By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
It was fitting that a seafood dish would come out on top in the Alabama Wildlife Federation (AWF) Gulf Coast Wild Game Cook-Off, in the area where the wild game cook-off tradition originated.
The AWF Cook-Off phenomenon started in 1996 in Mobile, and it has spread statewide with cook-offs in every region of the state with a state final at the AWF headquarters at Lanark near Millbrook. The Gulf Coast event was held at the AWF Delta & Bay Conservation Center at Five Rivers in Spanish Fort.
Choosing a winner among the multitude of excellent wild game dishes was a difficult task for the judges, which included Ben Stimpson, Jr., Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR).
“Those who might be a little hesitant about trying wild game need to attend one of the AWF Cook-Offs, and I’m pretty sure they will quickly change their minds,” said Commissioner Stimpson, who served as AWF President in 2011-2012. “Being able to take protein that was harvested in the wild or caught in the Gulf or our many lakes and reservoirs shows how blessed Alabama is with our abundant natural resources. As a judge, there were so many delicious dishes, it was difficult to choose the winners. I mean, I sometimes love something simple like fried backstrap, but these cook teams take wild game and fish dishes to a level that most people have never experienced.
“It was also great to see the overflow crowd that attended and the 30-plus teams that prepared the dishes. The AWF Cook-Offs are great times to spend with friends and family and sample the delicious ways that wild game and seafood can be prepared. And the cook teams are highly competitive and dedicated to serving the best dishes possible because being an AWF Cook-Off winner comes with bragging rights.”
Playing off last year’s winning dish of Shrimp and Crab Bisque, The Pigfish Seafood Cook Team demonstrated one of the best ways I’ve tasted to use leftover shrimp from a shrimp boil. The Pigfish team’s Cajun Shrimp Soup was crowned champion in the Fish Division and was selected as the overall winner.
Selena and Matthew Rowe had shrimp, corn and potato leftovers and transformed them into the winning dish. When it comes to traditional recipes, most of the cook teams just go with the flow and their taste buds.
“These were the leftovers from a seafood boil,” Selena said. “I took my corn and cut the kernels off the cob, peeled and diced the potatoes. I peeled the shrimp and used the hulls to make a stock. I boiled the shells out for the stock. I took the stock, white pepper and a stick of (salted) butter. You get most of your spices from the seafood boil, your crab boil. Then I add the corn and potatoes and let it simmer. I had chopped the shrimp and added them at the end because they’re already cooked. Then I add a little mozzarella and smoked gouda cheese and heavy cream.”
To make a big pot to serve a crowd of 8-10, she takes about five pounds of boiled shrimp, about eight ears of corn and eight medium-sized potatoes.
In case you missed it, the Pigfish team, which has locations in the Piggly Wiggly stores in Mobile, won the Fish Division at last year’s Gulf Coast Cook-Off with a Shrimp and Crab Bisque, which was made with their in-house crawfish seasoning. Matthew said the dish uses a half gallon of half and half, sweet cream corn, local shrimp and local crab meat, both lump and claw meat. The Rowes add two cups of water to the half and half and stir the mixture constantly to keep it from sticking. The corn and crawfish seasoning is added and simmered until it starts to thicken. Two pounds of peeled shrimp and one pound of crab meat are added and simmered for about 10 minutes before serving.
