Chili Bowl: Camp Run-A-Muk

Earlier this year I learned the campground we were staying at would be having a Chili Bowl contest and I decided I wanted to see how mine stacked up to others.  Two weeks ago, the sign-up sheet was put out and besides listing your name, you had to give your chili a title.  Others who were signing up mentioned that last year's winning chili was called "Take Two Tums".  Great, I thought, now I need a catchy name as well as a good recipe.

Because I put so many things into my chili, I thought of calling it "Everything But The Kitchen Sink".  I settled on the name "Camp Run-A-Muk".  That name came from a decorative sign I bought Chuck many years ago - among the activities at Camp Run-A-Muk were Snipe Hunting and Bear Wrestling, which considering Chuck's marine engineer nickname of Snipe and my working as L.L. Bear deemed the sign very appropriate for us.

Knowing how much Chuck and I personally like the chili even more than the next day, I started my recipe on Saturday. Into my 3 qt crockpot I put one can each Dark Kidney, Light Kidney and Northern Beans (drained).  I also added one can of Diced Tomato w/Garlic and a bottle of Chili Sauce.  They simmered on low for 10-12 hours before I put the pot in the fridge for the night.  Sunday morning I added sauteed onion and mushrooms to the bean mixture. Finally I browned and seasoned my hamburg (1 lb).  For seasoning the meat I used chili powder, cumin, paprika and black pepper.  That was then added to the bean pot and finally a small can of corn went in.  I allowed all these to simmer on high for about an hour, then dropped the crock pot setting to low for another, alternating temps back and forth all day.

It was also during this change in temperature that I'd taste and add more seasoning (chili powder, cumin, paprika, worcestershire sauce and of course tabasco sauce).  With 4 hours before tasting I finally let Chuck have a taste and he said it needed more heat, so more tabasco and chili powder went in.  Another hour of simmering and we decided it still needed just a hint more heat, again tabasco to the rescue. With two hours remaining before the chili contest, Chuck deemed my mixture perfect.  Just a slight hint of heat but not overbearing.

Nine other folks had signed up for the contest, but a few did not show.  Anyone in attendance could be a judge. When I saw the number of returning seasonal campers in attendance vs those of us in for a few days or a few months, realized my chili might be good but the vote might be based on popularity of the maker, not the dish.

My chili was first in the line-up and I saw that as either a good sign or bad: good that the palate would be clean and the taste would be pure, bad because they'd forget what mine tasted like as they went down the line.

No two chilies were exactly alike; "Mom's" was very soupey and just kidney bean, "Wally's Wonder" caused many to search out tissues as it was too hot and spicey.  To my taste buds, there was one other chili I liked almost as well as mine: "Buckeye Hottie".  The name insinuated heat, but I didn't find much.  "Buckeye Hottie" was the last on the table.

Not much fanfare was put in to announcing the winner. The campground's Activity Director quickly counted the votes and said "Camp Run-A-Muk" and "Buckeye Hottie" were the top two vote getters and the difference was just one vote, 10 to 9.  Buckeye was the winner.

As my circle of fans reminded me, losing by 1 vote was affirmation that mine was good. And because my chili was the first tasted and winning one the last meant mine stood out in the judges minds well enough.

I'm happy with the results and have decided to make another batch for the next potluck dinner we go to at this campground.