NBHF steak cookoff features World Champion Ouverson

CRESCO - It smelled pretty good in the Beadle Park area on Sept. 21 as world-class grillers participated in the second annual Steak Cookoff for Norman Borlaug Harvest Fest. The aroma of cooking steak had many folks wandering over to the area to check it out.

There were 17 cooks from six different states who traveled to Cresco for the event. One of them, Matt Ouverson, had already garnered enough points to win the World Championships. They are being held in Fort Worth, Texas on Oct. 6.

If that isn’t special enough, there were five others who were ranked, as of Sept. 17. They included the winner of the Cresco event, Mark Johnson, at 19th; Mark Huntley at fifth; Tim Brown and Troy Johnson, who were tied at ninth and Sandy Brown, who is seventh and the number one woman.

After the contest, locals could taste-test some of the steaks. They were a hit with the crowd!

As it stood, the winners of the NBHF contest and their portion of the $2,500 payout were:

1 — Mark Johnson, $1,000

2 — J.T. Turnbull, $400

3 — Mark Huntley, $300

4 — Tim Brown, $200

5 — Troy Johnson, $100

6 — Brad Duckert, $100

7 — Matt Ouverson, $100

8 — Keisha Duckert, $100

9 — Sandy Brown, $100

10 — Rusty Hadacek, $100

The winner of the contest gets a Golden Ticket to the World Championships. If the winner has already taken a first, it goes to the next person who does not have a ticket. Cresco’s Golden Ticket went to eighth-place finisher Keisha Duckert.

According to event organizer Spiff Slifka, one thing the cooks all had in common was how much they liked the quality of steaks from Polashek’s Locker.

During their prep work, a few of the cooks shared their secrets.

Ouverson, of Norwalk, Iowa by Des Moines, has been grilling barbecue competitively for 10 years. He has been totally concentrating on steaks the past three years. 

“I’ve entered 87 contests since last October,” he said. “That includes 17 states, and I’ve driven 47,000 miles.” He has had five wins, 50 top 10 qualifications and has been unofficially named the 2019 World Points Champion by the Steak Cookoff Association (until it is official on Oct. 6).

For winning, he gets a trip to Australia in March. He is also going to teach some classes and is coming out with his own line of rubs.

“I was a chef when I was 18 and was basically self-taught. Dad’s been in the meat business for over 30 years.”

When asked who Dad considers the better cook, Ouverson smiled, “He knows who is the best. We grill against each other a lot. Now my sister, who goes to school at Ames, has gotten the bug.”

Although he didn’t give away his deepest and darkest secrets to grilling, he did say the most important thing is to get the doneness right. “If it is, everything falls into place. Doneness is the key. It should have a warm, pink center.”

He also said he and nearly all the other cooks use White Lightening seasoning. And of those fellow competitors, Ouverson says, “We’re like a big family. We see each other every weekend and 3-4 days a week when we are on the road.”

Two brothers are other competitors in the cookoffs. Rusty Hadacek is from Britt and is part of Giddy-up BBQ. His secret is making it look pretty and tasting good.

Rod Hadacek is from Garner. “I’m still trying to figure out my secret.” 

Both brothers admitted although the winning was pretty even, Rod was having more luck lately. That thought may have changed, since it was Rusty who placed at the Cresco contest.

Regardless, the participants had a great time in Cresco, and most will probably be back for the third annual event next year.