The Cross Wagon team was the overall champion of the 24th annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday, September 22, as participants and guests enjoyed fair skies and beautiful weather.
The Vega chuckwagon team outshined 13 other teams, placing in three out of five food judging categories placing second in Overall Cooking to take home the custom cutting board designed by Clarendon artist Jack Craft.
Officials with the Saints’ Roost Museum, which sponsors the event, said tickets to the event sold out last Thursday with wagons preparing food for a total of 700 people.
The 11th annual Junior Cookoff the day before the big event drew eight contestants, who were paired with experienced wagon teams to prepare potatoes for the cooks’ dinner Friday night. Haidan Norman from Howardwick won first place and was teamed with the Crosstimbers Ranch from Mustang, Okla.
Chelsea Wright of Clarendon was second, working with the Trap Drag Wagon of Pampa; and Dani Middleton of Hedley was third and worked with the Tin Cup Wagon of Holly, Colo.
Other junior participants included Kami Duncan, Brooke Duncan, Addy Havens, Aubrey Stidham, and Bryce Williams, all of Clarendon.
Following the Junior Cookoff, 165 people braved cool, damp weather to enjoy a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds, compared to 209 the year before. The invitation-only event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon teams and members of the Museum and their families as well as members of the Goodnight family.
The trade show was held throughout the day Saturday, and live entertainment was provided. Relatives of Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were present for their annual reunion.
Fourteen wagons served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Wagons came from as far as Tennessee and Arizona to attend this year’s cookoff, although the Chiricahua Cattle Co. Chuck Wagon was present for educational purposes only and did not participate in the cookoff.
Prizes totaling $3,250 were paid out to the winners. Complete results were: Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Cross Wagon. Overall Cooking: 1) Camp Cookie of Germantown, Tenn., 2) Cross Wagon, 3) HX Chuckwagon of Lubbock, and 4) Crosstimber Ranch of Mustang, Okla. Best Wagon & Camp: 1) J Bar D Ranch of Amarillo, 2) C4B Chuckwagon of Amarillo., 3) Trapdrag Wagon, and 4) Crosstimber. Best Meat: 1) Cross Wagon, 2) T-Half Circle / Daugherty Wagon of Halfway, 3) Palo Duro Cowboy Church of Canyon, and 4) Lazy JM of El Reno, Okla. Best Beans: 1) Honey-Do Spoiler of Pampa, 2) Tin Cup Wagon of Holly, Colo., 3) Trapdrag, and 4) C Bar C Ranch of Hartley. Best Potatoes: 1) Camp Cookie, 2) Trapdrag, 3) T-Half Circle / Daugherty, and 4) C4B. Best Bread: 1) Crosstimber, 2) HX, 3) Cross, and 4) Camp Cookie. Best Dessert: 1) Camp Cookie, 2) Cross, 3) Crosstimber, and 4) HX.
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