Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Creating cowboy cuisine

Chuckwagon Cook-Off to test chefs’ skills

The 10th annual Chuckwagon Cook-Off, an integral part of Durango’s Fiesta Days celebration, will lock six teams of cowboy chefs in a contest to see which can produce the tastiest meat, potatoes, beans, bread and dessert.

The event, sponsored by the La Plata-Archuleta Cattlemen’s Association, is held under the trees at the La Plata County Fairgrounds.

Four teams hail from Southwest Colorado and one each from Golden and Odessa, Texas.

Each chuckwagon boss will prepare about 40 pounds of beef as steak, roast, stew or tri tips. Along with the fixings, each will have a meal for 60 to 70 visitors.

The cooks will begin preparing the meal this morning to be ready for hungry hordes at 5 p.m. Tickets are $20, including a drink.

On early Western trail drives, chuckwagons were critical to the success of the endeavor because they kept cowboys fed, said Barbara Jefferies, a past president of the cattlemen’s association and coordinator of the cook-off.

Fifteen judges will decide which chuckwagon boss is the handiest in an open-range kitchen.

Three judges will rate each of the five dishes, Jefferies said. Each dish is coded so judges don’t know which chuckwagon prepared it.

The Southwest Colorado chefs are Bud Winbourn of Cortez; Rodney Carriker of McElmo Canyon; Davin and Theresa Montoya, who ranch in Hesperus; and Harry Baxstrom of Bayfield.

Texan Sam Howell and Monte Deckerd of Golden are the outliers.

Howell, whose family has ranched since his namesake grandfather went on his first cattle drive in 1899, started cooking with a Dutch oven as a Boy Scout at age 12.

Deckerd, with U.S. Bank’s lending group, decided to buy a chuckwagon after attending a Western festival in Arizona more than a decade ago. He has competed at numerous cook-offs in New Mexico and Colorado.

The chuckwagons will be judged for authenticity based on standards of the late 1800s. The content of the chuckwagons and the attire of the chefs will count as part of the score.

Tim Canterbury and Tom French from Howard and Homer Huston from Ignacio will be the judges.

daler@durangoherald.com

Fiesta Days Schedule

Most Fiesta Days events take place at the La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. For more information, call 749-4960 or visit http://durangofiestadays.com.

Today

8 a.m. La Plata County Cowbelles Chuck Wagon Cook-off will start under the trees south of the fairgrounds.

8:30-10 a.m. Parade staging will take place in downtown Durango.

10 a.m. The Durango Fiesta Days Parade will take place on Main Avenue.

1 p.m. Military Appreciation rodeo performance.

5:30 p.m. The chuckwagon supper will be held under the trees south of the fairgrounds.

6:30 p.m. 2014 Queen Coronation.

7 p.m. Tough Enough To Wear Pink rodeo performance.

Sunday

9 a.m. Cowboy Church will be held at the fairgrounds’ grandstands.

10 a.m. Pancake breakfast.

1 p.m. Championship rodeo performance.

The Rough Stock Challenge will immediately follow the rodeo.



Reader Comments