Top Chef with Teanna - Season 1, Episode 3 - Monkfish Corndogs with Mango Ketchup

Monkfish.

Kind of like our friend, the Octopus.

Both invoke a slight gag effect when in their true form, but are actually pretty tasty when on my plate.

On this episode of Top Chef, the cheftestants had to make something tasty out of something that looks very unappetizing. 

Needless to say, our cheftestants were a bit nervous. 

Coincidentally (in my case, at least), the quickfire challenge involved cooking octopus.  The chefs had 60 minutes to take an entire octopus and make it a meal - a difficult task on any day, as octopus usually needs to boil for at least 45 minutes.  I would have squealed as I did when making octopus here in my place.  That, my friends, is why I am not on Top Chef.

In the elimination challenge, the chefs had the pleasure of making a tasty dish out of monkfish.  The people who would be judging this dish? 

40 ten year olds.

The chefs looked nervous.  Tiffani was upset that she was "lowering her standards" to cook for children and noted her disdain for their palates.  She then called certain dishes childish.  

Um.  Tiffani? That's the whole point.  

The group was split into two teams - Team Red and Team Blue.  Team Red - the winning Team - consisted of Candice, Cynthia, Miguel, Lisa, and my favorite and yours, Stephen the Sommelier.  They were lucky enough to have Cynthia, a mother with two children, on their team.  Her knowledge of what children like and don't like to eat won them this challenge.  Their menu of Monkfish Corn Dogs (called "Monkey Dogs") with a Mango Ketchup, Fruit Skewers with a vanilla honey dipping sauce, and criss-crossed potato chips was well received by the children.  And the children were thrilled to learn that their criss-crossed potato chips were actually called "gaufrettes" by our beloved Stephen (note the sarcasm).

To be honest, I was going to skip this week.  I did not know how I was going to make monkfish corndogs, nor did I want to eat them.  But then I decided that I took on this challenge for a reason - to challenge myself.  So I sighed, headed to the fishmonger (I will use that word whenever I get the chance) and got my monkfish. 

I didn't have a meat grinder, so I grated the monkfish with a cheese grater, formed the grated monkfish into quenelles, froze them, coated them in batter, and fried away.  I have never eaten, nor seen in person, a corn dog, so I wasn't sure if I did it right, but it looked pretty good to me. 

The taste?  Actually... it wasn't bad.  It was actually pretty good, if I do say so myself. The mango ketchup was a nice accompaniment.  The crisp skin of the corn dog gave way to the soft, creamy fish and went very well with the sweet and spicy ketchup.  

This reminded me of that "Deceptively Delicious" book, where you hide good ingredients in foods kids would like.  So this would be like, hiding scary fish in deep fried batter.  Hey, your arteries will clog, but at least you are getting your vitamins! 

Next Week: The Microwave Challenge - Mirin Glazed Escolar 

Monkfish Corn Dogs

2 cups Flour

1 cups cornmeal (fine ground)

1 1/2 Tablespoons baking soda

1 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

 3 eggs (separated)
1 1/2 cups milk
3 lbs monkfish

Sift first five ingredients in one bowl, in a separate bowl, mix yolks and milk, in another bowl, whip whites to stiff peaks. Mix wet with dry and fold egg whites in mix.  Let it sit for 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Clean and ground fish, then make quenelles and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Coat in batter and fry at 350° until golden brown.

Mango Ketchup - Adapted from Bobby Flay

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Pinch cloves
Pinch Cayenne pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 large mango, peeled, pit removed and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the cinnamon, allspice, cloves and habanero and cook an additional 1 minute. Add the mango and continue cooking until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Place the mango mixture into the bowl of a food processor, add the vinegar and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.  

Comments

[Tracey]

Oh wow, that monkfish is creepy!! I don't know that I've ever seen one staring at me like that :) The finished dish looks great though - glad you enjoyed it!

[Ashley]

It's very impressive and inspiring how you're taking on the challenge of making all these different dishes!

[The Duo Dishes]

LOVE corn dogs. Like the processed meat kind. :) But this is a grown folks way to graduate from 5 yr old food to something a bit more sophisticated. Cutting up that monkfish though? Ack!!!

[Margaret]

Well, that looks interesting!!! I have had fried squid but never monk fish. HUMMM!

[Megan]

Holy cow - that fish scared me.

But cut to the second picture, when it's on the plate - mmmmmm.

[Jenn@slim-shoppin]

I know what you mean about things that look unappetizing!

Did you happen to see Iron Chef on Food TV when the secret ingredient was octopus!

Eww!! I wouldn't have been able to even touch it, let alone cut its legs off!

Your mongfish however looks great after its cooked!!

[jenn]

Mango ketchup? That one is new to me. Bookmarked this.

[Jill]

The final product looks good! I'm not sure if I would have been able to even buy the monkfish, much less grate it on a cheese grater!

[rebekka]

I think it looks lovely! I love monkfish, it's one of my favorites. I wish I had seen that episode.

[Wendy]

You've never had a corn dog?? wow. I've never had monkfish. It looks scary. How cool that you are challenging yourself.

[Cakelaw]

The octopus and the monkfish in their uncooked, unplated state look terrifying! But the corn dogs look delicious.

[phyllis (me HUNGRY!)]

Haha - I remember this episode of Top Chef and those monkey dogs!! What an unfortunate looking fish, quite tasty though. Very clever that you used a grater to grind the fish. And I can't believe you've never had a corndog!! One of life's guiltiest pleasures, get yourself to a carnival or Nathan's ASAP!

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

You are very brave to recreate this one :) I would love to try this too. I actually have been cooking quite a lot with monkfish lately and getting to really like it.

About your question re: Kurobuta - I got it at Wegmans but one of the comments was a recommendation of Preferred Meats: 1-800-397-6328.

[foodcreate]

I have never try monk fish. The pictures does demonstrate that is is a tasty and filling fish.I have to try it sometimes.

Thanks for sharing your recipe :)

Go get yourself a nice corn dog :)
and walk the park. Enjoy!

Welcome ~~~~
http://foodcreate.com

[Margot]

Oh, how I miss Stephen; season one of "Top Chef" was the best (I still watch DVDs of it sometimes). That looks like some great fried goodness!

[Tastestopping]

Yes, you have to use the word "fishmonger" whenever you have the opportunity. You are a brave woman to tackle the Top Chef recipes! But, I bet you'll be quite a different chef, yourself, once you're on the other side of the challenge.

I found you on TasteSpotting and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.

Best,
Casey
Editor
www.tastestopping.wordpress.com

[Kayte]

Very fun that you are doing this. We did monkfish for Whisk and could not find it...on the endangered list so since it was "poor man's lobster," I think that was the choice of sub...I made the recipe several times since then. I love these Top Chef posts, and I have no doubt you will be there one day!

[lisaiscooking]

Looks delicious! And, the mango ketchup sounds great with this.

[Raeann]

"Grated the monkfish with a cheese grater." I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say "eeeewww" to that, HOWEVER...the end result looks mighty scrumptious. Great job & daring cook! *applause*

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