Let's hear it for fan participation! Chopped viewers finally get their chance to weigh in on a weighty question: What should go into the mystery baskets? In the first round of this special competition, the chefs must figure out how to make the fans proud by cooking a dish made with a favorite regional meat product. Then for the entrée round, the viewers have chosen a jarred ingredient that few professional chefs are likely to like. Will one chef's ambitious plans backfire as the clock runs out? Then, while trying to figure out how to combine black licorice root with a salty snack food, one of the final two chefs uses a clever time-saving technique in the dessert round.
