Pitchfork Fondue (1988)

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PITCHFORK FONDUE--733 Google hits
 Â  There are only 17 Google Groups hits, from 23 April 1997. Â It's somewhat new, but catching on fast.
 Â  I checked the Yellow Pages of the Bismarck (North Dakota) telephone book, but I couldn't find a restaurant serving this in the mid-1990s.
 Â  Is it from North Dakota? Â South Dakota? Â Montana? Â Wyoming? Â Saskatchewan?
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(GOOGLE)
http://www.pitchforkfondue.com/story.htm
In              the 1960s beef fondue for dinner was a treat our family enjoyed. Small              chunks of beef were cooked on forks then dipped in "fondue sauces"              before eating. The only problem with this procedure was the time it              took to cook the meat, and the length of time you had to wait between              bites while the others cooked their meat. One evening Darrell commented              " Someday I am going to figure out a way to have beef fondue without              starving"! And many years later, he did!
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Darrell              decided to look for a large cast iron cauldron to use for a "fondue              pot", thinking a pitchfork would be ideal to thread the steaks onto              the tines for cooking. Ironically, the first cauldron came from our              Aunt Helen at the Big Trails Ranch near Tensleep, Wyoming. Uncle Jack              had bought her a "pot" at an auction-to plant geraniums in!! Darrell              later found another cauldron on the farm of our sister-in-law, Kay,              in Nebraska, which had belonged to her father.
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In              the mid-eighties, Darrell and Verna began catering "Pitchfork Fondue"              for an occasional wedding reception, Fourth of July celebration or              family reunion. Then requests came from organizations across Wyoming,              and later from regional and national groups having meetings here in              the Equality State. One that we remember well, was a dinner for members              of the Wyoming Legislature hosted by the Wyoming Association of Conservation              Districts in Cheyenne, Wy. in a blizzard in January. Outdoor cooking              was intended for nicer weather!
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Another              was for the Western Regional Deans of Agriculture and Directors of              Extension for seventeen states including Alaska, Hawaii and the territory              of Guam, at the University of Wyoming Research Center in Grand Teton              National Park, in August. They presented Darrell with a formal resolution              commending him for a gastronomical dinner and his hospitality.

It              was on a camping trip in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming that              Darrell, our oldest son, Jay, and friend, Dennis Baker of Iowa began              talking about establishing Pitchfork Fondue as a seasonal business              in a permanent location. Later Darrell felt that God showed him Jackson              Hole was the place to begin. In the summer of 1997, a corporation              was formed and Pitchfork Fondue was set up on a working cattle ranch              outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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Guests              came from near and far to savor juicy tender steaks cooked in just              minutes on the tines of a pitchfork, accompanied by our family's favorite              fondue sauces. Another specialty, hot homemade potato chips, were              devoured with gusto. Fresh fruit salad, crisp lettuce salad, rolls,beverages              and homemade brownies and lemon bars complemented the meat and potatoes.
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In              the spring of 2000, Pitchfork Fondue moved to Pinedale, Wy. and is              now located at the Pinedale Rodeo Grounds, one-eighth mile south of              town. This site is also the location of the world famous Green River              Rendezvous and the Rendezvous Rodeo held annually the 2nd weekend              in July

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(GOOGLE)
http://www.mervspitchforkfondue.com/
Howdy!    My name is Merv Brandt and I’d like to introduce you to Saskatchewan’s exciting new concept in catering ... “Merv’s Pitchfork Fondue”!
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  While traveling in the northern part of the province in the spring of 1991 I came across a small hotel that offered a ‘pitchfork fondue’. Well I had to try this out. I enjoyed the meal and was so intrigued by the concept that I decided to modify the idea and literally take it on the road. I spent a whole year developing the  traveling forty gallon cast iron cooker and searching out generations old recipes. I’m a Regina boy, and still do a bit of farming, so I know what it takes to please a prairie appetite.    Â
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(GOOGLE)
http://www.buffalochip.com/fondue.html
PITCHFORK FONDUE We know this is going to come as a shock to you, but many of the folks who work at the Chip wear chaps of a different variety when you're not here. Folks who work in fields and on prairies don't leave the table hungry. Â If they do, you didn't cook enough. Â From branding parties, Barbecues, cookouts, campouts and backyards comes the fine-tuned outdoor phenomenon of Pitchfork Fondue.

 From a bunch of high plains South Dakota comes some cowboy chefs who take a big old slab of prime ranch-raised Dakota buffalo steak, poke it on the end of a pitchfork, then sear it in a custom-made tank full of specially blended savory oils known only to them. Â The searing seals in the meat's juices and keeps the oils outside. It is unbelievable. Â You can't find a more tender steak anywhere!
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(PROQUEST HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS) Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â
 Â  Â  Â Clinton Tries To Recapture '92 Campaign
       By TODD S. PURDUM.       New York Times  (1857-Current file).       New York, N.Y.: Jun 2, 1995.                   p. A1 (2 pages):
 Â  BILLINGS, Mont., June 1--(...) At the 7,000-acre wheat ranch of Les Auer, where President Clinton paused outside this central Montana city for a noontime chat and a lunch of "pitchfork fondue" and Rocky Mountain oysters with local politicians, farmers and cattlemen, his motorcade froze the narrow road solid and a security helicopter swept across the Big Sky overhead.
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(PROQUEST NEWSPAPERS) Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â
 Â  Â  Â BARBECUE BATTLE RAGES OVER WHICH MEAT AND SAUCE ARE BEST
 Â  Â  Â  Eleanor Ostman, Knight-Ridder Newspapers. Â  Â  Â  Chicago Tribune (pre-1997 Fulltext). Â  Â  Â  Chicago, Ill.: Jul 21, 1988. Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  p. 9.D Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â
(...)
Ellis says there is a form of barbecue in California known as Santa Maria-style. "It goes back to round-ups in the Mexican days when they'd take three-inch-thick slabs of top sirloin, thread them on iron skewers and turn them over red oak coals. "Yet today, the meat is sliced thin and served on bread with a local variety of pinto beans on the side," Ellis said.

I was in the Black Hills recently, and a motel owner told me about a cowboy diner famous for its sirloin tips. They're not smothered in gravy; South Dakota sirloin tips are deep-fried. Ellis knows why: "They call it pitchfork fondue, and the meat is often fried in beef suet. They know the fat is hot enough when a match dropped into it ignites. The technique dates back to the covered wagon days when suet was kept in a black iron kettle. After being used for cooking, it would solidify and they'd hang the pot on the wagon to take to the next campfire."
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 Â  Â  Â MAKING MOST OF NORTH DAKOTA
 Â  Â  Â  Adam Z. Horvath 1995, Newsday. Â  Â  Â  St. Louis Post - Dispatch (pre-1997 Fulltext). Â  Â  Â  St. Louis, Mo.: Aug 20, 1995. Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  Â  p. 03.T:
I'VE LANDED in a place you'd never think to go: a prairie mecca of sauerkraut pizza and buffalo hot dogs, of bull-a-ramas and pitchfork fondues; where sunshine and hailstorms take unpredictable turns blasting the fascinating but wind-swept landscape - and the fascinating but wind-swept people.
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