CLINTON — Tony Soyani, a Clinton businessman, created an unusual cooking contest last year that features roadkill.
It was so successful that the second annual Van Buren County Highway 65 Roadkill Wild Game Cook-off is set to take place from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 29 in Archey Fork Park in Clinton.
“We imagined something that’s impossible, and people were putting their fingers in their throats, saying it’s not going to work, and I made it work,” Soyani said.
“Last year, we had about 15 participants, cooking anything from Rocky Mountain oysters to exquisite dishes.”
The key is to rethink the definition of roadkill, he said.
“Roadkill — people think of somebody scraping off a dead animal from the highway — it’s not that. It’s any animal commonly found on the highway — deer are found on the highway; hogs are found on the highway; armadillo, possums, squirrels are found on the highway.
“It doesn’t mean you have to scrape it off the highway,” Soyani said.
This year’s theme is, “You kill it, you grill it.” Wild game must be grilled or smoked to be considered for judging, according to the rules, which are on the cook-off’s Facebook page. Also, “no gutting, skinning or cleaning on-site” may be done.
There is no charge to enter the competition, but attendees pay $5 to taste the food.
Last year, $500 was raised for the Van Buren County Angel Tree project, Soyani said.
This year, the recipient is the nonprofit group SNYP (Spay and Neuter Your Pets) Arkansas, which took over the Van Buren County Animal Shelter about a year ago. The organization operates on donations, but they don’t go far enough, said Lori Treat, shelter director.
“We’re funded by the generosity of the people of Van Buren County; some graciously donate $20 a month,” Treat said. “Unfortunately, most of it comes out of my pocket.”
That’s why she’s appreciative that the nonprofit organization is the recipient of the competition’s proceeds.
SNYP Arkansas was founded in 2015 as a spay and neuter clinic, Treat said. Van Buren County decided to close the animal shelter in 2016, “because it was too expensive.”
“We were told by a local vet, ‘You’re the only one in the county with a 501(c)(3); you could save that animal shelter,’” Treat said.
SNYP took over the management of the Van Buren County Animal Shelter on July 1, 2017.
“We’ve had it a little over a year, and we’ve saved over 200 lives since we took over. We send [animals] to out-of-state rescues, and we adopt locally,” Treat said.
“It was a high-kill shelter before we took over. We don’t consider ourselves a no-kill shelter yet; we kill for extreme aggression and disease — I won’t watch a dog suffer and die.”
Proceeds from the cook-off will be used to pay veterinarian bills, Treat said.
“Every [animal] in here gets vetted and fixed when it goes home. The adoption fees just cover rabies and spay and neuter,” but the cost of other vaccines “comes out of our pocket,” she said. “We still have our monthly expenses of lights, the water and phone.”
The shelter is at 187 Tester St.
“There is a group of volunteers who are here every day cleaning, feeding, watering and caring for these animals. … We have to turn away intakes on a daily basis,” Treat said.
The shelter is licensed for 60 animals — dogs and cats — and it’s always full or overcapacity, she said. “When we sent [dogs] to rescue on Tuesday, we had 74. We have to turn away intakes every day.”
Prize money for the event will be donated by banks, Soyani said.
The first-place winner will receive $300; the public will choose the People’s Choice Award, which comes with $200. A Gals Gone Wild prize of $300 is up in the air, he said. Last year, there were several women hunters, but this year, those women have prior commitments.
The rules state that “a select board of highly qualified judges will determine place winners based on taste, originality, presentation of the meal and showmanship. The decisions of the judges are final.”
Soyani said a rivalry exists between Sgt. Jay Murdock of the Clinton Police Department and Charles Wilson, Clinton Street Department supervisor.
“Each thinks they’re a better cook than each other,” Soyani said.
The winner keeps a special Charles Wilson-Jay Murdock Cook-off trophy until the following year; Murdock won the trophy the inaugural year.
“I’ve got the little, tiny Charles Wilson-Jay Murdock Cook-off trophy sitting at the Police Department right now,” Murdock said. “It was a side bet, sort of, between the Police Department and the Road Department.”
“Wilson cooked by himself, and I had a couple of guys from the Police Department helping me,” Murdock said.
Murdock’s team cooked venison tenderloin, with a peach-infused moonshine glaze. Although Murdock said his menu isn’t finalized for this year, “wild boar is the plan, I think.”
Wilson said he cooked wild turkey breasts last year, and this year, his menu will be “probably some kind of deer meat. I’ll probably make some Texas jalapeno poppers,” which is deer meat with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon.
“I’ll probably cook some wild turkey, and if we get a chance to kill a wild hog, I may cook a wild hog,” Wilson said.
He wants to make sure he has enough food for attendees to taste.
“There are quite a few people there, and I want to kind of make sure everybody gets a bite to eat,” Wilson said.
The trophy?
“If I get it, great. If I don’t, that’s OK, too,” Wilson said.
Murdock said he would like to win the cook-off with Wilson, as well as the overall first-place prize.
“We’re trying to win the whole thing this year,” Murdock said.
For more information about the cook-off, call Soyani at (501) 205-2117. For more information about SNYP Arkansas or the shelter, call (501) 745-7697.
Senior Writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansas
online.com.