Small Town News

Local couple places in national Dutch oven contest

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A local couple recently took home top honors in a national Dutch oven cooking contest.

Ken and Linda Edmondson of rural Perkins competed in the National Dutch Oven Gathering at Kaw Lake in northern Oklahoma last weekend, Oct. 16-18.

They were awarded second place in the Bean Dish category for their version of "Grandma Vera's Beans."

"This is the first national event we've gone to," Ken Edmondson said. "We hope it won't be the last."

Contest categories vary each year, Edmondson said. This years contest featured four categories: Breakfast Casseroles, Sweet Breads, Beef Dish, and Bean Dish.

For their second place showing, the couple was awarded a plaque and a prize package that included an ice chest, apron, Lodge leather gloves, a cookbook, a small Lodge cast iron pot, and other miscellaneous items.

"It was a fun weekend," Edmondson said, noting the weekend's events also included demonstrations and classes on various subjects related to Dutch oven cooking.

Heartland of the Prairie Dutch Oven Society, which is a chapter of the International Dutch Oven Society, hosted this years contest. The event consisted of more than 100 entries prepared by Dutch oven cooks from 22 states. Next year, the competition will be held in Louisiana.

The Edmondsons first started Dutch oven cooking in 1998. It wasn't long before they had friends and family interested in the activity, which features the use of cast iron cook pots outdoors using charcoal or wood coals. Dutch oven cooking in the United States has a rich history stemming from chuck wagon cooking.

Ken and his sister, Kathleen Woods, organized a Dutch oven cooking contest for the Perkins Main Street organization, which was a popular addition to Pistol Pete Days dining the summer. Though that event is no longer held, Ken and Linda keep busy helping others learn the craft.

"Including us, there are five families at our church that are active in Dutch oven cooking. Larry and LaNita Plank, Mark and Jennifer Nichols, Stoney Burk, and Brian West," Ken said, referring to the Lost Creek United Methodist Church community.

"Linda and I taught local classes at church," Ken said. "We also taught classes with the Planks at Pawnee Bill Ranch, and we've gone to the contest in Cherokee a few times.

Two years ago, the couple led classes at the State of Oklahoma Forestry Youth Camp at Beaver's Bend State Park in southeastern Oklahoma.

Currently, the couple has 12 to 15 Dutch ovens ranging in size from five-inch to 20-inch diameter.

They cook a wide variety of dishes in the Dutch ovens, varying from biscuits to main dishes to desserts Some of their winning recipes include Sausage & Chicken Jambalaya, pumpkin and peach cobblers, and Garlic-Lime Chicken.

The Edmondsons also cook a couple times a year for Cowboy Church, which is held at the Payne County Expo Center in Stillwater, Okla.

"It's a lot of fun, and we love the end results - you get to eat it!" Ken laughs. "But it's the friendships that have developed through doing it that are the best part."

Heartland of the Prairie Dutch Oven Society meets the third Sunday of each month at various locations to "get together, cook and enjoy each others company," according to the group's website.

Heartland welcomes new members or anyone who would like to learn more about Dutch oven cooking. For more information, visit www.heartla ndoftheprairie.org.



Copyright 2009 The Perkins Journal, Perkins, Oklahoma. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 The Perkins Journal Perkins, Oklahoma. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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