As promised, here is the Bubba Lou Tiki Bar Chili recipe reduced by a third. If you see mistakes, let me know, I’ll fix them. It’s been me and a calculator with my conversion charts. My elementary school math teacher would be proud.

Bubba Lou Tiki Bar Chili
Amount: About 1 gallon

In an 6-quart roaster, add the water, then the green peppers, onions, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, pizza sauce, barbecue sauce. Stir together.

After mixed, add the Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili Mix, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, beer, ground beef, ham, pepperoni, roast beef, kidney beans with gravy.
Cook in roaster until vegetables are soft.

Eating 25 cups of chili was difficult, but judges at the ninth Blues ‘n’ Buffett Chili Challenge were up for the job.
The competition is held annually between the Linn County Blues Society and the Isle of Iowa Parrot Head Club, each donating proceeds to a charity of its choice. The Blues Society donated to the H.D. Youth Center, and the Parrot Heads gave to the Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids.
This year’s judges chose the chili made by Keith Wright, Lou Ann Anderson and Kim Staab of the Isle of Iowa Parrot Head Club. Wright sent along the recipe, which originally came from Anderson’s sister, Mary Wignall of Lakeville, Minn.
Wright notes this recipe filled the roaster because they needed a large amount for the contest, so it’s about three gallons of chili. Wright also made the chili the weekend before the contest and froze it.

Bubba Lou Tiki Bar Chili
Amount: About 3 gallons

In an 18-quart roaster, add the water, then the green peppers, onions, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato puree, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, pizza sauce, barbecue sauce. Stir together.

After mixed, add the Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili Mix, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, beer, ground beef, ham, pepperoni, roast beef, kidney beans with gravy.
Cook in roaster until vegetables are soft.

Gazette Food Photo

The 9th Annual Blues ‘n’ Buffett Chili Challenge is over and it was delicous. The Parrot Head’s gave their money to The Boys & Girls Club of Cedar Rapids and the Linn county Blues Society donated their proceeds to the H.D. Youth Center.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to get through 25 cups of chili, but I did. There were some creative chefs out there that took all of us by surprise with some good chili. I tend to like my spicy with a sweet aftertaste and a thick consistency, but I was surprised that the ones I preferred did not have all of those qualities.

Gazette Food Photo - Kim Stabb & Lou Ann Anderson

Thanks to the Rollergirls of Cedar Rapids who were the waitresses. The crowd was huge – apparently one of the biggest crowds the event has had.

There were all sorts of crowd favorites, and I’ll get the pictures up over at Flickr as soon as possible. Participants decorated their booths and wore costumes. It was quite the event.

But the judge’s winner was Keith Wright, Lou Ann Anderson and Kim Staab of the Isle of Iowa Parrot Head Club. Keith said he’s send along the recipe in the next day or two. I’ll print it here and in the paper.

Next year is the contest’s 10th Anniversary. You should be there. No excuses. Hey, you might just win something at the silent auction. And it’s for charity. Eating for charity is always a good thing.

Geonetrics had their company’s chili contest today and they were nice enough to invite me and Amy Johnson Boyle to be guest judges. The categories were: Most Decorative/Unique, Best Vegetarian, Spiciest, Most Creative and Best Overall. Matt Youngblut won three categories, Spiciest, Most Creative and Best Overall. It was phenomenal and quite a different style of chili. I asked him to e-mail the recipe so I could share it with everyone. Matt says he doesn’t have a name for it and welcomes suggestions.

“I also wanted to add something sweet to this chili, so I experimented with adding fruit.  I did not find many results on the internet about how to make a ‘fruit chili’, so I winged it.  My goal was to remove the ‘gumminess’ from the fruit, while leaving a sweet, candied flavor,” Matt said in an e-mail.

Matt Youngblut apparently did well in last year’s chili contest with a Wasabi chili recipe he got off All Recipes. Congratulations, Matt, it’s fantastic chili.

Winning Chili
2 lbs stew meat
½ lb chorizo
5 Habanero peppers (small) – chopped, finely, with seeds removed
8 Serrano peppers – sliced, approximately ¼” slices
3 Pablano peppers – chopped, approximately ½” squares, with seeds removed
3 Green bell peppers – chopped, approximately ½” squares, with seeds removed
1 Red bell pepper – chopped, approximately ½” squares, with seeds removed
2 14.5 oz cans red kidney beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can dark red kidney beans, drained
2 14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes – broken up with a spoon
1 29 oz can tomato sauce
1 Yellow onion (large) – chopped, coarsely
10 Cloves garlic – pressed
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oregano
3 tbsp chili powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 16oz chocolate stout beer
2 tbsp wasabi paste
Olive Oil – enough to grease pan
½ gallon Apricot juice
20 oz chili mangoes (dehydrated) – chopped, approximately ½” squares
2 bags apricots (dehydrated) – cut in half
NOTE:  Matt strongly recommends using gloves when making this chili, especially when handling the peppers!

Place mangoes and only one bag of apricots in a sauce pan.  Add ½ of the apricot juice.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for approximately 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Simmer ½ of the onion in a large pot with garlic and olive oil for 5 – 10 minutes, or until the onions have softened.  Add the habaneros, pablanos, and serranos to the onions and garlic.  Keep the heat low, allowing the peppers to soften. Brown the stew meat and chorizo in a frying pan.  Drain grease when finished.

Add the stewed tomatoes to the pot containing the vegetables.  Allow this to stew for 5-10 minutes, and then add the cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, brown sugar, 1 tbsp of wasabi paste, and beer.  Allow this to stew for 5-10 minutes.

Add the meat, other half of the onion, kidney beans, tomato sauce, and bell peppers to the vegetables.  Add the remaining wasabi paste and the remaining package of apricots to the mixture.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

Once the mangoes and apricots have stewed for approximately 2-3 hours and have developed a thicker consistency (a thin paste), add this to the chili.  Simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

Remove the chili from heat and allow to cool. Add remaining apricot juice to chili when reheating for serving.

Thanks, everyone, for inviting me out there! I had a great time. (The entrants, Amy Johnson Boyle, center right, and me, center left.)