:15] Ponch how are you sir?

[25:17] PONCH: Hey.

[25:18] GORDON: Man, what a journey.

[25:19] Are you good?

[25:20] PONCH: Yeah, yeah, welcome to paradise.

[25:21] GORDON: Thank you man, pleasure.

[25:22] PONCH: You made it, huh?

[25:23] GORDON: Just. This place is extraordinary.

[25:25] PONCH: You haven't even seen any of it yet.

[25:27] You've just been kind of seeing the top end of it,

[25:29] but we're going to get down into there.

[25:30] GORDON: There's even more magical ingredients somewhere in there.

[25:33] PONCH: Exactly.

[25:34] Good thing about Louisiana,

[25:35] we like to eat, like to have a good time,

[25:37] we like to show off for people,

[25:38] and there's something to eat everywhere.

[25:40] GORDON: Dangerous?

[25:41] PONCH: It is dangerous, a lot of alligators on this property.

[25:43] They're typically not aggressive.

[25:44] GORDON: Right.

[25:46] PONCH: But we need to give 'em a wide berth if we see any.

[25:47] GORDON: Are you armed?

[25:48] PONCH: I've got a knife.

[25:50] GORDON: Right.

[25:51] PONCH: Is that good enough?

[25:52] GORDON: Yeah, I've got my knife, yeah.

[25:53] PONCH: Right. GORDON: Fingers crossed.

[25:55] PONCH: Yeah, I didn't bring a shotgun,

[25:56] but I thought about you ahead of time;

[25:57] we got you some waders right over there.

[26:00] GORDON: Cheers, bud. Thank you.

[26:02] Chest waders, helmet, knives and ATV's;

[26:06] I've never felt so prepared for a forage in all my life.

[26:09] PONCH: Are you ready?

[26:10] GORDON: Yes.

[26:11] PONCH: Follow me.

[26:24] GORDON: Nothing can stop me...

[26:27] Except Louisiana mud.

[26:31] Oh, bollocks!

[26:38] GORDON: In Louisiana's uncharted swamps,

[26:40] I'm searching for the freshest ingredients.

[26:45] And maybe a tow truck.

[26:48] Oh, bollocks!

[26:51] (bleep)! It's (bleep) down here, man.

[26:55] PONCH: Yeah, you know?

[26:56] GORDON: That was not a good start.

[26:58] PONCH: If you've got any more boot,

[26:59] now's the time to use it.

[27:00] GORDON: Oh, no, no, no.

[27:01] Trust me, they're already full of mud already.

[27:02] PONCH: Oh, man!

[27:08] GORDON: That's it, that's it.

[27:09] PONCH: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[27:12] That's good, that's good.

[27:15] I feel like we've done our duty here.

[27:17] Well, we more or less got him out right now.

[27:21] GORDON: Gotcha.

[27:22] Ponch decides it's safer if we walk.

[27:25] I hope the swamp rats don't eat our ATV's.

[27:29] PONCH: This is what we call Cajun celery, or chadron.

[27:31] GORDON: Oh, that's edible?

[27:32] PONCH: Yeah, yeah.

[27:33] Yeah, chadron they call it.

[27:34] In England, it's bull thistle.

[27:36] So, you chop it up and put it like with vinegar, salt and pepper,

[27:38] just a little simple salad like that.

[27:40] GORDON: Wow.

[27:41] That does not look edible does it?

[27:42] PONCH: No, it doesn't.

[27:43] I guess that's the idea of the plant is trying to make itself seem

[27:45] as unedible as possible.

[27:47] So, you ready to tackle this beast?

[27:48] GORDON: Yeah, so.

[27:49] PONCH: Alright, off with its head.

[27:50] GORDON: (bleep)

[27:51] They are sharp, aren't they?

[27:53] PONCH: Huh-huh. You gotta want it, man.

[27:54] Way down there.

[27:55] The more you get, the more we can eat.

[27:57] So, now you can semi-safely pick it up from the bottom.

[28:00] GORDON: Wow.

[28:01] PONCH: And whack all those spines off it.

[28:03] GORDON: Bloody hell. That's incredible.

[28:04] PONCH: Yeah.

[28:05] Light on flavor, but it's watery like that, it's crisp.

[28:07] It's got those same veins running through it.

[28:09] GORDON: Certainly now, starting to look like a head of celery.

[28:12] So, you'd eat this traditionally in a salad?

[28:14] PONCH: Huh-huh. Yeah.

[28:17] GORDON: Wow, it's very watery, isn't it?

[28:20] PONCH: Huh-huh. Watery and crispy.

[28:24] It's got a bit of flavor to it.

[28:26] GORDON: It's almost like a cucumber as well.

[28:28] It's got that cucumber.

[28:30] PONCH: Huh-huh, you're right.

[28:31] A lot of edible things outside that you'd eat if you were really in a pinch.

[28:35] Alright, we'll not get too full on that.

[28:36] We're after a few more things down there in the swamp;

[28:39] I want to surprise you with this one.

[28:40] GORDON: Now, this is swamp swamp.

[28:42] PONCH: Yeah, this more what you're expecting when you come to Louisiana, right?

[28:45] GORDON: Yeah, crazy.

[28:46] PONCH: Kinda watch your step through here.

[28:48] The other thing we're looking for in here is mushrooms.

[28:50] Do you eat mushrooms?

[28:51] GORDON: I love mushrooms.

[28:52] PONCH: Good, good.

[28:53] These are some real tasty ones; they're oyster cluster mushrooms,

[28:55] the ones we're looking for in here.

[28:58] It's getting real dark.

[28:59] Let's hurry up and see what we can do here.

[29:02] GORDON: There's gotta be snakes in here.

[29:04] PONCH: Oh yeah.

[29:05] Nothing you can do about it.

[29:06] We can't ask 'em to move, we're in their backyard.

[29:08] But the good thing is, the water is still plenty cold.

[29:11] GORDON: Gotcha.

[29:12] PONCH: And so, reptiles and amphibians are gonna not be too spry.

[29:15] GORDON: Louisiana's humid climate means mushroom hunting happens almost year round.

[29:20] PONCH: So, what we're looking for is the oyster clusters.

[29:22] They're gonna be white, fan shaped.

[29:25] GORDON: Gotcha.

[29:27] PONCH: Yeah, yeah, look, look.

[29:28] Alright.

[29:29] GORDON: You got one?

[29:31] PONCH: Now we got something going.

[29:32] GORDON: It's like a little cluster.

[29:34] PONCH: These are some pretty young ones,

[29:35] just came out a couple of days ago,

[29:36] and you can see these are wadding out just a little bit,

[29:38] and they've lost that color.

[29:39] They're turning a bit brown.

[29:41] So, these aren't the biggest ones, but you wanna try one right now?

[29:44] You like 'em raw?

[29:45] You like mushrooms raw?

[29:46] GORDON: Yeah, I love raw.

[29:48] PONCH: They've got a real good flavor to 'em.

[29:49] GORDON: They taste peppery,

[29:50] with a hint of apricot, and give me some ideas for

[29:52] tomorrow's big cook.

[29:55] Really good.

[29:56] That is a shock for me,

[29:58] just the natural raw flavor of that.

[30:00] Yeah, it's almost like multiplied by ten, in terms of,

[30:02] and they're not even cooked yet, so.

[30:03] Butter in a cast iron pan, shallots, garlic, and thyme.

[30:08] Oh my God.

[30:10] The sun now finally set,

[30:11] we have one last ingredient to forage.

[30:14] And this one is best found after dark.

[30:19] PONCH: Yeah, we're gonna be looking for bullfrogs.

[30:22] If you're talking about stuff that's out there,

[30:24] good to eat and free, it's hard to beat frogs.

[30:26] GORDON: Ponch says this here is good old fashioned Louisiana frogging.

[30:30] This time of year is when the bullfrogs come out of hibernation,

[30:33] and their legs are a local delicacy.

[30:36] PONCH: The general idea is you shine that light out there,

[30:39] you're looking for the eyes of the frog.

[30:41] But sometimes, you see its belly or,

[30:42] kind of, a chin showing up.

[30:44] Hey, look, look! Hey, I see some.

[30:46] You see 'em?

[30:47] GORDON: No. Is that a frog? (bleep) yes.

[30:50] PONCH: Keep your headlight on his eyes, don't move, don't move.

[30:52] GORDON: Oh, there's two.

[30:53] PONCH: Two of 'em.

[30:54] Hey, you want to go for the two-for?

[30:55] GORDON: Where's the (bleep) alligators?

[30:57] PONCH: Oh, right under the boat.

[30:58] They agreed not to mess with us on this one.

[31:01] Put your sleeves up. You got gloves on still.

[31:04] GORDON: I know. Really?

[31:05] PONCH: You wet them gloves, I'm going home.

[31:07] GORDON: (bleep) What's wrong with you?

[31:09] PONCH: I'm messing with you.

[31:11] GORDON: (bleep) seriously?

[31:12] PONCH: Alright now look.

[31:14] Alright, if you're any good,

[31:15] grab 'em aggressively, catch 'em by the fly.

[31:17] GORDON: Just at the top of the head?

[31:18] PONCH: Huh-huh. There you go.

[31:20] Basket right here.

[31:22] Oh, nice, nice.

[31:24] GORDON: That's a big one, man.

[31:25] PONCH: Yeah, check him out.

[31:26] GORDON: (bleep).

[31:28] PONCH: Big old fat legs like we were talking about.

[31:29] There's a lotta good leg meat right there.

[31:31] GORDON: Yeah, look at that.

[31:32] Oh, (bleep) that one's...

[31:33] PONCH: Uh-oh, get that one!

[31:36] There you go. There you go, good.

[31:39] I'm bringing you along all the time.

[31:41] Two-for-two partner!

[31:43] GORDON: Now, frogs legs are on my menus, especially across Europe,

[31:46] on all the restaurants.

[31:47] A huge delicacy.

[31:48] So nice to be out here in the wild and actually catch your very own.

[31:52] These things are beautiful though.

[31:53] Do they get bigger than this?

[31:54] PONCH: Oh, a hair maybe but that's a pretty darn big frog right there.

[31:59] (smooch)

[32:00] GORDON: Let's go.

[32:01] It's so hard to see, look,

[32:03] they're same color as the lilies.

[32:04] All I need now is a (bleep) alligator to pop up and eat it.

[32:07] PONCH: I can't see 'em, you need to get closer?

[32:09] GORDON: A touch more, a touch more.

[32:12] PONCH: Yeah.

[32:14] There you go, three in a row, man!

[32:16] You're a natural.

[32:18] GORDON: (bleep).

[32:19] Who knew I was a frog whisperer?

[32:21] I could stay here all night, but I've got a job to do tomorrow,

[32:24] and right now I've got the oddest list of ingredients,

[32:27] this side of Hogwarts.

[32:29] I can't wait to taste them.

[32:30] It will take some real magic to pull it all together.

[32:42] GORDON: Five days ago,

[32:43] Chef Eric Cook sent me deep into the Louisiana Bayou.

[32:47] I've faced down sharks, gators, giant bullfrogs,

[32:50] crawfish and rats the size of a hog.

[32:56] Eric!

[32:57] ERIC: Hey-hey, good to see you.

[32:59] GORDON: Likewise, man.

[33:00] ERIC: Good to see you made it back alive, in one piece.

[33:01] GORDON: Just.

[33:02] ERIC: Just one piece.

[33:03] GORDON: You've started already, right?

[33:04] ERIC: Oh, I got a jump on you, you know?

[33:05] I was waiting for you but...

[33:07] Look at that.

[33:08] GORDON: Wow, so you're literally toasting that off.

[33:09] ERIC: Oh, absolutely.

[33:10] GORDON: Oh, what a week. What an incredible week.

[33:12] I understand now.

[33:13] ERIC: You understand the diversity a little bit?

[33:16] GORDON: Incredible.

[33:17] From the Chandeleur Islands to the middle of the swamp.

[33:19] The bullfrogs.

[33:20] ERIC: Oh man, amazing huh?

[33:21] GORDON: And the nutria, by the way, oh my God!

[33:24] How big are those things?

[33:26] ERIC: They get big.

[33:27] GORDON: Honestly, they're like black Labradors.

[33:28] ERIC: Oh yeah, with those big gnarly teeth in the front.

[33:30] GORDON: Bloody tasty though.

[33:32] I've swam with sharks, I've dodged the alligators.

[33:35] And after surviving an experience and all that,

[33:37] I strongly believe that I'm set up for

[33:39] this amazing cook.

[33:40] Eric's a talented, incredible chef,

[33:43] so fingers crossed.

[33:44] I just wanna get that roux on and get that thing dark.

[33:47] Dark and smoking.

[33:49] This roux will serve as a hearty base for my gumbo.

[33:52] If the roux is wrong, my gumbo won't be right.

[33:56] ERIC: Are you doing a gumbo, already?

[33:57] GORDON: I am.

[33:58] I'm cooking that out.

[33:59] ERIC: That's a good color.

[34:00] Look at that.

[34:01] GORDON: I mean, I've never taken a roux this dark.

[34:03] Like a drill instructor, Eric has led me through my basic training.

[34:07] Now, we're going head to head, to see who makes the best roux.

[34:12] ERIC: Now, I'll tell you,

[34:13] getting that roux that color is what you want,

[34:14] you know, that almost,

[34:16] you know, fudge like peanut butter color and depth.

[34:19] Whole different level.

[34:20] And now you're doing something different than I am, right, on your gumbo?

[34:23] What you got going on?

[34:25] GORDON: Chicken and andouille.

[34:26] ERIC: Yeah, I'm gonna do wild boar and homemade venison.

[34:28] GORDON: I can learn the ingredients fairly quickly, but according to Eric,

[34:33] the secret to gumbo isn't what you put inside; it's what inside you.

[34:37] ERIC: Gumbo changes block to block, everywhere in South Louisiana.

[34:40] When you find that you get that smell,

[34:42] you get that love, feel that soul right?

[34:43] And that's what we talked about when we're doing these dishes,

[34:45] when we sent you out earlier in the week.

[34:47] GORDON: Well, you said "understand it" didn't you?

[34:49] ERIC: Right. You gotta feel it in your soul.

[34:52] Now, I've something I wanna show you.

[34:54] GORDON: That's beautiful.

[34:55] ERIC: Isn't that gorgeous?

[34:56] These are nice, this is a select crab.

[34:57] GORDON: Are they from the Gulf?

[34:58] ERIC: Yeah. Well, these are right out in these marshes.

[35:00] GORDON: So, the meat you're gonna take out of the claws, right?

[35:01] ERIC: We're gonna stick in all in here, just like this.

[35:03] GORDON: So, you keep the whole thing whole?

[35:04] ERIC: Just like this.

[35:05] We're gonna start with redfish coubion.

[35:07] I mean, look at that guy.

[35:09] Look at that fish.

[35:10] GORDON: That's beautiful.

[35:11] ERIC: I mean, that's all spotty tail right there.

[35:12] GORDON: Love that.

[35:14] ERIC: You've got those beautiful frog legs over there.

[35:16] Look at the meat how tender and white and delicious.

[35:18] GORDON: Yeah, I'm gonna dust in a little bit of flour,

[35:22] and a touch of paprika, cayenne.

[35:24] They need a little bit of heat in there.

[35:26] ERIC: Spectacular, huh?

[35:27] You know, folks tend to over think the ingredients that we have down here,

[35:30] and sometimes you just let 'em speak for themselves.

[35:31] You know what I mean?

[35:32] GORDON: Absolutely.

[35:34] So, you've stuck the whole redfish on there like that?

[35:35] ERIC: I did, yeah.

[35:36] GORDON: Wow. That's beautiful.

[35:37] ERIC: Now, look at those guys, huh?

[35:39] GORDON: I was just amazing at the size of the bullfrogs.

[35:41] ERIC: This is all beautiful, but I've noticed no nutria on the menu, huh?

[35:45] GORDON: It's a tough one.

[35:49] There's that little bit of skepticism still going on in terms of...

[35:52] ERIC: Rat in the kitchen. GORDON: So, rat in the kitchen.

[35:57] This trout hasn't got anywhere near the strong hold the redfish has,

[36:00] so I'm gonna start cooking it in these incredible satsumas, okay.

[36:04] ERIC: That's the way to do it.

[36:05] Let it all just speak for itself.

[36:07] GORDON: So good.

[36:08] ERIC: Satsuma and blood orange.

[36:09] GORDON: If you give me the little clue, trust me, I'm gonna piece it together.

[36:13] ERIC: I think I gave you too much.

[36:15] GORDON: Huh? Oh, stop it. Come on.

[36:16] ERIC: I'm mad now. GORDON: Really?

[36:17] ERIC: No, I'm not mad. GORDON: Come on.

[36:19] ERIC: I'm not mad at all.

[36:21] Shrimp. Shrimp.

[36:24] GORDON: Our dishes nearly complete and just in time.

[36:26] Hi guys.

[36:28] Ladies, hello, welcome.

[36:29] MAN: Hey, hey, hey.

[36:31] GORDON: The guests have arrived.

[36:33] Thank you, good to see you.

[36:35] Hi sir, how are you?

[36:36] Madam, how are you?

[36:37] A group of home grown first responders.

[36:42] These volunteers rescue storm victims,

[36:45] often giving supplies and food to those in need.

[36:48] It's an honor to cook for them.

[36:51] But I'm feeling the pressure to deliver those home cooked Cajun flavors they deserve.

[36:56] ERIC: You know, what better than this?

[36:58] You know, get a bunch of folks together, cook 'em a home cooked meal,

[37:01] that's the southern hospitality.

[37:03] We're lucky we have such a great community round here, right?

[37:05] GORDON: They're all in one, right?

[37:06] ERIC: That's it, cause we're all spinning around the

[37:08] big planet together, right?

[37:10] GORDON: I'm gonna quickly sauté off those oyster mushrooms.

[37:12] I literally found them in the, sort of, right in the middle of the bark,

[37:15] and a little cluster underneath.

[37:17] But I'm gonna use that bacon fat,

[37:19] with a little bit of a garlic, and that's me.

[37:20] You good?

[37:21] ERIC: I'm good.

[37:23] I think my barbecue shrimp are there; I'm liking the way they're looking,

[37:24] like the way they're tasting.

[37:26] I know, this gumbo's ready.

[37:27] GORDON: Can you imagine all those marines now saying,

[37:29] "Why didn't you cook like that for me?"

[37:31] ERIC: I bet a lot of 'em are right now.

[37:33] They're saying, "Where was that when we were overseas, man?"

[37:35] GORDON: That is it, look.

[37:37] I'm gonna sprinkle them over.

[37:38] ERIC: Oh my goodness, yeah.

[37:39] GORDON: And just knock them over.

[37:40] Oh my God.

[37:41] And that finishes off my cassoulet of frogs legs.

[37:44] ERIC: Yep. Excellent job.

[37:47] I feel good about it.

[37:48] GORDON: You're one tough (bleep)!

[37:51] Putting the finishing touches on my gumbo,

[37:53] we're nearly ready to serve up this Cajun feast.

[37:57] But I've got one last play I think will even the odds.

[38:01] I just hope Eric will go for it.

[38:10] GORDON: Under the direction of Chef Eric,

[38:12] I've learned how to thrive off the ingredients found

[38:14] in the hostile wetlands of South Louisiana.

[38:18] ERIC: That's a good color.

[38:19] Look at that.

[38:20] GORDON: I mean, I've never taken a roux this dark.

[38:22] And while I appreciate his guidance, he's ex-military on a mission.

[38:27] So, I've got one last tactic to level the cooking field.

[38:31] ERIC: I'm good, how are you?

[38:32] GORDON: Yeah, all good. That looks amazing.

[38:34] ERIC: Looks good, huh?

[38:35] GORDON: Right, a quick suggestion.

[38:36] You're competitive.

[38:37] Let's switch these out.

[38:39] ERIC: The old switcheroo.

[38:41] GORDON: Can we stop it?

[38:43] Yeah, but they know you, they don't know me.

[38:46] So, what do you reckon?

[38:47] ERIC: Yeah, let's do it yeah.

[38:48] GORDON: Pass me that ladle please.

[38:49] You good?

[38:50] ERIC: I'm ready. GORDON: Let's go.

[38:51] Good luck.

[38:53] ERIC: Good luck.

[38:54] GORDON: Okay. So nice to see you all.

[38:57] ERIC: How's everyone doing?

[38:58] MAN: Doing great. ERIC: Excellent.

[39:00] GORDON: Now, in here we have a venison and wild boar gumbo.

[39:03] A beautiful trout that has been grilled,

[39:05] finished with a satsuma beurre blanc.

[39:08] And then my bullfrog frog legs,

[39:10] finished with a cassoulet over an intense heat.

[39:14] Enjoy!

[39:15] ERIC: I've got a chicken andouille gumbo,

[39:18] whole roasted chicken, fresh picked,

[39:20] local meat andouille.

[39:21] Deep, deep dark roux.

[39:23] Trinity of course.

[39:24] On the end, I've got a whole redfish coubion, whole blue crabs, cracked,

[39:28] seared down the sauce, local Gulf shrimp, charred lemon squeezed on top of that

[39:31] beautiful tomato sauce.

[39:33] At the very end, we've got a New Orleans style,

[39:35] or a South Louisiana style barbecue shrimp.

[39:37] Something you can just dig your hands into and get dirty, and peel and eat.

[39:39] Enjoy y'all.

[39:41] MAN: We can do that. ERIC: You got it.

[39:42] GORDON: Nice to see you all. Please enjoy.

[39:43] ERIC: Y'all enjoy.

[39:44] GORDON: I've served Eric's venison and wild boar gumbo,

[39:46] while he served my chicken andouille.

[39:49] And once this group digs in, I like my chances.

[39:52] What an amazing table.

[39:54] ERIC: Yeah, what a great group.

[39:56] GORDON: Fantastic first responders,

[39:57] but just think what they've done over the

[39:59] last two decades,

[40:00] dealing with some of the torrential, horrific storms.

[40:04] MAN: Heavenly Father, bless this food we're about to receive.

[40:06] May it nourish our body.

[40:07] Lord, thank you for the opportunity to be here, to be able to taste some wonderful

[40:10] food for two world class chefs.

[40:13] On this amazing honor.

[40:14] In Jesus' name, amen.

[40:16] GROUP: Amen.

[40:18] MAN: Now we can eat.

[40:24] MAN 2: Boys, this is gonna be better than them MRE's that we're used to.

[40:29] GORDON: Starting the meal with a blessing, seems a fitting gesture.

[40:33] WOMAN: That's a good looking roux right there.

[40:36] That's all I'm saying.

[40:37] ERIC: Look at them, getting down now.

[40:39] GORDON: Because watching them tuck into Eric's dishes,

[40:41] I feel like I'd better start praying myself.

[40:45] Now, look what they're doing to those shrimp.

[40:47] They are devouring those things.

[40:48] ERIC: Look at them looking for the eyeballs.

[40:49] That's the dead giveaway.

[40:51] GORDON: For now, we'll enjoy the silence that accompanies our Cajun feast.

[40:58] ERIC: Cracked that crab?

[41:00] GORDON: He's cracking them with his teeth.

[41:02] ERIC: Bit it with his mouth.

[41:04] He just bit it right off.

[41:07] It's a tough table.

[41:08] GORDON: It's a very tough table, especially with teeth like that.

[41:10] ERIC: Alright, let's find out.

[41:12] GORDON: It's very quiet here.

[41:13] What happened?

[41:14] WOMAN: Very good. GORDON: Very good.

[41:16] Shall we start with the shrimp and the frogs legs?

[41:19] How were they?

[41:20] WOMAN: The frogs legs were really good.

[41:22] ERIC: How do you feel about the old barbecue shrimp down there,

[41:24] with that charred lemon?

[41:25] MAN: The shrimp were great.

[41:26] They were a little hard to peel, but the taste was awesome.

[41:29] ERIC: Yeah, good Gulf shrimp.

[41:31] We'll call it even, we'll call it even.

[41:34] Let's get to the fish.

[41:35] This is what we got here.

[41:37] How about that redfish?

[41:38] MAN: This was great.

[41:40] Everything in it,

[41:41] the crabs, the shrimp, the fish, was really seasoned nice.

[41:44] WOMAN: But that was amazing. That was amazing.

[41:47] GORDON: Oh, the trout.

[41:49] ERIC: I should never have given you the damn satsumas.

[41:51] GORDON: You gave me the keys.

[41:52] ERIC: I should have just lied to you and threw 'em on the ground.

[41:55] GORDON: I was shocked when Eric said, these satsumas are local.

[41:57] I said, "Really?"

[41:59] I started tasting them, the strength of them was just incredible.

[42:01] That's two all, and we're down to our final dish: the gumbos.

[42:05] While I feel I've captured the essence of that dark, thick Cajun roux,

[42:09] I have no idea who'll come out on top.

[42:12] The jarhead, or the forehead.

[42:15] Two gumbos.

[42:16] How as the venison and wild boar?

[42:18] MAN: Awesome, first class.

[42:19] WOMAN: A little spicy though.

[42:20] That one had a lotta, lotta heat.

[42:22] GORDON: But a little bit too much spice, or?

[42:24] WOMAN: I think it was a little too much.

[42:25] ERIC: Too much spice? WOMAN: Kinda salty.

[42:27] ERIC: The chicken andouille what do you guys think?

[42:29] WOMAN: That roux was, yeah.

[42:30] MAN: That was on point. Deep flavors, man.

[42:32] ERIC: On point?

[42:34] MAN: It had a little heat.

[42:35] That's what we like down here in South Louisiana.

[42:39] ERIC: I dropped this one off, didn't I?

[42:41] Didn't I drop this one off?

[42:43] GORDON: You dropped it off.

[42:44] The chicken andouille was my gumbo.

[42:47] ERIC: We switched.

[42:49] MAN: That kinda reminds me of mama's cooking right there.

[42:50] GORDON: Oooh! Wow.

[42:52] MAN: I don't know what you wanna do with that.

[42:54] GORDON: I'll take that.

[42:55] ERIC: So, what do you think?

[42:57] You know, he spent the week out in here in the Bayou down here in South Louisiana,

[43:00] do you think he's got the grasp?

[43:02] MAN: I think he's got it.

[43:03] MAN 2: He figured it out so fast.

[43:04] GORDON: Can I come back?

[43:06] MAN: Of course. WOMAN: Absolutely.

[43:08] GORDON: I've had an amazing week so I couldn't think

[43:09] of a more fitting table of guests today.

[43:11] You're there, in the eye of a storm so, thank you.

[43:13] WOMAN: Thank you.

[43:15] GORDON: From the bottom of my heart, continued success and gratitude for all you do.

[43:17] And you, great job, buddy.

[43:20] ERIC: My pleasure. Great job! You nailed it.

[43:22] GORDON: Alright, I'll see you in Scotland next time round.

[43:23] ERIC: Yes, sir.

[43:24] GORDON: You ready for Scotland?

[43:26] ERIC: Oh, am I ready? I'm absolutely ready.

[43:27] GORDON: You think you can handle it?

[43:28] ERIC: Absolutely, I can handle it.

[43:29] GORDON: Thanks guys, take care.

[43:31] Don't forget to send me that recipe for that gumbo.

[43:32] ERIC: No.

[43:35] GORDON: This past week has really taught me a lot on how to survive

[43:37] off this incredible land here,

[43:39] in Louisiana, especially across this very fragile Ecosystem.

[43:43] And these hearty Cajuns have not only survived but thrived whilst doing it.

[43:48] And trust me, at the same time,

[43:50] they're enjoying every minute of it.

[43:52] And on that note, I'm off for my next adventure.

[44:04] ♪ ♪

[44:05] (engine revving)

[44:08] GORDON: That doesn't sound like a car,

[44:09] that sounds like, oh my goodness.

[44:10] What a car, man.

[44:12] Is that him?

[44:13] DEREK: That's him.

[44:14] GORDON: Are we good? WILLIAM: Yeah.

[44:15] (laughing)

[44:17] GORDON: Derek, tell my wife I love her.

[44:19] DEREK: Alright.

[44:20] (screeching)

[44:23] GORDON: Holy (bleep)! Woo!

[44:28] (bleep) bananas, man.

[44:32] Oh my God!

[44:42] GORDON: I'm in the legendary Smoky Mountains,

[44:44] a bio diverse wilderness steeped in history.

[44:48] From the native Cherokee people to moonshiners,

[44:52] to NASCAR, this land has a past as diverse as its cuisine.

[44:56] And I can't wait to explore it all.

[44:59] GORDON: Although they call these the Smoky Mountains,

[45:01] rivers are a plenty and I start my incredible journey

[45:04] fly fishing with a legendary local chef,

[45:07] William Dissen.

[45:08] Now, he said meet me somewhere on the river.

[45:13] SAM: Hey. GORDON: Hey, good morning.

[45:15] SAM: Hi, how are you?

[45:16] GORDON: You're not Chef William, that's for sure.

[45:18] SAM: I am not, no, no, no. My name is Sam.

[45:19] GORDON: Nice to meet you.

[45:20] Uh, you're dressed up as if you're about to climb or?

[45:23] SAM: Do you wanna meet Chef William?

[45:24] GORDON: Yes please.

[45:25] SAM: Okay, yeah, right down this way.

[45:26] GORDON: He's down here? SAM: Uh-huh.

[45:28] GORDON: I'm gonna follow you. SAM: Alright, come on down.

[45:33] So you wanna come this way?

[45:34] GORDON: Are we there yet?

[45:36] SAM: Uh, nearly. It's right over here.

[45:38] GORDON: What the hell is that?

[45:44] Holy (bleep). Oh my lord!

[45:50] He's down there?

[45:51] SAM: He's down there.

[45:53] GORDON: William! WILLIAM: Hey, Gordon!

[45:55] GORDON: I'm coming!

[45:56] WILLIAM: Welcome to Smoky Mountains.

[45:58] GORDON: Bloody hell. Let's do this, girl.

[46:00] SAM: Woo!

[46:01] GORDON: Man.

[46:04] SAM: This first section's pretty slick,

[46:06] so lean back a bit, take smaller steps.

[46:12] GORDON: (bleep) this is slippy as (bleep).

[46:15] GORDON: My journey has just begun and

[46:16] already the mountains are showing me who's in charge.

[46:19] SAM: Yeah, yeah. GORDON: (bleep)!

[46:22] SAM: You're fine.

[46:24] GORDON: Repelling down anything, you need to get that firm grip and then relax.

[46:28] (bleep).

[46:30] It's very hard to start that off

[46:32] when you can't even stand up straight.

[46:33] I've got no grip, (bleep).

[46:37] And I was literally gliding across those rocks

[46:38] like Bambi on ice.

[46:53] Halfway down, my rope got stuck.

[46:57] You're going under that water and it's chilly,

[47:01] so you're holding your breath.

[47:04] There's a powerful amount of water coming full frontal.

[47:09] GORDON: It's like taking a cold wet punch

[47:10] to the face over and over.

[47:13] This is not the southern hospitality I've heard so much about.

[47:19] (bleep)!

[47:22] GORDON: When I finally reach the first plateau,

[47:23] I look down and see the sheer rock face and

[47:27] realize I still have a long way to go.

[47:38] ♪ ♪

[47:47] GORDON: Welcome to the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina.

[47:50] That was (bleep) insane.

[47:57] WILLIAM: Well, you were like Daniel Day Lewis coming down

[47:59] the waterfall, man.

[48:00] GORDON: Good to see you, bud.

[48:01] WILLIAM: Yes.

[48:04] GORDON: William Dissen is a Smoky Mountain's legend,

[48:07] a multi award winning chef,

[48:09] with a focus on fresh, healthy and sustainable food.

[48:13] He works with a network of local farmers, fisherman,

[48:16] and artisan producers to create some of

[48:18] the best dishes this region has to offer.

[48:24] GORDON: What an amazing spot.

[48:25] WILLIAM: This is one of my favorite places to get out of

[48:26] the kitchen, to come and relax.

[48:28] I've got your gear here, we can head on downstream.

[48:30] GORDON: Bingo.

[48:32] GORDON: After that repel,

[48:33] I'm wetter than a Scottish summer and I'm excited to

[48:36] dry off and get out the rod and reel.

[48:39] GORDON: And they're gonna be what Brook Trout?

[48:41] WILLIAM: Brook and Brown Trout.

[48:42] GORDON: And brownies, love that.

[48:46] My first time in the Smoky Mountains.

[48:48] WILLIAM: I really love this region because it's such a beautiful place.

[48:51] You have fertile land and, as you'll find out,

[48:54] lots of wild food everywhere.

[48:56] And if you look back to the Native Americans and

[48:58] the Cherokee, in particular, who lived in this region,

[49:00] you know, no wonder they decided to make this their home.

[49:03] It's kind of like a little food-topia.

[49:04] GORDON: Got ya. What lies beneath?

[49:07] Oh (bleep). Was that me or you?

[49:09] WILLIAM: I think it was both of us.

[49:11] There's a big sense in community and local in

[49:13] this region and so that's really important because

[49:15] at the end of the week,

[49:17] we've gotta cook for all these locals.

[49:18] And when we cook at the end of the week,

[49:20] I've got a little bet for you.

[49:21] GORDON: Go on.

[49:22] WILLIAM: So when you're in the Smoky Mountains,

[49:24] you're gonna need a truck to get around,

[49:26] there's a lot of rugged off road.

[49:27] I've got a really sweet truck that you can borrow.

[49:29] GORDON: Oh that'll be nice, thank you.

[49:31] WILLIAM: Yeah, you're welcome.

[49:32] I'll let you borrow it though, under one condition.

[49:33] GORDON: Go on.

[49:34] WILLIAM: If they like my food better,

[49:36] you fly my family and I to London...

[49:38] (laughing)

[49:39] GORDON: (bleep).

[49:40] WILLIAM: And you treat us to dinner at your restaurant.

[49:41] GORDON: Right. And if I win?

[49:42] WILLIAM: If you win, I'll let you keep the keys.

[49:44] GORDON: You are...

[49:45] Oh, you'll let me keep the truck?

[49:46] WILLIAM: I'll let you keep the truck.

[49:48] GORDON: Are you sure?

[49:49] So game on. I'm competitive.

[49:51] He's incredibly competitive and

[49:53] I've never competed for a truck.

[49:55] So extra motivation.

[49:57] I'm gonna give William a run for his money.

[50:00] Game on, big boy.

[50:01] WILLIAM: Let's do it. GORDON: And quick favor.

[50:03] WILLIAM: What's that?

[50:04] GORDON: The fact that we didn't catch any,

[50:05] or I didn't catch any trout this morning,

[50:06] any chance you could pull me a couple for the final cook, please.

[50:09] WILLIAM: I'm sure, I'm sure I could get a few,

[50:11] but that's the last favor I'm doing for you this week.

[50:12] GORDON: You are competitive.

[50:14] Uh, listen, tight lines.

[50:15] Good luck, I'll see you at the end of the week.

[50:31] GORDON: I want this truck,

[50:33] so I need to get my hands on some of the most unique ingredients found here.

[50:39] Luckily, I've already got trout on the menu.

[50:42] GORDON: But here, we have over 2,000 miles of amazing rivers

[50:45] and streams in the Smoky Mountains,

[50:47] so I want more.

[50:49] Now, William's hooked me up with an amazing craw fisherman

[50:51] and fingers crossed,

[50:52] today I'm gonna get my hands on those beauties.

[50:57] GORDON: Keith. KEITH: Ah, Chef Ramsay!

[51:00] GORDON: How are you, sir. Good to see you.

[51:02] KEITH: Nice, good to see you.

[51:03] GORDON: Now, Chef William said that we've got a

[51:05] strong possibility of getting more protein ahead of the big cook.

[51:08] KEITH: Yeah, so I brought a means of transportation for you.

[51:11] GORDON: Yes. Did you forget them?

[51:13] KEITH: Chef William explained to me you're a man that

[51:14] enjoys a challenge, so, um, I brought these.

[51:19] Ha-ha, yeah.

[51:20] So these are hand paddles.

[51:22] GORDON: For, for your...

[51:23] KEITH: This is, no, they go on your hands, see,

[51:26] just like this, um.

[51:28] GORDON: Hand paddles? KEITH: Yeah.

[51:30] It's very intuitive.

[51:32] GORDON: Oh my lord.

[51:33] KEITH: You've got long arms, I think you're gonna rock this.

[51:36] Let's get suited up.

[51:38] GORDON: Let's go captain. I'm in your hands, my man.

[51:45] This is so beautiful.

[51:46] KEITH: Yeah.

[51:48] It's one of the most wonderful things about paddling white water,

[51:50] is you see places few people see.

[51:53] GORDON: Man.

[51:54] GORDON: Keith makes using these hand paddles

[51:55] look easy, but it isn't for me.

[51:57] The only thing harder than paddling with them would be

[52:00] cooking with them.

[52:01] KEITH: And it should seem rather intuitive,

[52:03] but you wanna just keep your boat in line with the water,

[52:06] you're exposing the side of the boat to catch a rock and tip you out.

[52:11] GORDON: Kayaks are amazing fun,

[52:13] but when you've got a paddle, you know,

[52:15] you've got so much more control.

[52:16] KEITH: Go around this. GORDON: (bleep)!

[52:20] When you're paddling with your hands,

[52:22] then 15, 20 minutes in, you're gonna get tired.

[52:26] Ah, (bleep).

[52:27] KEITH: Stay away from that rock!

[52:29] GORDON: (bleep). KEITH: Oh no!

[52:30] (laughing)

[52:34] GORDON: This is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.

[52:37] KEITH: Now you see why I don't want you to touch the rock.

[52:40] GORDON: Keith, this stays between you,

[52:42] me and the river.

[52:46] With my ego in check and

[52:47] my frozen nether regions tucked in my stomach,

[52:50] you bet your ass that won't happen again.

[52:53] KEITH: Alright. Right this way.

[52:57] Woo-hoo! Nice.

[52:59] GORDON: It's fine until you get into that fast water.

[53:01] When you hit that fast water, then you've gotta be a rudder

[53:03] as well, very quickly, and then you've gotta turn left,

[53:05] lean left, turn right.

[53:06] Lean right.

[53:08] KEITH: Alright.

[53:09] You see this little wave,

[53:10] we're gonna clip the left side of it.

[53:12] GORDON: (bleep) my boots.

[53:14] And then brace yourself.

[53:19] KEITH: Nicely done, sir!

[53:21] Yeah, that's your first class three.

[53:25] (laughing)

[53:27] GORDON: After sticking the landing on

[53:28] my first class three rapids,

[53:29] I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

[53:32] KEITH: Come hard, this way.

[53:34] Get in the glacier bango, point this way, quickly!

[53:39] GORDON: But then, out of nowhere,

[53:40] Keith's soothing southern drawl takes on an urgency

[53:43] I haven't heard before.

[53:44] As soon as I realize why, I almost lose my lunch.

[53:52] GORDON: Keith come back, don't leave me here.

[53:56] Oh (bleep).

[53:57] GORDON: The river is pulling me towards raging rapids

[53:59] that drop into a series of vertical waterfalls.

[54:02] And the last thing I wanna do is die

[54:04] wearing these hand paddles.

[54:06] GORDON: (bleep).

[54:14] (rushing water)

[54:16] GORDON: I'm on a river in the Great Smoky Mountains

[54:18] and it appears my day of carefree fun is over.

[54:22] GORDON: Holy (bleep).

[54:23] GORDON: Along with possibly my life.

[54:30] ♪ ♪

[54:36] KEITH: Oh!

[54:37] (laughing)

[54:39] GORDON: What a moment that was.

[54:41] That was a big blur for 30 seconds,

[54:43] descending down those rapids because I thought I'd lost it.

[54:46] And then all of a sudden, boop,

[54:47] you pop up, take a breath and then stay calm.

[54:51] So what a ride.

[54:54] GORDON: Smoky Mountain sleigh ride completed,

[54:56] it's finally time to focus on finding

[54:58] the crawfish I came for.

[55:02] KEITH: This is where our traps are set and hopefully,

[55:04] uh, when we get there,

[55:06] we'll have some protein in 'em!

[55:07] (laughing)

[55:09] GORDON: Good job, my man.

[55:10] KEITH: Alright. GORDON: Good job, high-five.

[55:12] KEITH: So you see what I've got here,

[55:14] I recessed it into the river bottom.

[55:17] And then inside, um, bacon.

[55:20] GORDON: Bacon, stop it.

[55:21] KEITH: Yeah, uh, that's what I had, um.

[55:23] So hopefully this worked.

[55:24] I'm gonna just move away the ramps.

[55:27] As you can see, it's very high tech.

[55:28] GORDON: Man. KEITH: Woo, look in there, yeah.

[55:32] GORDON: May I? Oh my God.

[55:34] KEITH: So we have 28 different species of crayfish in North Carolina.

[55:38] We don't have the giant ones they have in Louisiana,

[55:40] but they taste about the same.

[55:42] GORDON: That is incredible, all because of those little bits of bacon.

[55:44] KEITH: Yeah.

[55:45] GORDON: Did you design this trap?

[55:47] KEITH: I did. If you wanna break down the cost of it, um.

[55:50] The jug was cheese balls and this is a Gatorade, um.

[55:53] So it was $5 for the cheese balls and at the Dollar Store,

[55:56] that Gatorade was only $1.

[55:57] So it's a $6 trap, unless you like cheese balls and Gatorade

[56:01] and then you can say it's a free trap.

[56:03] GORDON: You'd make a lot of money as a chef,

[56:06] you know that?

[56:06] Making sure there's no waste.

[56:08] They look amazing.

[56:09] Oh my God, good job.

[56:11] Keith is the perfect nut bag,

[56:12] you know to be in a forest with,

[56:13] because he utilizes everything.

[56:15] So what a trap.

[56:16] Good news is, tiny bit of bacon and

[56:19] we got a dozen crawfish.

[56:20] Big cook, in a couple of days.

[56:22] I don't know if that's gonna be enough.

[56:23] KEITH: Oh we have more traps.

[56:25] I went all out.

[56:26] There's $24 worth of traps out here, so.

[56:28] GORDON: I'll take care of that.

[56:31] Amazing.

[56:36] ♪ ♪

[56:42] Now the Smoky Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges anywhere

[56:45] in the world and also one of the most biologically diverse.

[56:49] Amongst these trees are some of the best ingredients a chef

[56:52] could ever ask for, mushrooms.

[57:00] GORDON: Alan. ALAN: Hey.

[57:02] GORDON: How are you, sir, are you well?

[57:03] ALAN: Yeah, great. How are you doing?

[57:04] GORDON: Good to see you. Uh, congratulations.

[57:05] They say that you are the best forager and

[57:08] I would love some mushrooms for the final cook.

[57:11] ALAN: Well there's some right here, watch your step.

[57:13] GORDON: Oh (bleep). No stop it.

[57:16] ALAN: Uh-huh. GORDON: So it is.

[57:18] ALAN: Uh-huh. GORDON: And what is that?

[57:19] ALAN: That is a Boletes, like a Porcini.

[57:21] GORDON: These are beauties.

[57:22] Obviously, I'm gonna need more than three mushrooms.

[57:24] ALAN: Well let's get in the woods.

[57:25] GORDON: Let's get in the woods.

[57:28] This is a beautiful trail, my goodness me.

[57:30] ALAN: This is super bio diverse area.

[57:32] GORDON: Wow.

[57:34] ALAN: We have more here than probably anywhere outside of

[57:36] the tropics in the whole hemisphere.

[57:38] GORDON: Serious. ALAN: Keep your eyes open.

[57:40] GORDON: Yes.

[57:41] GORDON: My eyes are open and I'm ready to spot

[57:43] some fantastic ingredients.

[57:45] GORDON: Oh look at that one there.

[57:46] ALAN: Yeah. GORDON: How bright is that?

[57:48] ALAN: Oh. Oh!

[57:49] GORDON: Just as I reach down to grab what

[57:51] looks like a perfect mushroom.

[57:53] GORDON: That is so beautiful. ALAN: Uh-huh.

[57:55] GORDON: Alan stops me in my tracks.

[57:56] ALAN: Yeah, it's gorgeous but, you know,

[57:58] that could be deadly.

[57:59] GORDON: Really? Seriously?

[58:00] ALAN: Uh-huh. GORDON: My God.

[58:02] ALAN: They're called Destroying Angel,

[58:04] the deadly one.

[58:05] GORDON: Wow. Is that poisonous?

[58:07] ALAN: Yeah, one will work.

[58:08] GORDON: Bloody hell, so no eating those.

[58:11] GORDON: Unfortunately, our first find

[58:12] could have killed my guests before the second course.

[58:16] After that, you'll never get a decent Yelp review.

[58:20] ALAN: Oh great, check it out. See this?

[58:21] GORDON: What is that?

[58:22] ALAN: This is basically a puff ball on a stick.

[58:25] They call it hot lips because of the mouth right there.

[58:28] And if I'm lucky, when I squeeze this.

[58:30] GORDON: (bleep). ALAN: See what came out.

[58:32] GORDON: Wow.

[58:33] ALAN: It's edible, it's just like rubber bands.

[58:34] GORDON: Gotcha. ALAN: But, you know.

[58:35] GORDON: But not very flavorsome.

[58:37] ALAN: No, just chewy.

[58:39] GORDON: Our second find wasn't gonna kill the guests,

[58:42] but something that spits in their face isn't

[58:44] going on my menu.

[58:46] ALAN: Alright, we're off roading it now.

[58:47] GORDON: Off roading.

[58:48] (laughs)

[58:50] Oh.

[58:51] ALAN: Keep your... Oh. GORDON: Come on.

[58:54] ALAN: You did it. GORDON: Bloody hell.

[58:56] Look at that. Now that, that right there.

[59:01] ALAN: That's the prize. GORDON: Is the money.

[59:02] Oh my God.

[59:03] ALAN: You hit it.

[59:04] GORDON: So is that the head? ALAN: Yeah, this is it.

[59:06] GORDON: Bloody hell.

[59:08] GORDON: Hen of the woods is not only

[59:09] unique and beautiful,

[59:10] it's one of the best tasting mushrooms on earth.

[59:13] ALAN: I would just come under and try to,

[59:15] don't even slice.

[59:17] GORDON: Just lift it up?

[59:17] ALAN: Yeah, yeah, it should come out whole.

[59:19] GORDON: Wow. ALAN: Yeah.

[59:22] GORDON: That is beautiful. ALAN: Thank you.

[59:24] GORDON: Oh my God.

[59:26] It's almost like a beautiful piece of coral, isn't it?

[59:28] ALAN: Like a sculpture, yeah.

[59:29] GORDON: Look at that.

[59:30] ALAN: I think you got what you needed.

[59:31] That's, that's gonna be a feast.

[59:33] GORDON: That is beautiful.

[59:35] Almost looks like a piece of art.

[59:36] It's like a bloody flower arrangement,

[59:38] look at that.

[59:39] ALAN: Uh-huh.

[59:40] GORDON: But this is the money, let me tell you.

[59:41] This is gonna give me a little edge.

[59:42] I know William's busy.

[59:43] I know this is his home town,

[59:45] he's got a very successful restaurant,

[59:46] but he's not out foraging the way I am.

[59:49] So 1-0 to Ramsay.

[59:51] ALAN: I hope that gives, uh, William a run for his money.

[59:54] GORDON: Thank you.

[59:54] That's gonna kick his ass, man.

[59:56] ALAN: That I wanna see.

[01:00:04] GORDON: I've already got some incredible ingredients that,

[01:00:07] fingers crossed, I'm gonna impress my guests.

[01:00:09] But I know another way to try and win them over, alcohol.

[01:00:14] And, as you can see, I'm in the absolute perfect spot because,

[01:00:18] right here, is called the moonshine capital of the world.

[01:00:24] GORDON: I'm meeting with a family that operates

[01:00:25] a legal distillery in town.

[01:00:27] But today, they're showing me how this corn whiskey was made

[01:00:30] the old fashioned way, deep in the woods hidden away from

[01:00:33] prying eyes and a Sheriff's shot gun.

[01:00:37] GORDON: Derek, how are you, captain?

[01:00:40] DEREK: Great, nice meeting you.

[01:00:42] GORDON: It's an absolute pleasure.

[01:00:43] What an amazing drive up and I'm excited to,

[01:00:46] fingers crossed, get my hands on some moonshine.

[01:00:48] DEREK: We can make that happen.

[01:00:50] GORDON: Amazing.

[01:00:51] What's so special about your moonshine?

[01:00:52] DEREK: We've got an old family recipe that

[01:00:55] goes back about 200 years.

[01:00:58] GORDON: Wow.

[01:00:59] How long have you been making moonshine for?

[01:01:00] DEREK: Oh, I started when I was 14 year old.

[01:01:03] GORDON: You're not allowed to drink till you're 21.

[01:01:05] DEREK: I, I know.

[01:01:07] GORDON: My mom got me on whiskey at the age of 12.

[01:01:09] She put it on my tooth to numb a toothache.

[01:01:12] DEREK: Right. It'll do it.

[01:01:14] GORDON: Mom gave me whiskey at the age of 12 for a toothache.

[01:01:16] This guy's been drinking moonshine,

[01:01:17] you know, since the age of 14.

[01:01:19] Listen, we're brothers, we're joined at the hip.

[01:01:20] We're joined by moonshine.

[01:01:22] DEREK: Let's start shelling right here.

[01:01:25] It takes a lot of corn.

[01:01:27] GORDON: Derek is gonna show me how moonshine

[01:01:29] was made back in the day.

[01:01:30] No shortcuts, just good old 100 year old technology and

[01:01:34] some dried corn kernels.

[01:01:36] GORDON: Man, it's like going for a workout at the gym, this thing.

[01:01:39] (rattling)

[01:01:40] How old is this thing?

[01:01:41] DEREK: That's a 1906. GORDON: 1906?

[01:01:44] DEREK: I think it is. GORDON: Man.

[01:01:48] GORDON: It takes a little bit of elbow grease,

[01:01:50] but this rusty machine does the trick,

[01:01:52] sheering the kernels clean off the cob.

[01:01:55] (rattling)

[01:01:57] DEREK: I think that'll do.

[01:01:58] GORDON: Straight in? DEREK: Yep, put that in.

[01:02:02] GORDON: The second step is to get the

[01:02:04] kernels ground down with some more state of the art machinery.

[01:02:08] GORDON: So this is 1906, how old is this thing?

[01:02:10] DEREK: This is 1918 to 1921.

[01:02:13] GORDON: Now, how do we start this baby,

[01:02:14] where's the on button?

[01:02:15] DEREK: We gotta crank the tractor.

[01:02:17] GORDON: Hold on a minute, we have to start the tractor to

[01:02:19] get this machine on?

[01:02:20] DEREK: Right.

[01:02:21] GORDON: Speaking of age,

[01:02:22] the quickest way to turn me into a nine year old boy is to

[01:02:24] put me on a tractor.

[01:02:26] GORDON: I had no idea we were making moonshine with a tractor, trust me.

[01:02:28] And in the bloody rain.

[01:02:30] DEREK: We're in rain, man. GORDON: We're in the rain!

[01:02:31] Oh (bleep) my foot.

[01:02:36] DEREK: That's good, right there.

[01:02:38] GORDON: Moonshine! DEREK: That's it. We're go.

[01:02:42] GORDON: It's too, uh...

[01:02:43] That's incredible.

[01:02:45] GORDON: As the corn grinds,

[01:02:48] I remember that making moonshine is illegal and

[01:02:50] I'm not sure where the line is, where I go from

[01:02:53] internationally renowned chef to guy in a

[01:02:56] Smoky Mountain jail cell.

[01:02:58] GORDON: Into the bag?

[01:02:59] Are we gonna get busted by the cops?

[01:03:00] I've got a wife and five kids?

[01:03:01] I ain't got no criminal record.

[01:03:03] DEREK: Okay, alright.

[01:03:07] GORDON: What we doing with this now?

[01:03:08] DEREK: We're gonna load it up in Cody, my son's, car...

[01:03:14] GORDON: Is that him? DEREK: That's him.

[01:03:16] GORDON: That doesn't sound like a car,

[01:03:17] that sounds like, oh my goodness.

[01:03:18] (engine revving)

[01:03:23] Cody.

[01:03:24] CODY: How's it going? GORDON: How are you, captain?

[01:03:26] CODY: Good to meet you.

[01:03:26] GORDON: Good to see you, my man, we good?

[01:03:27] CODY: Yeah.

[01:03:28] GORDON: We're going up to the still, right?

[01:03:29] CODY: Oh yeah, come on in.

[01:03:30] GORDON: What a car, man.

[01:03:32] Derek, tell my wife I love her.

[01:03:35] DEREK: Alright. GORDON: Let's go.

[01:03:37] GORDON: I was worried about getting arrested.

[01:03:39] (tires screeching)

[01:03:41] Now I'm worried about staying alive.

[01:03:44] GORDON: (bleep)! Holy (bleep)!

[01:03:56] (tires screeching)

[01:03:59] GORDON: Holy (bleep)! Woo!

[01:04:05] GORDON: I'm here in the Smoky Mountains getting

[01:04:07] a crash course on moonshine and fast cars.

[01:04:12] In fact, NASCAR's roots stem from moonshiners racing their

[01:04:15] illegal hooch through the snaking back roads,

[01:04:17] trying to avoid the Feds.

[01:04:22] And the way Cody drives, the Feds don't stand a chance.

[01:04:25] GORDON: Woo! Holy (bleep)!

[01:04:27] CODY: That's how you drive a Hot Rod.

[01:04:30] GORDON: We've gotta walk from here?

[01:04:32] CODY: Yeah, all the way up to the top of the mountain here.

[01:04:33] GORDON: Okay.

[01:04:34] GORDON: Normally, moonshine is made at night,

[01:04:36] under the cloak of darkness.

[01:04:38] Lite only by the light of, you guessed it, the moon.

[01:04:42] GORDON: Bloody hell. This is it?

[01:04:44] CODY: Yes sir.

[01:04:48] GORDON: How long has this set up been like this?

[01:04:49] CODY: The still is over 100 year old family still.

[01:04:52] GORDON: Wow.

[01:04:54] CODY: In general, you'd wanna move 'em from time to time, you know.

[01:04:55] GORDON: So as we're not found out?

[01:04:57] CODY: Yeah, yeah.

[01:04:58] It's all gotta be put up right before you use it and then hidden.

[01:05:00] GORDON: But this is serious stuff, this stuff, right?

[01:05:02] CODY: Yeah. GORDON: Is this bit legal?

[01:05:04] CODY: Well, depends how you look at it.

[01:05:06] GORDON: Why?

[01:05:07] CODY: This is legal to make the beer.

[01:05:09] If you distill it, then it's illegal.

[01:05:11] GORDON: Got ya.

[01:05:12] CODY: First thing we're gonna do is, um, go ahead and

[01:05:14] put your corn in.

[01:05:19] And then we'll do what's called cooking it.

[01:05:21] Take this hot water we got over here and we dump it in

[01:05:23] and we'll stir it up.

[01:05:27] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:05:29] Go back decades and what moonshiners put up with,

[01:05:32] you know, how much graft went into making this stuff.

[01:05:34] We take it for granted now and

[01:05:35] we see it in the shiny bottles,

[01:05:37] but this is where it all started.

[01:05:38] CODY: The water start going in.

[01:05:40] GORDON: Oh (bleep).

[01:05:41] CODY: Oh you'll spill some, don't worry about that.

[01:05:42] It happens, it's a messy process.

[01:05:43] GORDON: That's right up to the top now.

[01:05:45] CODY: Alright. GORDON: Yeah.

[01:05:46] CODY: So the next step would be to light it.

[01:05:48] Now if you do that, it's illegal,

[01:05:50] you're, um, breaking, you know, federal law.

[01:05:52] A pretty serious one.

[01:05:54] GORDON: I need to find a way of getting one over William,

[01:05:57] so we have no moonshine ready?

[01:05:58] CODY: I got some. GORDON: Okay.

[01:06:00] CODY: Same recipe, same everything.

[01:06:01] This is brewed in my distillery in Nashville.

[01:06:03] GORDON: Got ya.

[01:06:04] GORDON: The only difference between the

[01:06:05] outlawed hooch made in the back woods and the legal stuff

[01:06:08] Cody makes now is taxation and permits.

[01:06:12] GORDON: 50% alcohol. CODY: Yeah.

[01:06:14] GORDON: But Cody assures me my taste buds won't

[01:06:16] know the difference.

[01:06:18] GORDON: Cheers, man. You gonna take a swig?

[01:06:20] CODY: Hell yeah, I'll drink out of the jar.

[01:06:26] (coughs)

[01:06:29] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:06:30] (coughing)

[01:06:34] I feel like a (bleep) flame thrower.

[01:06:36] (laughs)

[01:06:37] GORDON: Is that not strong for you?

[01:06:38] CODY: No, no. I'm used to it. GORDON: Oh my God!

[01:06:41] (coughs)

[01:06:42] CODY: I do have a toned down version,

[01:06:43] if you want the apple pie.

[01:06:46] GORDON: So this is the apple one?

[01:06:47] CODY: Yeah. GORDON: So, may I?

[01:06:50] CODY: Yeah, go for it.

[01:06:52] (coughs)

[01:06:54] GORDON: Oh, sweet as well. CODY: Yeah.

[01:06:55] GORDON: And a nice, sort of almost like a

[01:06:56] caramel flavored apple at the end.

[01:06:58] That's the winner.

[01:07:00] I'm hoping things like that moonshine,

[01:07:01] especially the apple caramel moonshine can help

[01:07:04] elevate this thing.

[01:07:05] Good man.

[01:07:13] North Carolina is the second largest producer of hogs

[01:07:16] across the whole of the USA, so there's no way I'm going

[01:07:20] into the final cook without pork.

[01:07:23] GORDON: With only two days before I go head to head with William,

[01:07:26] I'm on my way to meet a super talented butcher

[01:07:28] who prepares something the locals rave about.

[01:07:30] (car horn honks)

[01:07:32] It's called livermush and with a name like that,

[01:07:34] it has to be good.

[01:07:36] GORDON: Matt.

[01:07:37] MATT: Hey, how're you doing? GORDON: How are you, bud?

[01:07:38] MATT: Good. Good to see you, glad you made it.

[01:07:39] GORDON: You good? MATT: Yeah, absolutely.

[01:07:40] GORDON: Oh my lord, absolute pleasure.

[01:07:41] Now, William said that the livermush is a delicacy.

[01:07:45] MATT: Absolutely.

[01:07:47] GORDON: From a Chef's point of view, I'm dying to get my hands on it.

[01:07:48] What's so special about it?

[01:07:49] MATT: It's a staple of western North Carolina.

[01:07:51] GORDON: It doesn't sound appetizing.

[01:07:52] MATT: It's got a weird name.

[01:07:53] GORDON: Livermush. MATT: Yes sir.

[01:07:54] GORDON: Is it like eating pressed pork? Is it...

[01:07:57] MATT: It's kind of like pate, but in a different way because

[01:07:58] instead of having a panade in it,

[01:08:00] it's got corn meal as a binder.

[01:08:01] GORDON: And did you say pate?

[01:08:03] Cause you've gone all posh on me, a little bit of French in that.

[01:08:04] MATT: Yeah, a little bit, a little bit.

[01:08:05] And kinda like a southern cousin of pate, if you will.

[01:08:07] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:08:08] MATT: Go ahead and dice up some pork shoulder,

[01:08:09] dice up a little pork liver and we'll add it to our pot of simmering stock over here.

[01:08:10] GORDON: Gotcha. Gotcha.

[01:08:12] Now, is it something that you would eat Thanksgiving, Christmas?

[01:08:14] MATT: It's more of a breakfast food around here.

[01:08:16] Absolutely. I'm dead serious.

[01:08:18] (laughs)

[01:08:20] GORDON: Stop. Stop. (bleep) you got the guns on there.

[01:08:22] Okay, gotcha.

[01:08:23] GORDON: Every layer you peel away from

[01:08:25] the Smoky Mountain onion is fascinating.

[01:08:28] Who would have thought of pork liver as a breakfast staple.

[01:08:31] I can't wait to cook this for my kids.

[01:08:34] GORDON: So all the pork? MATT: Uh-huh.

[01:08:35] GORDON: And what's that just boiling water?

[01:08:37] MATT: It's pork stock. GORDON: Pork stock.

[01:08:39] MATT: Yes sir.

[01:08:39] Fortified it with a few trotters,

[01:08:40] to give it more gelatin.

[01:08:41] GORDON: Trotters are pig's feet.

[01:08:43] Between those and the liver, this is shaping up to be one

[01:08:46] of those sausages most people don't want to see made, but I do.

[01:08:50] GORDON: So that cooks for how long?

[01:08:52] MATT: About an hour.

[01:08:53] GORDON: Shall we take a coffee,

[01:08:54] a little beer, what shall we do?

[01:08:56] MATT: Let's go see the pigs. GORDON: Go see the pigs.

[01:08:57] MATT: Yes sir, they're not far.

[01:08:58] You're gonna need these.

[01:09:00] GORDON: Is it like wallowing deep mud?

[01:09:01] MATT: Oh yeah, yeah, we're gonna go to the wallow for sure.

[01:09:03] GORDON: Matt, seriously.

[01:09:05] GORDON: I've actually raised a few pigs

[01:09:06] in my time and, if they taught me anything,

[01:09:09] it's that I never want to raise pigs again.

[01:09:12] This won't end well.

[01:09:14] GORDON: My God.

[01:09:18] ♪ ♪

[01:09:20] (snorting)

[01:09:23] GORDON: My God, they are gorgeous.

[01:09:25] Beautiful.

[01:09:26] ASHER: Hey guys. GORDON: Hi, good morning.

[01:09:27] ASHER: Hey, welcome.

[01:09:28] GORDON: You good? Good to see you, bud.

[01:09:29] MATT: I think I'll drop him off with you, man.

[01:09:30] ASHER: Awesome. GORDON: Dude see you later.

[01:09:32] ASHER: Let's do it. GORDON: Um...

[01:09:33] These are gorgeous.

[01:09:34] ASHER: These are. These are our Mamas here, we call 'em sows.

[01:09:36] GORDON: Asher has been raising hogs for over

[01:09:38] 15 years and he tells me what makes these ones special is

[01:09:42] that they're kept outside year round,

[01:09:44] which encourages natural behaviors,

[01:09:47] like rooting and foraging.

[01:09:49] GORDON: And the age, how old are they?

[01:09:50] ASHER: Uh, these girls are about two and a half.

[01:09:52] GORDON: Really.

[01:09:53] ASHER: And then Owen, Owen's kind of our senior boar on

[01:09:55] the scene here, he's about five.

[01:09:57] GORDON: Look at him.

[01:09:59] Owen, come on, sat there wallowing in mud with

[01:10:02] four gorgeous pigs around him.

[01:10:04] What is he, 400 pound?

[01:10:05] ASHER: No these guys pushing, he's probably 600 to 650.

[01:10:09] GORDON: Man.

[01:10:10] GORDON: Owen is my new hero.

[01:10:11] I want him to become my best friend and tell me the secret

[01:10:15] to keeping my wife happy while I just blissfully lie around

[01:10:18] in my boxer shorts.

[01:10:20] ASHER: We're gonna give him some apples first,

[01:10:21] just to butter 'em up.

[01:10:22] And just like feeding a horse,

[01:10:24] just kind of stick it out to him.

[01:10:25] GORDON: Gotcha Hey man, hey.

[01:10:29] Hey, big man. Come on.

[01:10:30] Come on, bud.

[01:10:32] Hey. Man.

[01:10:33] GORDON: Owen wants nothing to do with me,

[01:10:35] I think he knows I'll never be the player he is.

[01:10:38] ASHER: Why don't you get one of these girls,

[01:10:39] they'll take one.

[01:10:41] GORDON: Man, hey, man.

[01:10:42] Hey, come here.

[01:10:43] ASHER: Oh they're getting pumped.

[01:10:45] GORDON: They are beautiful.

[01:10:47] ASHER: Well, shall we feed 'em some grain too?

[01:10:49] GORDON: Yeah.

[01:10:50] Oh. Hey.

[01:10:52] ASHER: Here, pig, pig.

[01:10:53] GORDON: He is amazing, Owen, my God.

[01:10:56] Come on.

[01:10:58] ASHER: Take a look on the back, you see the goods.

[01:10:59] GORDON: Uh, oh my lord!

[01:11:02] (laughs)

[01:11:03] GORDON: (bleep), like two footballs down there.

[01:11:05] That is insane.

[01:11:07] GORDON: I wonder what size shoe Owen wears?

[01:11:10] ASHER: Spread that bucket over about half of these pales.

[01:11:13] GORDON: Gotcha

[01:11:14] ASHER: Here pig, pig, pig.

[01:11:16] GORDON: Jeez. Hey, hey. Hey.

[01:11:20] (bleep). (bleep).

[01:11:23] ASHER: Yeah, you gotta move quick.

[01:11:24] GORDON: You've gotta move very quick.

[01:11:26] ASHER: Other things they eat besides the feed here is stuff

[01:11:29] that's out in the pasture.

[01:11:30] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:11:32] ASHER: So they're eating roots and bugs and mushrooms and

[01:11:34] they forage and that adding parts of flavor in the meat

[01:11:37] that you don't get from being inside.

[01:11:39] GORDON: No.

[01:11:40] The pigs, the way they feed.

[01:11:40] The Granny Smith treats.

[01:11:42] They're moving pens every two or three weeks for

[01:11:43] a much greater feed.

[01:11:45] They're wallowing in the mud 24/7,

[01:11:47] it's an amazing find, that quality of pig.

[01:11:51] I'm gonna head back down and get tucking into this liver, livermush?

[01:11:54] ASHER: Livermush, you got it.

[01:11:55] GORDON: Good to see you, bud. AHSER: Thank you so much.

[01:11:56] GORDON: Beautiful pigs.

[01:11:59] They were incredible.

[01:12:00] Has that boiled?

[01:12:01] MATT: Yes sir.

[01:12:02] GORDON: So it has to be very, oh wow.

[01:12:04] That's gonna be very gelatinous.

[01:12:06] MATT: Yes. We're gonna strain it with this spider over here,

[01:12:08] we're gonna take the solids out and

[01:12:09] then we're gonna grind 'em.

[01:12:10] GORDON: And that's fully cooked.

[01:12:11] I love those little aromats in there as well.

[01:12:13] (grinding)

[01:12:16] MATT: There you go.

[01:12:17] Beautiful. Perfect.

[01:12:19] Alright, we'll kill that.

[01:12:21] Give that a little stir and we'll see what it looks like.

[01:12:23] GORDON: And so now it's getting to the mushy part, so.

[01:12:25] MATT: Mhm. Now you're seeing why it's named that.

[01:12:26] GORDON: That's why it's called livermush.

[01:12:28] MATT: We're gonna add one of those containers of corn meal.

[01:12:31] GORDON: That's enough? MATT: That's it.

[01:12:32] That's ready to go. Yes sir.

[01:12:33] And we would pour that into a pan and we would let it set in

[01:12:35] the fridge and then we would come out and it would look

[01:12:37] something like this guy right here.

[01:12:39] GORDON: Wow, so that's it there.

[01:12:40] MATT: That's it there.

[01:12:41] And you feel how dense it is now.

[01:12:42] GORDON: Yeah, it's very dense.

[01:12:43] MATT: Absolutely. GORDON: That's amazing.

[01:12:45] So in we go, hot pan.

[01:12:47] GORDON: After a quick sear on the grill,

[01:12:48] we put this on a traditional southern biscuit and tuck in.

[01:12:51] GORDON: It's got a beautiful color on there, right?

[01:12:53] MATT: It does, it does. Here you go, sir.

[01:12:56] GORDON: Thank you.

[01:12:59] Oh my God.

[01:13:01] (laughs)

[01:13:03] That is delicious.

[01:13:05] MATT: What's better than that?

[01:13:06] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:13:07] Livermush, doesn't sound the most appetizing on a menu,

[01:13:09] but let me tell you, honestly, delicious.

[01:13:12] It takes me back to my commis chef days in Paris,

[01:13:15] just getting down to the basic ingredients and

[01:13:19] transform it into something magical.

[01:13:20] Oh my God, wow.

[01:13:21] That has got me going, honestly.

[01:13:23] MATT: Good, I like it.

[01:13:24] GORDON: Uh, wow.

[01:13:25] At the beginning of the journey,

[01:13:26] William's going on about livermush.

[01:13:27] I'm like, mush?

[01:13:28] Are you kidding me? Liver, mush, really?

[01:13:30] I get it now.

[01:13:32] So hats off to Smoky Mountain's heritage

[01:13:35] because it is delicious.

[01:13:36] GORDON: Take care. MATT: Yes sir.

[01:13:37] GORDON: See you at the end of the week.

[01:13:38] MATT: Thank you.

[01:13:40] GORDON: And I have to take that and present it in a really cool way,

[01:13:42] otherwise I'm gonna get kicked out of those mountains.

[01:13:52] It's the day before the big cook,

[01:13:54] and I've got one last very important stop on the border

[01:13:58] of the Great Smoky Mountains is the national park that is

[01:14:03] inhabited by the Cherokee Indians.

[01:14:06] GORDON: I've heard that there's a Cherokee dish that I

[01:14:09] need to taste to believe.

[01:14:12] GORDON: We are right in the thick of the woods.

[01:14:16] Maliya, there you are.

[01:14:18] (speaking in native language)

[01:14:22] GORDON: What does that mean?

[01:14:23] MALIYA: It means hello Gordon and how are you?

[01:14:25] GORDON: I'm so happy to be here.

[01:14:26] Now Hom, Homalee?

[01:14:28] MALIYA: Hominy. GORDON: Hominy, excuse me.

[01:14:30] MALIYA: Hominy. GORDON: Hominy.

[01:14:31] GORDON: Hominy is very unique traditional native American food.

[01:14:35] It's basically corn on steroids.

[01:14:37] And I'm finally about to see how it's made.

[01:14:40] MALIYA: The process of turning the corn to Hominy just relies

[01:14:44] on this ash, this hickory ash and the corn

[01:14:47] and water and heat.

[01:14:48] GORDON: Oh really? MALIYA: Yeah.

[01:14:50] First off, if you can finish getting the rest of these kernels off.

[01:14:52] And once you get a few of 'em, see you're looking like a pro.

[01:14:55] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:14:56] MALIYA: And then we're gonna come over with our ash and

[01:14:57] go over to the fire.

[01:14:59] GORDON: That ash will turn it black, won't it?

[01:15:00] MALIYA: It's the lye that's in the ash that we need to remove

[01:15:03] the coat off of the kernels, it makes it easier to digest.

[01:15:07] GORDON: Now, I know why there's such a

[01:15:09] buzz around this dish.

[01:15:11] There is lye in hickory ash, which is extremely corrosive.

[01:15:15] I'm excited to be shown what this unique ingredient will do

[01:15:18] to humble corn kernels.

[01:15:20] MALIYA: And it also makes some more amino acids available to you.

[01:15:23] GORDON: Okay.

[01:15:24] MALIYA: And you have less vitamin deficiencies.

[01:15:26] GORDON: It makes sense that the Cherokee

[01:15:28] developed a recipe that would maximize nutrients,

[01:15:30] but I'm not sold on this dish just yet.

[01:15:34] GORDON: So does the ash turn it bitter?

[01:15:36] MALIYA: It doesn't turn it bitter,

[01:15:37] but it does give it a different taste.

[01:15:39] GORDON: Yeah, see it doesn't look appetizing.

[01:15:40] MALIYA: Well, I'm sure sometimes when you make a dish,

[01:15:43] it doesn't look that appetizing until you're all the way done, right?

[01:15:46] GORDON: Maliya has obviously never seen me cook.

[01:15:49] While we wait for this caustic mixture to work its magic,

[01:15:52] I learn about the traditional way of grinding corn.

[01:15:56] GORDON: Straight in? MALIYA: Yes. Alright.

[01:15:59] GORDON: Does that go in there?

[01:16:00] MALIYA: Which?

[01:16:01] GORDON: Is that right, round, pound?

[01:16:03] MALIYA: What do you think?

[01:16:04] GORDON: Well, it looks like the sort of,

[01:16:06] that end's too big for the hole,

[01:16:07] but then that doesn't.

[01:16:09] No, let's try this way.

[01:16:10] MALIYA: So how may kids to you have?

[01:16:11] GORDON: Well, no. Maliya, please.

[01:16:15] (bleep) girl, honestly.

[01:16:16] MALIYA: Alright, so I'll give you a little help,

[01:16:18] I'll give you a little help.

[01:16:19] GORDON: It won't go down the hole.

[01:16:20] MALIYA: Turn it around.

[01:16:21] GORDON: Oh you do turn it around?

[01:16:22] MALIYA: You do turn it around.

[01:16:23] GORDON: So the secret's not to go too hard, right?

[01:16:25] MALIYA: Right.

[01:16:27] (grunts)

[01:16:29] I'll have to teach you how to say help me in Cherokee, it's...

[01:16:33] GORDON: Yes please.

[01:16:34] (speaking in native language)

[01:16:39] GORDON: It means help.

[01:16:40] And right now, I need a (bleep) ton of it.

[01:16:43] MALIYA: So you are using a lot.

[01:16:45] GORDON: Am I?

[01:16:47] Look how slow you're going.

[01:16:49] MALIYA: Work smarter, not harder, right?

[01:16:51] GORDON: Yes. Yes ma'am.

[01:16:52] MALIYA: Indigenous science, right.

[01:16:54] GORDON: Gotcha, slow and steady, here we go.

[01:16:58] Doesn't feel right.

[01:17:00] (laughs)

[01:17:01] GORDON: I'm sure you'd like to keep watching me

[01:17:03] awkwardly poke around, but thankfully it's time to try

[01:17:06] our Hominy which has been thoroughly rinsed and

[01:17:08] mixed with beans.

[01:17:10] GORDON: That looks, I mean, it's almost like a sort of

[01:17:11] French Cassoulet, you know, like a bean stew.

[01:17:14] MALIYA: Yeah.

[01:17:19] GORDON: Mmm. Lovely.

[01:17:22] MALIYA: Mm. Been waiting for that all day.

[01:17:24] GORDON: That is delicious, oh my God.

[01:17:26] The corn and the beans, on a different level.

[01:17:29] She elevated that dish into something quite luxurious.

[01:17:32] That Cherokee history is so prevalent today and

[01:17:36] I need to tap into that.

[01:17:37] If I don't tap into that, I'm, I'm dead meat.

[01:17:40] MALIYA: See ya. GORDON: Good to see ya girl.

[01:17:41] Thank you.

[01:17:45] GORDON: I've got a great arsenal of ingredients for

[01:17:47] the big cook.

[01:17:48] But come on, I know William has been cooking from

[01:17:51] this land for the locals for decades.

[01:17:53] This is a competition and, honestly,

[01:17:56] I do not like to lose.

[01:18:05] ♪ ♪

[01:18:14] GORDON: William!

[01:18:15] WILLIAM: Gordon, what's up, man?

[01:18:16] What do you think? Did you enjoy the Smokies?

[01:18:17] GORDON: I'm moving here.

[01:18:19] WILLIAM: It's amazing, man, look at this view.

[01:18:20] GORDON: I mean, honestly, good to see you, my man.

[01:18:21] WILLIAM: Good to see you. GORDON: Oh boy, what a week.

[01:18:23] WILLIAM: I hope you enjoyed everything.

[01:18:24] GORDON: It was incredible.

[01:18:25] You nervous?

[01:18:26] WILLIAM: Not at all. GORDON: Oh come on, man.

[01:18:28] WILLIAM: Oh man.

[01:18:29] I know the ingredients like the back of my hand.

[01:18:30] GORDON: You are competitive.

[01:18:31] WILLIAM: We did have a little wager that we, uh, lined up, right?

[01:18:34] GORDON: You still wanna go down that line?

[01:18:35] WILLIAM: I can't wait, first class over to London.

[01:18:36] Ten course meal at your restaurant.

[01:18:38] GORDON: That's a beautiful jeep by the way.

[01:18:40] Got me around beautifully.

[01:18:41] GORDON: Seems like William hasn't forgotten

[01:18:42] about our bet, so it's time for the games to begin.

[01:18:45] WILLIAM: What you got going on over here?

[01:18:47] GORDON: So I'm gonna start off with my Hominy.

[01:18:49] So I'm gonna do the, uh, corn,

[01:18:50] strip that back with the beans.

[01:18:51] Maliya gave me this knowledge for this Hominy and

[01:18:54] I'm just gonna lift it up a little bit,

[01:18:56] put some of that delicious smoked ham.

[01:18:58] WILLIAM: Speaking of beans,

[01:18:59] I'm starting to get my leather britches going.

[01:19:00] GORDON: You're getting your what going?

[01:19:02] WILLIAM: Leather britches.

[01:19:03] There's a type of bean we grow here in region called a greasy bean.

[01:19:05] But after you dry them out,

[01:19:07] they call them leather britches because,

[01:19:08] well, they look like leather britches.

[01:19:10] GORDON: That's incredible, I've never seen those.

[01:19:12] GORDON: Right out of the gate,

[01:19:13] William has an ingredient I've never heard of and I know his

[01:19:17] local expertise is gonna make winning this bet a challenge.

[01:19:21] But I've still got a few tricks he won't see coming.

[01:19:24] Time to break out the hen of the woods.

[01:19:27] GORDON: Beautiful. WILLIAM: Look at this thing.

[01:19:30] GORDON: Damn.

[01:19:32] He definitely saw that coming.

[01:19:35] GORDON: And what you gonna do with it?

[01:19:36] WILLIAM: So I'm gonna make this into kind of a classic mushroom gratin,

[01:19:39] uh, since we're in the Smokies and Appalachia,

[01:19:42] we'll add a little Bourbon.

[01:19:43] GORDON: You're doing a gratin in the mountains?

[01:19:45] WILLIAM: In the mountains.

[01:19:46] GORDON: Man, you're getting posh, you know that?

[01:19:47] WILLIAM: Oh yeah.

[01:19:48] GORDON: Okay, now I'm getting a bit nervous

[01:19:50] because it's clear William's showed up to win.

[01:19:52] But, as always, so did I.

[01:19:54] GORDON: Look at those, look at that there.

[01:19:56] Oh my God. So beautiful.

[01:19:58] And that ham is doing its job.

[01:20:04] WILLIAM: So you got to try some moonshine, right?

[01:20:05] GORDON: I did. It knocked me on my ass.

[01:20:07] WILLIAM: Back in my college days,

[01:20:08] I learned a fun trick.

[01:20:09] You ever tried a ice luge in college?

[01:20:11] You know, when you take vodka down the ice block.

[01:20:14] GORDON: I was working hard, William.

[01:20:15] WILLIAM: We're doing a little country ham and Bourbon luge.

[01:20:17] GORDON: On this ham? WILLIAM: Yeah.

[01:20:18] So we've, I've cut a little V channel in this ham,

[01:20:21] this is a 25 month aged country ham.

[01:20:23] So if you grab your glass and just put it right at

[01:20:26] the bottom there.

[01:20:27] Just hold it right there.

[01:20:28] And then we're gonna pour down the bottom there.

[01:20:30] (laughs)

[01:20:31] WILLIAM: And then you're gonna take a drink of that.

[01:20:32] GORDON: Are you trying to get me drunk?

[01:20:34] BOTH: Cheers.

[01:20:36] GORDON: I got work to do.

[01:20:37] Oh my lord.

[01:20:40] WILLIAM: Alright, now chase it with some of this.

[01:20:41] GORDON: What's the ham for?

[01:20:42] WILLIAM: Chases the, chases the Bourbon away.

[01:20:44] GORDON: Chases the Bourbon away,

[01:20:45] just close my (bleep) up.

[01:20:47] WILLIAM: This is 25 month aged ham,

[01:20:49] it's like prosciutto, right?

[01:20:50] GORDON: Chef William threw the gauntlet down,

[01:20:51] threw his car in the mix.

[01:20:53] (coughs)

[01:20:54] GORDON: And then came in with the Bourbon.

[01:20:56] Really? That's the bit I shouldn't be touching.

[01:20:58] Bloody hell.

[01:21:00] WILLIAM: Gordon, what are you doing over there?

[01:21:01] GORDON: So I'm gonna fry off these incredible Andouille.

[01:21:05] And that's gonna be my sort of finishing touch with the Hominy.

[01:21:09] WILLIAM: I'm starting my griddle cakes up.

[01:21:10] Fry these up nice and crispy,

[01:21:12] will be a great base to put my crawfish on.

[01:21:15] GORDON: Right, livermush, here we go.

[01:21:19] I'm gonna get my biscuits a little bit crispier.

[01:21:21] WILLIAM: I don't know, man, that's not really how we cook

[01:21:22] those here in the south.

[01:21:23] GORDON: No? WILLIAM: No.

[01:21:24] GORDON: Well I'm taking a gamble,

[01:21:26] cause it's a beautiful car.

[01:21:28] Mm.

[01:21:30] (laughs)

[01:21:32] WILLIAM: Gonna be finishing up my griddle cakes,

[01:21:34] then we're gonna cook some trout and some crawfish and

[01:21:36] be ready to plate up.

[01:21:37] GORDON: Can you slow down, please,

[01:21:38] or give me some more of that Bourbon, please?

[01:21:40] WILLIAM: You want another shot?

[01:21:41] GORDON: No, no, no, no, no, no.

[01:21:45] WILLIAM: Alright, so I'm gonna stuff these beautiful rainbow trout

[01:21:46] with a little bit of thyme and some lemon.

[01:21:49] GORDON: Wow, they look beautiful.

[01:21:51] Do you serve them whole?

[01:21:52] WILLIAM: We are gonna serve 'em the whole.

[01:21:53] GORDON: Nice.

[01:21:54] WILLIAM: Oh there you go, nice sizzle.

[01:21:56] GORDON: Crawfish, oh my God.

[01:21:59] Quick, in and out.

[01:22:01] I'm gonna blanch them very, very quickly.

[01:22:03] Get them out of the shell.

[01:22:04] WILLIAM: Your restaurants though they do this table side, right?

[01:22:07] GORDON: Yeah, that's right.

[01:22:08] WILLIAM: You know, maybe Flambé a sauce, table side.

[01:22:10] GORDON: Exactly that.

[01:22:11] WILLIAM: You think they'll do that for me when I come?

[01:22:12] (laughs)

[01:22:14] GORDON: I'm gonna use just a touch of my apple moonshine

[01:22:19] in the crawfish.

[01:22:20] WILLIAM: You're not gonna share?

[01:22:21] GORDON: Not yet, no, no.

[01:22:23] Oh my God.

[01:22:24] Come on, just have a little smell of that.

[01:22:26] WILLIAM: Oh yeah, that's great.

[01:22:28] GORDON: Someone's about to lose his Jeep.

[01:22:31] Mm. Mm. Mm. Um.

[01:22:35] WILLIAM: Look at that, Chef, come on.

[01:22:37] GORDON: Okay, I've got ya.

[01:22:39] When I took a little sneak peek at William's trouts,

[01:22:42] it was just, it was like this oasis of colors.

[01:22:45] It was just the perfect rainbow trout.

[01:22:48] Welcome. Ladies.

[01:22:49] WILLIAM: Hey, welcome folks.

[01:22:51] Everybody, nice to see you all.

[01:22:52] GORDON: Eggs on.

[01:22:53] WILLIAM: Chef, do you see this?

[01:22:55] Look at this, this is (bleep) beautiful.

[01:22:56] (laughs)

[01:22:57] GORDON: The moment of truth has arrived.

[01:22:59] My beautiful dishes will be going head to head with

[01:23:02] William's stunning creations.

[01:23:05] GORDON: Man, that has lit up, you ready?

[01:23:08] WILLIAM: Let's do it. GORDON: Let's do it, my man.

[01:23:10] GORDON: It's time to find out if I'll be leaving

[01:23:12] the Smoky Mountains with the key to my new favorite truck.

[01:23:16] WILLIAM: Nice job.

[01:23:17] GORDON: Man, that looks stunning.

[01:23:22] ♪ ♪

[01:23:26] GORDON: So good to see you all.

[01:23:28] SAM: Good to see you.

[01:23:30] GORDON: It's time to serve the guests who

[01:23:31] helped me this week and find out

[01:23:33] who will walk away a winner.

[01:23:36] GORDON: I'll give you an insight to what I've prepared.

[01:23:37] I gotta go to the best pork anywhere in the country, livermush,

[01:23:40] I know it doesn't sound the most appetizing,

[01:23:42] but my God, were they incredible.

[01:23:43] So we got a toasted scone with pickled onions and then a

[01:23:47] fried quail's egg and then those mushrooms that we went

[01:23:49] and grasped in the rain.

[01:23:51] And then this Hominy.

[01:23:53] Um, I used the Andouille, the mirepoix,

[01:23:55] cooked the smoked ham knuckle in the middle.

[01:23:57] And finally, the most dangerous crawfish anywhere in

[01:24:00] the country when I went ass over tip down,

[01:24:02] down a ravine that someone didn't tell me about,

[01:24:05] but we managed.

[01:24:07] My pants were as brown as that water, sir.

[01:24:09] (laughing)

[01:24:10] GORDON: So there we have our beautiful grit and crawfish,

[01:24:12] uh, it's finished with apple moonshine,

[01:24:15] that's the sweetness across the crawfish.

[01:24:17] Chef.

[01:24:18] WILLIAM: Alright guys, we have some beautiful food here,

[01:24:20] sunburst rainbow trout, uh.

[01:24:22] We also have made some kind of traditional griddle cake,

[01:24:24] so kind of a cornmeal rice cake.

[01:24:27] And then we've taken the, uh, crawfish and I made a little

[01:24:30] relish with sour corn and country ham on top.

[01:24:33] Back there, we took the beautiful wild hen of the wood mushrooms

[01:24:36] and kind of turned that into traditional gratin.

[01:24:38] GORDON: That is a feast beyond belief.

[01:24:41] WILLIAM: So we had a little gentleman's bet going earlier this week, right?

[01:24:45] Gordon's been driving my four wheel drive truck around all week.

[01:24:48] And so if he wins the bet, he gets the keys to the truck.

[01:24:51] If I win the bet, he's flying me first class over to London

[01:24:55] and feeding me a what?

[01:24:57] A 20 course meal you said at your name sake restaurant.

[01:24:59] So no pressure, guys, no pressure.

[01:25:02] GORDON: Guys, enjoy, please. WILLIAM: Cheers, guys.

[01:25:04] GORDON: Thank you.

[01:25:06] Oh boy.

[01:25:07] MATT: Where shall we start?

[01:25:08] MALIYA: I'm excited.

[01:25:10] Oh my gosh, this looks beautiful.

[01:25:11] Mm.

[01:25:13] SAM: Pickled onions. MALIYA: Pickled onions.

[01:25:16] WILLIAM: I told you it's all about the culture and

[01:25:17] the heritage here.

[01:25:18] GORDON: Yeah.

[01:25:19] WILLIAM: So I think you did a great job though learning

[01:25:20] about all the different techniques and

[01:25:22] the ingredients of the region.

[01:25:24] SAM: Livermush, it's so rich.

[01:25:27] GORDON: Man, they're digging in.

[01:25:28] WILLIAM: Yeah, it looks like they like that livermush.

[01:25:30] MATT: What's your favorite?

[01:25:38] GORDON: Think they're ready for the verdict.

[01:25:39] WILLIAM: Think so, looks like they're finishing up.

[01:25:41] GORDON: Where's your keys?

[01:25:42] WILLIAM: Oh man, where's the airline ticket?

[01:25:48] GORDON: Did I just hear silence in the mountains? Good?

[01:25:52] SAM: Very much so. GORDON: The mushrooms?

[01:25:58] WILLIAM: That gratin though, right?

[01:25:59] (laughs)

[01:26:00] ALAN: Yeah. WILLIAM: Crunchy top on there.

[01:26:01] ALAN: I did like that top.

[01:26:03] GORDON: How was those beautiful trout?

[01:26:04] MALIYA: That was very good.

[01:26:05] SAM: Delicious.

[01:26:08] SAM: That puree underneath was delicious.

[01:26:10] GORDON: So far William's dishes are knocking

[01:26:13] it out of the park.

[01:26:14] Time to find out if this Scot can measure up and

[01:26:16] if my dark horse, the livermush, will win the guests over.

[01:26:20] Dare I ask, how was the livermush?

[01:26:23] MATT: The livermush was great. SAM: Amazing. So good.

[01:26:25] KEITH: I really liked the pickled onions with it.

[01:26:26] GORDON: Amazing. MALIYA: It tastes like home.

[01:26:28] GORDON: It tastes like home.

[01:26:29] MALIYA: That's right. GORDON: How were the crawfish? KEITH: I loved 'em.

[01:26:33] GORDON: Could you get any of that apple moonshine?

[01:26:35] CODY: Yeah.

[01:26:36] GORDON: Hominy? MALIYA: It was really good.

[01:26:38] I would just cook it just a little bit more.

[01:26:40] GORDON: That's you rushing me.

[01:26:42] (laughing)

[01:26:43] GORDON: Right, put one of us out of our misery.

[01:26:45] Who's gonna call it?

[01:26:47] KEITH: Who's gonna call it? What you think, guys?

[01:26:49] ALL: Oh boy.

[01:26:50] MATT: Close.

[01:26:51] WILLIAM: The anxiety, nerve racking here.

[01:26:54] ALAN: I liked these two better.

[01:26:55] ASHER: Right. Yeah.

[01:26:56] Sorry Gordon, I think we've gotta go with the home town, boy.

[01:26:58] (laughing)

[01:27:00] WILLIAM: Oh man, that first class flight.

[01:27:02] What kind of champagne do they serve on British Airways?

[01:27:04] (laughing)

[01:27:05] GORDON: The local edge won, um, rightly so.

[01:27:08] But the exciting thing for me is how much I've learned.

[01:27:11] Today wasn't about winning,

[01:27:12] today was about getting up to speed,

[01:27:14] and I still think it's one of the best kept culinary secrets

[01:27:17] on the planet because what they do is incredible.

[01:27:19] Thank you for making me feel incredibly special.

[01:27:22] And you, a big congratulations.

[01:27:24] GORDON: Amazing, incredible. WILLIAM: I've had so much fun.

[01:27:25] GORDON: Amazing, amazing, mate.

[01:27:27] And God bless, take care, see you soon.

[01:27:28] WILLIAM: Hey, I'll see you soon in London.

[01:27:29] GORDON: Yeah. Yes! First class.

[01:27:33] My time here in the Great Smoky Mountains has been incredible.

[01:27:37] I got to play in a river and

[01:27:38] catch those delicious crawfish.

[01:27:40] Trample through the forest to get my hands on those prized mushrooms.

[01:27:43] And I learned some secrets of generations past.

[01:27:48] Whilst I only scratched the surface of the incredible history here.

[01:27:50] Honestly, I'm humbled and honored for the experience.

[01:27:54] But now, on to my next adventure.

[01:28:06] GORDON: Ready? BOB: Let's do it.

[01:28:09] GORDON: Now he's staring at me.

[01:28:10] (rattling and hissing)

[01:28:12] BOB: You're gonna have to get closer than that.

[01:28:14] GORDON: Christ.

[01:28:15] BOB: But you just wanna secure the part that bites.

[01:28:16] GORODN: Oh (bleep)... BOB: Mhm.

[01:28:21] Right behind you Gordon.

[01:28:22] (rattling and hissing)

[01:28:25] He's angry now.

[01:28:26] GORDON: Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out.

[01:28:31] ♪ ♪

[01:28:35] GORDON: I'm in Texas, the Lone Star State.

[01:28:38] Famous for its oil, cattle and searing heat.

[01:28:41] My journey starts 90 miles south west of Houston,

[01:28:44] in Markham, a vast rugged area.

[01:28:47] Larger than most countries in Europe.

[01:28:49] They say every thing's bigger in Texas.

[01:28:52] And I hope to find out what that really means.

[01:28:56] I'm here to meet talented chef,

[01:28:59] Texan born, Justin Yu.

[01:29:02] And he's gonna introduce me to this incredible hearty land,

[01:29:05] so I can really dig deep and

[01:29:07] experience all it has to offer.

[01:29:17] What the hell?

[01:29:20] Justin, good to see you bud.

[01:29:23] JUSTIN: Gordon. GORDON: What a pleasure.

[01:29:25] JUSTIN: You sweating already?

[01:29:26] GORDON: I am definitely sweating.

[01:29:27] JUSTIN: About to put you to work.

[01:29:28] Welcome to Texas.

[01:29:31] GORDON: Houston native, Justin Yu was raised on Texan classics.

[01:29:35] This award-winning chef sharpened his skills in

[01:29:38] Michelin star kitchens in Europe and California before

[01:29:41] returning to his roots.

[01:29:44] At city favorite Theodore Rex his acclaimed dishes show case

[01:29:47] the freshness and exciting variety of local Texan ingredients.

[01:29:52] What you doing?

[01:29:54] JUSTIN: We're cutting mesquite here.

[01:29:55] Mesquite is the hardest wood to ever cut,

[01:29:58] but it's got the best flavor.

[01:29:59] GORDON: Really? Texas chainsaw chef.

[01:30:01] JUSTIN: I'm from Houston originally.

[01:30:03] GORDON: Good.

[01:30:03] JUSTIN: But my family's from Hong Kong.

[01:30:05] But that's the thing about Texas.

[01:30:06] GORDON: Right.

[01:30:07] JUSTIN: There's a lot of flavor going on.

[01:30:08] GORDON: Right.

[01:30:09] JUSTIN: And I'm part of that flavor.

[01:30:10] GORDON: I thought we were gonna have a little bite

[01:30:11] to eat and sort of get up to speed.

[01:30:12] JUSTIN: No, no, no, no. You gotta work.

[01:30:14] I got a chili going.

[01:30:15] GORDON: Can we taste the chili first?

[01:30:16] JUSTIN: No, no, no.

[01:30:17] You can take down all of this and

[01:30:18] then we'll pull it out together.

[01:30:19] We'll build a fire and we'll have that chili.

[01:30:21] GORDON: Right.

[01:30:22] JUSTIN: You started one of those up before?

[01:30:23] GORDON: Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[01:30:25] (bleep).

[01:30:26] JUSTIN: Come on.

[01:30:28] GORDON: (bleep) JUSTIN: Come on.

[01:30:31] Pull, pull.

[01:30:33] GORDON: What the (bleep)?

[01:30:35] (chainsaw starts)

[01:30:37] JUSTIN: Get your safety off.

[01:30:46] GORDON: Ah.

[01:30:53] JUSTIN: Alright that's good.

[01:30:54] Let's go grab some chili.

[01:30:56] GORDON: Please, I am starving.

[01:30:58] JUSTIN: One last thing.

[01:30:59] If you're gonna be in Texas, you gotta have a hat.

[01:31:01] GORDON: Oh come on. Stop it.

[01:31:03] JUSTIN: Absolutely.

[01:31:04] GORDON: Justin, really, seriously?

[01:31:05] JUSTIN: You're in Texas. It's, it's a rite of passage.

[01:31:07] GORDON: What'd you think?

[01:31:08] JUSTIN: You look terrible in that.

[01:31:08] GORDON: Thank you, exactly.

[01:31:09] JUSTIN: You're gonna have to earn that.

[01:31:11] GORDON: Here we go. JUSTIN: Let's do it.

[01:31:12] GORDON: I've got a hat and no (bleep) horse.

[01:31:17] Made with venison instead of the usual beef,

[01:31:19] Justin's signature chili has a reputation that precedes it.

[01:31:23] More importantly, it tells me that Texan cuisine has

[01:31:27] room for interpretation.

[01:31:29] I can't wait to taste it.

[01:31:30] Oh boy, now that smells delicious.

[01:31:33] JUSTIN: It's pretty simple overall.

[01:31:35] GORDON: Yeah. JUSTIN: There's no rice.

[01:31:37] No beans at all.

[01:31:38] It's getting thickened by the spices.

[01:31:40] GORDON: No beans? In a chili?

[01:31:42] JUSTIN: In a chili.

[01:31:43] This is no filler I mean...

[01:31:44] GORDON: Wow that is delicious.

[01:31:46] That is so spicy.

[01:31:47] Oh my god, I'm sweating big time now, honestly.

[01:31:49] JUSTIN: Well, you're gonna sweat a lot more after this.

[01:31:51] GORDON: Man, what I'm experiencing early on is that,

[01:31:55] there's a toughness to Texas.

[01:31:56] JUSTIN: There's a definite toughness to Texas.

[01:31:58] You definitely build a level of character.

[01:32:00] I grew up cooking in kitchens like yours.

[01:32:02] And being able to take that kind of beating on

[01:32:05] the day to day on the kitchen.

[01:32:06] Because I'm from Texas I was able to take it.

[01:32:09] Now that you're here I really want you to experience Texas, you know.

[01:32:12] I want you to meet the characters.

[01:32:14] I want you to hunt, I want you to, uh, go to the ranches.

[01:32:17] I want you to go see the people who make the food,

[01:32:19] what it is and give it all the character.

[01:32:22] How about we cook a little bit for everybody that you meet?

[01:32:24] Maybe we'll call it a throw down.

[01:32:26] Show me all that flavor that you learned from Texas.

[01:32:29] GORDON: So start off where? Where do you wanna send me?

[01:32:30] JUSTIN: I'll send you to a ranch to herd some cattle.

[01:32:32] And don't forget your hat.

[01:32:34] GORDON: Texas throw down. JUSTIN: Texas throw down.

[01:32:38] GORDON: I'm not a big fan of a cowboy hat.

[01:32:40] I don't look like a cowboy.

[01:32:42] But I tell you what, I better get my (bleep) together and

[01:32:45] get as tough as a cowboy, you know,

[01:32:47] for the final cook at the end of the week.

[01:32:54] My first stop in Texas, Justin's sending me to meet

[01:32:56] a lifelong rancher, who's gonna show me what it takes

[01:32:59] to wrangle cattle in the Lone Star state.

[01:33:08] GORDON: Good morning. CLINT: Morning.

[01:33:09] MEREDITH: Morning. MADDIE: Morning.

[01:33:10] GORDON: Nice to see you, you good?

[01:33:11] CLINT: Clint Radley. GORDON: Clint.

[01:33:12] My goodness what an amazing drive that was.

[01:33:14] MADDIE: Maddie, nice to meet you.

[01:33:14] GORDON: Maddie likewise, good to see you.

[01:33:15] MEREDITH: Meredith, nice to meet you.

[01:33:16] GORDON: Good to see you too.

[01:33:17] Maddie and Meredith's hats,

[01:33:19] boots and giant belt buckles show me they definitely know

[01:33:23] their way around a steer.

[01:33:25] I just hope they aren't into chef roping.

[01:33:27] They say you've got the best beef...

[01:33:29] CLINT: We got some. GORDON: Anywhere in Texas.

[01:33:31] What's so special about it?

[01:33:32] MADDIE: It's tender, it's juicy.

[01:33:33] MEREDITH: Tastes amazing.

[01:33:35] CLINT: We gotta go gather 'em first.

[01:33:36] GORDON: Right, okay.

[01:33:37] CLINT: You gonna help us with that?

[01:33:38] GORDON: Ah, yeah, what just run behind them and

[01:33:40] shoo them up?

[01:33:41] CLINT: Yeah well, they'll be on horses.

[01:33:43] We're gonna put you on a horse.

[01:33:44] And then I'm gonna get on my horse over there.

[01:33:46] So a little different style.

[01:33:47] GORDON: That's your horse?

[01:33:48] CLINT: Yeah. GORDON: A helicopter?

[01:33:49] CLINT: It's faster, doesn't eat as much so.

[01:33:51] GORDON: And you want me on a saddle next to you?

[01:33:53] CLINT: With them.

[01:33:54] GORDON: How old were you when you first got on a saddle?

[01:33:55] MADDIE: Ah, three. GORDON: Three.

[01:33:57] MEREDITH: Three. GORDON: Okay.

[01:33:59] CLINT: You'll be good.

[01:34:00] MEREDITH: Just don't get bucked off, easy as that.

[01:34:02] GORDON: As in don't get thrown off the horse.

[01:34:03] MADDIE: Correct. MEREDITH: Right.

[01:34:04] GORDON: What's my horse's name?

[01:34:05] BOTH: Mouse.

[01:34:06] GORDON: Come on, six foot two, 225 pound on a good day and

[01:34:09] now I'm sat on a mouse.

[01:34:10] CLINT: Have you got a hat by the way?

[01:34:11] GORDON: Uh... CLINT: It's sunny.

[01:34:12] GORDON: Yeah listen, I know I look like an out of place Brit, but trust me.

[01:34:16] MADDIE: It's alright. MEREDITH: That'll do.

[01:34:18] GORDON: It is a little bit too clean though right?

[01:34:19] It looks a little bit too new.

[01:34:21] CLINT: I'm sure it'll fall off in a minute or something.

[01:34:22] MEREDITH: It will. MADDIE: Some point.

[01:34:23] GORDON: You sure you don't need any help in that helicopter?

[01:34:24] CLINT: Nah, I don't need any help up there.

[01:34:25] GORDON: I'm not that good on horses.

[01:34:27] MEREDITH: You'll learn. MADDIE: You'll learn.

[01:34:28] GORDON: Ladies let's go.

[01:34:29] Let's go, let's go, let's go.

[01:34:41] Right ladies, we set?

[01:34:43] MADDIE: You don't need gloves.

[01:34:44] MEREDITH: We are but what are you doing with the gloves?

[01:34:45] GORDON: Well, it's a horse right?

[01:34:47] MEREDITH: No, you need to get some man hands.

[01:34:49] GORDON: Some man hands, okay.

[01:34:51] Right so this is Mouse.

[01:34:53] MEREDITH: Correct. MADDIE: That's right.

[01:34:54] GORDON: Just try and keep me on this thing will you please?

[01:34:55] MEREDITH: Don't fall off. GORDON: Come on.

[01:35:01] Hello. Left, left.

[01:35:04] MEREDITH: Kick. GORDON: Oh kick, thank you.

[01:35:06] Thank, let's go.

[01:35:09] MEREDITH: Turn. GORDON: Turn, thank you.

[01:35:11] There you go.

[01:35:12] Okay. Oh.

[01:35:13] MEREDITH: There you go. GORDON: Right.

[01:35:14] MEREDITH: Well you just gotta feel the rhythm.

[01:35:15] GORDON: Feel the rhythm. MEREDITH: Don't be tense.

[01:35:16] Be loose.

[01:35:18] MADDIE: Feel the horse, the horse can sense if you're nervous.

[01:35:19] GORDON: Right.

[01:35:20] MADDIE: You're nervous the horse is gonna act all jittery.

[01:35:22] GORDON: It's impressive that Mouse can sense my fear

[01:35:24] but I'd be more impressed if he could sense which direction

[01:35:27] I'm trying to go.

[01:35:29] Where we going?

[01:35:31] Fortunately, Clint and

[01:35:33] his team are on the way with a pair of helicopters to help.

[01:35:40] Justin said search for the best beef.

[01:35:42] I'm getting a newfound respect for that level of

[01:35:45] search because I've never, ever gone this far for

[01:35:49] such amazing beef.

[01:35:54] Okay, where are the cows?

[01:35:56] MEREDITH: So, in here. MADDIE: There.

[01:35:57] MEREDITH: They're in this brush.

[01:35:58] GORDON: Are we going in the bush?

[01:35:59] MEREDITH: Yeah, just make sure that they don't come back over

[01:36:02] on this side.

[01:36:03] GORDON: So make sure they don't come back this side?

[01:36:04] MADDIE: Right, keep 'em in the middle.

[01:36:05] GORDON: Okay.

[01:36:06] MEREDITH: He's gonna push 'em out to us.

[01:36:08] GORDON: Oh my God.

[01:36:09] MEREDITH: Alright, look cow, cow, cow.

[01:36:11] GORDON: There, there, there, there, there, there.

[01:36:12] MEREDITH: Alright so Gordon.

[01:36:13] You don't wanna get in front of 'em.

[01:36:14] GORDON: No.

[01:36:15] MEREDITH: You wanna stay behind 'em so you can push 'em.

[01:36:17] GORDON: Gotcha. Oh (bleep).

[01:36:22] MEREDITH: Whoo! Come on Gordon.

[01:36:24] GORDON: Ladies wait for me.

[01:36:26] MEREDITH: Whenever we are pinning cows,

[01:36:29] you know we only get one shot and then that's it.

[01:36:31] GORDON: Ladies, wait for me please.

[01:36:33] MADDIE: I ain't waiting for his ass.

[01:36:36] MEREDITH: You know I didn't wanna leave him but I took off

[01:36:38] and had to do what needed to be done.

[01:36:44] MADDIE: There's two back there Meredith.

[01:36:46] MEREDITH: Yeah. Yes sir!

[01:36:49] GORDON: Have any idea how hard this is?

[01:36:53] Huh? I swear to God.

[01:36:55] Go on.

[01:36:57] They make it look so easy, cowgirls,

[01:36:58] buckle, huge hat, belt, jeans etc.

[01:37:00] But underneath all that you know it's a tough process.

[01:37:04] Okay yeah. Wait, wait, wait.

[01:37:05] MEREDITH: Whoa.

[01:37:07] GORDON: Wait, wait, wait.

[01:37:09] Mouse man.

[01:37:12] (bleep). Wait.

[01:37:13] MEREDITH: Maddie help him.

[01:37:15] GORDON: My God. That was crazy.

[01:37:18] MEREDITH: Gordon, you good? GORDON: Bloody hell.

[01:37:21] Coming now.

[01:37:23] Wait, wait, Mouse, Mouse.

[01:37:25] MEREDITH: How we doing? GORDON: No, not very good.

[01:37:27] MEREDITH: Not very good? GORDON: No, he threw me off.

[01:37:28] But I think the helicopter spooked him.

[01:37:29] He just kept on spinning round.

[01:37:32] MADDIE: So just follow us. GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:37:34] MEREDITH: Alright you see Gordon.

[01:37:36] We're all going over there.

[01:37:39] GORDON: Out back there, there's a lot of terrain and

[01:37:41] it's uneven and brush etc.

[01:37:43] And yeah I'm on with a flimsy pair of trousers

[01:37:45] and a cowboy hat, trying to blend in with the locals.

[01:37:47] I stood out for all the wrong reasons.

[01:37:50] Sorry.

[01:37:51] MEREDITH: Gordon what happened man?

[01:37:52] GORDON: She went crazy.

[01:37:53] Huh? Okay.

[01:37:54] MEREDITH: Huh? You ready? Let's go.

[01:37:55] GORDON: All good, yes. Let's go.

[01:37:59] I may be useless on a horse,

[01:38:00] but thankfully Meredith and Maddie,

[01:38:02] along with their dad in the sky,

[01:38:03] get the job done.

[01:38:05] MEREDITH: Come on momma. GORDON: Are they all in?

[01:38:08] BOTH: Yes sir.

[01:38:09] MADDIE: You did pretty good for a first-time cowboy.

[01:38:11] GORDON: That was crazy, seriously.

[01:38:13] Honestly well done.

[01:38:15] MEREDITH: Now comes the hard part.

[01:38:16] GORDON: What'd you mean? That wasn't it?

[01:38:18] MEREDITH: No that was part of it.

[01:38:19] GORDON: Oh my God.

[01:38:24] GORDON: I'm in Texas and have just herded cattle

[01:38:26] in exchange for some top shelf steaks for my final cook.

[01:38:30] But apparently I'm not finished.

[01:38:33] MEREDITH: Now comes the hard part.

[01:38:34] GORDON: That wasn't it?

[01:38:35] MEREDITH: No that was part of it.

[01:38:37] GORDON: I just hope the hard part

[01:38:39] she's referring to doesn't involve another saddle.

[01:38:42] My swollen bollocks are a testament to the saying that

[01:38:46] every thing's bigger in Texas.

[01:38:48] CLINT: So the next thing we'll do,

[01:38:49] we'll bring the cows back here.

[01:38:51] We'll bring 'em in here, we'll vaccinate 'em for diseases and

[01:38:53] parasites that we deal with down here.

[01:38:55] Put it in their mouth, shoot paste down their throat.

[01:38:57] Kills the parasites.

[01:38:58] GORDON: It's like a worming. CLINT: Right.

[01:39:04] MADDIE: What you're gonna do...

[01:39:05] GORDON: Yes.

[01:39:06] MADDIE: Make sure it's in their mouth and

[01:39:07] then you're just gonna squeeze it, once.

[01:39:09] GORDON: Right. MEREDITH: We're behind you.

[01:39:11] MADDIE: Yeah and you gotta make sure that

[01:39:12] they swallow it.

[01:39:13] GORDON: Oh man, all I want is some beef.

[01:39:15] All I want is a T-bone, a tomahawk, a fillet.

[01:39:17] I'll take the flank, I'll take the hoof.

[01:39:19] Give me something! Please.

[01:39:21] MADDIE: After.

[01:39:23] GORDON: Man, this beef better taste good.

[01:39:24] MADDIE: Watch the ones with horns.

[01:39:25] GORDON: Watch the ones, oh okay.

[01:39:29] (grunts)

[01:39:31] GORDON: While giving the cows their medicine

[01:39:32] Clint assures me they're used to the process,

[01:39:34] and it's painless.

[01:39:36] Apparently they just don't like me.

[01:39:38] Oh (bleep). (bleep).

[01:39:42] All I want is some beef.

[01:39:43] That's what I, girls.

[01:39:44] MEREDITH: You gotta earn it. CLINT: Down the hatch.

[01:39:46] MADDIE: There you go, there you go.

[01:39:47] CLINT: Good job.

[01:39:48] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:39:50] Yes gotcha. One in.

[01:39:52] MEREDITH: I think when it comes to wrangling cattle,

[01:39:54] I think Gordon should just maybe stay a little,

[01:39:57] little farther away and back into the kitchen

[01:39:59] rather than in a saddle.

[01:40:01] So how do you like Texas?

[01:40:03] GORDON: Could we not just feed them a tablet?

[01:40:04] Give them a little tablet in their hay?

[01:40:05] CLINT: Here you go. MEREDITH: There you go.

[01:40:08] MADDIE: Yeah. GORDON: Yeah.

[01:40:10] MEREDITH: Yeah Gordon. GORDON: That's crazy.

[01:40:13] Please, I beg you, can I have some beef now? Please?

[01:40:17] MEREDITH: Yes.

[01:40:18] CLINT: Do you think he's earned it?

[01:40:19] MADDIE: Yeah, you can have some beef now.

[01:40:20] CLINT: Alright. MEREDITH: I think so.

[01:40:21] GORDON: Yeah? You girls are strong man.

[01:40:23] Oh my God.

[01:40:25] That was a challenge and a half,

[01:40:26] let me tell you.

[01:40:28] There's a price to pay for the most amazing beef and

[01:40:29] I think I just paid it.

[01:40:31] This is one staple that's gonna feature across the final cook.

[01:40:39] Now Texas is known for its beef, pork and barbecue.

[01:40:43] But today I'm after a different protein.

[01:40:46] Rattlesnake.

[01:40:47] That's right, rattlesnake.

[01:40:49] Now I know Texan's are tough but come on,

[01:40:51] this seems downright crazy.

[01:40:54] Rattlesnake?

[01:40:56] Come on, seriously?

[01:40:58] With only three days until I face off against Justin,

[01:41:01] I'm heading west to the rolling hills of Runge,

[01:41:04] to meet Bob Hansler.

[01:41:06] Nice to see you. You good?

[01:41:07] BOB: Glad you made it.

[01:41:08] GORDON: A survival expert and former biology teacher who,

[01:41:10] along with the help of his trusty dog, Huck,

[01:41:13] can apparently catch a rattlesnake with his eyes closed.

[01:41:16] I'm after an alternative protein,

[01:41:19] a protein that's close to your heart.

[01:41:21] What's so special about the rattlesnake?

[01:41:22] BOB: Well it's a good cut of meat.

[01:41:24] GORDON: Is it that good? Do they taste that good?

[01:41:26] BOB: They taste amazing.

[01:41:27] And Texas has plenty of 'em.

[01:41:29] GORDON: And within striking distance,

[01:41:30] the safest sort of, you're what?

[01:41:32] BOB: Two thirds of a length they can strike.

[01:41:34] And that's typically about 175 miles an hour.

[01:41:38] GORDON: That fast? BOB: That fast.

[01:41:40] So they have the rattle, the rattle goes off,

[01:41:42] that's your warning.

[01:41:43] You keep going expect to get bit.

[01:41:46] GORDON: Right, I'm happy to stand by, you're the expert.

[01:41:48] So what I'll do, I'll stand about a meter behind you.

[01:41:51] BOB: That's, that's not gonna work man.

[01:41:53] I'm, I'm legally blind.

[01:41:55] GORDON: Sorry just help me out one more time.

[01:41:56] You're what?

[01:41:57] BOB: I can't see your face but I can hear a rattlesnake,

[01:41:59] I'll, I'll tell you where I hear 'em.

[01:42:01] But you're, you're the man with the stick today.

[01:42:03] GORDON: So you're blind? BOB: Yes sir.

[01:42:06] This eye is completely dead.

[01:42:08] This eye is pretty shot.

[01:42:09] GORDON: And you're still chasing snakes?

[01:42:11] BOB: Well I've got you to do that.

[01:42:13] GORDON: You haven't got any in the freezer I can just nip up

[01:42:16] to the house and try?

[01:42:17] BOB: No such thing, you got fresh meat today.

[01:42:19] GORDON: Man, you're a tough cookie.

[01:42:22] Where do we start?

[01:42:23] Western Diamondbacks are abundant in Texas.

[01:42:25] And normally it's best to steer clear if you stumble across one.

[01:42:30] Despite playing a key role in this ecosystem,

[01:42:32] many people think of them as pests and

[01:42:35] every year thousands are killed and thrown away.

[01:42:38] But if you were in dire need of food,

[01:42:39] this is how you'd hunt one.

[01:42:42] This looks like a, uh, little ravine down here.

[01:42:45] BOB: This is a den. GORDON: Down here?

[01:42:46] BOB: So watch your step. Walk through.

[01:42:48] GORDON: Yeah.

[01:42:49] BOB: Just watch out for the fire ants,

[01:42:50] the centipedes, the vinegarroons,

[01:42:52] the scorpions, all that stuff.

[01:42:54] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:42:55] BOB: So first you need to look around.

[01:42:57] All these holes that you just stepped over,

[01:42:58] these are all egress points where that snake can come out

[01:43:01] and mess with you.

[01:43:02] GORDON: Right so even stepping over that there

[01:43:03] could have been one under there?

[01:43:04] BOB: Absolutely, it's a perfect rattlesnake habitat.

[01:43:06] GORDON: What about that down there in there?

[01:43:08] BOB: That's what we're going for.

[01:43:10] GORDON: Inside? BOB: Inside.

[01:43:11] Under that sandstone.

[01:43:12] GORDON: (bleep) hell.

[01:43:15] BOB: Do you hear anything Gordon?

[01:43:17] GORDON: Yeah, my bum's twitching like a rabbit's nose right now.

[01:43:20] BOB: Right.

[01:43:21] GORDON: No I can't hear anything.

[01:43:22] BOB: Take your snake stinger there.

[01:43:23] Bang it around.

[01:43:24] See if you can't upset something.

[01:43:26] (banging)

[01:43:28] If they're not in there we're gonna have to go hunt down

[01:43:30] a few other spots.

[01:43:31] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:43:33] BOB: Yeah, let's go try, plan B.

[01:43:34] I got another spot up here.

[01:43:35] It works out. Let's go Huck.

[01:43:37] GORDON: I've got plan C.

[01:43:38] It's called the (bleep) freezer.

[01:43:44] (rattling)

[01:43:46] Oh!

[01:43:47] BOB: You hear that? GORDON: Can you hear that?

[01:43:49] We've found our rattler.

[01:43:52] Now the only thing that stands between me and

[01:43:55] lunch is an angry venomous snake.

[01:43:58] Even I can smell my own fear.

[01:44:00] At least I hope that's fear.

[01:44:03] BOB: It's up to you now Gordon.

[01:44:04] (rattling and hissing)

[01:44:07] You're gonna have to get closer than that.

[01:44:08] (rattling and hissing)

[01:44:12] That's your job.

[01:44:13] I can hear him.

[01:44:13] I can't see what you're seeing though.

[01:44:15] GORDON: Okay. BOB: Just be safe.

[01:44:16] GORDON: Now he's staring at me.

[01:44:18] BOB: Right watch yourself.

[01:44:19] Look around before you step in there.

[01:44:22] GORDON: Bloody hell.

[01:44:24] How am I gonna get it round the neck

[01:44:25] if the body's in the front?

[01:44:26] BOB: You're gonna have to make that call Ramsay.

[01:44:28] As long as you're calm about it.

[01:44:29] Sometimes they'll let you, sometimes they won't.

[01:44:31] You can go up to about six or seven inches behind the head and be safe.

[01:44:34] GORDON: Right.

[01:44:36] BOB: But you just wanna secure the part that bites.

[01:44:37] GORDON: Yeah.

[01:44:38] BOB: And make sure it can't come back on you.

[01:44:39] You have 40 inches on your pole.

[01:44:42] That's all you got.

[01:44:46] GORDON: Ready? BOB: Let's do it.

[01:44:50] Right behind you Gordon.

[01:44:53] Once and done right.

[01:44:55] (rattling and hissing)

[01:44:58] He's angry now.

[01:44:59] GORDON: Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out.

[01:45:03] GORDON: Ready? BOB: Let's do it.

[01:45:06] GORDON: I'm in Runge, Texas,

[01:45:07] trying to catch a rattlesnake with the help of a blind man.

[01:45:11] Holy (bleep).

[01:45:13] This could literally be a meal to die for.

[01:45:17] BOB: You can scoop under him.

[01:45:18] But once you clamp down, the rodeo begins.

[01:45:22] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:45:28] BOB: Got him?

[01:45:29] (rattling and hissing)

[01:45:31] He's angry now.

[01:45:34] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:45:35] (rattling and hissing)

[01:45:39] BOB: Bring him on out.

[01:45:40] GORDON: (bleep). BOB: Bring him out.

[01:45:42] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:45:44] BOB: You're gonna start pulling him out Ramsay.

[01:45:45] You got him?

[01:45:47] Do you have him?

[01:45:48] GORDON: I've got him, is he clipped at the end?

[01:45:49] BOB: I can't see what you see man.

[01:45:50] As long as the body end is secured.

[01:45:53] I can see some white flashing.

[01:45:54] It looks like you've made him angry.

[01:45:56] GORDON: Coming out.

[01:45:58] Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out.

[01:46:00] He's going mad. He's going mad.

[01:46:02] BOB: There you go. GORDON: (bleep).

[01:46:05] A quick flick of the knife and the head is off.

[01:46:07] But we're still not out of danger.

[01:46:10] BOB: Alright you got the head. GORDON: Holy (bleep).

[01:46:12] BOB: And, uh, that is still moving.

[01:46:14] Still full of venom, it can still do you pain.

[01:46:16] And they will still strike at you.

[01:46:18] Even without its body.

[01:46:20] GORDON: (bleep).

[01:46:22] BOB: That's yours. Well won.

[01:46:24] GORDON: Man you're insane.

[01:46:25] BOB: Heck yeah. GORDON: I swear to God.

[01:46:28] BOB: Oh, that's a nice-looking snake.

[01:46:30] GORDON: (bleep) hell man.

[01:46:31] Look at that.

[01:46:33] Man, shall we...

[01:46:35] BOB: Let's go cook it up.

[01:46:37] GORDON: Bloody hell's bells.

[01:46:38] That has to be the most insane thing I've ever done.

[01:46:41] Because one wrong move and

[01:46:44] that thing's coming at you at 170 miles an hour.

[01:46:47] And trust me, I'm fast but not that (bleep) fast.

[01:46:50] BOB: Beautiful skin.

[01:46:52] And rattle, excellent.

[01:46:55] GORDON: That is insane.

[01:46:57] Head off, skin off, guts out and it's still moving.

[01:47:01] BOB: Yeah.

[01:47:02] (laughs)

[01:47:03] GORDON: It's crazy.

[01:47:04] BOB: A little bit different eh?

[01:47:06] Alright, so the cactus pad here.

[01:47:08] Again things that wanna hurt you in Texas.

[01:47:11] This is what we're gonna use to cook this snake.

[01:47:12] GORDON: Really? BOB: Absolutely.

[01:47:14] We need to take the thorns off.

[01:47:15] Alright so I'm gonna hand this over to you.

[01:47:16] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:47:17] BOB: You're gonna use the flame and

[01:47:19] you're just gonna rotisserie it.

[01:47:20] GORDON: So it's like singeing the hairs off a duck.

[01:47:23] BOB: Very much so.

[01:47:24] This is like nature's tin foil.

[01:47:26] You take that knife and you're gonna make a vessel.

[01:47:28] A pocket for that snake to go inside of.

[01:47:31] GORDON: What a great idea.

[01:47:32] Cause it's so wet inside, so it's gonna keep that moisture

[01:47:34] in there as well.

[01:47:36] And it's still fighting back.

[01:47:38] BOB: Yeah.

[01:47:39] GORDON: With the rattler coiled into the cactus pad,

[01:47:41] next Bob has me bury the cactus in the ashes.

[01:47:44] Keeping it away from the open flames and

[01:47:46] cooking the snake to perfection.

[01:47:48] That is incredible.

[01:47:50] What an amazing way of steaming a rattlesnake.

[01:47:53] Woo! What a job.

[01:47:57] 45 minutes in the hot ashes,

[01:47:59] and it's time for my first ever cactus cooked rattlesnake.

[01:48:03] Already that smells delicious do you know that?

[01:48:05] BOB: Absolutely right on top of here.

[01:48:07] GORDON: Bloody hell. BOB: There's steam coming off.

[01:48:10] GORDON: Seriously, look at that.

[01:48:12] Oh my lord.

[01:48:13] So it's got the texture of a sort of

[01:48:15] beautiful delicate chicken.

[01:48:17] BOB: The back strap on either side of the backbone,

[01:48:20] she's a really long excellent piece of meat.

[01:48:23] GORDON: My God.

[01:48:25] This is incredible.

[01:48:27] Really good indeed.

[01:48:28] You know, rattlesnake as a star dish? Maybe not.

[01:48:32] But as a specialty yes.

[01:48:34] I don't think Justin is planning on rattlesnake.

[01:48:38] So another secret weapon up my sleeve.

[01:48:41] BOB: At this point I'm gonna hand you off

[01:48:42] to my daughter, Bree.

[01:48:44] GORDON: Right, where is she?

[01:48:45] BOB: Yonder. GORDON: Yeah? Oh God.

[01:48:49] I'm not thrilled with the idea of

[01:48:51] hiking further into this snake infested brush.

[01:48:53] But Bob has assured me that Bree is an avid outdoors woman,

[01:48:58] who can show me some of the edible jewels this

[01:49:00] back country has to offer.

[01:49:03] GORDON: Hey Bree. BREE: Hey Gordon.

[01:49:05] GORDON: Good to see you my darling, you good?

[01:49:06] BREE: Yeah I'm great, how are you?

[01:49:07] GORDON: Oh man, that was insane.

[01:49:09] BREE: Really? How'd it go? GORDON: Bob's incredible.

[01:49:11] Now he said there's other excitement in this forest,

[01:49:14] little trinkets, little gems.

[01:49:16] BREE: There's so many things out here you can use and eat.

[01:49:19] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:49:23] Man I feel slightly over dressed.

[01:49:25] You've got shorts on girl.

[01:49:26] And I've got trousers on.

[01:49:28] BREE: I have an extra pair you can borrow.

[01:49:30] GORDON: You honestly wanna see me in a pair of shorts in

[01:49:31] the middle of this forest?

[01:49:33] BREE: Why not?

[01:49:34] GORDON: I do feel slightly awkward.

[01:49:35] I've got gloves, a knife, trousers.

[01:49:38] And she's there like she just auditioned for

[01:49:40] the Dukes of Hazard.

[01:49:41] So what is that?

[01:49:42] BREE: So this is the Texas wild pecan.

[01:49:43] GORDON: Is it really?

[01:49:44] BREE: They're so much smaller than ones at the store,

[01:49:46] but they're so much sweeter.

[01:49:48] Gordon you can just do this.

[01:49:53] GORDON: They're beautiful, so small.

[01:49:55] BREE: How does it taste? GORDON: Really good.

[01:49:57] Very sweet huh?

[01:49:58] These would be nice on like a pecan crust right?

[01:50:01] BREE: Yeah. GORDON: Or roasting them.

[01:50:05] What else is here?

[01:50:07] BREE: We have some wild onions coming up.

[01:50:08] GORDON: Where would you find...

[01:50:09] BREE: You see the little flowers?

[01:50:11] GORDON: These are wild onions? BREE: Yeah.

[01:50:13] GORDON: Man she knows her stuff.

[01:50:14] You know to my naked eye,

[01:50:15] and to her eye walking through that forest,

[01:50:17] I mean she's spotting everything.

[01:50:19] Mmm, that's lovely.

[01:50:21] That's sweet onion.

[01:50:23] The onions, that was a fascinating thing.

[01:50:24] Cause those tiny little onion flowers leading to

[01:50:27] this little bulb.

[01:50:28] But so sweet and delicious.

[01:50:29] BREE: We're on to the prickly pear cactus.

[01:50:32] GORDON: Oh my God, look at those, man.

[01:50:35] Deep in the spiny interior of

[01:50:36] the prickly cactus, Bree shows me the well-guarded and

[01:50:40] tasty fruits known as tunas.

[01:50:44] BREE: And if you have some seeds it's okay,

[01:50:45] just don't chew 'em.

[01:50:46] Just swallow 'em.

[01:50:47] Taste like pomegranate, right?

[01:50:49] GORDON: That's delicious.

[01:50:50] You do know your way around a forest.

[01:50:53] BREE: Hopefully it was helpful.

[01:50:54] GORDON: Beyond helpful, well done.

[01:50:56] BREE: Thank you.

[01:50:57] GORDON: I don't think Justin's gone off the beaten track

[01:51:00] the way I have.

[01:51:02] I may just have the edge here.

[01:51:09] There are two days left until the final cook

[01:51:12] and I'm still looking for a main dish.

[01:51:15] And since I'm in Texas I wanna go big.

[01:51:17] I mean really big.

[01:51:18] So I'm going hunting for feral hogs.

[01:51:23] I'm meeting up with Rick Rosser, a local hunter.

[01:51:25] Good to see you bud.

[01:51:26] RICK: Glad you finally made it.

[01:51:28] GORDON: Here ranchers don't have rat problems.

[01:51:30] They have pig problems.

[01:51:32] Rick knows just where these wild hogs like to congregate.

[01:51:36] I just hope it's not around rattlesnakes.

[01:51:39] Desperate for a big meaty protein ahead of

[01:51:43] the big cook.

[01:51:44] They say you've got the best hogs,

[01:51:46] feral hogs, uh, in the land.

[01:51:48] Uh, and I can't wait, fingers crossed

[01:51:50] to get my hands on them.

[01:51:51] RICK: I've got some nice size roasters out there.

[01:51:55] This time of year the fat is just right on 'em.

[01:51:57] GORDON: Love that. RICK: Beautiful legs.

[01:51:59] I see ribs.

[01:52:01] GORDON: Now what's so special about these feral hogs?

[01:52:03] RICK: They are an invasive species down here.

[01:52:05] They tear up acres upon acres of land every night.

[01:52:07] Farmers can't catch up on planting sometimes because

[01:52:10] the hogs come in at night or even sometimes during the day,

[01:52:12] and just tear the crops up.

[01:52:14] They come in, they get in, they root with their nose,

[01:52:16] watch out, what, the mosquitoes get you brother?

[01:52:18] GORDON: Yeah they are, they're eating me alive.

[01:52:19] RICK: You know let's get momma's recipe vanishing cream

[01:52:22] on ya and let's get you a new shirt.

[01:52:24] And you're gonna be right as rain okay?

[01:52:26] GORDON: Okay, what is it?

[01:52:27] Like a...

[01:52:28] RICK: Well let's just call it all natural.

[01:52:29] GORDON: All natural? Mhm.

[01:52:31] RICK: Better you not ask questions.

[01:52:33] GORDON: Turns out Rick's all natural mosquito repellent

[01:52:36] will also help cover my human scent.

[01:52:38] And attract the hogs.

[01:52:40] A pig cologne if you will.

[01:52:42] RICK: Close your mouth. Don't wanna get your mouth!

[01:52:44] GORDON: That smells like piss. RICK: Don't worry about it.

[01:52:46] There might be some of that.

[01:52:47] It helps the sting go away.

[01:52:48] (coughs)

[01:52:49] GORDON: What is that?

[01:52:50] RICK: It's momma's recipe. GORDON: Momma's recipe.

[01:52:51] RICK: Momma's recipe.

[01:52:53] GORDON: What we shooting with?

[01:52:55] RICK: Shooting with a replica golden boy,

[01:52:57] 45 long Colt.

[01:52:58] Cowboy gun, lever action, real John Wayne style.

[01:53:02] Pigs out there, when we see 'em, you know,

[01:53:04] it's not that, uh, they're gonna charge,

[01:53:06] but if they do we definitely wanna be ready with something close.

[01:53:09] GORDON: Yes sir, let's do this.

[01:53:10] RICK: Let's go. It's gonna be great.

[01:53:12] Alright now remember, we're gonna walk in and

[01:53:14] we have to be quiet.

[01:53:15] GORDON: Rick takes me to a blind near

[01:53:17] a clearing where the hogs are frequently seen.

[01:53:20] He also says I need to be patient and

[01:53:22] as silent as possible.

[01:53:25] This could be my biggest challenge yet.

[01:53:28] You think the pigs coming across that...

[01:53:29] RICK: Shh.

[01:53:54] GORDON: The waiting is excruciating.

[01:53:56] (coughs)

[01:53:58] GORDON: So is trying to stay quiet.

[01:54:00] Not to mention that I smell like hog piss.

[01:54:02] (coughs)

[01:54:23] GORDON: Suddenly there's a rustling in the trees.

[01:54:26] (snorting)

[01:54:29] I'm hoping it's the hogs we've been waiting for.

[01:54:45] (snorting)

[01:54:49] GORDON: It's nightfall in Texas and

[01:54:50] I'm hunting for feral hog.

[01:54:53] (snorting)

[01:54:57] I can hear the hogs and I can smell the hogs.

[01:55:00] I just can't see them.

[01:55:01] Come on, baby.

[01:55:12] GORDON: Time's like tonight you can never underestimate

[01:55:13] the intelligence of a hog.

[01:55:15] They are clever animals.

[01:55:17] One smell or waft of a shampoo,

[01:55:21] you know even your voice crackling.

[01:55:22] That moment's gone.

[01:55:36] GORDON: Tonight wasn't our night.

[01:55:38] But he's assured me he's gonna get me some.

[01:55:40] So they say it's that good, I've gotta hold on to that.

[01:55:43] But I just don't like going home empty handed.

[01:55:55] Because we're so close to the border,

[01:55:56] I want to add some Tex Mex flavors to my menu at

[01:55:59] the final cook.

[01:56:01] I'm about to meet an expert who still makes

[01:56:03] the traditional corn tortillas today,

[01:56:06] which may just give me that edge over Justin.

[01:56:08] Emanuel.

[01:56:10] EMANUEL: Gordon, how you doing?

[01:56:11] GORDON: Very well thanks bud, how are you?

[01:56:12] EMANUEL: I'm great. Welcome to Texas.

[01:56:13] GORDON: Oh my lord, good to see you my man.

[01:56:15] Emanuel Chavez is a local chef whose life is

[01:56:17] fueled by his passion for the traditional tortilla.

[01:56:21] GORDON: Super important. EMANUEL: Mm-hm.

[01:56:22] You can't come to Texas and not represent the

[01:56:24] other side of the border and I'm gonna show you how to do it.

[01:56:26] GORDON: Please.

[01:56:27] EMANUEL: We're gonna do it together.

[01:56:28] GORDON: Please, please, please.

[01:56:29] Emanuel starts with a lesson on how to

[01:56:31] make the perfect masa, a dough made from corn.

[01:56:35] EMANUEL: So right here we have cornico.

[01:56:37] It's a native seed from Mexico.

[01:56:39] This is our base for our tortilla,

[01:56:40] which turns into masa.

[01:56:42] GORDON: So the idea now is to grind it?

[01:56:43] EMANUEL: Correct. GORDON: So it's a blue?

[01:56:44] EMANUEL: It is a blue corn, it stays blue.

[01:56:45] GORDON: Wow. EMANUEL: It's gorgeous.

[01:56:46] We're gonna make blue tortillas, shall we start?

[01:56:48] GORDON: Yes so...

[01:56:50] EMANUEL: So you're gonna grab a little handful of these cornicos.

[01:56:51] You gotta start from the top.

[01:56:53] GORDON: Gotcha.

[01:56:54] EMANUEL: You gotta do so almost like a pasta motion so

[01:56:56] with your wrist you're gonna roll forward and

[01:56:58] then roll backwards.

[01:56:59] There you go. There you go.

[01:57:01] GORDON: Oh my God.

[01:57:02] Wow! They're incredibly, uh, powdery now isn't it?

[01:57:07] That's the, that's the masa coming out.

[01:57:08] EMANUEL: That's the starch. GORDON: The starch.

[01:57:10] EMANUEL: You're doing great.

[01:57:12] GORDON: The challenge for me was the, the grinding.

[01:57:14] So you're sort of rolling and spinning,

[01:57:15] rolling and spinning.

[01:57:17] It's all in the wrist.

[01:57:18] Man that's incredible.

[01:57:20] EMANUEL: Grab a little bit and just make it into a ball.

[01:57:22] Like a little ball.

[01:57:23] GORDON: It looks dry but it's actually quite wet.

[01:57:25] EMANUEL: Oh no, it's perfect.

[01:57:26] GORDON: Yeah. EMANUEL: It's a perfect masa.

[01:57:28] GORDON: That's lovely. EMANUEL: You did a great job.

[01:57:29] GORDON: Masa made and with Emanuel's brisket

[01:57:31] already simmering I'm dying to make a tortilla.

[01:57:34] But we're not done.

[01:57:36] EMANUEL: Before we finish our tacos we need one more ingredient.

[01:57:38] GORDON: One more ingredient.

[01:57:39] EMANUEL: I'll show you where it's at.

[01:57:40] GORDON: Seriously?

[01:57:43] GORDON: Pequin pepper?

[01:57:44] EMANUEL: The national pepper from Texas.

[01:57:45] GORDON: Wow.

[01:57:51] Bloody hell. Are they...

[01:57:52] EMANUEL: Longhorns. GORDON: Texas Longhorns?

[01:57:54] EMANUEL: Absolutely yeah. GORDON: Stop it.

[01:57:55] EMANUEL: They're gorgeous huh? GORDON: Oh my goodness.

[01:57:57] Man, they are beautiful.

[01:57:59] Look at those. How majestic are they?

[01:58:03] EMANUEL: They're big boys too.

[01:58:05] GORDON: Okay, let's not get them disturbed.

[01:58:08] EMANUEL: Let's go. GORDON: Oh okay.

[01:58:10] Where are those peppers?

[01:58:11] EMANUEL: They're right there in that corner.

[01:58:13] GORDON: That's them there? EMANUEL: That's it right here.

[01:58:14] They're gorgeous aren't they?

[01:58:15] GORDON: That's incredible how they just grow wild like that huh?

[01:58:18] So red and green?

[01:58:19] EMANUEL: Red and green yeah. GORDON: Red super-hot right?

[01:58:21] EMANUEL: Yeah, I'm gonna try a green one.

[01:58:22] Just to be safe. Go from there.

[01:58:24] (spits)

[01:58:26] Yeah. Oh.

[01:58:28] GORDON: Man.

[01:58:29] EMANUEL: That's Texas right there.

[01:58:31] GORDON: So the idea is to lightly press them and

[01:58:32] then finish them in the stew?

[01:58:34] EMANUEL: Absolutely. That's what we're gonna do.

[01:58:35] GORDON: Man, excellent.

[01:58:41] All of them in there?

[01:58:42] EMANUEL: Yeah.

[01:58:43] GORDON: Peppers crushed and added to the brisket,

[01:58:45] it's time to finish making the tortillas.

[01:58:48] EMANUEL: That should be fine.

[01:58:49] GORDON: Yeah there? EMANUEL: Yeah.

[01:58:50] That's beautiful.

[01:58:52] Actually you have done well today, that's perfect.

[01:58:53] GORDON: Man look at that.

[01:58:54] EMANUEL: Yeah you got it on your first try.

[01:58:55] GORDON: Wow. Wow.

[01:58:57] And straight into the skillet?

[01:58:58] EMANUEL: Yeah, and you're gonna do one motion.

[01:58:59] Don't toss it, just gently love it.

[01:59:01] GORDON: Gently. EMANUEL: Make love to it.

[01:59:03] There you go.

[01:59:05] GORDON: Wow look at the color of those things.

[01:59:07] EMANUEL: As soon as you see the edges start to cook a little bit,

[01:59:09] like that one, I give it a flip.

[01:59:11] GORDON: Just flip it with your fingers?

[01:59:13] EMANUEL: Yeah just ready to flip.

[01:59:16] GORDON: Tortillas finished,

[01:59:17] it's time to taste the fruits of our labor.

[01:59:23] (bleep) hell.

[01:59:25] Oh my God, that is incredible.

[01:59:29] Wow, what a delicious combination.

[01:59:31] But it starts with the base.

[01:59:33] The foundation of the Tex Mex tortilla.

[01:59:35] Nothing's disintegrated, and I was slightly nervous about

[01:59:37] how thin it was.

[01:59:38] It's so pliable and the starchiness is absorbing all

[01:59:41] that incredible flavor from the brisket.

[01:59:43] Getting to grips with a authentic tortilla for

[01:59:46] me makes that dish transform into something even more delicious.

[01:59:50] I'd love to use these for the final cook.

[01:59:52] EMANUEL: Absolutely. GORDON: Would you mind?

[01:59:53] EMANUEL: Not at all. GORDON: You're a star.

[01:59:54] EMANUEL: Thank you. GORDON: Thanks bud.

[01:59:55] EMANUEL: Good luck.

[02:00:08] GORDON: This week's been incredible.

[02:00:09] And Texans are definitely tough.

[02:00:12] They're a gritty bunch and trust me,

[02:00:14] Justin's been satisfying their palettes for

[02:00:17] all his cooking life.

[02:00:19] So this could be one of my toughest cook offs yet.

[02:00:23] Justin.

[02:00:24] JUSTIN: Gordon, welcome back. Watch out for the cow patties.

[02:00:26] GORDON: Bloody hell, what a week.

[02:00:28] JUSTIN: How was Texas? Did Texas kick your ass?

[02:00:29] GORDON: It did more than kick my ass.

[02:00:30] You good bud?

[02:00:31] JUSTIN: I'm good.

[02:00:32] GORDON: Oh my goodness me. JUSTIN: Oh, you feel tougher.

[02:00:34] GORDON: Now three amazing dishes.

[02:00:36] One incredible week.

[02:00:37] Fancy a bet?

[02:00:38] JUSTIN: Always down for a bet.

[02:00:39] GORDON: So not a big fan of the hat.

[02:00:42] If I win, you get to wear a kilt.

[02:00:45] If I lose I'll keep the hat.

[02:00:48] JUSTIN: Then you're totally gonna be wearing the hat cause

[02:00:49] there's no way in hell I'm gonna wear a kilt.

[02:00:51] GORDON: Dude I'm gonna, I'm gonna kick your butt.

[02:00:53] You ready?

[02:00:54] JUSTIN: I'm ready to go. GORDON: Let's go.

[02:00:56] JUSTIN: Yeah there's no way I'm losing to you.

[02:01:01] GORDON: I'm deep in the heart of Texas,

[02:01:03] where chef Justin Yu and I are battling the heat to prepare a

[02:01:07] meal worthy of the Lone Star State.

[02:01:10] What a week.

[02:01:11] Crazy but good.

[02:01:12] JUSTIN: Good, did you see any hogs at all?

[02:01:14] GORDON: Ah, do you know what, we heard them.

[02:01:16] It's interesting you can actually smell the hogs right?

[02:01:17] Because they've got their sort of musky sort of smell of...

[02:01:20] JUSTIN: Yeah they're mean. They're mean as hell.

[02:01:22] GORDON: But he doused me in hog piss.

[02:01:24] JUSTIN: When you live in Texas you end up being covered

[02:01:26] in hog piss every once in a while.

[02:01:27] (laughs)

[02:01:29] GORDON: If being covered in hog piss is what it

[02:01:31] takes to get a beautiful pig like the one Rick brought me,

[02:01:34] then I think I've found my new cologne.

[02:01:37] So I'll do a rib. How can I not?

[02:01:39] JUSTIN: Yeah.

[02:01:40] GORDON: Unfortunately, Justin's also using pork

[02:01:43] but this time in his signature dish.

[02:01:46] GORDON: Serious.

[02:01:47] JUSTIN: Kind of like a pork chili,

[02:01:48] as opposed to the venison that we're normally used to.

[02:01:50] We got this, still got the hoof on.

[02:01:53] I'm gonna cook down some of these jalapeño peppers,

[02:01:56] Fresno peppers.

[02:01:57] All that spice is a little much for you, uh.

[02:02:00] But you're gonna need it since you're gonna be wearing that hat.

[02:02:02] Because there's no way in hell I'm losing to you.

[02:02:04] GORDON: You can't see yourself in a kilt?

[02:02:05] (laughs)

[02:02:06] You know what they say in Scotland?

[02:02:08] It's what we have underneath that counts.

[02:02:10] (laughs)

[02:02:13] Now I get it Justin.

[02:02:14] Texas is bigger, bolder...

[02:02:16] JUSTIN: Tougher. GORDON: Yeah that's right.

[02:02:18] So I'm gonna put these on a dry rub and then just sort of

[02:02:20] grill them and then wrap them.

[02:02:22] They've got a smoky rub there.

[02:02:23] A little bit of coffee add to your chili.

[02:02:24] JUSTIN: Coffee as your rub. GORDON: No?

[02:02:26] JUSTIN: I mean a little bit of bitterness goes a long way.

[02:02:29] You gonna be cooking some beef?

[02:02:31] GORDON: I'm gonna do a bone in rib eye.

[02:02:33] No fancy cuts here with tenderloins etc. I may do a,

[02:02:37] a like a chimichurri.

[02:02:39] You know with some beautiful onions.

[02:02:41] Grill the onions as well.

[02:02:42] Maximize on flavor right?

[02:02:43] Who would have thought herding cattle with two young cowgirls,

[02:02:47] 13 and 16 years of age, helicopters flying everywhere.

[02:02:51] It was ridiculous. Let me tell you.

[02:02:53] JUSTIN: I'm gonna also do some beef here.

[02:02:54] I got some really beautiful hangar steaks.

[02:02:56] I'm gonna sear them really simply.

[02:02:58] We got that nice mesquite right there.

[02:02:59] GORDON: Nice look at those. How beautiful are they?

[02:03:01] JUSTIN: Oh wow, those are fantastic.

[02:03:02] GORDON: So I've marinated them in the dry rub.

[02:03:03] Now just season them and...

[02:03:05] JUSTIN: Straight on the grill. GORDON: Straight on the grill.

[02:03:07] Can you imagine if I put these in a nonstick pan in front of you?

[02:03:09] JUSTIN: There's no way.

[02:03:10] We chopped down all that Mesquite.

[02:03:11] GORDON: Exactly.

[02:03:12] JUSTIN: There's no reason we shouldn't use it.

[02:03:13] GORDON: Exactly that my man.

[02:03:17] For the first time ever, in my career, I got up

[02:03:20] to speed with the most amazing tortilla.

[02:03:23] JUSTIN: Yeah. GORDON: So good.

[02:03:24] JUSTIN: So I'm actually having a little bit of

[02:03:26] trouble coming up with a third dish.

[02:03:28] GORDON: Serious? JUSTIN: Yeah.

[02:03:29] You have some of Emanuel's tortillas?

[02:03:31] GORDON: Yes.

[02:03:32] JUSTIN: You think I could maybe steal a few from you?

[02:03:34] GORDON: Hold on a minute. JUSTIN: Oh, come on.

[02:03:35] GORDON: Hold on a minute.

[02:03:37] JUSTIN: Basically you swindled one of my friends to get to

[02:03:38] help you try to win.

[02:03:40] GORDON: I did my homework buddy,

[02:03:41] that's what I did.

[02:03:43] JUSTIN: Well I was thinking about making a tostada out of it.

[02:03:45] And I'm gonna need some tortillas.

[02:03:47] GORDON: Okay. Here you go.

[02:03:51] JUSTIN: I just need like four. GORDON: There you go.

[02:03:52] JUSTIN: Thank you. GORDON: Man.

[02:03:54] (laughs)

[02:03:55] GORDON: This is a tough one this one.

[02:03:56] You know that? It's a very tough one.

[02:03:58] I've given up my tortillas.

[02:04:00] But that's alright.

[02:04:01] I'm fairly certain my ace in the hole will be something

[02:04:03] Justin won't have on his plate.

[02:04:06] Rattlesnakes.

[02:04:07] Please tell me I've done something you've never done.

[02:04:09] Have you even gone hunting for those things?

[02:04:10] JUSTIN: Every once in a while you walk into the chicken coop

[02:04:12] and they'll be eating the egg and you gotta chase it down.

[02:04:15] GORDON: They meant business, let me tell you.

[02:04:16] But a lot sweeter than I expected.

[02:04:19] JUSTIN: So what are you doing with the rattlers?

[02:04:21] GORDON: I'm gonna sort of roll them in a little bit of cornmeal.

[02:04:23] And then give them a quick sauté.

[02:04:24] And I think then they'll be better in a short of

[02:04:26] broth stroke sort of soup.

[02:04:29] JUSTIN: How do you think this rattlesnake would go over in

[02:04:31] your London restaurant?

[02:04:32] GORDON: They would be up in arms.

[02:04:33] (laughs)

[02:04:35] Yeah, look at the color of that rattlesnake now.

[02:04:36] Then I'm gonna put that into the broth and

[02:04:39] then start that lovely flavor.

[02:04:41] Grill those onions and let those onions sit on top.

[02:04:43] JUSTIN: Yeah. GORDON: What'd you think?

[02:04:44] JUSTIN: That sounds pretty Texan to me.

[02:04:46] You learned pretty well.

[02:04:47] GORDON: It sounds like Justin Yu is gonna be in a kilt

[02:04:50] for the next six months.

[02:04:51] JUSTIN: I mean, I'm telling you that's definitely not gonna happen.

[02:04:53] (laughs)

[02:04:57] JUSTIN: So I'm gonna use that liver and

[02:04:59] the heart from the boar.

[02:05:01] GORDON: Yes.

[02:05:02] JUSTIN: I'm actually gonna hit it with a little bit of whiskey.

[02:05:03] Probably take a little myself.

[02:05:05] GORDON: Justin. JUSTIN: You want some?

[02:05:08] GORDON: You trying to get me drunk?

[02:05:09] JUSTIN: Any way to win. GORDON: Oh my God.

[02:05:13] Look at that.

[02:05:15] Now that is a rib eye, true Texan style right?

[02:05:17] JUSTIN: That's right.

[02:05:19] So these hangar steaks I'm just gonna do pretty quick.

[02:05:21] But just salt and a lot of confidence is what

[02:05:22] you're looking for.

[02:05:24] GORDON: Salt and confidence.

[02:05:25] Now that sounds like Texas right there.

[02:05:28] So these little sweet onions, I'm just gonna hit them on

[02:05:31] the grill for literally 30 seconds.

[02:05:33] Look how beautiful they are.

[02:05:35] JUSTIN: Those are fantastic. You forage them yourself?

[02:05:37] GORDON: Well with the help of Bree, yes.

[02:05:38] So beautiful.

[02:05:41] That foraging honestly, pecans.

[02:05:45] JUSTIN: It's pecan. It's not a pee-can.

[02:05:47] It's not something you piss in.

[02:05:48] (laughs)

[02:05:50] GORDON: My friends from the past week are arriving.

[02:05:52] If past experience is any indicator,

[02:05:54] they'll be as tough as judges as they are characters.

[02:05:58] GORDON: Good afternoon. CLINT: Howdy.

[02:05:59] JUSTIN: You ready to eat? GORDON: Good to see you man.

[02:06:01] RICK: We are. GORDON: Hungry?

[02:06:03] CLINT: Smells good. RICK: I hope it's good.

[02:06:04] GORDON: Okay toasted pecans.

[02:06:06] Here we go.

[02:06:07] Pee-cans or pecans?

[02:06:09] ALL: Pecans. JUSTIN: Yeah.

[02:06:11] GORDON: Alright, alright, alright.

[02:06:12] So defensive.

[02:06:14] It's the moment of reckoning.

[02:06:17] And in Texas that means something.

[02:06:19] While Justin has grown up with these flavors,

[02:06:21] it's my turn to show my new friends that this old Scot

[02:06:25] can hold his own in the Lone Star State.

[02:06:28] JUSTIN: This stew looks like it's just about ready.

[02:06:31] GORDON: It's gonna need to be bud.

[02:06:32] JUSTIN: Yeah.

[02:06:34] GORDON: Cause I've got that kilt in the back of my wagon.

[02:06:35] JUSTIN: That cowboy hat's gonna look real good on

[02:06:36] you for a long time.

[02:06:40] ♪ ♪

[02:06:44] GORDON: With a table of hungry Texan's waiting,

[02:06:46] it's time to see if I can hold my own in

[02:06:49] a culinary showdown in the Lone Star State.

[02:06:52] So good to see you all, there we go.

[02:06:56] RICK: Alright.

[02:06:57] GORDON: Um, a little intro for the dishes.

[02:06:59] Bob, we'll start off with that incredible rattlesnake.

[02:07:01] I've dusted it in corn, beautifully grilled it and

[02:07:03] I made a broth out of all those hog bones.

[02:07:06] And then finished it, Bree,

[02:07:08] with those amazing sweet onions that we foraged.

[02:07:10] JUSTIN: Alright so we've got a pot of wild boar chili.

[02:07:12] Rick hooked me up with a really fantastic boar leg.

[02:07:15] I just stewed it down with just peppers.

[02:07:17] GORDON: Dish number two.

[02:07:19] So I got the ribs, slightly smoked and then grilled.

[02:07:21] Finished with barbecue sauce and then I used some of

[02:07:23] the tenderloin and grilled them as well.

[02:07:25] Finished with some toasted pee-cans.

[02:07:26] ALL: Pecans.

[02:07:28] GORDON: Pecans.

[02:07:30] RICK: Come on now, get it right.

[02:07:31] JUSTIN: And then we took Emanuel's tortillas and

[02:07:34] made Tostadas with 'em.

[02:07:35] Refried beans on the bottom,

[02:07:36] nopales sautéed with some poblano peppers.

[02:07:39] And then served with chiwawa cheese.

[02:07:41] GORDON: I had some tortillas but somebody stole them.

[02:07:44] Okay?

[02:07:45] JUSTIN: Well sometimes when you gotta win, you gotta win.

[02:07:47] EMANUEL: Yeah, you're home advantage you know.

[02:07:48] All the way.

[02:07:49] GORDON: And then the final dish has to be some of

[02:07:50] the best beef on the planet.

[02:07:52] I mean just incredible.

[02:07:53] So I grilled the rib eye, did a dry rub and then finished

[02:07:55] them with like a chimichurri with a nopales,

[02:07:57] literally marinated those rib eye in that chimichurri.

[02:08:01] JUSTIN: So we took some of your hangar steak,

[02:08:03] grilled it simply with salt over a nice hot mesquite fire.

[02:08:06] We're serving that with baked potatoes.

[02:08:08] We took the liver and the heart from the boar,

[02:08:11] marinated it with a shot of whiskey.

[02:08:13] With a little bit of that those wild onions

[02:08:15] you guys foraged.

[02:08:16] GORDON: Enjoy. JUSTIN: Enjoy please, cheers.

[02:08:17] GORDON: Thank you. RICK: Thank you.

[02:08:28] GORDON: They are tucking in big time.

[02:08:30] JUSTIN: I mean it looks like they're really digging after

[02:08:32] that beef first, I would too.

[02:08:37] GORDON: Look what, look what Bob's doing with that rattlesnake.

[02:08:40] JUSTIN: Almost eating it like a little chicken wing.

[02:08:43] GORDON: Yeah. BOB: Okay is that good?

[02:08:45] JUSTIN: Who do you thinks pulling it out?

[02:08:47] Cause I'm pretty sure I pulled this out.

[02:08:49] MEREDITH: I like Justin's. MADDIE: I like Gordon's.

[02:08:51] CLINT: What, the beef? I like Justin's.

[02:08:54] BREE: Gordon's rib eye was really good with the flavors.

[02:08:57] I liked the lime and the cilantro and

[02:09:00] all the different things happening in it,

[02:09:01] cause I've never had a steak like that.

[02:09:03] MEREDITH: I like Justin's better.

[02:09:04] It's pure beef and you can really taste all of

[02:09:08] the amazing natural flavors that it has.

[02:09:10] MADDIE: Very rare.

[02:09:11] BOB: Gordon's is more like a piece of art,

[02:09:12] but that right there, that's Texas.

[02:09:14] EMANUEL: What do you guys think about Justin's pequin tostadas?

[02:09:16] MEREDITH: Think they're great.

[02:09:17] They were so good.

[02:09:19] RICK: We're gonna talk about Gordon's ribs.

[02:09:20] CLINT: I liked his ribs.

[02:09:21] I liked the fact that they got,

[02:09:22] Gordon's ribs, they got a little bark on 'em.

[02:09:24] BOB: He's got the moisture in there which a lot of people lose.

[02:09:26] And he didn't just cover it with sauces.

[02:09:28] That's some good pork right there.

[02:09:31] GORDON: Right looks like they're ready, shall we?

[02:09:32] JUSTIN: Yeah let's figure this one out.

[02:09:35] GORDON: Okay happy faces.

[02:09:38] BOB: Hey, Gordon.

[02:09:39] GORDON: Are we happy?

[02:09:40] RICK: Very happy.

[02:09:41] GORDON: Why don't we start with the beef first.

[02:09:43] MEREDITH: There was one that really just screamed Texas for me.

[02:09:45] GORDON: Right.

[02:09:47] RICK: You know everything was great on that dish.

[02:09:49] The one thing it was it just wasn't Texas.

[02:09:52] Texas is steak on a plate.

[02:09:53] GORDON: Gotcha. So a little bit too much garnish?

[02:09:55] EMANUEL: The potatoes had no business being there.

[02:09:58] MEREDITH: In Texas the beef needs to be the statement of the plate.

[02:10:01] GORDON: Don't go overboard right?

[02:10:02] Message understood loud and clear.

[02:10:04] Let's talk about the hog.

[02:10:06] RICK: Man those ribs had the bark on it, the smoke,

[02:10:09] had the sticky so you gotta lick your fingers

[02:10:11] and get another napkin.

[02:10:12] It, it was a great dish.

[02:10:14] JUSTIN: I, I gotta give it to him,

[02:10:15] he can smoke a rib.

[02:10:16] CLINT: That's Texas yeah. RICK: Don't get excited.

[02:10:18] We're not done yet.

[02:10:19] I'm just saying that dish was good.

[02:10:20] Slow your roll.

[02:10:22] GORDON: It's neck and neck.

[02:10:23] Justin's taken the beef and I've won with the pork.

[02:10:26] It all comes down to Justin's stolen tostadas

[02:10:29] against my rattlesnake.

[02:10:31] Bob, did we do the rattlesnake justice?

[02:10:34] BOB: You took a very unconventional meat and

[02:10:36] you gave it a, a very unique flavor,

[02:10:39] it's not quite Texas.

[02:10:40] But I absolutely enjoyed it.

[02:10:42] GORDON: And then the tostada?

[02:10:44] RICK: Good flavor.

[02:10:45] EMANUEL: It's definitely Texas in a bite for me.

[02:10:46] BOB: I'll take the snake. GORDON: So who's got the edge?

[02:10:56] EMANUEL: Justin. JUSTIN: Woo! Sorry bud.

[02:10:59] GORDON: No, no, listen. JUSTIN: That was a close one.

[02:11:02] BREE: Bless your heart Gordon. You're just not from Texas.

[02:11:05] GORDON: Yes thanks for that Bree, um.

[02:11:07] Congratulations bud. Seriously.

[02:11:09] Justin is a talented chef.

[02:11:11] He cooks with such bold flavors and no frills.

[02:11:14] At one stage it was neck and neck but he had the edge,

[02:11:18] because he was Texan through and through.

[02:11:20] JUSTIN: Well I'm glad I don't have to wear that kilt.

[02:11:21] (laughs)

[02:11:23] GORDON: I've had an amazing week.

[02:11:24] Thank you from the bottom of my heart and

[02:11:26] I am coming back to Texas, okay?

[02:11:29] JUSTIN: We'll welcome you back. Thank you so much.

[02:11:30] GORDON: Yes? Take care bud.

[02:11:31] JUSTIN: Cheers. GORDON: See you soon.

[02:11:32] RICK: So long. GORDON: Bye ladies.

[02:11:34] What a rewarding journey Texas has been.

[02:11:37] I knew Texan's were a breed of their own but never in

[02:11:39] my wildest dream did I know they possess that much grit.

[02:11:42] I've hunted for venomous rattlesnakes

[02:11:44] with just a stick.

[02:11:45] Foraged the back country for thorny ingredients.

[02:11:49] And herded cattle with the help of a helicopter.

[02:11:54] It's true, everything is bigger in Texas.

[02:11:57] Everyone is tougher in Texas.

[02:11:59] And on that note on to my next journey.