dublin dishes

by Rachel Karas

Photos courtesy of Sharon Adamek

Chili Champion

The history of the Dublin Chili Cookoff — plus a recipe to warm you up

The smell and taste of beans, meat and spices could warm up any cold Dublin resident as they walk around Historic Dublin in late October, while area restaurants show off their skills during the annual Chili Cookoff.

Put on by the Historical Dublin Business Association, the event started in

the mid-2000s as a friendly competition among residents who wanted to pit their recipes against one another.

Brenda Kocak, past president of HDBA, says the event was gaining momentum at the same time as the association, so it partnered up with restaurants in 2010 to help the event grow.

To help draw more people in, Kocak says, they made sure to host the event on the autumn weekend without a Buckeye game and include a panel of judges consisting of locals. At one point, the event got so popular that HDBA had to limit the number of tickets since it was becoming hard for the restaurants to plan out how much chili to make. The most recent cookoff was held back in 2019. It’s been paused since due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the original plan was to bring back the event this past fall, Kocak says, lingering issues from the pandemic prompted the association to set its eyes on 2023. Until the event returns, you can bring back the memories of the chili cookoff by recreating Tucci’s chili recipe, which won it title of Judge’s Choice in 2019.

Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.

Tucci’s chili recipe won the ‘Judges Choice’ title back in 2019. Police Chief Justin Páez tastes one of the chili recipes as a judge for the 2019 chili cookoff.

Chili

Recipe courtesy of Tucci’s General Manager Michael Sharp • 1 cup diced onion • 1 cup chopped garlic • 2 cups diced bell peppers (red and green recommended) • 4 cups red wine • 2 gallons barbecue sauce • 1 #10 can (equal to about 1 gallon) plum tomatoes • 1 #10 can (equal to about 1 gallon) kidney beans • 5 pounds your choice of meat (2 ½ pounds of ground beef and 2 ½ pounds of ground pork recommended) • 1 Tbsp. garlic powder • 1 Tbsp. onion powder • 1 Tbsp. paprika • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper *Amounts can be adjusted to make smaller or larger batches

Cook garlic, onions and peppers in a pan. In a separate pan, brown the meat and drain the grease. Combine vegetables, meat and beans in a pot and bring up to a medium heat. Slowly add tomatoes and barbecue sauce. Add seasoning (adjusting to personal taste) and simmer until hot. Garnish with sour cream, shredded cheddar and/or scallions.