Chuckwagon Cooking Competition

We left the Albuquerque Balloon Festival half way through it to go to Ruidoso, NM for the "22nd Annual Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium." The Symposium is held the last weekend of the Balloon Festival. We had an old friend who is a competitor in the Chuckwagon Cooking Competition and we had never seen him in action. Three other couples (two were RVers and all were friends) met us for this unusual weekend.

The Symposium was held at Ruidoso Downs (racetrack) and there were a number of vendors there offering various western art, books, clothing, food, and even a shoeshine. It was a kid-friendly environment with plenty to do and see.

For the cook-off, you must purchase a ticket. This allows you to eat. About twenty chuckwagons were set up and food preparation took place on Friday. Our friend, Wayne Calk, had about eight helpers and everyone was working on some aspect of preparing the food. Note that no cooking took place on Friday.

Saturday (early), the cooking started. From open flame, to charcoal with the Dutch Ovens, to a small portable stove used to cook the meat, each cooksite was busy, busy, busy! The menu was the same for all the chuckwagons since this is a competition. It included chicken-fried steak, beans, a potato dish, biscuits, and apricot cobbler for dessert. Water, tea, and soft drinks were available but not part of the competition.

About 1130 hrs Saturday, the cooks were selecting the best looking portions of everything, these went into styrofoam containers, and were delivered to the judges—out of sight from us normal humans. Then, the cooking pots were lifted onto tables and a serving line was set up. Everything was furnished.

At 1200 hrs—high noon—the Chuckwagon "Dinner Bell" was rung. All ticket holders lined up and the cooks became servers. Before the serving started, the head cook (ours was Wayne) offered an explanation of each dish, the ingredients, how it was cooked, and the level of spiceyness. There was plenty of food, the line moved quickly, and our friend's chuckwagon served about 30-40 people. Everything went very smooth, the food was served hot, and everything got quiet when everyone was eating.

After everyone was served, there was plenty of food left so you could go back for seconds or, many people wandered to another chuckwagon just to sample their food. It worked.

We had an excellent meal, cooked in a unique method, and served hot. The weather was perfect, too. The only thing lacking was a good glass of Merlot.



Thinking About RVing…
Driving around New Mexico like we have been doing for a few weeks can be a real treat. Wind—lots of wind. It may attempt to blow you off the highway. Yes, you occasionally will see a real tumbleweed blow across the road and no, it's not a leftover Hollywood movie prop from some Western!

One of the tricks when driving a motorhome in a heavy cross wind is to drive with one hand. This will generally keep you from oversteering when hit from the side with a wind gust. Keep the other hand very close to or resting slightly on the steering wheel but loose. You may want to change hands pretty often as fighting crosswinds will be tiring on the driver. Plus, don't forget to trade drivers, too. Be safe.