The WORST episodes of America's Test Kitchen
Every episode of America's Test Kitchen ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of America's Test Kitchen!
In "America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated," a team of expert chefs continue to provide viewers with practical recipes and recommendations that they can use to save money, time and effort in the kitchen. With its uniquely scientific flavor, the show uses blind tasting judges, flash animations and laboratory procedures to answer a variety of kitchen questions. Putting everything from pasta and pasta pots, cheese and cheese graters, as well as host Chris Kimball to the test, this series offers surprises that often defy price points and move beyond fancy packaging and brand expectations.
#1 - Best Beef Stew
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/20/2007
Join us as we uncover the secrets behind a favorite beef stew and streamline a hearty side dish. A basic beef stew can be altered in dozens of ways, usually by adding more ingredients to the pot. But can you go the other way and strip beef stew down to its bare bones (or, to be more precise, to its beef)? If you trade the carrots and potatoes for a mess of onions and add a good dose of beer (instead of red wine) as part of the braising liquid, you’ve created a simple Belgian beef stew called carbonnade à la flamande. Beef, beer, and onions have a natural affinity—think burger, onion rings, and a beer. In a carbonnade, the heartiness of beef melds with the soft sweetness of sliced onions in a lightly thickened broth that is rich, deep, and satisfying, with the malty flavor of beer. We aimed to create the very best version of this cold-weather favorite. Sweet acorn squash makes a worthy partner alongside carbonnade or with many other dishes during the cold weather season, but too often this squash turns out dry and stringy. We wanted to devise a method that ensured sweet, tender squash, without a lot of hassle. Recipes: Carbonnade a la Flamande—Belgian Beef, Beer, and Onion Stew Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar Acorn Squash with Rosemary-Dried Fig Compote Tasting Lab: Beer for Carbonnade Equipment Center: Paring Knives—Updated Science Desk: Are All Microwaves Created Equal?
#2 - Maple-Glazed Pork Roast
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/28/2004
Say goodbye to dry, tough, candy-like roasts. The marketing of the “other white meat” would be amusing if today’s pork weren’t so lean and flavorless. Recipes: Maple-Glazed Pork Loin; Wild Rice Pilaf Equipment Center: Food Storage Containers
#3 - Summer Tomatoes
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/10/2004
Say goodbye to thick, bland gazpacho and soggy tomato tarts. It’s feast or famine when it comes to good tomatoes. Recipes: Gazpacho; Quick Summer Tomato Tart Tasting Lab: Mozzarella Cheese
#4 - Grill Roasted Pork Loin
Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/13/2006
Lightly dressed French potato salad perfectly complements this smoky roast pork. Recipes: Grill-Roasted Pork; French Potato Salad Equipment Corner: Kitchen Twine Tasting Lab: Dijon Mustard
#5 - Texas Chili
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/15/2003
The best chili: hearty, heavy on the meat, and spicy.
#6 - Two Ways with Shrimp
Season 8 - Episode 24 - Aired 6/14/2008
We explore two elegant approaches to shrimp—one hot dish and one cold—and find the best way to prepare each. Recipe: Garlicky Shrimp with Bread Crumbs, Shrimp Salad Equipment: Kitchen Timers Taste test: Tuna
#7 - Lightening Up Chocolate Desserts
Season 8 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/3/2008
Skipping dessert or eating a piece of fruit is an obvious way to cut calories, but where’s the fun in that? We set our sights on lowering the fat and calories in two favorite chocolate desserts—chocolate mousse and brownies. Recipe: Low-Fat Chocolate Mousse, Fudgy Low-Fat Brownies Taste test: Light Vanilla Ice Cream
#8 - Indian Favorites, Simplified
Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/17/2008
We develop home-cook-friendly versions of two Indian favorites: vegetable curry and chicken tikka masala. Recipe: Indian-Style Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas, and Chickpeas, Chicken Tikka Masala Taste test: Crushed Tomatoes
#9 - Lighter Cheesecake
Season 7 - Episode 26 - Aired 6/30/2007
Join us as we uncover the secrets to low-fat desserts that you'll really want to eat. While a crisp apple or bowl of juicy berries makes an admirable end to a meal, there’s an allure to baked desserts that is hard to resist. But many desserts carry a lot of fat and calories; for most of us, they should be more the occasional indulgence than regular weeknight fare. We wanted to come up with recipes for two classic desserts, carrot cake and cheesecake, that would make them both light enough and good enough to enjoy most any day of the week. Many light carrot cakes look like the real thing, but one bite quickly dispels the notion. Not only dry but also heavy and dense, these cakes may be "light" when it comes to fat and calories but not when it come to texture. We wanted tender cake, sweet and lightly spiced. And we wanted our cake to be slathered in a thick, creamy frosting. The recipes we tested for light cheesecake were no better than the carrot cakes — in fact, they were worse. Most were plagued by a rubbery texture and pasty, Spackle-like consistency. And in place of the lightly sweetened, tangy flavor of a full-fat cheesecake, these lightened cakes were tinged with off, artificial flavors. We would have to do some serious testing to come up with a lightened cheesecake that would pass muster among tasters. Recipes: Light Carrot Cake Light Cream Cheese Frosting Light New York Cheesecake Light Fresh Strawberry Topping Tasting Lab: Coffee--Tasting Supermarket Whole Bean Coffee
#10 - Easy Apple Desserts
Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 6/16/2007
For a not-too-sweet apple dessert, pair a tart apple such as Granny Smith with a sweet apple like Golden Delicious or McIntosh, as we did in Skillet Apple Brown Betty and Easy Apple Strudel. When it comes to apple desserts, apple pie may be the most popular, but it’s also the most involved. When you don’t want to fuss with pie, but you still want that warm and comforting combination of apple and pastry, there are other options. Take apple brown betty—apples, sugar, and buttered bread crumbs. This baked fruit dish is decidedly humble, but delicious nonetheless—especially when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But this often-overlooked dessert needs a serious makeover—too many versions are a soggy mess with muddied flavors. Classic apple strudel, a European specialty, consists of lightly sweetened apples, raisins, and nuts wrapped in paper-thin pastry. Traditional recipes involve hours of preparation, rolling and pulling the pastry dough until it is so thin you can read a newspaper through it. We reasoned that there must be an easier (and quicker) way. Determined to find out, we set about streamlining this sophisticated dessert, without compromising its flaky texture and sophisticated flavors. Join us as we resurrect one humble apple dessert and streamline another. Recipes: Skillet Apple Brown Betty Skillet Apple Brown Betty with Golden Raisins and Calvados Skillet Apple Brown Betty with Pecans and Dried Cranberries Easy Apple Strudel Tasting Lab: The Scoop on Vanilla Ice Cream—Updated Equipment Center: Pastry Brushes—Updated Science Desk: Overrun and Ice Cream
#11 - Fish and Vegetables Hit the Grill
Season 24 - Episode 23 - Aired 7/13/2024
Host Bridget Lancaster grills up Whole Trout with Marjoram and Lemon. Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Julia and Bridget to a heat-to-head tasting of lemonade, and Julia makes a Grilled Vegetable Platter.
#12 - Italian Classics
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/8/2006
Flavorful recipes bring Italy into the test kitchen. Recipes: Fettuccine Alfredo; Beef Braided in Barolo Tasting Lab: Parmesan Cheese Science Desk: Braising vs. Roasting
#13 - Deep-Dish Apple Pie
Season 6 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/10/2006
A demonstration of the absolute best recipe for deep dish apple pie. Creating a pie with a high filling-to-crust ratio poses challenges. Recipes: Deep-Dish Apple Pie Equipment Corner: Rolling Pins Tasting Lab: Premium Butters
#14 - Four-Star Desserts
Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 6/25/2005
When our test cooks eat in restaurants, they always come back to the kitchen and talk about the dessert. Dramatic and artful presentations rightfully garner a lot of attention. Recipes - Chocolate Volcano Cake with Espresso Ice Cream - Caramelized Pears with Blue Cheese and Black-Pepper-Caramel Sauce Equipment Corner - Handheld Mixers
#15 - There's a Hole in Your Cake
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 6/11/2005
Cakes baked in Bundt pans and tube pans are popular for a variety of reasons. Recipes - Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake - Angel Food Cake Equipment Corner - Bundt Pans
#16 - Italian Classics
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/30/2005
There seems to be an endless supply of "classic" Italian dishes. Just when we think we've mastered the canon, we realize there are more seminal Italian dishes to learn-recipes as important as pesto, steak fiorentina, or pasta with garlic and oil. Recipes - Pasta all'Amatriciana - Mushroom Risotto Equipment Corner - Rotary cheese graters Tasting Lab - Jarred pasta sauces
#17 - A Passage to India
Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/9/2005
Indian food has a reputation for being spicy (most of it is not) and hard to prepare at home (tell that to one billion Indians). However, it is true that many recipes require a long list of spices and other ingredients. Recipes - Chicken Biryani - Mulligatawny Soup Tasting Lab - Curry powder
#18 - Grill-Roasted Beef Tenderloin
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/12/2005
We don’t part easily with money, but we will on occasion break the bank and buy a beef tenderloin. The tender, buttery interior is the big draw, and the combination of a healthy dose of seasoning and the flavor from the charcoal grill is a perfect solution to a rather mild-tasting (boring) piece of meat. Recipes - Grill-Roasted Beef Tenderloin - Salsa Verde - Broiled Asparagus Equipment Corner - Kitchen gadgets
#19 - Simple Soups
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2005
Have you ever been tempted to prepare a restaurant recipe only to be disappointed with the results? The recipe sounded great, but once you got to work you realized it was never tested in a home kitchen. Recipes - Quick Chicken Stock - Chicken Noodle Soup - Pasta e Faigoli Equipment Corner - Fat separaters
#20 - New Orleans Menu
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/31/2004
We bring a taste of New Orleans into the home kitchen. Jambalaya and bananas Foster are two of our favorite dishes from New Orleans. Recipes: Jambalaya; Bananas Foster Equipment Center: Ice Cream Scoops Tasting Lab: Vegetable Broth
#21 - Hearty Soup and Salad
Season 23 - Episode 20 - Aired 6/24/2023
Test cook Keith Dresser makes host Julia Collin Davison New England Fish Chowder. Equipment expert Adam Ried reveals his top picks for Nakiri knives, and gadget critic Lisa McManus shares her favorite tiny tools. Test cook Dan Souza makes host Bridget Lancaster a Hearty Green Salad with Chickpeas, Pickled Cauliflower, and Seared Halloumi.
#22 - Tea Time
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/8/2004
Say goodbye to leaden scones and pound cake. In the test kitchen, we think afternoon (or morning) tea is an excellent excuse to whip up a batch of scones or a golden loaf of lemon pound cake. Making these simple baked goods at home certainly yields better results than what you can buy. Recipes: Lemon Pound Cake; Oatmeal Scones Equipment Center: Citrus Juicers and Reamers Tasting Lab: Supermarket Teas
#23 - A Heartier Taste of Italy
Season 24 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/27/2024
Test cook Erin McMurrer makes host Bridget Lancaster Erbazzone (Swiss Chard Pie). Equipment expert Adam Ried gives his recommendations for milk frothers. Bridget makes host Julia Collin Davison hearty Soeupa alla Valpellinentze (Savoy Cabbage Soup).
#24 - Mushroom Mains
Season 24 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/20/2024
Test cook Becky Hays makes savory Mushroom Bourguignon. Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison to a head-to-head tasting of Veggie Burgers. Science expert Dan Souza uses a soda can and some science to explain cooking with aluminum. Test cook Lan Lam cooks main course-worthy White Bean and Mushroom Gratin.
#25 - Grilled Short Ribs and Vegetable Casserole
Season 23 - Episode 21 - Aired 7/1/2023
Test cook Lan Lam makes host Bridget Lancaster Grilled Boneless Beef Short Ribs with Preserved Lemon and Almond Sauce. Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Bridget to a tasting of goat cheese, and science expert Dan Souza reveals the science behind Thai Jelly Beer. Test cook Becky Hays cooks host Julia Collin Davison a Greek specialty, Briam.