Events/2019/Chili Cookoff

Hacksburg will be competing in the 2019 VT CRC Chili Cookoff. This page documents the details and our plans for the competition.

Basic Info

• Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2019
• Location: The Plaza between 1900 Pratt and 1861 Pratt Drive
• Rules

Chili Recipes

The rules specify a red "homestyle chili" including meat and beans. The rules suggest one 16 oz serving for judges and 200 3 oz. servings for the public.

• Serious Eats-Best Chili Ever
• Wholesome Dish-Best Classic Chili
• Sugar Spun Run - Best Chili Recipe (with bacon)
• Medieval Chili - not an actual thing, fits with theme below

General Suggestions

• Start with dried beans - soak with baking soda to degas
• Sweat the onions and peppers (french style)
• Add bitter chocolate and coffee to meat
• Use stew meat instead of ground
  • Brown under broiler
  • Save the fat

Ingredients quantities

• A cow's-worth of stew meat
• Absurd amounts of canned tomatoes (petite diced or crushed)
• Ridiculous numbers of onions
• Crazy quantities of poblano peppers
• Far too many red kidney beans
• Some coffee
• A bit of bitter chocolate

Booth Decoration

It appears that booths were decorated and competitors wore costumes in previous years. We were thinking of a medieval theme for our booth given what we have on hand.

• Cauldron of chili (using smelting furnace and cast iron pot)
  • Need a pot, something like this or a dutch oven with legs
  • Do any of the members have something they can contribute
• Costumes
  • Dragon Knight (Cameron-confirmerd)
  • Wizard (John-confirmed)
  • Wands from wand competition

Other Hacksburg themed decorations could include

• Scrolling LED sign (James)
• Turned wood bowl
• Wood carved serving implements