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