World Squirrel Cookoff!

[Deck78]

So I won't post a spoiler alert but dad gummed man, let us know how it went down. This waiting around for your hangover to clear is getting old!

 

[RUGER]

Heard that.

 

[Hawk]

Repeat champs. The Estes Boys.

 

[Deck78]

Repeat champs. The Estes Boys.

That's called a spoiler alert Hawk! :

 

[RUGER]

Sounds to me like they had crap for judges.
Either that or they had family for judges.

Sorry you weren't satisfied but I am sure it was amazing.

 

[fishboy1]

Hate to hear about the results.

Competitions are a tough game. Its all about the judges.

Some are true foodies who appreciate excellence and sometimes you get the brother in law of the organizer who drinks too much and they made him a judge to keep him out of the way.

I think you screwed the pooch with the mango chutney though. If the judges were wearing skinny jeans, a free nelson Mandela - Tshirt and a fedora that is 5 sizes too small......maybe the tropical flavor would have played off better. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if half the judges didn't even know what chutney IS !

Take heart, I'm sure you made an incredible entry worthy of placing at or near the top. You probably just had the wrong judges for the recipe you entered. Hope you had fun anyway regardless of the results.

 

[TAFKAP]

Sounds to me like they had crap for judges.
Either that or they had family for judges.

Sorry you weren't satisfied but I am sure it was amazing.

I hate to say it, but I think you're complaining about serving good food to the Tostitos Walmart crowd. You know how some folks only eat well done meat? They're probably judging. I hate to say it, but I think Bentonville isn't the place to really expect a palate suitable to judge a food competition.

 

[TAFKAP]

We kept asking people there if they identified themselves as being "Southerners" and if this region of AR is in fact "The South" and got equally mixed answers across the board.

I was eating in Fayetteville a long time ago, and was told "I wasn't far enough South to expect sweet tea to be served."

We got up and walked out.

 

[TAFKAP]

Did you ever get a scoring breakdown by judge? Points by category? Or they just said "You're 19th." Out of how many entries?

 

[Deck78]

I told you to go with the andoullie/haggis combo! You were robbed!!!!

 

[TAFKAP]

Have you raised your concerns with the competition itself? Why did they advertise one format, but follow another one? Why were the rules for people in the kitchen not enforced?

 

[TAFKAP]

Have you raised your concerns with the competition itself? Why did they advertise one format, but follow another one? Why were the rules for people in the kitchen not enforced?

I don't want to be a cry baby about it.

There's a difference between being a crybaby that got beat, and raising valid concerns with the structure of the competition. If nothing else, check "for future reference."

 

[Hawk]

Sounds like home cooking as far as the judging went or maybe you were competing in a group with a squirrel stew kinda palate.

Anyone make the Crystal Palace?

 

[redblood]

have you tried marinating them in italian dressing?

 

[fishboy1]

Next year, I'm entering boiled squirrel, coated with vegetable oil and sprinkled with crushed Tostitdos :D

Go big or go home.....

Use Dortios... Cooler ranch... because cool ranch isn't cool enough !

:D :D

 

[trealtree]

Poser, are you going to post your Jamaican recipe?

 

[Dodge Man]

The judges are volunteers, not pro judges or pro eaters. They are common people with common Country taste buds. I would bet you have a much better chance to win by cooking a common country food dish and not going way outside the box.

http://squirrelcookoff.com/site/282498c ... .html#2986

 

[Dodge Man]

The judges are volunteers, not pro judges or pro eaters. They are common people with common Country taste buds. I would bet you have a much better chance to win by cooking a common country food dish and not going way outside the box.

http://squirrelcookoff.com/site/282498c ... .html#2986

Not necessarily. One of the judges was a KC Barbeque Judge. The other was the head chef at the nicest restaraunt in town. I hardly think a Jamiacan Jerk dish based on Jamaican street food is "way outside the box." As previously stated, Buffalo Wild Wings even serves jerk wings. Furthermore, 2nd place was a Korean taco -hardly country food. On the cover sheet we recieved, it said something about deep fried squirrel and pot pies "not cutting it."

Sorry, the way the website makes it sound is they will take anybody and everybody to judge. I was just thinking if that was the case then most of the judges would be more likly to judge stuff by what they normally eat at home.

 

[TAFKAP]

have you tried marinating them in italian dressing?

Naw, make some BBQ sauce. Mix Zesty Italian with Ketchup :D :D :D

 

[BamaProud]

You shoulda just made some type of squirrel "poppers" that seems to be the way a lot of folks like to cook game these days. Bold flavors to mask the flavor of wild game. Don't get me wrong, they can be tasty, I have eaten my share, but peppers and bacon doesn't do a lot to accent the taste of wild game.

 

[BamaProud]

You shoulda just made some type of squirrel "poppers" that seems to be the way a lot of folks like to cook game these days. Bold flavors to mask the flavor of wild game. Don't get me wrong, they can be tasty, I have eaten my share, but peppers and bacon doesn't do a lot to accent the taste of wild game.

The same team winning 2 years in a row should tell you something. Where are they from?

 

[Outdoor Enthusiast]

Based on what you have said, I can't imagine that you were given credit for your dish.

It seems to me that the overall lack of organization may have easily led to confusion on which team submitted which entry.

 

[TAFKAP]

"I don't think people like eating food that looks like rat," he says, admitting he himself is no fan of eating squirrel.[/i]

Sounds like he's a prime candidate for judging a squirrel cookoff :D

 

[BigAl]

I was going to agree with the idea that you need to cook something "southern" or "american", as squirrel hunting is a long-held american tradition. However, the well placing of the korean dish might have trumped that idea.

 

[Inkstainz]

I think you got robbed but a lot of them good ol boys from Arkansas may have deemed your dish a bit too exotic. You know they are known for dating their cousins!

 

[BamaProud]

The same team winning 2 years in a row should tell you something. Where are they from?

They are from Bentonville. Last year they won with a Squirrel Slider.

Home cookin (No pun intended) :)

 

[fishboy1]

I make an amazing Jambalaya. Basic origin is a simple cajun style starter, then it veers WAY off the traditional path. In fact I got the recipe out of an OLD Louisiana cook book and added a couple things to it. It is probably half way between a cajun jambalaya and a Paella.

My Cajun friends said..."thats not really Jambalaya, or thats not really cajun" as they shoveled in thirds. No way it would ever win a cajun cooking contest as the judges wouldn't recognize it as traditional jambalaya. Its still awesome and everybody who has ever tasted it asked for seconds.

BUT...judges wouldn't give it a second thought. That is probably what you ran into. Too far off the traditional path or "not what I was looking for" in the judges minds.

 

[beechnut]

Maybe you can go to Jamaica and win...or at least make the top 10 :grin:

 

[thetoolman]

I would have to agree with the evidence, no possible way that is only 20% fatback. He also mentions 16-20 squirrels in there and has 20 full size cased sausages in his tub.

With some healthy squirrels at 1.5 lbs live weight. you figure maybe 10oz of meat per squirrel, more likely 6-8oz but at 10 oz for 16 squirrels that would put fatback at max 2 lbs.

Looks like more than that in the photo, but what do I know. At least you got some experience for next time.