Cast Iron Cook-Off Winner 2025
Meet Cara, the champion of our 2025 Cast Iron Cook-Off!
Here are her winning recipes, made in the wood-burning oven at the 1876 Tangen Home:
Chicken Fricassee
1 pound chicken thighs
2 Tbsp lard
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp mace
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Heat frying pan over high heat and melt lard. Mix 2 Tbsp flour with mace, salt, and pepper to lightly coat the chicken thighs. Cook chicken skin side down until golden then flip and brown the second side. Add chicken stock to pan with chicken. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until chicken reads 165F. Remove chicken and put the frying pan on high heat. Add in 1 Tbsp flour and cook until thick. Add in milk and whisk until smooth. Add lemon juice and season to taste. Pour over chicken or serve on the side
Carrots and Rice
2 large carrots
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup stock or water
1 can wild rice or 1 cup cooked wild rice
Heat 1 Tbsp butter in sauce pan and add carrots. Add salt, pepper, onion, nutmeg, and parsley and cook until carrots begin to get tender. Add in drained rice and stock. Allow the rice and carrots to simmer on low until carrots are tender. Just before serving add last Tbsp butter and season to taste.
Choke Cherry Pie
Filling:
2 cups choke cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dried apples
2 Tbsp apple butter
1 Tbsp molasses
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 egg and 1 Tbsp granulated sugar for topping
Crust:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup lard
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
6-8 Tbsp water
Mix together flour, lard, sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon to make crumbly dough. Add enough water to hold dough together into firm ball. Cover and leave at for at least 30 minutes on the counter.
Mix sugar and choke cherries with sugar in a pan and heat until cherries start to burst and a dark purple syrup forms. Rehydrate apples in 1/2 cup hot water. Mix together cherries, rehydrated apples, apple butter, molasses, spices, and corn starch. Roll out 3/4 of pie dough and shape into crust base in a frying pan. Add fruit mixture. Using the remaining crust, cut out small shapes to decorate the top of the filling without covering completely. Egg wash the crust and sprinkle with sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve with vanilla custard.
Vanilla custard
2 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
Heat milk, butter and vanilla until hot but not boiling in a pan. Mix sugar, eggs and corn starch in a bowl. Add hot milk gradually to temper the eggs. Once fully combined, return mixture to pan to heat until thick. Can be served warm or cold.
