by John Raven Let’s Put on a Cook-Off! You want to have a little fun this spring or summer and maybe make a couple of dollars for your favorite charity while doing it? How about putting on a little cooking contest? Nothing big and fancy, maybe just you and your neighbors or your club or your […]
by John Raven, Ph.B. “If you are a barbecue fanatic, judging at a barbecue contest is as good as it gets.” Every year, thousands of dedicated barbecuers gather to prove that all barbecue is not created equal. They come together at competitions called Barbecue Cook-Offs. The majority of these cook-offs are held in the Southeastern United States,
by John Raven, Ph.B. The iconic dish of the new world, chili, is dying a slow and painful death. Chili has been on the decline for some years; now it is terminal. Chili is being degraded by the very thing that made it so popular, the chili cook-off. In the beginning, chili cook-offs were designed to
by John Raven Ups and Downs Everything changes, even chili cook-offs and their little adopted brothers, the barbecue cook-offs. Chili cook-offs as we know them began in Terlingua, Texas in the fall of 1967. Terlingua was a ghost town that was 96 miles from the nearest grocery store. The site was chosen for the first chili-cook off
by John Raven Competition chili is designed for one purpose. Eatin’ chili is a delight. (Editor’s Note: Written October, 1997 – We’ve updated the website links.) Chili, the official dish of the State of Texas, enjoys its biggest day the first Saturday in November. Hundreds of chili cooks from all over will converge in the vicinity of the
by John Raven Dozens of cooking techniques have been developed by cook-off contestants over the years. One of the most favored is the “dump” method. Every weekend there are dozens of chili cook-offs. These competitions are to determine who makes the best (in the opinion of the judges) chili for the day. Big Differences We are
by John Raven I started in my kitchen with a basic recipe. -Chill Lee I have known Ed “Chill Lee” Paetzel for about thirty years now. Ed was one of the heavy hitters in the chili cook-off world for quite a few years. He racked up an impressive list of victories, and his recipe has probably
The Chili World Splits in Two by John Raven, Ph.B. Last month we brought the Terlingua chili history up to 1974 when Allegani Jani Schofield became the first Terlingua World Champion of the female persuasion. There was a repeat performance by the ladies the following year when Suzi Watson of Houston won the title. Not
Upheavals, Female Competitors and a Parting of the Ways by John Raven, Ph.B. Last month we covered the big Terlingua chili cook-off of 1970 when Wick Fowler finally got his world championship. Then, at the “big un” of 1971, C.V. Wood became the first two-time winner. We posted his recipe last month. In 1972 there was a
The Sixties; Terlingua Cook-Off Grows by John Raven, Ph.B. After the 1967 Terlingua chili cook-off, when one of the three judges claimed to be poisoned and the other two judges each voted for a different winner, the contest was called a draw. (In case you missed last month’s installment the contestants were Wick Fowler and H. Allen
by John Raven Cooking chili in the middle of nowhere After the first known chili competition in 1952, chili sort of simmered on the back of the stove for a decade or so. Frank X. Tolbert, who is considered the Godfather of Texas chili, was a columnist for the Dallas Morning News when the first chili-cooking contest
by John Raven, Ph.B. Here Comes the Judge The third Saturday in August is a very important day for Texas barbecue. It marks the annual Taylor International Barbecue Cook-Off. This year was the twenty-second time the event has raised the temperature in Murphy Park. Even before the annual barbecue cook-off began, Taylor was known far and