The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 194

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Page 3 2008 Iowa State Fair Rain can't douse spirit of friendly competition The Register's Iowa Weekly Dealing with the elements proves to be a challenge for grillers Ji rilling outdoors in the I I 'T Kxrz- SI, 1) Ml I Melinda Moeckly, riding in the outhouse, urges on her pushers in the final round of the outhouse races Aug. 12 on the Grand Concourse at the Iowa State Fair. The pushers, from left, are Dave Bellis, Craig Moeckly and Kevin Moeckly. They won with a time of 59.93 seconds. pouring rain is almost a bad idea.

Ask anybody. Or at least anybody who came to the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12 to compete in the big Farm Bureau Cookout Contest. Ask Mark Byers of Grinnell, who showed up at 2 in the morning, got everything set up, and, just as he was getting the charcoal going, stood in a downpour that lasted four hours. He had no umbrella, and unlike most of the others, he had no protective tent.

"Bad," he said, describing the situation. "Can't regulate the temperature because of the rain. Can't keep the water off the ribs when I take them out. The grill I made is too big for a tent, so here I am." His ribs, in case you were wondering, were magnificent. Even with the rain dripping on the meat.

All of that rain was a serious challenge in a major cooking contest at the State Fair. Nathan Woodley, 20, of Marion had a tent. A sign across the top read, "Hippen Taxidermist Racing Team." "It's borrowed and thank goodness we got it," said Nathan's dad, Al Woodley of Parkersburg, who was helping out. "We're usually baking in the sun out here. We didn't think it was going to rain." Nathan rinsed his hands under some drips running off the tent and shook his head.

"Nothing's working right," he said. "I've got a 20-pound bone-in pork loin. Usually it takes two or three hours to finish." Which was a problem because it was 8:30 a.m. and the judging was scheduled to begin at 1 1. And the rain was throwing everything off.

"The temperature," he said, peeking under the grill hood. JOHN CARLSON jcarlsondmreg.com "I can't keep the temperature right." Ali Nolan of Allison wasn't all that worried, about the weather, anyway. The 17-year-old senior at Waverly-Shell Rock High School had a regulation-size Weber grill, the glowing coals protected by her dad, Marc Seehusen, who was manning an umbrella. "I'm grilling Iowa chops," she said. "They've been marinating two days in a teriyaki-pineapple mixture." Kenna Jo Lambertsen of Nevada cooked up a pound-and-a-half elk tenderloin, which isn't the most common thing you will find on an Iowa backyard grill.

Too bad. She used a cranberry sauce-beef gravy mix, wrapped the whole thing in foil and put it on the grill for 20 minutes. Her mom, Joann, was holding an umbrella. Her dad, Keith, was reportedly out "looking for pineapple on a stick." He should have stuck around. Lambertsen stopped me a few minutes later and offered up a sample of her creation: elk, grilled onions, grilled peppers and Cheez Whiz on a roll.

Best fair food ever. Until I met up with Justin Palmer of Van Wert, who wasn't bothered by the rain or anything else. He made something he calls "Kickin' Chicken Roll-ups." Think jalapeno poppers in a rolled-up chicken breast. Grand champion all-time fair food. Wait.

I don't have a vote in this thing. RODNEY WHITETHE REGISTER Sarah Cronk of Toledo prepares her dish made with elk meat for the Farm Bureau Cookout Contest on Aug. 12 with the help of her husband, Jason. Rain made it difficult for some competitors to maintain proper grill temperatures. of the Latin King, were walking around judging something called "showmanship." "The rain sure beats being out here in 100-degree heat," said Tursi.

Even for the cooks? "No, no, no," he said. "I mean for us. For the cooks, the rain is terrible." Just know it started raining shortly after 8 a.m., just as most contestants were flaming up their coals. It ended at noon, as the judge's decisions were announced. There's a long list of winners, but the 2008 cookout champion was John Lengeling of Marshall County.

The cooks dumped their hot coals into 50-gallon drums. Some wandered to the funnel cake stands. All went home wet. BILL NEIBER6ALLTHE REGISTER in charge of scraping water off the countertops and following any other orders Eddie threw her way. She was under the tent.

Eddie stood in the rain, but kept smiling. Hank Miler of Osceola arrived at 3 a.m. with his homemade grill. He put it together using his grandma's old kerosene barrel. Hank made loin back ribs, grilled sweet com along with cherry cake and cowboy beans in Dutch ovens.

Things didn't seem to be going well the judges showed up a half-hour late, long past the prime eating time for what he had cooked but at least he was dry. Ah, the judges. They were soaked along with every body else out here. George Formaro. owner of Centra, and Bob Tursi.

owner f0 Search a database IAjI of more than 2,100 Iowa State Fair ribbon winners at DesMoinesRegister.com statefairresults. See dozens of photos and lm videos from the fair at DesMoinesRegister.comstatefair. So it was on to Eddie Starr of West Branch, who had an elaborate two-grill setup and cooked up one of the most elegant things you'll see around here, or anywhere else. "It's chuck-eye steak and eggs." he said. "Then I have grilled asparagus and grilled tomatoes.

Dessert is grilled pineapple, grilled peaches and rum yogurt sauce." Starr is a dental assistant. The dentist his wife. Anita as.