Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

County Hosts State 4-H Beef Ambassadors Competition

Nevada County recently had the honor of hosting the Arkansas 4-H Beef Ambassador Competition.

This district contest was held at Prescott Middle School, with beef recipes featured.

Gurdon's Katie McKinnon took the top spot in the contest, while Shelby Howard, of Howard County, was second. Aaron Aubrey, of Columbia County, finished third in the senior division. Shanna Hutchison, of Sevier County was fourth.

In the junior bracket, Cora Bounds, of Montgomery County, was the winner, while Columbia County's Patricia Dooly was second. Saline County's Heather Barker finished third, with Kristen Mallet, of Hot Spring County, fourth.

The top three winners in the senior division went on to compete in the state contest, which McKinnon also won.

The judges locally included Teresa Booth, a nutrition specialist with the UA Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock; Dr. Rosemary Rodibaugh, also a nutrition specialist with the service; and Kim White, executive secretary of the Arkansas Beef Council in Little Rock.

McKinnon's winning recipe was an Arkansas Medley. It called for three medium sliced squash, four peeled and sliced carrots, two peeled and wedged onions, garlic powder, two tablespoons of cooking oil, 10.5 ounces of beef consomme, a half teaspoon of thyme, three medium peeled and wedged tomatoes, two green peppers cut into strips, one teaspoon of salt, a fourth teaspoon of pepper and beef balls.

The beef ball portion of the recipe required one third cup of finely chopped onion, a tablespoon of cooking oil, one lightly beaten egg, a cup of soft bread crumbs, half a cup of milk, one and a half teaspoons of salt, a fourth teaspoon of pepper and a pound and a half of ground beef.

The entire dish, which makes eight servings, has 369 calories per serving.

Each entrant had to prepare a dish using at least one pound of ground beef. One serving had to provide about three ounces of cooked ground beef.

All recipes were prepared at PMS, as required by the rules.

Once the dish was cooked, the contestants had to present an illustrated talk on the promotional aspects of beef, such as economy, convenience, nutrition and versatility.

The trio of judges sampled each dish, and required the cooks to answer questions about beef and how the recipe was prepared.

The contestants had to provide detailed information about their recipe, including its name, the ingredients used, measurements in common fractions, instructions for combining the ingredients for each step using food preparation terms, the size of the pans used, temperature and cooking time, along with the number of servings and calories per serving.

Charlotte Gorman, with the Nevada County Extension Service, said it was an honor for Prescott to host the district contest.

Normally, she said, the event is held in Hope, but couldn't be this year because of the lack of facilities.

Debra Culpepper allowed the use of her classroom for the competition at PMS.