MasterChef Episode 4.08 Top 9 Compete

Judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot introduce the remaining nine home cooks to their next Mystery Box Challenge. Under each player's crate is a sausage machine. A very long box at the front of the MasterChef kitchen contains a variety of meat and vegetarian proteins.

The contestants can take their pick of these proteins and a limited supply of vegetables and herbs in the pantry. They have 60 minutes to create a homemade sausage and feature it in an incredible entr?e.

After observing and tasting the dishes throughout the challenge, the judges take one last look before choosing their top three. The winner will receive an advantage in the next round.

The first dish the judges pick belongs to Natasha. Gordon says her chicken sausage with fried egg and potato hash is delicious. Graham likes the level of spice, and Joe calls it a winner.

Eddie is the second cook to present his pork sausage with purple cabbage and apple chutney. Gordon proclaims that Eddie is starting to shine in the competition.

Last to the judges' table is Krissi with her Italian sausage with peppers and polenta. It gets rave reviews and is declared her best performance to date.

The judges name Eddie the winner. He learns about his advantage in the Elimination Challenge in the pantry, where the judges present three sets of ingredients that they use in their restaurants. Joe uncovers three kinds of ham. Graham chooses a selection of mushrooms, and Gordon gives him a variety of shrimp.

Eddie, who doesn't have to cook in the challenge, chooses which set of ingredients the competitors will use. He immediately picks the mushrooms, thinking this will trip up some players. As another twist, Gordon tells Eddie to select four cooks who will work with canned mushrooms instead of the fresh fungi.

He gives the canned vegetables to Jessie, Krissi, Natasha and Luca, while James, Jordan, Bethy and Bri will work with the luscious fresh mushrooms. He's hoping Jordan and James will get overconfident and forget to make the mushroom the star of the show.

Bethy struggles with her dish after forgetting to grab sugar from the pantry. None of the other contestants have any to loan. She finally gets some from Jordan. The judges question Bri's decision to make an onion puree in a mushroom challenge and Jordan's choice to use overpowering beets.

When time is up, Bethy brings her Szechuan noodles with fresh wild mushrooms to the judges. Graham thinks the sesame and ginger draw attention away from the main ingredient, and Gordon and Joe are disappointed that she wasted the fresh mushrooms.

Natasha's mushroom ravioli with crispy pancetta impresses the judges, who would not have guessed she had used canned mushrooms. But James' fresh wild mushroom chowder with cr?me fraiche and arugula is deemed too heavy and rich.

Jessie's mushroom risotto with pancetta and leeks perfectly hides the flavors associated with processed food. Lucca is not as successful at masking the canned taste in his cream of mushroom soup with vegetables and croutons.

Krissi's canned mushroom cassoulet with eggplant and pancetta pleases the judges. Bri's "walk through the forest" with sage, beet and goat cheese along with fresh mushrooms also gets good remarks.

Finally, Jordan presents ravioli with beet cream sauce and fried wild mushrooms. It is decided that his dish does not highlight the star ingredient enough, just as Eddie had predicted.

In the end, Natasha and Bri are named the winners and team captains for the next challenge. Jordan, James and Bethy are named to the bottom three, and Bethy is asked to return her MasterChef apron.