Accepted under the mentorship of your idol and the world's hottest chef Gordon Ramsay, you must prove your skill and determination through competing in Hell's Kitchen- A month long cooking contest versus fifteen other fierce contestants and difficul...
I take my extremely odd protein into the kitchen and set it down on the countertop, mulling over what I could possibly make out of a snake that would be delicious enough to beat out my competition. Thankfully, I could see Taylor and Bella both staring at their meats, deep in thought. At least I'm not alone on the 'what the heck do I do with this' train.
As my mind continues to draw a blank, it seems to me that the only way I'll come up with something is if I let my hands take me where they want to go. The first step is to figure out what snake even tastes like.
I cut a sliver of the snake meat off and cook it in a pan for a minute or so. Then, I mentally prepare myself for eating the meat of something I'd otherwise prefer to have nowhere near my throat.
Surprisingly, it's good. Really good. Snake fits somewhere between fish and chicken in taste. The texture is lean and soft, due to an almost non-existent fat content. I am hit with a nutty flavor that is entirely unique. I'd never tasted anything like it before, but it is really interesting. Maybe I have a better chance at winning than I'd originally anticipated.
The meat was given to me in three long strips. Upon weighing, I have about two-thirds of a pound of to work with.
An idea forms in my mind's eye.
I could braise this meat and make something absolutely delicious.
Without allowing myself any more wasted time, I put a Dutch oven pot on the burner and set it to medium-high. While that's heating up, I season the snake generously with salt and pepper.
Once the pot is hot, I add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom.
While the oil heats up, I cut some carrots and celery. Then, I add my snake meat in to the pot. While it's browning, I finish cutting up some onion and mushrooms.
When the meat is browned on all sides, I take it out and set it aside on a plate and dump my vegetables into the Dutch oven.
After a few minutes, I try a bite of one of the carrots. Ahh, deliciously soft.
Now it's time to de-glaze the pan with wine. I take some Merlot red wine and splash it in over my vegetables. The alcohol content in it helps to strip the pot of the flavorful brown bits at the bottom. I cook the wine until the alcohol burns off.
I add my browned snake meat back into the pot and fill it up to halfway with part beef, part chicken stock, and then turn up the heat to a boil.
Usually braising takes anywhere from one and a half hours to three hours. But considering that the meat I'm cooking with is so thin, I'm hoping that it will cook in time for the challenge.
I fill a cheesecloth with some aromatics– orange peel, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves– then tie up the cheesecloth with butcher's twine and place it inside the now boiling pot.
Lastly, I cut parchment paper to the diameter of the pot and place it directly over the food before closing the lid on my creation.
"Forty minutes remain, Chefs," Gordon calls out from the head of the kitchen. Since he's keeping a quieter voice, most of the Chefs don't look up or acknowledge him. I'm sure I'd only heard him because I could pick up his voice in a crowd of a thousand people.
Gordon looks disgruntled at the lack of response from both teams.
"Chef says forty minutes, everyone!" I shout, repeating Chef Ramsay's words and trying to make sure I'm heard in both kitchens.
"Thank you, Chef!" Red cheerily responds to me.
A few people across both kitchens also yell out 'heard!'
Huh, I didn't expect people to respond, honestly. It is a pleasant feeling. I look back to Gordon who gives me a beaming grin. Stifling the urge to blush, I look down at my covered pot.
Every few minutes I check on the stock levels in the pot, adding more stock when it starts to get low.
I'm in the process of adding more stock to my pot when I feel fingers brush my right side. Before I can look to see who's touching me, I hear Gordon's voice as he leans towards my ear.
"Please let everyone know it'll be ten more minutes, love," he requests, then squeezes my side before letting go and returning to the head of the kitchens.
"Ten minutes, Chefs!" I dutifully pass on the information Gordon had requested. Once again, a chorus of 'heard' resounds through the air.
Now, it's time to see how well my grandiose idea of a one-hour braise worked out.
I take a fork and dip it into my pot. The snake meat comes off easily in one motion. I take a bite and find myself involuntarily making an mm-mmm sound. Yep, it worked.
With a few minutes to go, I pour out the stock and then put my meat and vegetables down on a plate.
To make it prettier, I get a second plate out and organize my snake meat along the outer edge of the plate, almost like it's constricting the center. I cut the snake meat into bite-sized pieces and then fill the center with my braised carrot, celery, onion, and mushroom combination.
Gordon claps from the front, then points to the LCD screen behind him that displays a countdown from two minutes. With my dish already ready to go, I place the silver dome over the top and wait by the front only a few feet to the left of Gordon.
I'm ready to win this challenge.
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