A Thanksgiving-themed episode, and Bobby Flay handed a chile relleno as the challenge to Nick Zocco of Urban Hill in Salt Lake City. That is the kind of scheduling irony the universe occasionally provides for free. Zocco, who runs one of the more ambitious rooms in a city that has been quietly building a serious restaurant scene, took the dish with full technical commitment.
Chile relleno lives or dies on the egg white batter — over-beaten and it deflates in the oil, under-beaten and it never lifts. Zocco whipped his whites to stiff peaks, folded in yolks gently to maintain loft, and battered the charred, peeled poblano immediately so the steam from the chile helped the batter adhere. He fried at 375°F for two minutes, no more, letting the crust puff and set before the chile could collapse it.
On a Thanksgiving episode, goose traditionally gets cooked. Bobby's batter, the judges found, broke down before plating. Zocco's held.