PUEBLO, Colo. — The Colorado State Fair is adding a new competition to its lineup, bringing together two Colorado favorites: green chile and pork.
The Great Colorado Pork Green Chile Showdown is scheduled for Saturday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pepsi Stage at the Colorado State Fair. Competitors range from professional chefs to home cooks with family recipes passed down for generations.
Organizers say they hope the first-time contest becomes a new State Fair tradition.
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Joyce, a representative of the Colorado Pork Producers Council, said the competition has been an idea for more than a decade.
“We have been trying to get this, and we've had the idea of this for probably about 10 to 12 years,” she explained.
The competition is built around what organizers say is a natural Colorado pairing.
“We've always believed that this relationship between the Colorado green chilies and pork is something that is pretty magical,” Joyce said. “There's nothing better or more Colorado than a pork green chili.”
While the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival has long celebrated green chile, organizers say Saturday's competition puts both green chile and pork at the center of the event.
Joyce said the competition is also designed to highlight the people and stories behind their recipes. Contestants include professional chefs and small-business owners, as well as home cooks who have passed recipes through generations.
“I think probably the thing that's most exciting for me is it really is people telling their story,” she said. “It could be a home cook that's had this, you know, for generations. Their grandmother taught them how to make this green chili.”
Organizers also want to showcase Colorado-grown products and the agricultural research that goes into developing the state's distinctive chile varieties.
“There’s a lot of research and a lot of breeding that goes into making Colorado and Pueblo green chilies really unique and special,” Joyce stated.
Among the varieties Joyce highlighted is the Mirasol pepper, which she said was “born, bred, developed in the state of Colorado.”
“It makes just unbelievable green chili,” she said of the Mirasol pepper.
Judges will be looking for contestants to incorporate Colorado products while also bringing their own story and approach to the dish.
“We want it to be Colorado bred, Colorado born with everybody's own story that they're telling,” Joyce said.
The competition is being held in partnership with Big Green Egg. Organizers hope the first event will become an annual tradition and eventually a signature competition at the state fair.
“We're really hoping that it's going to take momentum,” Joyce said. “We want people to come and see the contest, help us kick it off the last weekend of fair and really help us make this a year to remember as we begin to make it a legacy competition in the future.”
MEET A CONTESTANT:
Alan Garcia has spent about 15 years perfecting his smoked meats. Now, he’s hoping that experience can help put his young tamale business on the map.
Garcia, a Colorado Springs native, is one of five competitors selected for the inaugural green chile cook-off at the Colorado State Fair. He entered after seeing a call for submissions on Facebook.
“I thought, why not throw our hat in the pot,” Garcia explained. “See what happens.”
Garcia and his family recently launched Up-In Smoked Tamales, a mobile tamale business operating from a converted hot dog cart. The business grew out of Garcia’s experimentation with smoked meats in dishes including green chile, carnitas tacos and egg rolls.
The centerpiece of Garcia’s competition recipe is smoked pork.
“Smoked pork,” Garcia said when asked what makes his green chile unique. “We do it with smoked pork and a lot of love, of course.”
For the competition, Garcia is using Colorado-raised pork supplied by Callicrate Farms and Ranch Foods Direct. He also is using Pueblo green chiles from Vigil Farms.
Garcia said he grew up eating Hatch green chile because his mother is from northern New Mexico, but he has come to appreciate Pueblo chile as well.
“Both,” Garcia said when asked to choose between Pueblo and Hatch. “Pueblo is easily interchangeable with it.”
Garcia said competing at the state fair could provide valuable exposure for a business that is only a few months old.
“I already kind of feel like we've won, being one of five people that got chosen to compete in this thing,” Garcia said. “It’s already a pretty large accomplishment in my book.”
Garcia hopes the exposure can help the business grow from its converted hot dog cart into a food truck.
For anyone who has never tried green chile, Garcia has a simple message: “Don’t be afraid of the heat. Embrace it.”
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