About 200 Dallas County residents came out to enjoy a little more exotic fare than usual at the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s annual Wildgame Cookoff.

The event featured meals made by local hunters and sportsmen made with wild game, like turkey, boar, deer and quail.

Jesse Crowe, a local musician provided entertainment. Door prizes were also awarded.

Rumors persisted through the night of possum, although none was found by this reporter.

Door prizes were awarded, and the winners will receive a chance to go the state Wildgame Cookoff.

Dana Hollis, one of the organizers of the event, said the event was going well.

“We’ve had a good turnout of people cooking,” he said.

Hollis presented a dish of wild boar.

Jimmy Harris, AWF organizer, said the event helped boost the membership of the AWF each year.

“Everybody that buys a ticket gets a membership,” he said. “The (AWF’s) goal is to expose people to wild game and the AWF, and have a positive impact.”

Marisa Lee-Sasser, also with the AWF, said the event was always good for the group.

“It shows the public that hunters are good sportsman by utilizing the game they harvest,” she said. “And hunters get to show off their culinary skills.”

The event featured three different divisions: fish, fowl and game.

The Thomaston Timber Cookaholics swept the competition, winning best fowl and game dish with their Smoked Pheasant and Wild Wyoming Bison Loin. The bison also won best overall.

Triple Creek Quail Farms, ironically, won first place for best fish dish with their Red Snapper.

Perhaps one of the most diverse spreads, although they didn’t win a prize, came from Urban Friday and Ron Blackmon from Quality Heating and Air.

Both Friday and Blackmon were veterans of the event, although it’s the first time they’ve participated in years.

“They (organizers) came back this year and asked us if we’d do it,” Friday said.

Quality offered up

helpings of rotisserie turkey, cubed deer, deer chili, wild rice, hawiaan quail, sweet and sour pork ribs and deer sausage flavored dip.

Everyone who attended left full and happy.