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Meet the Winner |
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Carol Hancock (ICS Executive Director), Fred Wieland (Chief
Judge),
Cleo Shelby, Bob Wetzel, Les Horne (McIlhenny Company-Tabasco)
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For thirty years, wilderness guide, Bob Wetzel of
Manhattan, Montana, has led hunters, fishermen and horseback riders through the
wilds of Montana, Wyoming and Yellowstone Park. This October, he blazed a trail
straight to the pinnacle of success in the world of competition chili. Wetzel
won the traditional red chili category with his Brono Bob’s chili taking home a
check for $25,000 along with the coveted bronze chili pot and bragging rights
for the entire year.
Getting caught up in the fervor of chili cookoff competition isn’t all that
easy in Montana, since the state has no cookoff of its own at this time. Wetzel
first entered a competition 6 years ago at the urging of his wife, Darol. A
longtime competition cook, she had recently added ICS events to her regular
competition rounds, including The Pillsbury Bake Off and the National Beef
Cook-Off. Darol advised her husband that as long as he was going to come along
to the International Chili Society competitions, he might as well cook his own
pot. Bob’s wife supplied him with his spices and a few tips on his recipe, and
turned him loose. Ever since, the Wetzels have been among the most determined
of chili cooks—driving a minimum of 6 hours to put their chili up against those
of cooks in Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah and Canada. Their
efforts have paid off—between the two of them, they have won state
championships in seven states and in Canada, qualifying repeatedly for the
World’s Championship Chili Cookoff in both traditional red chili and chili
verde. Bob Wetzel’s recipe follows the trend of last year’s winning dish in its
addition of pork sausage to the traditional cubed beef. “The sausage adds a
distinctive, rich flavor,” says Wetzel. His second “secret” ingredient, now
revealed because every ICS champ must fork over his or her winning recipe, is
lime juice. Wetzel believes the splash of citrus during the last phase of
cooking his chili counters the slight bitter tinge that sometimes comes from
spice powders. According to Wetzel, his chili rates an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10
for spiciness, though he often makes it a little hotter at home.
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Winning Recipe |
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Ingredients:
1 cup onion, chopped
1
canned green Hatch chile, chopped
1 tablespoon minced
garlic
1/2 cup El Pato tomato sauce
1 tablespoon tomato
paste
1 can chicken broth
8 tablespoons California chili
powder*, divided
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons Accent,
divided
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 1/2 pounds Tri Tip
beef, cubed
4 ounces pork sausage
2 tablespoons New
Mexico chili powder*
3 tablespoons of cumin, cumin
1
tablespoon hot New Mexico chili powder*
2 teaspoons of lime
juice
*Winner Bob Wetzel orders his spices from Sespe Creek Chili Potters, run by
former ICS champion Jim Beaty. Spices from Penderys, Gebhardt, or your favorite
manufacturer can be substituted. Bob also adds 1/2 of a boneless pork chop to
the chili pot while simmering and removes its 30 minutes before it's finished.
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1. In chili pot, combine
onion, green chili, garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken
broth, 6 tablespoons California chili powder, salt, 1 teaspoon
Accent, and Tabasco sauce. Bring to a simmer. Cook 1 hour.
2. Brown beef and sausage and set aside.
3. Add the
remaining 2 tablespoons of California chili powder to the chili pot.
4. Add the beef and sausage. Simmer for 30 minutes, adding
more chicken broth as needed.
5. Add the New Mexico chili
powder and 2 tablespoons cumin to the chili pot and simmer another
45 minutes.
6. Add the remaining Accent, cumin, hot chili
powder and lime juice to chili pot. Cook for 30 minutes, adding
chicken broth as needed. Salt to taste.
Servings: 2 quarts |
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