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
  • We will be preparing our chili the night before, Tuesday October 1, during or after the regular meeting
  • Location TBD, possibly an individual's kitchen or the Blacksburg Community Center kitchen
• 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
• Real Deer Meat Chili (Lytton C., New River: bonnets, apple butter and moonshine. 2010, pp. 74-76):

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General Suggestions

• Start with dried kidney beans. Soak overnight with baking soda to degas, then partially cook.
• Sweat the onions and peppers, set aside.
• Brown meat under broiler on a baking tray.
  • Use stew meat instead of ground, for the texture
  • Save all fat and drippings
• Combine meat, peppers and onions, beans, and some tomatoes; season, and bake at least until beans are done
  • Ideally, use a heavy dutch oven or similar. You want the high thermal inertia.
  • This may also be doable in a slow-cooker, but moisture should be watched carefully.
  • Secret sauce for good chili: unsweetened chocolate and black coffee.
• Bean-containing chilis are best after they've been allowed to cool and then reheated.

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

For serving:

• Sour cream
• Green onions
• Shredded cheese?
• Cornbread?

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 (Nick)
• Wood carved serving implements