Just a quick posting on the great evening we just had at the Minnesota Mild Chili Bake Off. The six of us threw down the gauntlet in the best collection of chilies yet. Isaac’s coordination with the folks at Turtle Bread resulted in a great location for the 39+ people in attendance. The social hour had a room to itself with plenty of room to properly mull and converse waiting for the main event. Guests did not disappoint with better than ever side dishes and brews provided by those in attendance.

Once things were ready and the time was right the crowd began sampling and judging the goods. Seven chilies were presented with one being a reference chili provided by a professional chef. The crowd made their way through the selections in a little over an hour with much discussion of the variety this year. Two of the chilies were legitimately hot and one a curry-based chili. Beef, pork, chicken, turkey were all present with starches ranging from garbanzo to hominy.

Lisa collected the judging sheets and Kyle tabulated them and announced the winners. Look for a later post with details and recipes from the winners, but briefly: Doug Trevor, Kyle, and Isaac took away honors in various categories with Doug taking overall winner and Trevor securing second place just .01 points behind. Good comments on all the chilies and a great crowd to spend time with on a warm February evening. Exciting to see so many familiar faces show up at the door! It was also good to not have a snowstorm on the day of the event.  Getting to and from last year’s event was a bit of a struggle for all.

Here’s some comments from Scott H.- one of the attendees:

I’m sure no one was surprised that the Man-cuisine Chili Cook-off was a literate event. You had to expect that the invitees would use words that have multiple meanings and that definitions would be demanded and discussed. After all, the hosts do. Great things happen when people who are passionate about food and language get together.

It was my first time in attendance and I was trying to get my head around the rating system. I asked Trevor if he could define chili. He got a look on his face that was simultaneously far-off and focused. I’ve come to understand this is a trademark Johnson expression that means that one of the great questions has been addressed and that the gears are turning. “No”, he replied, “I can’t give you a definition of chili.” This from the defending champion. 
I’m sure the contestants have contemplated the question. Embedded in the judging was the psychology of our own, individual, ideal chili. People were talking about it in line and at the tables. Must chili have beans? What meat is implied in chili? Would a noodle fly or would that make it goulash? What is the role of heat in the quality of a good bowl? It seems clear to me that there is a viscosity factor. The thinnest entrants (2,4 and 6) seemed more like soup and didn’t fare well in the final standings.
The meanings of the criteria were also debated. Umami was nice because it cannot be assessed without really thinking about it. It belongs to the essence of chili, but what does it taste like? Marketability yielded opposite definitions; some saw it as a rating of universality (could this soup be sold to the masses) and others saw it at a rating of originality (would people go out of their way to eat this special bowl). 
In the end, the labels a judge applied to the numbers revealed their root feelings. “The one with mushrooms”, “the gray one”, and “the Indian one” all described number 5, Isaac’s third place finisher. “The dark one” (1, Kyle’s), “the one with corn” (3, second place, Trevor’s) and “the one with two meats” (7, Doug’s, the champion). These seemed to rank higher in the end, perhaps because they stood out in way that was describable…unique but within the realm of our imaginations.
Record keeping and the revelation of recipes is not part of this tradition, which is too bad, because I’d like another taste of almost all of these. So, as I wade into my own kitchen to prepare the Super Bowl meal, I’ll rely on my own tried and true chili concept.

Look for recipes here soon. Keep warm!

Additional photos from the event: The discussion, the crowd, the entries, and the beer. (~Trev)

While attending MacWorld in San Francisco a couple of us had the chance to sample a few local establishments. Here’s the review of one of them.

We walked past the Thirsty Bear one night when looking for a place to eat but the line was quite long. It’s proximity to the Moscone Center most likely draws many at the end of the conference day. Fortunately, a late lunch on Saturday was not a problem. Good thing as we had taken a two mile walk in the morning to the farmers market on pier three to get coffee before the conference and the stomachs were empty.

Isaac had a cheese and pepper sandwich dripping with butter and I had their pork and lamb burger. Both were very tasty and at a good price, especially at a place within a half mile of downtown and of the financial district. The sandwich was served with greens and vinaigrette and the burger with homemade fries. No complaints about either although the burger at Gather in Berkeley the night before was even better. Both places had a list of farms that each food was raised on and it certainly beat the supermarket and big box meats we have been eating lately. Good to have something that needs no seasoning to have flavor.

The help was attentive and upbeat. We have had great service everywhere in San Fran except at Lefty Odoul’s- but if the service had been too good at Lefty’s the place would have lost much charm. As I think about it that Pakistani-Indian place was a bit cool as well. More later.

At the Bear we sampled an IPA, an ESB, and a barrel aged dark ale. All brewed on site and all very good representatives of the species. The ESB, however, was a bit dark with some overtones of porter but was still very nice.

We’ll see if we can get a couple more reviews of San Francisco stops up in the next day or so.

Needing to do some prep for the Feb 4, 2012 Chilifest Isaac and I stopped by the local SmashBurger. It had been a great morning judging inventions created by elementary students at a local Inventor’s Fair. Seemed that sampling a new chili was in order given the cold morning and empty stomachs. SIRI suggested SmashBurger in Eagan so off we went to see if we could collect some chili recipe suggestions. With Doug’s new trophy for the event it may be time to get serious about victory.

Image via Wikipedia

I had the Baja and it was delicious. Warm enough to get the nose running but not stupid hot. Isaac sampled the chain’s Twin Cities Burger, kinda a burger in defference to the Juicy Lucy’s across the rivers. Better than average and with a great tasting bun as well. The chili was very good, perhaps as good as the bottom three entries last year.  Mild heat but with chilies on top. A good mix of meats with something to chew and something to gum. Very nice.

Nonetheless, several Mancuisine members have begun testing recipes.  No reasonable meats are being overlooked and the finicky judge attitudes towards heat are mostly being ignored. Should be a great event, especially if we do not get the snowstorm that arrived last year.

The Rack Shack on Cliff Road in Burnsville is further evidence that great food can be had outside the urban ring. We had heard way too many good things about this place to have waited this long to check them out.

A small place in a strip mall shared with an old established family Italian restaurant, a Subway, and a bakery it would be easy to look at the outside of the place and drive by.  That would be your loss. We walked in on a Wednesday night around 6:30 to a small line of locals getting takeout and a goodly number of tables for a place that appears to serve more food in bags heading out the door than at the tables- at least on this Wednesday. Walking through the door the first thing you see is the shelf of sauces in squirt bottles just waiting to be tested.

Ribs, brisket, and pulled pork were all up to expectations. The ribs were cooked soft and needed a small amount of effort to remove the meat from the rib- perfect. Side dishes were good but not exceptional. The beans were the best of the collection we had. Side portions seemed a bit small but the main dishes were plenty big. A good menu with more than enough selections. They have a HOBO bowl that looks like an amazing collection of food but none of us were up to it.  They do have a three Hobo’s in 30 minutes challenge that looked interesting. Seems it was interesting enough to draw in the Man vs. Food crew.

The highlight of the place was the selection of sauces. Hot and sweet, sweet and hot, hot and stupid tastes all all met by the row of sauces. The New Orleans Ghost was a big hit with all of us with good taste at the start and a slow remarkably hot build. The burn lasts for a good long time. The Houston Hot was too much vinegar and heat, generally panned by this nordic-influenced group expecting their heat to come with flavor.

By the time we finished all were satisfied with only a bit of the smoked potato remaining. The staff was friendly and people came and went the entire time we were there. We’d rate the meats better than the local favorite- Famous Dave’s but the sides were just equal.. We are starting to see more rib joints popping up with a disturbing number of less than tasty offerings. We’ll stop by the Shack again and as soon as the tundra thaws some Shack take-out will make for a great picnic meal. Maybe we’ll grab some and head inside of the urban ring to eat..

It had been a long drive home and all of us were hungry so the decision was made to get something to eat on the north side of town. Scott suggested a place on Central Avenue and after a drive that would be hard to find again we ended up with a well executed parallel park in front of Adelitas. Looking up and down Central it seemed that there were many Mexican places to choose from, we’ll need to return to this area again soon.

The place was inviting and friendly with enough business to lift some road-weary spirits. The hostess was especially helpful, checking with us throughout the evening and bringing things forgotten or unchecked by the waitress. Although the time for the food to appear seemed long the dinners were great and far better than the average mexican plate served in the Twin Cities. The Molle de Olla soup was wonderful with a broth that easily had more flavor than any Pho soup we had eaten- but Mexican! The combination dinners were done well with just enough flavor/ heat. Meals ran $9-$12 with a few cheaper and a few more expensive. After the wedding reception we were not in the mood for beverages beyond water but there was a reasonable beer list provided. The Menu is available here.

Again, just a side trip but if you are looking for a better than average Mexican restaurant we found to be a bit of a gem, give this one a try. If traffic is good it is no more than five or six minutes from downtown and not far from HW 94 with easy access off Lowry. Well worth the drive.

Scott ready to judge

Waking up this morning to the smell of cooker smoke in my beard that had not come out in last night’s shower -even with the trinity of shampoo, dial soap, and Old Spice uberwash- reminded me of the event yesterday. A wonderful gathering of folks ranging from babies to retirement-approaching parents with lots of niches filled between. Best of class went to Doug with his long-cooking racks and finishing sauce, Kyle pulled in second with his “boiled in Pepsi” slow cooked creation, and Trevor rounded out the class with his technique for cooking that never required him to open the cooker to add wood over the four-plus hours of smoking. Everyone else did a fine job of producing tasty ribs but did not click as loudly with this year’s judges.  We have never seen such a uniformly great and varied collection of racks at the same event. As the two at the bottom congratulated each other a modification of a quote from Steve Jobs was heard “We cook what we enjoy.”

Joan samples the line

This year judges were asked to select one or two of the ribs as “Best in Show” but to give a written comment on each rib. Each cook drew a random secret number and filled paper trays labelled with that number with one rib each. Cooks worked hard to keep their number a secret from the crowd. Although there was some difficulty reading the scoresheets due to BBQ sauce covering many of the responses the winner was determined to be the rib with the most best in show votes. Of the judges Scott (shown above) often is the most detailed and earnest and in keeping with his level of engagement he provided trophies for the first two places and offered his own category of “most heat” which came with a plaque and this year went to Jeff’s entry. Joan is shown here working her way through the seven trays.

Beauty from Isaac

Sources of the pig meat varied greatly this year. Whole Foods Market, Sam’s Club, Costco, Clancey’s Meats and Fish, and the back of a truck unloading at a private country club were all represented. Most of the cooks had practiced on ribs purchased at the great Rainbow Foods rib sale during the summer. The comment was made that perhaps the group should do a group buy and have everyone begin the event with the same rib. The idea is being considered by the executive board and will be taken up at the next outing.

One last comment. Hardware at this year’s even included: Three vertical Brinkman charcoals, one vertical Brinkman electric, one Webber Kettle, one backyard charcoal grill, and one small barrel Brinkman. Adam was new to the vertical cooker world this year but adapted well. Techniques varied from ignoring the grill hoping others might flip the ribs to constant attenuation of the smoke to heat ratio.

The recipe page on the menubar at the top will grow as cooks submit their efforts. It’s time for us to get back to our reviews of local places, as we say- TWO DADS, FOUR SONS, SEVERAL FRIENDS & TOO DAMN LITTLE TIME TO EAT AT ANY PLACE WITHOUT A GREAT STORY.

• 4/7 used a brine, in the top three finishers only #2 brined
• 6/7 used a rub, the non-rubbed ribs placed #2.
• 4/7 used sauces, in the top three finishers only #3 avoided sauce
• benzopyrene is a component of smoke in smokers

The mix of types of ribs was great this year with everything from dry rub only to the full monty mop and slop. Heat varied as well with most of the ribs eschewing heat this year for a more savory mix although at least two packed a wonderful bit of spicy warmth. Five o’clock was the cut and plate time and the collection of ribs on cookie sheets was nothing short of awesome. Once all the cooks had plated enough for the judges and the crowd we stood around the piles of remaining ribs and grazed. All ribs were great with no two ribs tasting even close to the same.

We’ll post the recipes soon along with some comments from the judges on each recipe. This year the cooking of the ribs seemed to count as much as the flavors added to them (including the smoke). We’ll be sure to relate cooking tips for those of you looking to get to the grill. A change in rules for next year will allow any judge from one year to cook in the next year’s competition.

One Chef's Ribs

Date and times set. The seven members of ManCuisine will flare on their smokers between 10 and noon this Saturday, August 27th. The eating and judging of these ribs will happen at 5 p.m. at team member Adam’s house @ 733 Hackmore Dr., Eagan.

Being Tech savvy gents, we decided to go on facebook this year to test the social waters. Click attend if you are going to join us on this momentous day!

To the point, I went to the Old Fashioned on the square. It claims to be authentically Wisconsin in fare and Feng Shui so I stepped over the cow-pie on the sidewalk and entered. The place was hopping as I was seated at the loser bench- solo males all with the same conference folder. Made friends quickly and when Pauline came to take the beverage order I had received plenty of advice about the 150 beers available.  Woody’s Wheat from Sand Creek was my first choice.  When Woody arrived I was drawn into the Heirloom Tomato BLT with FRESH mozzarella cheese and a side salad with the house bourbon vinaigrette dressing.

The BLT arrived followed by Kiss The Lips IPA by Lake Louise Brewing. Great BLT!! Seriously Great. The couple who had been mistakenly seated next to me with their Viola case  had ordered the BLT and the mighty house hamburger.  Both were so good they had to each eat half of each to stay in the relationship. Bottom line- worth the stop. Prices were very reasonable and the food was varied. Help was pleasant and helpful and appeared to be mostly UWMadison students. I will have to return some time.

A final note. My grandfather was from Wisconsin and his favorite drink was the Old Fashioned. As a kid I often thought that his rosy cheeks were from all the cherries he had eaten in his drinks. I’m sure it is a tribute to grandpa that this place has SIX Old Fashions on the menu.  Back in Minnesota a barkeep would need to look at a book to figure out how to make one.  Final proof of Wisconsin Feng Shui, they have MANY jars of pickled eggs just waiting for your lips and stomach.  Need I say more?

The event is being held in the gentrification center of Minneapolis this year- the greater Uptown area. The back yard will be packed and the smell of hickory and mesquite will be in the air.

From where this participant sits my base is ready (referent for you experts still reading along) and three variants were tested today. The Masala inspired mix was a wash but the cajun and slow burn mixes were a hit. Now to tease the best from each and come up with a final blend that stays with the judges through the scoring. Perhaps a chemical reaction between something in the rub and something in the sauce? Wonder if they still sell pop-rocks? For other competitors looking for secrets all I can say is- lemon zest.  Of course the winning recipes and others will be posted on the site after the 27th just as we did with our chili creations.

Looking for an outstanding BBQ chicken recipe while waiting for ribfest? – Try this Beer Brined Chicken; it’s been a hit for all that have tried it.