Written by Christina Nellemann
Photos courtesy of Nevada Outdoor School
This September, celebrate a bastion of the Wild West on a road trip to Winnemucca with fork and knife in hand and an empty belly. The 11th Annual Buckaroo Dutch Oven Cook Off will be held on September 14, 2019, at Vesco Park in Winnemucca. The public event is the Nevada Outdoor School’s annual fundraiser for its outdoor education programs.
The NOS encourages the public to join in on the fun and food prepared by competing teams cooking up a variety of dishes in the classic Dutch oven — traditional cast-iron, lidded pots with three legs that use coals or briquettes to cook the food. Everything from stews and roasted meats to bread and cake can be made in a Dutch oven.
Rolls baked in a Dutch oven at the 2018 Buckaroo Dutch Oven Cook Off
Teams will compete for both awards and cash prizes in four categories: Youth (1 Dish), Chuck Wagon (Main Dish), Bean Master (Main Dish and Dessert), and International Dutch Oven Society, or IDOS (Main Dish, Dessert, and Bread). The IDOS is a nonprofit organization that preserves and promotes the art of Dutch oven cooking. This also is an official IDOS-sanctioned event, and the winner qualifies for the World Championship Cook-Off in Salt Lake City, Utah. A People’s Choice award also will be given.
2018 youth competitor Catherine Welsh prepares ratatouille in her Dutch oven
“We’ve had world champions come to our event to compete,” says Melanie Erquiaga, executive director, Nevada Outdoor School. “We had a team from Burley, Idaho, who competed in the World Championship Cook-Off in Salt Lake City and won. We like to say that our event is ‘where world champions and beginners come to cook together like old friends.’”
In past years, teams have cooked up dishes such as paella, mushroom-and-gorgonzola-stuffed flank steak, lamb shank with potato and parsnip mash, enchiladas, and chili. Last year’s winning dish was bacon-wrapped kielbasa pieces. Desserts also are a big hit; last year, Erquiaga made a coconut rum bread pudding.
“It’s a real crowd pleaser, cooks up really pretty, and is delicious,” she says. “Pineapple upside-down cake is an easy one that kids make a lot.”
After each dish is judged by three judges in each category, public attendees will get a chance to sample as many dishes as they want for a suggested donation. This year, the NOS is hoping to raise $10,000 for its outdoor education programs.
From left, Shane Nelson, Heather Nelson, and Makenzie Nelson from Bill and Jane’s Wagon Train team — 2018’s first-place International Dutch Oven Society winners — receive their award from Melanie Erquiaga and Allana Havernick from the Nevada Outdoor School
Along with the competition, the event also will feature games and raffle prizes. This year, some of the prizes include a 10-by-10-foot Kodiak canvas tent and Camp Chef outdoor cooking supplies.
“We’d also love to thank our Reno sponsors, Sportsman’s Warehouse and Scheels,” Erquiaga says. “Even though they are not in Winnemucca, they are very supportive of us out here in rural Nevada.”
Nevada Outdoor School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 2003 and currently reaches more than 1,500 youths each month with hands-on natural science and outdoor education. With two offices in Winnemucca and Elko, the organization travels around Northern Nevada offering outdoor education for children. The school also offers science- and nature-based classes for teachers, field trips to locations such as Lovelock Caves and Great Basin National Park, an outdoors ethics program, and summer camps for young children and pre-teens.
11th Annual Buckaroo Dutch Oven Cook Off
September 14, 2019 at “High Noon”
Vesco Park in Winnemucca
$10 (or more) suggested donation
Nevadaoutdoorschool.org
