Terlingua is Disneyland for adults

However, we’re talking about the Terlingua International Chili Championship, which takes place Nov. 1 in, well, Terlingua.

Each year, on the first Saturday of November, the Chili Appreciation Society International Inc. (that’s a mouthful) holds what it terms the “ultimate celebration of Chili, the grandaddy of all chili cookoffs,”

It’s at Rancho CASI de los Chisos in Terlingua. Rancho CASI is located on the north side of Highway 170, 11 miles west of Study Butte and 7 miles east of Lajitas.

The four-day celebration begins each year on Wednesday before the big weekend (note, as stated above, folks start arriving on Monday), and culminates on Saturday with the championship.

“It’s a Texas tradition of epic proportion,” organizers say, which draws people from all over the world.

And even quite a few local folks (local meaning dudes and dudettes who live in the Big Bend).

Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the celebration, the unique vendors, the rugged terrain surrounding the ranch and, of course, the chili.

The grounds officially open on Wednesday, Oct. 29, and the gate admission for the entire event is $30 per person. The gate admission for Nov. 1 only is $10.

The nightly stage entertainment starts on Thursday and continues through Saturday.

The Chili Appreciation Society International’s mission is to promote chili and raise money for charity. The CASI officials and members estimate they are involved in over 500 chili cookoffs per year and raise more than $1 million annually for charities.

CASI officials say they are working for the adoption of chili as the National Food of the United States.

The annual Terlingua International Chili Championship has an annual income of approximately $250,000. Out of this annual income, after expenses, $60,000 was donated to charity. CASI is a 501(c)(3) corporation, which means that it has no compensated officers or employees.

2007 Top Ten competitors

1. Debbie Ashman, Bastrop

2. Connie Collier, Snyder

3. Barbara Taylor, Johnson City

4. Susan Dean, Johnson City

5. Amy Patton, Odessa

6. Steve Nadeau, Boerne

7. Maxine Reed. Houston

8. Phyllis Patton, Odessa

9. Ed Green, Victoria

10. Pat Langley, Garland

Other West Texans:

21. Janita Hinds, Del Rio

61. Cliff Miller, San Angelo

89. Laura L. Coad, San Angelo

96. Janice Miller, San Angelo

112. Guy W. Bates, Midland

130. Keith Patton, Odessa

133. Sherry J. Maus, San Angelo

151. Sue Yates, San Angelo

190. Gregg Wilson, Odessa

207. David Boone, Odessa

219. Kathy Boone, Odessa

231. Barbara Herrin, Paint Rock

262. Lee Roy Childress, Midland

357. Dodie Simpson, Odessa

398. Charlene Lentz, Odessa

Fast facts

Cost: $30 per person for the week. $10 for Saturday only, 50 percent discount to military, retired military and reservists

Camping: Dry camping is available on a first-come, first-serve basis to spectators in Krazy Flats (spectator camping area). There are no reserved sites; no water, electricity, or sanitary disposal is available. Water is available for purchase at area RV Parks. Limited motel rooms and RV parks are in the Lajitas, Terlingua, and Study Butte areas. Motel rooms are also available in Alpine, 100 miles north.

On-site services: Portalets are on site beginning Wednesday of cookoff week. Dumpsters will be provided for disposal of trash and garbage. Ice, in 20-pound bags, is available for purchase from CASI’s main concession area and the Krazy Flats Saloon located in the spectator area.

Food and beverages: Vendors are on site serving the main area as well as Krazy Flats.

Last year’s winning recipe

Deb’s Hot Rod Chili

Debbie Ashman

2007 champion

2 lbs. coarsely ground meat

1 8 oz. can of “El Paso” tomato sauce

1 15 oz. can of beef broth

Mix the following spices for dump 1

1 tbsp. onion powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. beef crystals

1 tsp. of chicken crystals

1 tbsp. Pacific Beauty Paprika

1 tbsp. Mexene Chili Powder

? tsp. cayenne

? tsp. black pepper

1 package Sazon Goya

Mix the following spices for dump 2

1 tbsp. Mexene Chili Powder

1 tbsp. of Hatch Mild Chili Powder

2 tbsp. Cowtown Light chili powder

1 tbsp. Mild Bills dark chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

? tsp. white pepper

Mix the following spices for dump 3

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne

? tbsp. Cowtown Light Chili Powder

1 tbsp cumin*

Cooking the Chili

1. Gray the meat and drain grease

2. Slow boil meat in beef broth & 1 equal can of distilled water

3. Add dump 1 and medium boil for 60 minutes

4. Add dump 2 and medium boil for 45 minutes

5. Add dump 3 and medium boil for 15 minutes.

In last five minutes taste for heat; adjust as required

A bit of history

Writing in Whole Chile Pepper Magazine, the late Jo Ann Horton said the Chili Appreciation Society was formed in 1951 by George Haddaway and Jim Fuller to “improve the quality of chili in restaurants and broadcast Texas-style recipes all over the earth.”

Their bible was “With or Without Beans” by Joe Cooper of Dallas, which is now out of print. The society slogan was: “The aroma of good chili should generate rapture akin to a lover’s kiss.”

Wick Fowler, who won the first Terlingua cookoff, performed missionary work when, as a war correspondent, he took along a big supply of chile peppers and spices to Vietnam. There, he prepared and served the fiery brew to front-line troops. He said later that water buffalo meat made great chili.

“Real chili con carne is not for sissies. Fowler’s Four-Alarm Chili is reputed to open 18 sinus cavities unknown to the medical profession,” said one aficionado.

The first Terlingua cookoff, held in 1967, was a fun promotion for Frank X. Tolbert’s book, “A Bowl of Red,” and for land sales in that area for David Witts and Carroll Shelby. Tom Tierney, a public relations man, and Tolbert dreamed up the idea and chose Fowler and Dave Chasen of Beverly Hills as the combatants. Chasen became ill, and humorist H. Allen Smith was chosen to replace him after Smith wrote an article titled “Nobody Knows More About Chili Than I Do,” which was published in a 1967 issue of Holiday magazine.

Judges for the first event were Hallie Stillwell, who voted for “Soupy” Smith; Floyd Schneider of Lone Star Beer, who voted for Fowler’s chili; and attorney David Witts.

Witts tasted Smith’s chili, said his taste buds were paralyzed and declared he could not break the tie. The contest was called a draw by the referee, Frank Tolbert. Over 1,000 spectators attended.

In 1968, the second cookoff at Terlingua was also declared a draw by Tolbert. He had no choice: The ballot box was stolen by masked men with guns who threw it into an outhouse located over a mine shaft.

In 1970, women were allowed to compete for the first time.

In 1972, Fred McMurry of Houston attended a CASI meeting in Dallas and then returned to Houston determined to form a CASI “Pod,” as he called it. His friends Allegani Jani and Tex Shofield assisted in signing up members and getting Fred elected “Great Pepper.”

From that moment on, CASI changed forever. Things began to get organized.