Cook-off celebrates chuck wagon days

Staff photo: Brooke Finch

Farris Hightower, right, removes one of 200 chicken fried steaks from the cast iron skillet to be served at the Duke of the Dutch Ovens Chuck Wagon Cook-Off on Saturday, while Doug Swartz, left, prepares the Dutch oven-baked peach cobbler.

Withstanding a burning wood fire in 80-degree Clovis heat didn’t stop Walter Lowe from cooking 100 chicken-fried steaks on Saturday. But when it came to wind gusts, all bets were off.

“The heat doesn’t bother me, but the wind makes the cast irons cold on one side and hot on the other,” Lowe said. “It’s just not an even fire.”

Lowe and his crew were one of two teams to participate in this year’s Duke of the Dutch Ovens Chuck Wagon Cook-Off at the Curry County Fairgrounds.

The ninth annual event featured early 20th century-style cooking. Instead of modern-day appliances, the teams used Dutch ovens and cast iron pots, all heated by wood fires.

The teams also came equipped with authentic chuck wagons of centuries past.

“These chuck wagons are what they used on the ranches or on trail drives in the early 1900s,” event coordinator Jack Muse said. “No propane, no electricity.”

Muse said crews began prepping their wagons the day prior, and smoke began flowing at the crack of dawn on Saturday.

Unlike like previous years, this year’s event wasn’t a judged competition because there weren’t enough wagons, Muse said.

With the purchase of a $20 ticket, attendees enjoyed their piping hot lunches straight out of the Dutch ovens. All the proceeds go toward the Miss Rodeo New Mexico Pageant scholarships and training events.

The cook-off also involved participation from members of the Clovis High School Air Force Junior ROTC program.

“Today we’re basically just helping with anything they need like cleaning, setting up tables and drinks,” member Tyler Gutierrez said. “Oh yeah — we’re looking forward to the food.”

The menu consisted of chicken fried steak and gravy, pinto beans, biscuits, rolls, mashed potatoes, and to top it all off — peach cobbler.

Lowe’s four-person team from Roswell was responsible for 100 of those meals, which it cooked alongside its 1904 John Deere chuckwagon, nicknamed “Black Iron.”

Lowe said he’s participated in the cook-off every year. His chicken fried steak tied for first place out of 24 wagons at a cook-off in Ruidoso last year, all thanks to the flour — a secret recipe his team will take to the grave.

But this time, cooking wasn’t about competition for Lowe.

“It’s a friendly thing,” Lowe said. “That’s the best thing about it.”

Some, however, would argue the best thing is dessert.

“Those look pretty tasty, right?” Monica Hightower said as she stirred her bowl of seasoned peaches before scooping them into a pan.

She then patted down the dough — made from scratch — before the peach cobbler was baked in the Dutch ovens.

For Hightower, whose team hails from Lubbock, dessert is her favorite part of cooking.

“I like the cobbler,” Hightower said. “I think people just enjoy dessert, and they don’t eat dessert as often as they used to. A homemade dessert’s just a little more special.”

Hightower and her team prepared the remaining 200 meals.

Hightower’s wagon, named “HX Chuckwagon” after her family’s brand, belonged to her great-uncle and was made by the Victor company in the 1890s.

“Basically, this is your traveling kitchen,” she said.

The wagon was stocked with antiques like dough bowls, tin containers for sugar and baking powder, and glass jars of fruit preserves.

Just like the Roswell team, Hightower and the four other crew members have participated in the cook-offs every year.

“We all like the Western heritage, and I think it’s important to us to be able to preserve that and share it with other people. It’s not something you can do every day of the week"