Texas Steak Cookoff 2011

We had so much fun last year at the Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico, that we decided to do it again. Last year's competition was a gift to Big Terry (Shane's stepdad) from all of the kids. Everyone had so much fun, that we decided that this had to be a yearly event and we added in a couple of new family members this year. The cookoff is a backyard chef competition where teams are given two steaks and two hours to cook them however they like, and then turn one of the steaks in to the judges. After the first round, which included 98 teams this year, 30 teams are chosen for the second round and are once again given two steaks, but only an hour to turn one of them back in for judging. From there they choose the top ten and best in show. There was also an appetizer round that we participated in as well. Last year we had absolutely no idea what to expect and only brought supplies to cook our steaks for the judging and stuff to make lunch for ourselves. When we got there, we realized that it was much bigger than we had thought with teams providing samples of everything from chili to desserts to roasted pecans and nuts and other smoked and barbequed meats. We provided as much as we could, but weren't very prepared. This year was completely different! We were ready...
We hung our team sign above our booth and everyone had matching shirts. This was our front table and everything on this table got grilled...except for the boots.
Aunt Sue was in charge of decor and she decked us out! Her wheels are already spinning for next year...

This was one of the booths next to us. They went all out as well...
These guys were down on the end and had lots of Cajun food. They placed 7th overall.
This was one of my favorite booths. The girl in this group of camo clad men fixed up their tables very well!
One of my favorite things about the cookoff is seeing what everyone else does. These guys always cook breakfast complete with waffles, biscuits, breakfast burritos, fried potatoes...mmm! It smells SO good...
Pretty soon, it was time to get busy and boy, we were! The appetizers were the first thing to be turned in. This year we decided on a cream cheese stuffed jalapeno wrapped with duck breast and bacon.
My sister in law, Kelly, and I got busy seeding jalapenos, chopping duck and stuffing the peppers while Big Terry supervised.
This was the finished product and it was very well received.
After that, it was time to start on samples for the public and getting the first round of steaks ready to go. While Big Terry worked his magic on the steaks, the rest of us made guacamole seasoned with homemade salsa that Miss Kitty (Shane's mom) made. We served that in little bowls with chips along with samples of the salsa. Grilled sausage is always very popular and we had samples of that served all day. We also served grilled corn on the cob and kabob-ettes. The kabobettes were small kabobs of yellow squash, tomatoes, red onion and sausage. Jalapeno poppers were popular. I forgot the cream cheese in the fridge at home and the only thing that we had was strawberry cream cheese. We stuffed as many as we could while I cried over the mistake. Turns out, people were coming back for the strawberry stuffed jalapenos. Who knew?! Because we had mounds of jalapenos and no cream cheese, Shane and our brother in law, Eric, stuffed the rest of the peppers with sausage and wrapped them in bacon. Turns out, that was a hit too. I think that you could wrap anything in bacon and it would be a hit. We also grilled lots of pineapple and pears.
Big Terry was busy getting the steak ready to turn in and it looked fabulous!

After we served quite a few appetizers, it was time to head down to the stage to find out the results of the first round. We were on pins and needles waiting on results.
This was definitely worth the wait! We made the top 30 out of 98 teams! While Big Terry was picking out the steaks for the next round, a huge thunderstorm blew in and we ran back to the tents to pull everything out of the rain.
The storm was short, but fierce, and after it blew through it was even more hot and humid than before.
We had a great family team. Shane manned a grill all day. Big Terry and his brother, Uncle Bear, worked on the steaks and prepping other appetizers and stuff.
Shane's sister, Jaime and her man Chris, were working the front along with Aunt Sue and Miss Kitty.
Shane's brother, Terry, and his wife Kelly prepped food in the back.
These guys were a happy bunch! Eric and Betty worked the front all day as well.


Big Terry wore his chef's coat all day.

It was a great day and we will be back next year!