Name: Kenny Johnson's Winning meatballs
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef chuck (80/20 blend); 1/2 lb ground pork; 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup whole milk; 2 large eggs; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped; 1 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 cup marinara sauce

Thirty years in professional kitchens. The Manor in King City. Gran Morsi in New York. The kind of résumé that doesn't show up on Instagram because the kitchens predated Instagram.

Kenny Johnson brought meatballs — the dish where you cannot fake fundamentals. The meatball reveals whether your panade was made with milk-soaked bread or with breadcrumbs (one keeps the meatball tender, the other turns it into a fist). It reveals whether you over-mixed (tough) or under-mixed (it falls apart). Bobby has made meatballs for thirty years. Johnson has made meatballs for thirty years. Only one of them was making them on this particular day under these particular conditions.

The judges chose the one with the milk panade.