Super bowls: Chili’s and chowder’s compete at Camano cook-off

Palmer’s chili won Best Chili for the third time in the past four years at the Chili & Chowder Cook-Off on Camano Island. The contest marked its 23rd year Nov. 10.

Twenty-four contestants competed for the titles of Best Chili and Best Chowder on Camano. A record-breaking 1,761 people — including this reporter — voted for their favorites. The top three chilis and chowders were awarded trophies. The Camano Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual cook-off.

Best Chowder went to the Tulalip Resort Casino and YMCA Stanwood-Camano. The team also won for its chowder in 2017. Chef Perry Mascitti’s Pacific Northwest Seafood Chowder is made with crab and lobster stock, crushed tomatoes and five kinds of seafood.

Palmer, who named her recipe after a Statue of Liberty on her Camano Island property, was the only contestant not tied to a local business. Her tried-and-true spicy stew is mostly meat — sirloin, bacon, pork, sausage — with a healthy dose of hot peppers that are charred to add a smoky flavor.