Kevin Buehler|Odessa American

Donnie Warner stirs in spices for this chili entry during a Jan. 16 chili cookoff at the American Legion in Odessa. Warner has been cooking in contests for almost 25 years. The event raises money for the Boys State fund that sends Odessa High and Permian students to Austin so they can learn how state government works.

Poll

Chill for charity

January 24, 2010 1:28 AM

| Print Story | E-Mail Story

BY ROY WAGGONER

Its a ubiquitous meal for a cold day, but for some in the Permian Basin, chili is more than good eats. Its serious competition.

Dave Boone owns Thunderbird Machinery, but he also travels roughly 5,000 miles a year to various chili cookoffs and has multiple trophies to prove his success since he got started cooking chili 10 years ago. Hes even cooked as far south as Mexico and as far north as Wisconsin.

One of his favorite cookoffs ties in with the annual Horn Toad Roundup in Rankin the first weekend in February. Technically a lizard, people in the small West Texas town celebrate the horned toad and hold a chili cookoff in the process.

Its a pretty big competition, with 60 to 70 cooks from all over the country, Boone said.

The Rankin cookoff has a bit of gender competition to it as well.

So far, no man has ever won the event. Weve got a real challenge going, he said.

He said he likes cooking chili because he gets to spend time with friends, all while making food for a good cause. He cooks for the Chili Appreciation Society International, which puts cooks together to compete for charities.

I gave up hunting to cook chili. Theres just something about it, Boone said.

He said cooking a good pot of chili requires a good grade of meat, with a course grind. CASI only allows ground meat and sauce in the chili, no fillers like beans or onion slices. Instead, powders are used to keep a consistent feel to all the chili recipes.

Once you have a recipe, its good to stick with it, he said.

Though he competes, Boone said he just enjoys chili for its own sake.

Theres just something about good chili. Its just a good dish, and I think the majority of Texans love a good bowl, Boone said.

Odessan Gregg Wilson is another chili cookoff fan. He used to cook barbecue, but he got tired of hauling around a smoker.

I just got into chili and think its pretty fascinating, he said.

Chili competitors work for the 12 points required in Texas to compete in the international contest in Terlingua. Hundreds of cooks come from all over the world. Wilson, who automatically qualified for the granddaddy of all chili cookoffs when he won the state open chili cookoff in New Mexico in October, said hes even met a couple from Germany at the Terlingua cookoff.

I dont have to cook because I now qualify, but I do so anyway because its for a good cause, and I enjoy it, Wilson said.

He used to travel many miles just to cook, spending most of his weekends away from home.

I would cook 30 weekends a year, but now I just cant with work, he said. But, its a lot of fun.

CASI Executive Director Janice Miller is from San Angelo and said the 12 points are awarded by giving the finishers in the top 10 at least one point, with first place receiving four, second three and third two points.

When judging a cup of chili, each cup is evaluated separately on a scale from one to 10 and based on five criteria: aroma, red color, consistency of the meat and sauce, good taste and having a pleasant aftertaste.

Miller said a movement has been under way to try to make chili a national food, but raising money for different charities like St. Judes Childrens Hospital or the Muscular Dystrophy Association is a bigger reward than just winning.

Its about camaraderie and helping other people at the same time, she said.

Miller works with her husband in competitions and said cooking a consistent pot of chili isnt easy. The Millers use the same cans of sauce, same stoves and buy the propane bottles at the same place and still each bowl of chili may taste just a bit different.

Last year he had 40 points, and I had 24. Now he has 12, and I have 7, Miller said. But, we have fun, and I cant imagine a greater group of people than my chili family.

IF YOU GO

>> What: Horn Toad Roundup and chili cookoff.

>> When: Feb. 6, with turn-in at 2 p.m.

>> Where: Workman Park, Rankin.

>> A fish fry and Tequila Rose party are both scheduled for the evening of Feb. 5, with a stew the evening of Feb. 6.

>> Cost: $18, with checks payable to the Rankin Museum.

>> Call: Karen Bains at 693-2796, 693-2242 or Dave Boone at 367-8423.

CHILI RECIPE

2009 Terlingua winning chili recipe from Margaret Nadeau:

>> Step 1:

>> 2 pounds course ground beef (chili grind).

>> 1 tablespoon cooking oil.