CASPER — Norman Jackson makes his own brand of red chili just about every Sunday. For him, it’s not a special recipe. There are no particular secrets.
“It’s just your regular everyday chili,” he said. “This is the same stuff I make on Sunday night at my house. It’s nothing special.”
But the judges of the Central Wyoming Chapter of the API’s 32nd annual API Chili Cook-off begged to disagree. They picked Jackson’s chili as the best red chili around this past weekend.
It’s not the first time either. Jackson has won first place three out of the last five years. The other two times, he was still on the podium as one of the top three.
Although jazzed about his success, he was hard-pressed to explain what the secret is.
“I don’t even know what the best tips would be for like a competition,” he said, shrugging. “Your meat has to be uniform. Your onions have to be uniform. And it has to be mild. It can’t be real spicy. But yeah, this is just the same stuff I make at home.”
Salt, he added, is his “secret” ingredient. The right amount of salt.
The winner of the green chili category, on the other hand, offered by Industrial Piping Specialists was a little more forthcoming about what made their chili a winner in the Green Chili category.
“You have to use Hatch green chilis,” Erica Condelario told Cowboy State Daily. “They’re the best.”
Condelario hasn’t always used green chilis, however. They were something she stumbled onto during a trip to Santa Fe.
“I grew up here, so not really close to Hatch green chilis,” she said. “I’d always heard about them, and I thought, ‘What the heck’s the big deal about a green chili? Who really cares?’”
After one taste of an authentic chili made with Hatch green chilis, she became a believer.
“They make a big difference,” she said.
For the competition, she ordered some authentic green chilis a couple weeks in advance to ensure they would be shipped in time. Her game plan was a real winner — beating out a Hatch green chili from New Mexico that had been a first-place winner against 75 other chilis — a top-secret recipe offered by Blueprint Energy.
Condelario doesn’t really have a recipe per se, she said. Like Jackson, she uses a little of this, a little of that, with everything done to taste.
Event Attracts Serious Chili Fans
Taste, when it comes to chili, is always everything.
It’s one of the things that keeps 3,000-plus fans coming back to the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper year after year.
The veteran chili fans were easy to spot in the milling crowds. They were the ones carrying lunch trays from home, the better to juggle a dozen sample cups of chili all at once, along with a drink of choice.
The trays are a tremendous help with speed, Angie Kelly, Bella Decker and Anna Miller told Cowboy State Daily. With 46 chilis to try in just 2.5 hours, speed is definitely of the essence for these serious chili fans.
Miller said they would try each and every chili in that time before picking their favorite. Minutes in, they had already polished off samples for close to a dozen chilis each, and were rounding the corner to start their third of four rows of chili.
The No. 8 from Basin Concrete Inc., and the No. 11 from Casper’s Industrial Screen and Maintenance had floated to the top of their lists so far— but they had three dozen chilis left to try, so it was too soon for them to say who was getting their vote this year.
“It’s the atmosphere,” Miller said, waving one hand to take in the scene. “And it’s the food, and the community. We love it all.”
Decker, on the other hand, said it was her first time at the event.
“I’m here for the chili,” she said.
Cups of chili are labeled with a number for API Chili Cook-Off goers, to help them keep track of which chili is which. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
People streamed into the Central Wyoming chapter of the API Chili Cook-Off by the thousands on Saturday, eager to try 46 different kinds of chili. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
So many people were vying to get into the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper, long lines were forming. The straight-line winds buffeted the crowd, but didn't dissuade anyone. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
David Henly moved to Wyoming for an oil field job. Saturday's API Chili Cook-Off in Casper was his first, and he was enjoying it. A Frisbee served as a carrying tray for him, and he had plans to try each and every one of the 46 chilis on hand. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
The Hungry Hippo booth was a popular one, with a green chili that had won first place in a New Mexico competition against 75 other chilis. It was very good, but not the winner of the green chili category at the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper this time. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Angie Kelly, Bella Decker, and Anna Miller came prepared to the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper. They had blue lunch trays, with a slot for a drink, that could hold several cups of chili at once. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Lindsey Robinson, right, smiles as she hands out spoons at the Industrial Screen and Maintenance booth during the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
A crowd lined up to try a Texas-style red chili at the Industrial Screen and Maintenance during the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Young and old alike lined up to try this version of the old standby board game Operation, which was wired to buzz if the magnetic pieces touched the edges. A dozen people tried, and all buzzed out. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Aaron Cook with Erica Condolerio with the Industrial Piping Specialists booth at the API Chili in Casper. Their green chili took first place, beating out a recipe from a New Mexico competition that had taken first place against 75 other competitors. It was a really good green chili. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Erin Desjarlais playing Miss Mint to the hilt at the Candy Land booth by ESP Summit out of Powell during the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
King Candy (John Keeler), Miss Mint (Erin Desjarlais), Queen Frostine (Stacey Sapp), Lord Licorice (Josh Wolfe), and Princess Lolly (Bobby McCauley) pose at ESP Summit's Candy Land booth during the API Chili in Casper. The booth took volunteers two months to build, and was a huge hit, offering chocolate covered marshmallows for chili-weary tastebuds. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Twister was among the games represented at the API Chili Cook-Off in Casper. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Norman Jackson, far right, poses with his team at Wicked Monkey Wrench Garage. His red chili has made it to the podium the last five years, winning three of those five years. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
From left, Joe Ritz, John Ilharreguy, Mike Miller, and Jarrett Wilson, quality control personnel for Granite Peak, take a selfie with a couple of API Chili Cook-Off goers Saturday in Casper. The costumes were a win for the company, as far as networking goes, starting lots of conversation during the event. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
No Boring Board Games Allowed
No one has ever accused the oil field of not knowing how to have fun. And that was on full display during the API Chili Cook-off.
The theme this year was board games — but no boring ones were allowed.
Every booth had something fun and challenging on offer.
There was a giant life-sized Operation game, for example, wired to buzz if you so much as thought about touching the edges. The pieces were magnetic, and the operation tool was a pair of tweezers, taped up with black electrical tape. It required considerable pressure to maintain a closed position.
It was so hard, a dozen people tried it and all failed. That didn’t stop the next person in line from trying it.
Roaming around the event, meanwhile, was a quartet of guys dressed as Hungry Hungry Hippos. They were with quality control for Granite Peak.
The four were having a blast and found themselves popular targets for selfies.
“This was just some crazy wild idea,” Mike Miller told Cowboy State Daily. “And it’s paid off, just in the amount of people who are like, ‘What are you guys doing?’”
The attention was getting conversations started with all sorts of people, highlighting their business, increasing name recognition.
That’s the same sort of idea that was behind the tremendously popular Candy Land booth by ESP Summit’s Powell office, which had chili, but was really getting over-the-top notice for offering the taste-bud-weary masses chocolate-covered marshmallows, toward the end of all the chili booths. It hit the just the right sweet note to finish out the event.
Erin Desjarlais played Miss Mint to the hilt, in full costume. She was joined by Lord Licorice (played by Josh Wolfe), King Candy (John Keeler), Queen Frostine (Stacey Sapp) and Princess Lolly (Bobby McCauley.
The booth took almost two months to build, Desjarlais said, and was mainly a volunteer effort.
“You get to dress up for this,” she said. “So, getting volunteers was easy.”
Taking Their Chili Chances
The No. 11 chili that Miller’s crew liked so well was flowing so quickly from Industrial Screen and Maintenance’s Booth that the crew was out by 12:30 p.m.
They’d made 17 gallons of chili, owner Lindsey Robinson told Cowboy State Daily. For them, that was a new record.
Robinson’s dad, Daniel Miner, had been coming to the API Chili Cook-Off for more than 20 years.
She’s continued that tradition since taking over the company, because it’s a great networking event in the oil patch, and it’s something that gives back, quite generously, to the community. API has raised more than $2 million to give back to charities since 2000. Last year’s chili cook-off raised $40,000 alone.
Bragging rights for the best chili at the API’s popular event are also a selling point to oil industry insiders, who understand that with the title comes a commitment that goes beyond chili straight into the community.
Robinson’s dad always made a green chili, she said. But this year she decided to try something different.
“We’ve had good luck with our decorations and our food over the years,” she said. “But we’ve always struggled with the chili. Green chili is really tough.”
So, she went with her own favorite. A Texas-style red chili, using tender beef brisket as the star.
The No. 8 chili, on the other hand, with Basin Concrete, was beef with just a hint of smoke. It, too, was going fast with about 20 gallons.
Neither of these, ultimately, would win the top title for red chili, though, with Jackson once again taking the top.
That won’t stop Robinson and the others from coming back next year with a better chili, hoping to unseat him.
In fact, Jackson already had competitors from Moser Energy telling him that it was “on” for next year.
All the true chili fans rejoiced to hear it.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
