Fall has arrived and the first Saturday in November means it’s time for the annual CASI (Chili Appreciation Society International) chili cookoff championship in the desert mountains of Terlingua, Texas, on the northern side of the Rio Grande River just west of Big Bend National Park.  It’s officially known as the Terlingua International Chili Championship. 

I started going to this one of a kind chili cookoff in 1982.  It is a grand tradition with cooks, judges, volunteers, and partiers attending from all over the world.  Everyone who attends begins making plans long before their departure date. 

When I first started making the long trek to Terlingua from Austin, Texas, if you didn’t bring it with you, you didn’t have it.  That included packing clothes and belongings for the weather extremes from the heat of summer to the freezing winter, as you never knew what Mother Nature might bring to this very beautiful and isolated area of Texas.  Nowadays, the Big Bend region has grown in population as well as businesses.  It’s still a long way to Study Butte from Rancho CASI de los Chisos, but things are more available.  However, if you want it, you still better take it with you.  Also, law enforcement officials swarm on the event like bees making honey.

CASI is a 501(c)(3) organization with two primary goals – to promote chili and to raise money for charitable organizations.  Everyone involved at any level is a volunteer, from the participants up to the elected board of directors and Executive Director.  CASI sanctioned chili cookoffs raise more than a million dollars every year for local charities.   

There are a number of CASI rules regarding chili cookoffs, all being in effect by a viable parliamentary process that has worked successfully for decades.  One important one is that there is a secret number slip inside an envelope taped to the bottom of each identical judging cup.  A matching number is inside the cup when the cook picks it up.  The cook’s matching number slip must be signed at the time it’s issued in front of CASI officials and kept in the cook’s possession. 

This is called the “blind judging system.” 

Each chili must be judged on its own merits.  The five criteria for judging each chili are color, taste, aroma, consistency, and aftertaste.  Judges cleanse their palates after each chili with cheese, crackers, celery or assorted other bites and a beverage of choice.  Each chili is graded on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the best.  At TICC, scores on the lower end of the scale are just not there as every cook has succeeded in making it to the championship contest.

Chili, being proclaimed the “official dish of Texas” by the Texas Legislature in 1977, is a Texan dish through and through.  I’ve found that one recipe can be prepared by 10 different people and will end up as 10 entirely different chilis.  “There’s some magic in there,” as I tell my grandsons. 

Showmanship is a separate judging system from the chili.  Judges for showmanship are anonymous and score each show team in secret.  Judging criteria are:  theme, costume, booth set-up, action, and audience appeal.  Scoring is also on a 1 to 10 point system. 

There are many other CASI rules, all based on years of doing what works.  I discovered the chili cookoff world in 1982 as one of the two founding members of the Austin, Texas, based show team Lone Star Lava.  My inspiration from and collaboration with Ben Boyd brought this prize-winning show team to fruition. 

Unfortunately, we learned the chili-cooking aspects of competition the really, really hard way.  If you’re interested in doing competition chili cookoffs, I very strongly recommend that you research the rules at the CASI website before beginning. 

From years of experience, I know the rules work for the benefit of all the participating cooks.  And what doesn’t work, is open to rule change consideration, vigorous debate, and voting.

Winners in both categories earn points toward qualifying to vie in CASI’s Terlingua International Chili Championship on the first Saturday of every November.  In Texas, it takes earning 12 points in the 12 month chili year, which starts October 1, to compete in chili at Terlingua.  It also takes 12 points in the same chili year to compete in showmanship at Terlingua.

Today, I’m sharing the chili recipe of last year’s TICC winner, Debbie Ashman of Bastrop, Texas.  This recipe as well as other past CASI champions’ recipes can be found at the Chili Appreciation Society International website www.chili.org. 

Yesterday, a new CASI chili champion was crowned.  Since we go to press, so to speak, in advance, I can’t tell y’all who was named the best chili cook in the world this year.  However, enjoy cooking and eating Deb’s Hot Rod Chili in these cool fall and upcoming winter days.  I’ll share the 2008 Terlingua International Chili Champion’s recipe with y’all another day.

DEB’S HOT ROD CHILI

Debbie Ashman, 2007 Terlingua International Chili Champion

Adapted from the CASI website

Ingredients

2 lbs. coarsely ground meat

1 8 oz. can “El Pato” tomato sauce

1 15 oz. can beef broth

Mix the following spices for dump 1

1 TB onion powder*

2 tsp garlic powder*

2 tsp beef bouillon crystals

1 tsp chicken bouillon crystals
1 TB Pacific Beauty Paprika*
1 Tb Mexene Chili Powder
½ tsp cayenne*
¼ tsp black pepper*
1 package Sazon Goya* (Please note that this ingredient contains MSG)

Mix the following spices for dump 2

1 TB Mexene Chili Power

1 TB Hatch Mild Chili Powder*

2 TB Cowtown Light chili powder*

1 TB Mild Bill’s dark chili powder*

1 tsp cumin*
¼ tsp white pepper

Mix the following spices for dump 3

1 tsp onion powder*

1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne*
¾ TB Cowtown Light Chili Powder*
1 TB cumin*

Other Items Needed

Measuring spoons

Can opener

Large pot

Large wooden spoon

Cooking the Chili

1. Gray the meat and drain grease

2. Slow boil meat in beef broth & 1 equal can of distilled water
3. Add dump 1 and medium boil for 60 minutes
4. Add dump 2 and medium boil for 45 minutes
5. Add dump 3 and medium boil for 15 minutes.

6. In last five minutes taste for heat and adjust seasoning as required

* These spices available from Mild Bill’s Spices

We like to eat our chili with grated cheese, and chopped onions and peppers.  In Texas chili, beans are always cooked in a separate pot and served either on the side or mixed together by each individual eater.  Crackers, tortillas or cornbread make this a complete meal in my kitchen.  However, a simple salad would make a great side dish. 

Remember this recipe is for competition chili that is cooked to be turned in for judging at a predetermined time.  At a CASI chili cookoff, the chili must be cooked from scratch on site.  It is not homestyle chili as found cooking on the stove for several hours in Texas kitchens.

In the next Kathryn’s Texas Kitchen we’re going to cook a totally delicious pecan pie in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday table as requested by several readers.  A wonderful dessert I’ve always used from the Bonham, Texas, First United Methodist Church cookbook DOWN BY THE BOIS D’ARC.

Until next time,

Bon appétit!