Stephen Montoya
There was no Love lost (pun intended) when celebrity chef Tim Love announced the number of rattlesnakes harvested to make way for the second annual cooking competition known as the Rattle Battle.
That number would be 187. And yes, these rattlesnakes were harmed to make this battle happen.
This event, which was held in Mule Alley on Thursday, September 26, marked the beginning of the reigning Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Teams Champion Texas Rattlers’ third annual homestand.
Hosted by Love and presented by TX Whiskey, the second annual Rattle Battle pinned sixteen of Cowtown’s best chefs against each other to see who could make the best dish using a key ingredient – rattlesnake.
The process to bring home the win, which consisted of a giant golden rattlesnake trophy, a check for $2,500, a pair of Ariat Boots, an RTIC Cooler, special edition bottle of TX Whiskey, and more was all in the hands, or in this case taste buds, of the sold-out crowd. Each attendee was given a Texas Rattlers token to be placed in the box of the dish of their choice.
In the end, Lonesome Dove’s executive chef, John Holloman, brought home the “W” for his dish made with a TX Whiskey infused peach rattlesnake sorbet, and Texas shotgun shell smoked rattlesnake hatch chili elote and spiced crema. In fact, this was the first and only Rattle Battle submission that had two components to combine to create a new flavor.
Other honorable mentions went to Brix Barbecue, for its take on a rattlesnake glizzie, Don Artemio for the mole it used on its rattlesnake tamale, and to Jaun Rodriguez for his presentation of a rattlesnake curry served in a tiny iron skillet.
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After the tally was complete, the top three dishes were set before a panel of judges that included Jamey Ice, guitarist from Green River Ordinance, Susan Alcala from Ariat Boots, and Zack Landry from TX Whiskey. Also in attendance were the Ariat Texas Rattlers who were preparing for the first night of three PBR teams rodeo competitions titled Rattler Days.
“I feel the vibe of the chefs really getting into it this year, which is kind of awesome,” Love said. “There are some dishes that made the rattlesnake stand out more, for sure. And then there were some dishes that tried to master the rattlesnake with a great dish. And it's kind of interesting, tasting everybody’s play on it, which is fun. But I think my greatest outlook on it is I feel like it's a really casual event. It's not like chaos. A bunch of people, the chefs are having a good time.”
The same could be said for Thomas Westow, who traveled from South Wales in the United Kingdom to get his first taste of rattlesnake.
“Texas just seemed like the obvious choice,” he said. “I just wanted to come over, and try some Texas barbecue, because the barbecue game in the UK it is not the best.”
Out of all of the cities and towns Westow could’ve picked to visit, he says Fort Worth was his first pick. But he didn’t come here to rope and ride, instead he came here specifically for the food.
“I'm definitely a foodie, but it's just, again, it's the whole southern hospitality thing as well. I mean, going to London, everyone's quite arrogant and quite horrible. The drivers, the traffic is awful. No one really gives way or anything,” Westow said. “And so, I dunno what it was, Texas just kind of stood out to me.”
After the big check and trophy were handed out, many of the Rattle Battle attendees headed across the street to the Cowtown Coliseum to see the Texas Rattlers take on the Oklahoma Wildcatters; a match the home team won. Rattler Days continues at Dickies Arena on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28. The competition begins nightly at 7:45 p.m. CDT.
“I'm so proud to have all these great chefs come show up and really show the real culinary talent that this city has to offer,” Love said during the competition. “Generally, and I know this because I've done this millions of times, we as chefs love challenges like this. We love some weird thing that everybody else has to deal with. It's like, what am I going to do to show out?”
