S21.E07: Sausage Race

[ProudMary]

Airdate: Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Synopsis:

Bryan Voltaggio joins Kristen for a two-part Quickfire Challenge testing the chefs' flambé and charring skills. Amar Santana heads to the kitchen with the famous Milwaukee Brewers Racing Sausages. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs divide into two teams and compete in a head-to-head race at American Family Field (home of the Brewers) where they'll serve sausage-forward dishes to a panel of experts including former Brewer Ryan Braun and actress Brittany Snow.

[dleighg]

I can't help but think of the infamous challenge at some ballpark where Jamie managed to avoid serving her disaster of a dish and lived to see another day.

[BlackberryJam]

4 hours ago, dleighg said:

I can't help but think of the infamous challenge at some ballpark where Jamie managed to avoid serving her disaster of a dish and lived to see another day.

Oh yeah...she practically hid to avoid having to serve a dish. 

[Bastet]

I’m going to have to make something with sausage for dinner tonight.  I’m glad to see Michelle back on top.  Hers was the dish I most wanted to eat from her team, but I’d have devoured all of them (except I’d discard the bun on Danny’s after about two bites as there was way too much of it for my taste).

Dan’s was the dish I least wanted from his team, and I thought it was going to be him going home.  But Kevin, dude, it was not a cheese challenge!  (And don’t make risotto.)

I’m with Michelle:  “Mushrooms, bacon, toast, liquor – some of my favorite things.”

And Kaleena:  Run about ten steps, then say “Fuck this”.

And also with Savannah on not doing the dishes, because she does the cooking.  I do all the cooking and all the dishes, because my cat pulls that whole “I can’t, I don’t have thumbs” thing, but if there was a human in this house whose meals I was cooking, I wouldn’t even know where the dish soap is.

[tljgator]

What'd ya know...give them a straightforward challenge that makes sense and they all cook good food, and it's enjoyable to watch.

(Side note: I unapologetically love those doofy racing sausages & I'm glad they weren't wasted.)

[bravofan27]

How apropro that the power bottoms were again together for the sausage race. LOL. 

Kristen looked super cute and her jacket was adorable.

Amir is doing WELL with his Finish sponsorship. Where there is Finish, there is Amir. That said, connecting the quickfire to dishwashing detergent as an inspiration was extremely brave in just how willing Kristin and the others were in looking shameless. And they aren't getting paid for their endorsements but sort of forced to.

I'm very curious how well Laura will work with everyone. They made a point to air her interview where she talked about how her dad made her get her own place and be completely independent when she was 16-- that's going to mess you up and affect how you relate to people as an adult. I'm sure that was very scary. 

[Ancaster]

Can someone tell me when seasoned became synonymous with salty?

[bravofan27]

21 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

Can someone tell me when seasoned became synonymous with salty?

Yeah, when they talk about something being seasoned they are talking about salt. If it's bland- not enough salt. They will never say anything is well seasoned but too salty. So seasoned = salt. Flavor = all the other seasonings. IMO. 

[mlp]

I got a kick out of the racing sausages but I have to know from someone who has seen them at a game.........................  Do they actually do that mincing sort of running, maybe so their giant heads don't capsize, or do they really run at games?

Kristen looked cute in her track suit.

I was sorry to see Kevin leave but his dish really didn't look very good.  I was very relieved it wasn't Dan.

Michelle has a winning personality.  I'm always happy for her and her food always looks like something I'd want to eat.

 

[pezgirl7]

11 minutes ago, mlp said:

I got a kick out of the racing sausages but I have to know from someone who has seen them at a game.........................  Do they actually do that mincing sort of running, maybe so their giant heads don't capsize, or do they really run at games?

They usually flat out run. Sometimes a runner falls and trips the other sausages and mayhem ensues. Chorizo almost always comes in last because his hat is heavy. They run by the dugouts and one time a visiting player on the Pirates thought it would be funny to accidentally trip one. He was questioned by the police, fined for disorderly conduct, and suspended a few games by the MLB. The sausages are the OG of racing mascots and have inspired other teams to do something similar. One of my favorites is the racing Pierogis in Pittsburgh. 

[Ancaster]

Surely I'm not the only one who doesn't think charred is synonymous with burnt.

[mlp]

17 minutes ago, pezgirl7 said:

The sausages are the OG of racing mascots

Thanks for the information!  I live in Central Illinois so I'm surprised I'd never heard of them.

[Irlandesa]

10 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

They run by the dugouts and one time a visiting player on the Pirates thought it would be funny to accidentally trip one.

It was a bat!  He hit a racer with a bat. That's why the police got involved. (It's in the video below and even knowing something was coming thanks to your post, I was still stunned.)

Here's a short (approx. 2.5 minute) piece on the sausage race.  You don't see a whole race but there are snippets here and it's clear they sometimes run full out.  There's even a junior version.

 

 

9 hours ago, Ancaster said:

Surely I'm not the only one who doesn't think charred is synonymous with burnt.

I think char is supposed to have flavor.  Maybe a bitter flavor but flavor.  Burnt has all the original flavor taken out of it so I don't personally think they're the same.

I'm glad Dan is still in.  Kevin has been bouncing around the bottom for a while now. 

Edited May 2 by Irlandesa

[buttersister]

I was concerned for Dan but all that cheese in Kevin.’s dish made me queasy. 

Happy for Michelle. Loved Danny letting Laura know what was up this shop. 👀

 

[Lassus]

I wish I could have posted this last night, but I have what may be the most important question in Top Chef forum history, if not the most important question in the history of television itself.

Why, why, WHY were they able to drop BRATWURST and CHORIZO, and even PIEROGI, but they refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?  Help me, please, you're my only hope.

Dziękuję

Edited May 2 by Lassus

[Heathrowe]

Maybe someone “owns” kielbasa as a brand it tm’d it?

Edited May 2 by Heathrowe

[Tess23]

FINALLY a normal challenge and episode. Top Chef, you had me worried there for awhile.

My love for Danny only grew larger when he side-eyed Laura and had a few well-chosen words about how shopping was going to go. 

 

[graybrown bird]

What an enjoyable episode!  Thank you, Top Chef!

[Lassus]

1 hour ago, Heathrowe said:

Maybe someone “owns” kielbasa as a brand it tm’d it?

Not a crazy thought, but it certainly doesn't seem so.

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=f977441fd745688c&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS982US982&sxsrf=ACQVn0_5Ji074VJUhP_U704KZLdyrMrt5w:1714657854136&q=kielbasa&tbm=shop&source=lnms&prmd=isvmnbtz&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111&biw=1370&bih=639&dpr=1.25

It's very weird to me (and maybe no one else) but it just seemed so weirdly purposeful, like there had to be some actual reason.

[Lassus]

49 minutes ago, Tess23 said:

My love for Danny only grew larger when he side-eyed Laura and had a few well-chosen words about how shopping was going to go. 

I also really like Danny, but whining about this immediately after you had just won $20,000 seemed kinda over-bitchy.  It made me wonder if we're getting a pre-villain edit.

[Lovecat]

Man, it's a bad week to start working on some healthier eating habits...three days of lots of veggies and whole grains and I was drooling over every single one of those sausage dishes.  I went to sleep with images of dancing sausages in my head!

I hail from the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, home of the Iron Pigs minor league baseball team.  The team's name is an homage to our region's steelmaking roots (pig iron is used in making steel), but the team leans into the "pig" part.  The team mascots are pigs named Ferrous (get it?) and FeFe (eh? eh??), and our racers are Chris P. Bacon, Hambone, Ribbie, Barbie Q, and Diggity (a hot dog).

This was a fun challenge.  The concept was clear, the food looked delicious, the chefs were getting along, and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.

[rlc]

9 hours ago, pezgirl7 said:

Chorizo almost always comes in last because his hat is heavy.

Thank you @pezgirl7 for a much needed giggle.

[NowVoyager]

My favorite sausage is andouille. Who do I talk to about getting a mascot? Think about it--- it could have Mardi Gras beads! 😃

What a fun, delicious challenge. The mascots made me giggle & my mouth was watering thinking about all those delicious sausages. I thought the one lady would be dinged for not making her own sausage, but nope. Yea, Michelle! I'm glad Danny laid down the law about budget & being a good teammate ahead of Restaurant Wars next week.

Did anyone else notice how Kristen was eating during the Quick Fire? Like, she went in! Lol.

Edited May 2 by NowVoyager

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, Lassus said:

Why, why, WHY were they able to drop BRATWURST and CHORIZO, and even PIEROGI, but they refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?  Help me, please, you're my only hope.

I agree with you but Polish sausage and kielbasa are used interchangeably in my experience. On the Brewers website, they do refer to the sausage as Polish sausage which is probably why Top Chef did.  I did think last night that if I were presenting, I'd say kielbasa instead of Polish sausage just to sound fancier.

[Ancaster]

3 hours ago, Heathrowe said:

Maybe someone “owns” kielbasa as a brand it tm’d it?

.

Edited May 2 by Ancaster

[Lassus]

58 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

they do refer to the sausage as Polish sausage which is probably why Top Chef did.

This actually makes sense.  It's LAME of the Brewers and even a little surprising, but it does make sense to use the same terminology that the stadium uses.  Thank you!

I'm a little surprised none of the chefs randomly referred to it as kielbasa, though.

[meep.meep]

2 hours ago, Tess23 said:

My love for Danny only grew larger when he side-eyed Laura and had a few well-chosen words about how shopping was going to go. 

 

He also nobly took on the hot dog because he had immunity.  That's good team play.

[pezgirl7]

10 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It was a bat!  He hit a racer with a bat. That's why the police got involved. (It's in the video below and even knowing something was coming thanks to your post, I was still stunned.)

Ah yes, I don't know how I forgot that part! What a dumb thing to do, although he said he was just playing around, and the lady didn't even know she had gotten hit and wasn't too upset.

Earlier this year, a Twins player almost got taken out by the bratwurst. You'll never know what will happen in these races! If you want to watch a fun video, check out Jomboy's video of when he was invited to be in the race and pulled his hamstring. He's a pretty popular internet baseball commentator.

I'm a little bummed the chefs didn't get to go down the slide.

[dleighg]

In the QF the link from the Finish DW product to flambé" was absolutely tortured. What does flambé" have to with doing dishes. Nothing....

I guess we are officially done with being afraid of covid. Savanah/Laura (I can't tell them apart) testing one of the booze bottles by mouth, and Kevin double dipping in the blender.... 

So I could see the sense of all the sausage runners outfits... except the Polish one. I guess there is no stereotypical polish costume.

I'm glad that Kevin and not Dan left. That foam looked disgusting (as it ALWAYS does).

So next week is restaurant week with 9 chefs??? How's that gonna work?

[dleighg]

Are there two sets of sausages (normal human size and big)? I saw this in the video posted above

 

[tljgator]

4 hours ago, Lassus said:

Why, why, WHY were they able to drop BRATWURST and CHORIZO, and even PIEROGI, but they refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?  Help me, please, you're my only hope.

Okay, since this is precisely the type of rabbit hole I'm apt to fall down, I...spent a little (fine, too much) time digging around. My simple conclusion? The original sponsor of the race in the early 90s, per Wiki, was Klement's sausages. While they do now have one product called "Polska Kielbasa," the majority of their current offerings and nearly all older images on Google simply use the term / name "Polish Sausage" (and, their precooked product, which I'd bet is what was sold in the ballpark, is labeled as such), so I'm guessing that's where the name came from.

Current sponsor is Johnsonville -- they use the term / name "Polish Kielbasa" on their products, so they probably just left it as is. Side note for @NowVoyager, they do have several andouille products, so maybe shoot them a request, lol? They also seem to sell a lot of "Summer" sausage, so maybe a seasonal mascot in a tank top & visor?

...back to doing real work now.

 

* @dleighg I think those are the "kid" versions of the adult sausages, lol

[CeeGee]

2 hours ago, Lovecat said:

 

I hail from the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, home of the Iron Pigs minor league baseball team.  The team's name is an homage to our region's steelmaking roots (pig iron is used in making steel), but the team leans into the "pig" part.  The team mascots are pigs named Ferrous (get it?) and FeFe (eh? eh??), and our racers are Chris P. Bacon, Hambone, Ribbie, Barbie Q, and Diggity (a hot dog).

 

Team Hambone here.  Diggity cheats.

[bosawks]

3 hours ago, Lovecat said:

Man, it's a bad week to start working on some healthier eating habits...three days of lots of veggies and whole grains and I was drooling over every single one of those sausage dishes.  I went to sleep with images of dancing sausages in my head!

I hail from the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, home of the Iron Pigs minor league baseball team.  The team's name is an homage to our region's steelmaking roots (pig iron is used in making steel), but the team leans into the "pig" part.  The team mascots are pigs named Ferrous (get it?) and FeFe (eh? eh??), and our racers are Chris P. Bacon, Hambone, Ribbie, Barbie Q, and Diggity (a hot dog).

This was a fun challenge.  The concept was clear, the food looked delicious, the chefs were getting along, and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.

Gotta love the bacon hat for them!

[CrazyInAlabama]

The look on Laura's face when Danny made the remark about keeping to their own budgets was epic.  She was really ticked, but I'm glad he said it.  

 

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, tljgator said:

Current sponsor is Johnsonville -- they use the term / name "Polish Kielbasa" on their products, so they probably just left it as is.

I'm sure that's what it is -- I saw Johnsonville on the back of one of them.

3 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I hail from the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, home of the Iron Pigs minor league baseball team.  The team's name is an homage to our region's steelmaking roots (pig iron is used in making steel), but the team leans into the "pig" part.  The team mascots are pigs named Ferrous (get it?) and FeFe (eh? eh??), and our racers are Chris P. Bacon, Hambone, Ribbie, Barbie Q, and Diggity (a hot dog).

Are they real pigs?

[CeeGee]

46 minutes ago, bosawks said:

Gotta love the bacon hat for them!

I wear that hat frequently. :-)  

And yes, what a lovely episode. Even though the ingredients were run of the mill, nearly everyone immediately thought to elevate them, and were able to do so without space or budget dramas. This was the first time I really thought everyone belonged in that kitchen.

[Lovecat]

3 hours ago, Rammchick said:

Are they real pigs?

If you are 12 or under:  Sure.  [I'm not going to be the one who ruins it!]

If you are an adult:  As real as the Phillie Phanatic is!

 

Edited May 2 by Lovecat

[Rammchick]

31 minutes ago, Lovecat said:

If you are 12 or under:  Sure.  [I'm not going to be the one who ruins it!]

If you are an adult:  As real as the Phillie Phanatic is!

 

Thanks for the giggle!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really enjoyed seeing the sausage race characters.   That's something I love about TC going to the different cities, seeing unique attractions.    

[caitmcg]

14 hours ago, Lassus said:

Why, why, WHY were they able to drop BRATWURST and CHORIZO, and even PIEROGI, but they refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?  Help me, please, you're my only hope.

Well, there's also the fact that all kielbasa is Polish sausage, but not all Polish sausage is kielbasa.

12 hours ago, Lassus said:

13 hours ago, Tess23 said:

My love for Danny only grew larger when he side-eyed Laura and had a few well-chosen words about how shopping was going to go. 

I also really like Danny, but whining about this immediately after you had just won $20,000 seemed kinda over-bitchy.  It made me wonder if we're getting a pre-villain edit.

I don't really understand this critique, because the one thing has nothing to do with the other. Yeah, he won $20K personally in the QF, but should that mean he doesn't want a fair shot at doing well in the EC (or for anyone else on his team to also get one)? Last time he was on a team challenge with Laura, he was screwed over when they shopped and had use leftover produce from the others because of her insistence on using an outsize portion of the budget, so he was really looking out for everyone on the team (and not just himself) when he insisted that she not do it again. And it set fair parameters for all of them, considering that they were all doing dishes with similar centerpieces.

[nokat]

15 hours ago, Lassus said:

Not a crazy thought, but it certainly doesn't seem so.

https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=f977441fd745688c&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS982US982&sxsrf=ACQVn0_5Ji074VJUhP_U704KZLdyrMrt5w:1714657854136&q=kielbasa&tbm=shop&source=lnms&prmd=isvmnbtz&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111&biw=1370&bih=639&dpr=1.25

It's very weird to me (and maybe no one else) but it just seemed so weirdly purposeful, like there had to be some actual reason.

Johnsonville does say Polish Kielbasa. Blackbox meats though. I might have to order.

[MsJamieDornan]

19 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?

We dont call it that in Wisconsin

[Lassus]

8 hours ago, caitmcg said:

Well, there's also the fact that all kielbasa is Polish sausage, but not all Polish sausage is kielbasa.

I did wonder about this.  My grandparents and ten trillion Roman Catholic relatives seemingly never in their life referred to anything EXCEPT kielbasa.

EDIT:  Although the article already confuses me with it's first sentence - 

Quote

1. Kiełbasa myśliwska (keow-BAH-sah mish-LEEV-skah) Kielbasa is the general term for sausage

- which would vaguely imply that all Polish sausage could certainly be referred to as kielbasa.

And then number 2 in the list of Polish sausage isn't quite a sausage? 

Quote

2. Surowo-wędzona (soo-RO-voh ven-ZO-nah) Surowo means “fresh” or “raw,” and wedzona means “smoked.” The name is somewhat confusing, because technically it’s not a fresh sausage; it’s been cold-smoked, meaning smoked at a lower temperature, yielding a moister texture closer to raw meat.

And a few of the other ones are even called kielbasa also.

Anyhow, my purpose is not to be combative, just that I still found the whole thing interesting and consistently weird (to me) while watching.

Edited May 3 by Lassus

[Lassus]

1 hour ago, MsJamieDornan said:

We dont call it that in Wisconsin

Sure!  I guess I wouldn't get why if chorizo's OK as opposed to Mexican sausage, but there ya go.

[GiandujaPie]

All of the dishes were amazing. For scoring, I wish they'd gone with how many flags each team actually got as opposed to a winner take all in each inning. However, I guess it's akin to leaving hitters on base without scoring. It doesn't matter how many hits you get and how many players get on base, you still have to send them home. 

Soo's corn dog did sound interesting. There is a Korean corn dog restaurant near my house that I keep meaning to try. Hot dogs are apparently popular in Korea due to the large number of American military stationed there over the years. 

[AriAu]

Quote

Soo's corn dog did sound interesting. There is a Korean corn dog restaurant near my house that I keep meaning to try. Hot dogs are apparently popular in Korea due to the large number of American military stationed there over the years. 

This was a GREAT idea for a dish since it is a blank canvas for flavors....and seemed to be well executed. This guy seems to know how to play the game as well and I have a hunch he has some more in his back pocket for later in the season!

The challenge was pretty straightforward so they cooked consistently good food. However, I am not sure why this needed to be a team challenge giving immunity to the the winning team-why not the 5 winners of the head to head are safe and the other 5 go to elimination??

To be clear, the Sausage Race rules....there is something so "wholesome" about it since it has been around for a loooooong time (I think over 30 years) and started out as pretty innocent and then got commercialized-there is merch in the gift shops at Miller Park.....I mean American Family Park.

Quote

Why, why, WHY were they able to drop BRATWURST and CHORIZO, and even PIEROGI, but they refused to use, even once, the term KIELBASA?  "Polish sausage"?  What am I not understanding?  Help me, please, you're my only hope.

Amusing as all the back and forth is, and while there is a large Polish population in Milwaukee and the Midwest, if you go to a concession stand at this ballpark, the boards say "Polish Sausage", as is the case at the great hot dog places in Chicago and the surrounding areas.

By the way, they have waited far to long to have the cheftestants head to Kopps.....only the world's greatest frozen custard, especially on a day when they have Butterfinger, Cookies and Cream, Carmel Cashew, Mint Chip or Spumoni as a flavor of  the day. ETA...or Peach Melba or Mocha Chip or Mr Fudgie or....

Edited May 3 by AriAu

[dleighg]

I went down a rabbit hole to find out the difference between frozen custard and ice cream. First I learned that frozen custard has egg yolks in it while ice cream doesn't (but some ice cream has eggs).

I thought "but every time I've watched a cooking competition and they have to make ice cream they say it's just frozen creme anglaise."

So I guess when cheffy people make ice cream they are actually making frozen custard.

[Tango64]

I don't have anything against Dan but I thought he should have gone home instead of Kevin. Tom accurately described Dan's dish as just a latke with some sliced sausage on top. I believe he said "not even trying." Kevin's overly cheesy dish didn't work, but at least he went for something. 

I say "tried but failed" should win over "didn't even try."

[caitmcg]

1 hour ago, AriAu said:

I am not sure why this needed to be a team challenge giving immunity to the the winning team-why not the 5 winners of the head to head are safe and the other 5 go to elimination?

There was no immunity; in fact, Kristen announced during the QF that immunity is off the table for the rest of the season.

[Domenicholas]

I'm sorry, Kevin. I made a joke last week about a perfectly-cooked risotto being chaotic for Top Chef, only for him to go home with risotto this week. At least it was one of the best risottos on the show.