Category Archives: Festival

10th Annual Texas Steak Cookoff

For the past few years, I have been finding myself in the same place on the third Saturday in May – Hico, Texas. The Texas Steak Cookoff and Wine Festival has to be one of the best events that I’ve had the chance of attending and definitely one of my favorites. This year was no exception and it may have been my favorite yet! It’s affordable, family friendly and an all day affair that won’t be leaving you hungry (at any point during the day).

For the Steak Cookoff:
For $25, you will receive a bracelet which will allow you to enjoy appetizers and the steak dinner in the afternoon (ribeye steak, beans, baked potato, dessert and a drink) cooked to your perfection by the team of your choice. You’re belly will thank you for this day!

Now for the details!
The day started out with an opening ceremony. Yes, that’s Nolan Ryan himself. The Steak Cookoff is co-sponsored by Nolan Ryan Beef and Kroger. Mr. Nolan Ryan took the opportunity to come down to Hico that morning to kick off the event. If there’s a soul in Texas who doesn’t like this man, they’ve probably been kicked out by now. It was great having him at the event!

The Cookoff doesn’t mess around and the grills are hot bright and early. Rolling into town, you can smell the grills. It’s amazing. 11am kicks off the hors d’oeuvres competition. The backyard chefs submit a recipe of their own to the judges. I had the opporunity to judge at last years event and some of the items are absolutely mind blowing and belly filling. I only wish that I had the recipes to some of these items. Don’t be mistaken, these hors d’oeuvres are not just for the judges, the chefs are cooking all day for folks. Walk around, sample some food and spend time with friends (and make some new ones). Here’s a few of the hor d’oeuvres that we checked out this year.

I will say – the ritz crackers I had seen at the previous cookoffs and they are so delicious and have a bit of a kick (for this Yankee, jalepeno’s sure are growing on me). Ritz crackers with peanut butter, honey and a slice of jalapeno – killer!

Hors d’oeuvres Competition Winners:
1st Place: Steak Your Claim
2nd Place: J, L & M Cooker
3rd Place: Heavy Smokers

The shrimp (above) was cooked by the backyard chefs (below). I think these fellas were my favorite group of the day and I’m not quite sure how they sported their attire all day in the heat. Regardless, their food sure was good. They even left the recipe out for the shrimp (which I should’ve grabbed). Tasty, Tasty.

There’s entertainment throughout the day for the entire family. Local businesses are open, vendors are set up within town and four bands played throughout the day. There were even two wine tents.

If that’s not enough, just walk around and visit with some of the backyard chefs. They have grills of all shapes and sizes. Check them out, see what they’re cooking and just enjoy the day! Even their team names are pretty interesting. It’s serious business y’all!

This was homemade bourbon or moonshine. I’m not sure. I didn’t try any… I was headed to the wine tent.

These chefs – I’m naming them the party chefs. This is where it was all happening. Music, TV, dancing and cooking. Keeping busy all day long! They also ended up winning an award for being the best in show. They earned it!

The judging for the steaks begins around 1pm and the top 30 chefs are announced around 4pm. Shortly thereafter, be prepared. To receive your steak, pick one tent and get in line as they will cook it to your liking!

The cookoff had a different set up this year and I felt that it made all the difference. I really think that this is why I enjoyed this year the best compared to the past few years. With over 100 teams participating, the chefs were situated along a few separate streets and seemed to have a little more room. The temperature in May isn’t cool and breezy, it’s warm if not hot. With the new arrangement, it was incredibly easy to maneuver but the fact that they were a little more spread out definitely helped with how hot and crowded it felt in the area.

Time for the steak! I chose to have my steak cooked at the Beef Bro chefs. I usually go by luck of the draw and this year, I didn’t go wrong. My steak was cooked to my perfection and it was pretty darn delicious!

After you’ve received and indulged in your steak dinner, it’s not over. It’s time to announce the winners. Something I haven’t mentioned is with your ticket to the cookoff, you also receive a raffle entry which is drawn at the end of the day. This year, the raffle prizes included signed Nolan Ryan memorabelia and multiple $500 gift certificates to use within Hico (if you’ve seen some of the stores in town – it’s good shopping)!

Here are this years Top 10 Hands:
(The top 5 hands received prizes between $500 and $2,500.)

1st Place: Daddy Brad’s Meat Shack
2nd Place: Pirates of the Prime Ribean
3rd Place: J, L & M
4th Place: Smokin’ Down in Texas
5th Place: J & J Cookers
6th Place: North Dallas Grill Billies
7th Place: Carne Knowledge
8th Place: Smokin’ Natives
9th Place: Wild Hanlon BBQ
10th Place: Beast Feast

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to the town of Hico for allowing me to check out this years event! If you had a chance to attend this year, I’d love to hear your feedback and I’m sure I will see you there again next year!

If you haven’t been to the Texas Steak Cookoff and Wine Festival – be sure to check it out next year (3rd Saturday in May).

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post, however I did receive free admission to the event in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

Texas Tuesday link up with Amanda from Princess of the Panhandle and Crystal from Masons Mama. This is a chance for any blogger to participate in a post on the greatness of Texas! There’s so much to explore!

Get Your Tickets – The Best Food Event of the Year

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Steak and Wine. Texas Hill Country. Small, Texas town. Surround yourself with friends, family and great people at this event. This is one that you won’t want to miss and I promise when you go home you’ll say to yourself, I can’t wait to go back next year.

Next Saturday, May 18th, the annual Texas Steak Cookoff in Hico, Texas is taking place. Here is your reminder and a few details about this great event!

Steak Cookoff

This year Nolan Ryan is opening up the event! That’s right – NOLAN RYAN!
Opening Ceremony 12pm
The Mayor, Mike James (Chairman of the Event), National Anthem, visit with the Longhorn and the sponsors (Kroger, Nolan Ryan and the Chairman of Nolan Ryan Meats) will officiate the ribbon cutting.
For $25, you will receive a bracelet which will allow you to enjoy appetizers and the steak dinner in the afternoon (ribeye steak, salad, baked potato and a drink) cooked to your perfection by the team of your choice. You’re belly will thank you for this day!
106 teams competing!
Winners announced at 7pm. Prizes for top five teams ranging from $500 – $2,500.

Live music includes four bands from 10am to 7pm.

Take Part in the Wine Tasting…

$20 Admission
11am – 5pm
Receive a commemorative glass.
Two tents this year includes 13 wineries from the great state of Texas.
Glass / Bottle purchases available.

PBR Rodeo

$20 Admission
Begins at 7:30pm – Will last around three hours.
Cody Ohl, legendary roper from Hico, Texas and one of the highest nationwide earners is assisting in putting on this event.
Will be held in the park area near town (within walking distance from the cookoff and wine tents).
Beer and BBQ will be served.

Need a Place to Stay?
Check out Stephenville and Glen Rose – multiple hotels / lodging options.

Need More Info…
Check out my previous experience. If this doesn’t convince you, I’m not sure what will!
Texas Steak Cookoff 2012
Texas Steak Cookoff 2011
Texas Steak Cookoff 2010

Buy Your Tickets Today
I’ll be there! If you’re headed there, let me know!

Granbury Wine Walk 2013

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Granbury, TX. I’ve written about Granbury in the past (Granbury at Christmas Time and Paradise Bistro and Coffee Shop) . It’s a historic town just outside of Fort Worth. A reasonable distance for a day trip or for a small weekend getaway. The town square surrounds the beautiful, picturesque courthouse. Small shops fill the immediate square but if you look a little further you will find numerous historic landmarks, multiple bed and breakfasts and some really great restaurants. There’s even a drive in movie theatre just down the road for those evenings where you just want to relax.

Do I have a good picture painted in your minds? Well, let’s kick it up a notch.

The wine industry is booming in Texas. It seems like (to me at least) there’s a new winery that I’m hearing about almost every week and wine trail getaways seem to be becoming more and more popular every year. Case in point – the Granbury Wine Walk.

This year, Granbury hosted their annual Wine Walk in the Square. For a $20 admission, each person can attend on Friday and / or Saturday, receive a commemorative wine glass and 15 tasting tickets. Let me be the first to tell you – 15 tasting tickets is plenty. It’s actually quite a bit which is great because it really allows you to spend your time trying a wide array of wines and enjoying everything about the day.

With five locations set up around town, numerous wineries and businesses were found in each “cluster”. The lines moved fairly quickly allowing you to talk to others in line, hear what they like / recommend, peek into the vendor booths and listen to live music within each “cluster”.

(This sausage was so incredibly delicious!)

If you really enjoyed a wine, you had the option of purchasing a glass to take with you – I saw that most were around $5 a glass. If a glass wasn’t enough, you could purchase a bottle. Now I know, who wants to carry around bottles of wine all day?! This is one of my favorite things about this event. If you come across a wine that you must absolutely take home with you, you purchase it at the booth. They provide you with a card / ticket. When you are ready to head home, stop by the wine warehouse that they had set up and provide them with your tickets. They will give you all the wine purchased during the day and off you go! How fantastic is that?! Genius if you ask me!

I also had a chance to check out a few booths and found some great items. Unique, Texas finds are usually on the top of my list.

Sculpted Steel: This was a hand crafted steel guitar. 60 hours went into this and it is absolutely stunning!

I fell in love with this booth. They had a ton of unique wooden items (I bought a flat wooden spatula, because everything tastes better when you make it with a wooden spoon/item!), bright colored decor… I could’ve went on a splurge here.

But the day was all about savoring the wine…

This is a great getaway for a solo trip, couples, groups, girl’s weekends – keep it on your radar for next year. With lodging, dining, shopping and great wine all within walking distance – it’s definitely an event to check out in the future!