Twenty teams of steampunks cooked up early morning pots of chili for Saturday’s “Slushdown,” a rib-sticking reward for parade-watchers who braved a steady drizzle the night before.

You might expect the contestants in this steampunk version of the Snowdown Chili Cook-off to attempt to blend history with science fiction, but instead, they turned to tried-and-true chili recipes for success.

In the long and storied history of the Snowdown Chili Cook-off, what makes for award-winning chili?

Whether it’s red or green, chili lovers say be generous with the browned beef or pork. Peppers and garlic are front and center. Add onions and cumin, of course. Maybe tomatoes, oregano and even an occasional kick with MSG will work.

You can stray from the path in a chili cook-off, but if you expect a prize, don’t wander too far into the weeds.

Chili cook-off judge Tom Caver said simplicity of ingredients and technique are what matters.

“Stick to the basics. Use good ingredients. For red chili, start with a good red chili powder base. When you brown the pork well, that deepens the flavor of green chili,” said the real-estate broker and home cook.

While the door slowly is opening for unconventional ingredients – corn, cinnamon, bacon and beans other than pintos – tradition prevails. Vegetarian chili still puzzles aficionados. “How can this be chili?” some ask.

Like the steampunk theme itself, competition vegetarian chili is defined by the cook’s imagination.

Saturday’s winners included a star-studded line-up of local chili cook-off celebrities, led by James Chavez and Charles Rigby, both of whom won multiple prizes in several categories.

Even the People’s Choice awards were consistent with the picks of a panel of 18 locals who judged entries in a blind comparison before about 2,000 chili-tasters jammed the fairgrounds’ exhibit hall.

Event coordinator Greg Yucha said dozens of community businesses generously donated food, beverages and even breakfast for the event volunteers, which included 20 teams of chili cooks and representatives from Fort Lewis College’s Society of Business Leaders. The donations helped cut event expenses and raise about $7,500 for next year’s Snowdown festival.

In the Bloody Mary competition, nine teams served about 3,000 Bloody Marys. Four kegs of beer and cases of non-alcoholic beverages helped keep the slushy celebration wet. The Los Alamos brass band, the Hill Stompers, decked out in Victorian-accented science-fiction garb, blasted favorite tunes while the crowd sampled more than 30 homemade chilies and salsas.

Chili cook-off regulars James McVean, Marisa Salvo, Jimmer Moore and the queen of chili for kids, Betty Dorr, walked away with prizes donated by Sunnyside Farms Market and Durango-area merchants.

Durangoan Peg Ochsenreiter has been attending the Snowdown cook-off for “at least 30 years,” she said. She gave a thumbs-up to Ben and Joe’s Green, a pheasant and grouse chili with a blend of colorful corn, onions, bacon, okra and hominy swimming in a hearty broth.

Ben DeBalina, the son of Steve and Mary Jill DeBalina, and Joe White, the son of Rebecca Lumbert and Howard White, are eighth-grade students at Miller Middle School.

Why was their non-traditional chili Ochsenreiter’s top pick?

“It had bacon in it!” she said of the distinguishing ingredient that catapulted this chile to the top of her list. Ochsenreiter was impressed that the young contestants did the actual hunting for the game used in their recipe.

Judge Gerry Schaerer agreed. “I look for creativity,” he said.

Ben and Joe’s creativity earned the boys Schaerer’s top score, although no prize. It was the second year the two had gone out on a limb. Last year, they introduced peanut butter chili, earning their reputation for culinary risk-taking.

Other twists on the traditional included a winning entry that boasted a trace of either cinnamon or allspice, ingredients often eschewed by chili aficionados of the Southwest who hold the traditional belief that neither belong in chili.

The third-place People’s Choice award went to Brew bartender Chris Tucker for his red, short-rib chili made with three types of chili peppers, stout, pinto beans and a hint of dark chocolate. He lost by a hair to the second-place People’s Choice winner, Team Tailgater’s Henry Gonzalez, whose secret is locally-raised beef, bell peppers and “no water added, just Guinness beer and red wine,” Gonzalez said.

First-place People’s Choice winner in both the red and green categories, Chavez Chilies, truly wowed the crowd.

James Chavez’s carne adovada featured drop-off-the-fork tender chunks of seared pork braised in red chili, seasoned with garlic and crushed tomatoes. The 15-time Snowdown cook-off competitor makes his red chile from dried pods that he blends into a smooth sauce. He also routinely roasts his own fresh green chiles, then freezes them for later use in his award-winning recipe.