What does it take to win the Covington County Alabama Wildlife Federation Wild Game Cookoff?

In the case of this year’s winning team, Massey Automotive, four days.

Gary Musgrove said he marinated a wild hog in red wine and vinegar for four days. As he grilled it, he basted it with vinegar and lemon juice, and when he reheated it to serve as “Wild Hog in Wine” with glazed carrots on the side, he added a little Italian dressing.

The judges deemed it the first place game dish and the best entry overall last night.

The Alabama Army National Guard People’s Choice Award went to the Camp Creek Cookers – a team comprised of Chad Hughes, Royce Bass, Bryan Bass and Chuck Dutton. The team served honey-glazed deer wraps, red snapper and rice, duck and quail pizza and biscuits with backstrap – all crowd pleasers.

The cookoff featured traditional dishes – like dove served over greens, and originals, like Smokin’ Ashes’ Seafood Medley.

Addie Sightler said she read a number of recipes in her quest to come up with the seafood medley for this year’s competition. She didn’t like any of them, so she just started cooking, sautéing green onion, onions, bell pepper and crawfish, adding chicken stock, clam stock, tilapia, lump crab meat, cheese and a little bacon. She served it in a small bread bowl and garnished with croutons and sour cream. It was a winning combination, winning first place in the fish division.

Other winners were

• Game division: Camp Creek Cookers, second place for honey glazed deer; First South Farm Credit, third place for deer filet mignon with tomato pie.

• Fish division: Camp Creek Cookers, second place for snapper delight; Dixie Dirt Duo, third place for suffering shrimp succotash served over gouda cheese grits.

• Fowl division: First South Farm Credit, first place for pecan glazed dove; Smokin’Ashes, second place for turkey toes; Camp Creek Cookers, third place for pluck duck pizza.

Judges were Bob Bush, Bob Brooks, Lex Short, Patty Ashworth, Monte Morgan and Michele Gerlach.