The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo 2024 may still be a few months off but participants in the culinary extravaganzas that accompany the ginormous Western-themed festival are already preparing for the cookoffs and feasts ahead of time.

Last week, the Hotel ZaZa Memorial hosted several chefs and pit masters to compete in a pre-rodeo slider cookoff to raise funds for Jasper County Go Texan, a non-profit located in Jasper County that provides scholarships for young people.

Jasper County Go Texan is no stranger to competition. They were the Grand Champion winners of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's World Championship BBQ Competition in 2023. That's a major score for any Texas barbecue team. And it wasn't their first big win. In 2022, they took home second place in the brisket category at the HLSR BBQ Competition. With all of those accolades, guests at the event were expecting some great flavors and boy, did they deliver.

The event was held September 14 in the courtyard in front of Hotel ZaZa with looming luxury high-rises and a handful of upscale restaurants adjacent. The skies had cleared after a much needed rain, though the lingering winds were sending umbrellas across the astro-turfed lawn.
Joining Jasper County Go Texan in the competition were Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ, Joseph Quellar of JQ's Tex-Mex BBQ and Hotel ZaZa chefs Brandon Wilhelm and James Boatfield. Each team was charged with making the best slider and the results were delicious.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to judge the event for the Houston Press. Tasting alongside me was Carolina Sanchez, host of The Nightcap on Fox 26, and local food blogger Amity Luo. Though we may have a had a few differences in opinion on the sliders, Sanchez and I had the same favorite in the end.
We made our way around the four stations, accompanied by representatives of Endicott PR. In addition to flavor and appearance, the judges were asked to rate the name and story of each slider dish as well. Though we expected to indulge in four barbecue-style sliders, there actually were distinct variations in the plates served.
We were first introduced to the crew from Jasper County Go Texan, who had the barbecue truck on site. They were also showing off the belt buckle trophies from the Houston World Championship BBQ Competition. The team put a lot of effort in the presentation of its slider, which was served with a side of elote coleslaw. Pit master Trey Whitehead described the story of his Cowboy Cash slider with a nod to both the Rodeo and the money that is raised for scholarships.
The smoked chopped brisket on the butter roll was very tender with only a trace of smoke. What really stood out about the slider was the composition of the ingredients. There was a little cheese, though I honestly couldn't taste it due to the wonderfully subtle sweetness of the BBQ aioli and the crispy fried onions on top. Sanchez ate half of hers to save room for the rest of the judging but I couldn't resist. I ate all of mine along with a few bites of the elote coleslaw. Whitehead had suggested we add a little Valentina sauce to the coleslaw if we wanted a little spice, which I did. However, Valentina sauce is not that spicy to me personally, so it didn't add much heat.
Up next, we tried Joseph Quellar's "El Rey" entry. It was smoked and braised pork carnitas with jicama cucumber slaw and avocado-serrano crema. He mentioned that the crema was not spicy but I found myself wishing it was. The pork carnitas were shredded perfectly but I did not get the smoky flavor that I was expecting. The jicama cucumber slaw added a nice freshness to the heap of juicy pork. Still, I wish Quellar had gone the birria route with his entry since I have heard rave reviews about his birria tacos. I'll just have to wait for another JQ's pop-up.
We were then off to Ara Malekian's table. Sporting a cowboy hat, belt buckle and facial hair straight out of a Western movie, Malekian appears to be a native son of the Lone Star State, when in actuality, the Armenian-born chef and pit master has led quite the international life. His classical culinary training showed in the brisket slider he served with pickled red onions and slaw greens. It also had a Marie Rose sauce which any Brit would recognize from its ubiquitous use on cocktail shrimp in pubs and restaurants across the British Isles. Malekian's brisket had the perfect amount of smoke for me with the Marie Rose sauce taming it just a bit. His brisket was the closest to being what one would expect at a barbecue competition. I didn't really get the point of the tomato slice on the bottom but the pickled red onions were a great foil for the smokiness of the meat, of which there was quite a generous serving.
Our last station was the chef team of Wilhelm and Boatfield from Hotel ZaZa. They had a different take on the slider cookoff, serving a lemon-thyme salmon patty with a golden raisin red onion jam on a grilled potato roll. It was paired with a side of Shiner Bock poutine. Calling their entry Slammin' Salmon, it was a nice contrast to the barbecue entries but the salmon was a tad on the dry side. It was saved by the onion jam. However, the poutine was amazing. The Shiner Bock gravy was drizzled across crispy matchstick fries with Texas goat cheese sprinkled on top, taking the place of Canadian cheese curds. I have never been a fan of the harsh bite of goat cheese but Texas chevre is much milder than the usual French version and this one worked beautifully with the light gravy. It was definitely an elevated take on the Canadian comfort food.
Guests at the event began streaming in and most of them looked to be well-heeled folks, possibly from the surrounding high-rise apartments or guests of the Hotel ZaZa. Rose wine was passed around and two young ladies were handing out Austin Cocktails as well. There were a couple of boutique apparel stands, Topped Hats and Upland Bespoke, selling fashionable Western wear for those getting an early start on their Rodeo 2024 attire.
In the end, the event raised over $6,000 for the Jasper County Go Texan organization. When the winners were announced, it was no surprise that Trey Whitehead and his team at Jasper County Go Texan had won both the Judges' Choice and the Taster's Choice. Though all four entries were stellar, the composition of Whitehead's slider just had something a little extra in its overall composition and story.

And we're excited to see more of the story when Rodeo Houston's World Championship Bar-B-Cue contest rolls back into Houston February 22 through February 24.