Ocean Beach's Annual Chili Cook-off (& Street Fair)

After setting up & selling Cheezers at the 2014 OB Street Fair, Kate & I decided to try our hand at the Chili Cook-off portion of the fair the following year.  My dad had a great recipe that I grew up eating that I could enter & we felt it would be good publicity for Mad Munch.

We had to make at least 10 gallons of chili to participate in the "Restaurant" division of the competition.  My mom emailed my dad's recipe & I began doing the math to scale it up for such a large batch.  With Culture on the Mad Munch calendar for Friday night, I decided to make it Thursday after work.  

Kate was able to borrow a giant pot (50 quart, maybe?) from our friend, Monica & I got busy chopping onions, green peppers & tomatoes.  Then, I browned up 15 lbs. of ground beef.  Try doing that in a regular skillet!  Draining all the grease, may have been the hardest part.

I added my dad's special blend of seasonings with water, tomato juice & diced tomatoes & let it simmer on medium-low for an hour or so.  After that, I added kidney & chili beans & let those cook for another hour.  

It was quite a production & I was so glad I did it a couple days before the cook-off, because: 

A) Chili tastes a lot better when it has time to rest & the flavors have a chance to mingle & 

B) I saw several other contestants scrambling around on the morning of, worried that their beans wouldn't be done in time.           

It all started at 11am, when we were greeted with some light rain before a wave of chili enthusiasts bombarded us with tickets in hand. 

After getting the tent setup & getting the chili up to temp on the grill, my job was pretty easy.  I just kept ladling chili samples into small paper cups on a tray.  Kate would mark the patrons "People's Choice" chili tickets with a sharpie & hand them a full cup.  

My math must have been good, because the large batch went the distance until around 2pm.  That's when the sunshine broke open overhead & we started breaking down.  I was able to back my truck up in the lifeguard tower parking lot, right next to our tent, & we were out of there in no time.

Kate & I went home, had a drink in the welcome silence of our living room.  

"I think they're announcing the winners right now on the main stage," Kate said.

"That's alright," I said.  "I'm sure someone will contact us if we win."

We didn't win.  But, we did have the rest of the afternoon off.  We loaded up some backpacks with refreshments & headed up to the Arizona Cafe to find some friends in the window, watching a great local band on the Bacon Street Stage.

It's still one of my favorite days of the whole year in Ocean Beach.  You just can't fake that small-town community feeling that it delivers every summer.