Things heat up at Erhardt’s

Fourth annual chili and wings cook-off a flaming success

By KIMBERLY M. WEYANDT

HAWLEY, PA — Over 600 people put their taste buds on the line and wrapped their tongues around the fourth annual chili and wing cook-off at Erhardt’s on Sunday, February 25.

Traditionally scheduled in conjunction with the annual ice tee tournament held on the lake, the show went on despite the cancellation of the tournament due to poor ice conditions. The response was overwhelming, with 21 competitors heating things up despite the frigid, windy but ice-less day.

The contest was judged by the North Hampton culinary department, and a people’s choice award was given to the contestant who received the most votes from the public taste testers.

Chili winners included Russ and Judy Adolina with “Rusty’s Red Alert Chili” in first place, Cooper’s Market and Deli with “Cooper’s ‘Sooper Dooper’ Chili” in second place, The Inn at Woodloch Pines with “J.T.’s Wild Chili” in third place and Matthew Casey, Jason Jenkins and Mark Lowe’s “Venison Chili” as the people’s choice.

Wing winners included Crazy Fingers Grub & Grog’s “Shanghai wings” with first place and the recipient of the people’s choice award. The Inn at Woodloch Pines’ “Blazin’ BBQ Wings” with second place; and Crazy Fingers’ “White Hot Wings” with third place. In a drawing for a 2005 Polaris 4 X 4 drawing held at the event, Mark Benjamin of Tafton, PA was the winner.

The event was co-sponsored by the Hawley-Lake Wallenpaupack Chamber of Commerce, Ehrhardt’s Waterfront, Banko Beverage Company, ChamberChoice and Bold Gold Media Group. Prize contributors included The Hamlin/Newfoundland Comfort Inn, Lake Region IGA, Alice’s Wonderland Inc, Baer’s Sports Center, The Honesdale National Bank, 1st Klas Marina, The River Reporter, Utopia Salon & Day Spa, Theresa’s Hair Revue, Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Restaurant and Woodloch Pines Resort.

Chili history

In the 17th Century...

...the earliest story associated with chili is the legend of a nun, Sister Mary of Agreda of Spain, who allegedly went into trances during which she had out-of-body experiences. When she awoke, she spoke of taking trips across the sea where she preached Christianity to the natives. King Philip of Spain and others believed she was the figure known by the Indians of the American Southwest as “La Dama de Azul.” In addition to her proselytizing activities, Sister Mary wrote down a recipe for chili. The recipe called for venison or antelope meat, onions, tomatoes, and chile peppers.

Around 1850...

...Texas cowboys developed a chili mix made by pounding dried beef, fat, pepper, salt, and chile peppers together into hard bricks. These bricks were easy to carry and could be boiled in water along the trail.

In the mid-to-late 1800s...

...chili became a standard food in Texas prisons. Reportedly, the prison system made such great chili that freed inmates used to write the prisons for recipes, and lament their loss of access to a really good bowl of chili.

In San Antonio during the 1880s...

...chili stands run by so-called “Chili Queens” became an institution in Military Plaza, where they got their start serving soldiers of the Spanish army encamped there. According to Frank H. Bushick, San Antonio Commissioner of Taxation, “A big plate of chili and beans, with a tortilla on the side, cost a dime. A Mexican bootblack and a silk-hatted tourist would line up and eat side by side, [each] unconscious or oblivious of the other.”

The earliest recorded chili cookoff was in 1952...

...at the “Chili Championship” held at the Texas State Fair. The winner was Mrs. F. G. Ventura of Dallas, and her recipe was declared the “Official State Fair of Texas Chili Recipe.” Ventura held her title as World Champion Chili Cook for fifteen years. (Her recipe, as written down by her, appears in the sidebar to the right).

The most famous chili cook-off took place in 1967...

...in Terlingua, Texas. It was a two-man cook-off between Texas chili champ Homer “Wick” Fowler (1909-1972), a Dallas and Denton newspaper reporter, and H. Allen Smith (1906-1976), New York humorist and author, which ended in a tie. Smith was a proponent of chili with beans; Fowler, like any good Texan, insisted it should have none. After one of the three judges had voted for Smith and a second for Fowler, the third judge, Dave Witts, spat out his chili, declaring that his taste buds were “ruint,” and said they would have to do the whole thing over again next year. The contest was therefore declared a tie.

A San Antonio “Chili Queen” recipe

• Flour for dredging

• 2 pounds beef shoulder, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes

• 1 pound pork shoulder, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes

• ¼ cup suet

• ¼ cup pork fat

• 3 medium onions, chopped

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 quart water

• 4 ancho chiles, seeds and stems removed, rehydrated and chopped fine

• 1 serrano chile, seeds and stems removed, chopped fine

• 6 dried red New Mexican chiles, seeds and stems removed, rehydrated and chopped fine

• 1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano

• Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly flour the beef and pork cubes. In a large pot, quickly fry the meat in the suet and pork fat, stirring often. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they are tender and limp. Remove all pieces of fat. Add the water to the mixture and simmer for 1 hour.

Grind the chiles in a molcajete or blender. Add to the meat mixture. Add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for an additional 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises, and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Mrs. F. G. Ventura’s prizewinning chili

Take 1 tablespoon of hydrogenated shortening and put into a frying pan until hot. Drop 2 pounds ground beef into the hot grease. Add four teaspoons finely chopped garlic and cover with lid. Turn fire low and let meat cook thoroughly for about 15 minutes. Then add a small bottle [1 ounce] of Gebhardt’s Eagle Chile Powder, mixed with 2 teaspoons of ground cumin seeds and 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir well. Add 3 cups of water, a tablespoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. After 35 minutes more cooking ,your championship chile should be ready.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Chipotle red bean chili

Texans might shudder, but there is such a thing as chili with no meat in it, and some of it is mighty tasty. Below is an eminently satisfying vegetarian version, livened up with chipotle peppers.

• 3 pounds yellow onions, diced

• 3 red peppers diced

• three green bell peppers, diced

• 1 pound of carrots, diced

• 2 one-pound bags of red beans,

• 1-pound bag small red beans

• 2 128-ounce cans of diced tomatoes

• 1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Pick over the beans to remove dirt and stones. Soak overnight.

Cook red beans until soft (two to four hours).

Sauté onions until soft.

Sauté red and green peppers until soft. Add carrots and continue to cook until soft (parboiling carrots can speed the cook time.)

Add cans of diced tomatoes (drained).

Add the cooked beans.

Add can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to a food processor and process until smooth.

Add the chipotle sauce to the onions, peppers and beans. Heat through and serve with corn tortillas.

Yield: 10 to 15 servings