Ken Winter

When Ken Winter left Bruce almost 40 years ago, he “couldn’t boil water.” He had to call back home to ask his grandmother, the late Maudie “Big Mama”?Winter how to make cornbread, which he stills makes by her directions. He says he learned to cook because of a combination of necessity and “I want to make that.”

Moving to the Delta–Greenville and Indianola–he found a big diversity of people and food. He says he fell into cooking from the grilling aspect–there was a lot of grilling and socializing with friends. And when a friend made him a grill and he got a Big Green Egg, that’s when things got started.
He began by trying new basting sauces and seasonings, and one thing led to another. He says the secret to a good job on the grill is 99% indirect heat, with the exception of cooking burgers. With a steak, he will sear it, then cook “off heat.” When cooking steak he uses dry rub mix, but if marinating, he uses mesquite flavoring and worcestershire.

Most of the time when eating out, he will order steak, but says he doesn’t have a favorite food, and Doe’s in Greenville is his favorite restaurant. Greenville Police Department, where he was on the force and also detective, had their own police lodge and would host retirement parties at which they might cook 300-400 steaks.
Ken will usually try a recipe by the book first and then vary from it. He says all his recipes have a history for him. The dry mix and basting sauce are from a friend who always had a big ‘Christmas in July’ cookout. The vinegar-based basting recipe, which has “a whole different taste,” came from a July 4 gathering at Lake Washington and is a nice alternative to conventional tomato-based sauces.

The okra, from an elderly cook at the Greenville Jail, is “kind of interesting and very good,” and he says he worked on his chili recipe 25 years to get it perfected. The gumbo recipe is “near and dear to him” from a friend, the late David Vickers, who would host a gumbo cooking at his house twice a year. Ken made it for his brother Bobby Gordon Brown’s 60th birthday party.

He says he cooks pretty much every day and doesn’t taste when he cooks. He does a good bit of cooking in the summer for family and small gatherings for some of his for them, and he says he smokes them first with seasoning salt, then uses Tabasco hot sauce.
He wants to perfect beef brisket, which he will cook in the green egg, but he hasn’t messed with it much. He says he hasn’t cooked a lot of fish, but wants to do more of that because catfish on the grill is good, and he has eaten a lot of good catfish dishes.

Formerly Police Chief in Indianola and Crime Lab director, he has been back in Bruce for eight years and is now MS Police Chiefs Assn. director and he teaches ethics and forensics classes at Ole Miss.

Ken’s ‘World?Famous & Highly Respected’ Chili
3 medium onions, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 lbs. lean ground beef
2 cans (14 1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 cup green chili salsa
1 whole jalapeno, finely chopped
3/4 cup chili powder
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chilies, undrained
1 tsp. salt
2 cans kidney beans
1 1/2 cups water
Toppings: 4 oz. grated Cheddar cheese, small container of sour cream, 2-3 green onions, sliced
Saute first four ingredients in olive oil until tender. Add meat, one pound at a time, stirring until meat loses pink color. Drain (if necessary). Add remaining ingredients, stirring after each addition. Simmer 2 1/2-3 hours, stirring frequently. Season with salt to taste. Top each individual bowl with grated cheese, dollop of sour cream and sliced green onions.

Basting Sauce for Grilling Chicken
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup cooking oil
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp. onion juice or powder
1/4  tsp. garlic juice or powder
Mix all ingredients together and bring to a boil. Best to let stand overnight before using. Brush on chicken while it is cooking slowly over the coals of the grill. Turn chicken often to ensure it doesn’t burn.

Jailhouse Okra
Take whole okra and place in jelly roll pan. Dot generously with butter and sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper. Cover with foil and bake approximately 40 minutes at 350°. (It is not slimy like you would expect okra to be.)

Frank’s Dry Mix
12 parts paprika
4 parts Seasoned Salt
4 parts black pepper
4 parts garlic powder
2 parts cayenne pepper
2 parts oregano
4 parts cumin
Mix and use as a dry rub.

Frank’s Basting Sauce
Quart of red wine vinegar
Quart of beer
1/2 cup brown sugar
Regular bottle of worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. pepper sauce
Bay leaf
Tbsp. of Frank’s dry mix
Mix together and use as a basting sauce for meats.

David Vickers’ Greatest Gumbo Ever
Fry 12 slices of bacon and drain on paper
Mix bacon grease with 10 Tbsp. flour and brown to make the roux. Add 12 cups of water.
5 to 8 lbs. of raw cleaned shrimp
5 chopped onions
2 chopped bell peppers
5 packages of frozen okra
10 bay leaves
4-16 oz cans of tomatoes
10 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
5 Tbsp. of salt
1 Tbsp of Black pepper
3 cans tomato paste
4 to 6 shakes of Tabasco (optional)
1 Tbsp. of parsley flakes
1 tsp. of celery seeds
3 tsp. soy sauce
1/3 tsp. of tarragon
1/2 tsp. of thyme
1/2 tsp. of rosemary
1/2 tsp. of savory
Put all of the seasoning in a cup and crush into a powder except for the Bay leaves, which should be left intact so they can be removed later. Cook slowly for 3 hours. Add shrimp and (1-2 lbs. of lump crab meat optional or may be substituted with chicken or sausage). Crumble in the crisp bacon and simmer until all  meats are cooked. Prepare white rice to be served with the gumbo. Makes about 33 cups.

Eggplant Parmigiana

1 medium eggplant cut into slices ¼ inch thick 3 Tbsp. olive oil 6 ripe tomatoes, chopped 2 Tbsp. tomato paste Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups coarse bread crumbs ½ cup parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley 2 gloves of garlic, finely crushed 8 thin slices of mozzarella cheese Cover eggplant slices in salted water and let stand for a ½ hour, drain and dry. Sauté that in hot oil using large skillet until soft and lightly brown on both sides. Transfer to a platter. In same skillet, combine tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper, and let simmer for at least ½ hour. Mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic. Arrange layer of browned eggplant slices in greased casserole dish; sprinkle with bread crumb mixture pour some of tomato sauce mixture. Repeat layers until everything is used. Be sure to end with a layer of eggplant slices. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese browns, approximately 15-20 minutes, at 375°. Makes four generous servings.

The Original Cicero’s Steak Sauce

French’s Worcestershire sauce Corn starch Oleo White or red wine (Chablis, Blanc, Cabernet) Canned Mushrooms Mix: Worcestershire sauce and corn starch (whip it in) while cooking on low. Add oleo, continue to cook until it thickens, then add wine, canned mushrooms, and simmer. This is an excellent sauce to serve on the side, to dip or to spread over the top of the steak and serve. Adjust measurements to desired amount of sauce needed. Can add lemon juice to “tart it up a bit.”