Ann Criswell and the beginning of the Houston rodeo prepare dinner-off

For quite a few Houstonians, the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (aka prepare dinner-off) has been part of our early spring calendars for as extensive as we can try to remember.

The rodeo and livestock clearly show debuted in 1932, but the 1st cook-off transpired in 1974. The beginnings have been humble only 17 groups participated. Thankfully, the judging staff offered some substantially-desired star-electric power for the inaugural function. In addition to the compulsory local stars, a serious-deal Hollywood star, Ben Johnson, was a judge. A veteran of a lot of basic Western films, Johnson had just lately received an Academy Award for Finest Supporting Actor for his section in the movie “The Past Photo Clearly show.”

Ann Criswell, the Houston Chronicle’s foods editor from 1966 to 2000, also participated in evaluating the smoked meat offerings.

Criswell, who died Dec. 15 at age 87, would come to be a person of the most significant promoters of rodeo cook-off in these early a long time, contributing to the development and prominence of what would inevitably turn into 1 of Houston’s most essential social and culinary occasions.

Criswell was no stranger to barbecue. A person of her initially huge functions in 1966 was a “Cook-out Recipe Contest” encouraging yard cooks to come up with creative grilling recipes, which ended up all the rage at the time. In a later on remembrance, she explained how she and partner Jim had to cook dinner dozens of recipes to discover a winner.

“We cooked for two days, a single day for 14 hrs screening the recipes. The next day we hated every single other,” said Criswell. “We ate barbecue for 3 months.”

The winner of the recipe contest was determined only as “Mrs. John Campbell” who submitted what could be a person of the most unique barbecue dishes then or at any time: stuffed pork spareribs. A rack of spareribs is turned upside-down and Thanksgiving-design and style stuffing packed alongside the length of the rack. The next rack is paced on top, the entire factor is tied collectively, and then grilled.

The choices at that 1st rodeo cook-off have been far more recognizable, mainly hen and brisket.

In a 1974 Houston Chronicle element describing the party, Criswell’s judging approach was in character with her name as a perfectionist when it arrived to substances and recipe tests.

“Ms. Criswell manufactured little notes on each sample — ‘oily and fatty,’ or ‘spicier and smokier,’ or ‘tough’ or ‘no good’ or ‘needs seasoning.’”

Johnson was not pretty as exacting.

“I have not identified any that’s no fantastic,” he reported following the 12th sample. “But how the hell do you decide a contest like this, anyway?”

The story also described how some of Houston’s legendary pitmasters participated: Ed Dozier of Dozier’s BBQ in Fulshear competed and John P. Davis of Shepherd Travel Barbecue (which would sooner or later grow to be Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue) attended, passing out cards that proclaimed “World’s Best Barbecue Guy.”

Today, if you scan the memorabilia-included walls of Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue, you will locate a copy of that card.

The eventual winner of the level of competition was Jim Brent, co-owner of Jim & Jerry’s Barbecue in Pasadena, a extensive-long gone barbecue joint shed to record.

A yr later on there was not any coverage of the 2nd celebration, though for the third edition in 1976 Criswell did a lavish feature documenting the prior year’s contest and encouraging Houstonians to “Follow Smoke Alerts to the Contest,” as it was titled. Sixty groups competed. It involved in-depth descriptions of some of the team’s cooking approaches as properly as a number of barbecue sauce recipes from the participants.

Criswell surely set the tone for the seriousness of judging that exists currently.

Barbecue competitions then as now are mainly the domain of male cooks, and in a closing sharp retort for which she grew to become acknowledged in her producing, she concluded, “The barbecue was alright, taking into consideration that guys experienced cooked it.”