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Cream Can Cooking

By Susan Hoffmann

While cookout fans fantasize about the latest in stainless steel grills and wood-fired smokers, a pair of Armour men discovered the secret to a party lies in a vintage cream can. Larry Wilson and Marty Bigge are the kings of cream can cooking in Douglas County. Using just a 10-gallon can and the burner for a turkey fryer, the men can turn a mixture of sausage and vegetables into a hearty meal that feeds 30.

“If you tell somebody you’re ‘having cream can,’ they’re over — right away,” Bigge said, as a crowd gathered one late summer evening to enjoy the last of the season’s fresh sweet corn.”It’s the best thing they ever ate.”

Cream canning is done by filling the 10-gallon can with fresh vegetables including sweet corn and smoked sausage. Water is added and the food is cooked atop an open flame. It has other benefits, in addition to being a taste-tempting meal.”It’s all good for you because it’s all steamed,” Wilson said. He and Bigge host cream can suppers to celebrate everything from a NASCAR race to class reunions or company picnics.

Bigge says that once someone has tasted cream can cooking, the next step is inevitable.”They want cream cans,” he said. Finding a vintage can requires some searching. Wilson acquired his from a brother-in-law, while Bigge purchased his when the local produce company went out of business.

“I think the best place to find a cream can is in a coffee shop, through conversation,” Wilson says. Estate auctions, flea markets and antique stores are also good places to search for cream cans.

Wilson and Bigge said the most important quality for a can is that it has no holes, so it holds water.”And you don’t want a real rusty one,” Bigge added.

While fresh sweet corn is the cornerstone of a good cream can cookout, Wilson and Bigge said they have hosted the suppers throughout the year.”We’ve done it in the winter time, but you’ve got to freeze the corn [during the summer],” Wilson said, admitting that frozen corn does not taste as good as fresh.

The two chefs also have a unique serving dish — a wooden trough lined with tinfoil to hold the steaming hot food from the cream can.”I heard some old-timers talk about how they used to do it,” Wilson said of the trough, which has a one and one-half inch slope and a hole to drain the cooking liquid.

Cream Can Supper

All you need to get started on your own cream can supper is a 10-gallon can and the burner mechanism for a turkey fryer. The vegetables and meat can be customized to please the crowd you’re feeding. Wilson and Bigge usually select an assortment of hearty vegetables and homemade sausage from the meat locker in Delmont. Bratwurst and chicken are also popular choices of experienced cream can cooks. The meal is cooked outdoors since the propane burner has an open flame.

30 ears of fresh sweet corn (or ears that were fresh-frozen during the summer)
30 potatoes, whole
4 large yellow onions, quartered
20 carrots, cut into large pieces
2 heads cabbage, cut into wedges
Any other vegetables such as cauliflower, green pepper or broccoli
8 rings sausage
Water to cover corn
Salt and pepper to taste

Start packing the cream can by standing the ears of corn on end in the bottom of the can. Add water to cover the corn. Some cream can cooks add a bottle or two of beer to the cooking liquid for extra flavor. Salt and pepper may be added to taste; however, if you’re using smoked sausage, the vegetables will absorb the flavor and not a lot of additional seasoning is necessary. Next, layer potatoes, onions, cabbage and other veggies on top of the corn. Wilson and Bigge use mesh bags like those found in the produce department of most grocery stores for the smaller vegetables to ease removal from the can, but tying the vegetables in cheesecloth will also work. Place sausage on top of vegetables, cover the can and light the burner. Total cooking time ranges from 45 minutes to an hour once the water boils and steam starts rising through the can. You will want to check the can after the food has steamed for about 30 minutes to ensure that it does not over-cook.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the May/June 2006 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call 800-456-5117.

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Pickle Party

A tasty family recipe inspired Terry and Sam Grosz of Delmont to organize a pickle party and invite their entire community.

By Ruth Steil

Pickle packing is more fun with the help of friends and neighbors. At least Sam and Terry Grosz thought so when they began the annual gathering in 1994.

Terry and Sam Grosz of Delmont host an annual Pickle Packin’ Party. The gathering began several years ago when the Groszes visited family in California to attend a pickle party hosted by Terry’s cousin. They loved the pickles so much they brought the secret recipe, along with a dozen jars of pickles, back home in a suitcase.

They tried a small batch in their kitchen the following summer, staying true to the family recipe except for adding some vegetables. The next summer they invited friends to help them pack pickles under a tent. After making 100 jars in 12 hours, a Delmont tradition was born.

Eleven years ago the summer heat and flies, plus an ever-growing group, persuaded the Groszes to move the party from a tent to the Delmont Community Center. They use the rear of the building for cleaning the cucumbers and the community room in front for packing and sealing the jars.

Local Hutterite colonies supply cucumbers by the truck full.

The group has grown to about 50 picklers, and the process is considerably more streamlined since that first yard party. They are on a strict schedule, starting at 8 a.m. on a Saturday in July. Forty-five minutes are scheduled for the potluck lunch and the canning and cleaning are finished by 5:30 p.m.

The Groszes purchase the cucumbers from nearby Hutterite colonies, since they grow enough to ensure a uniform size for the pickles. Invitations are mailed a few weeks before the party. Along with the usual date and time, the clever cucumber notes include an RSVP for how many quarts each partier wants to make. The Groszes order and purchase the pickle ingredients, but everyone brings their own jars, rings and lids and a potluck dish to share at noon. At the end of the day each person pays a per-jar price, based on the cost of the supplies.”It costs roughly $2 per jar,” Terry said.”That’s rent, gas, refreshments, everything.”

The first step to making pickles is prepping the cucumbers. Hundreds of cukes are dropped in a cattle tank filled with water where the stem and remaining leaves are removed by a group of workers. In 2008 Howard Knodel, from Nome, Alaska, was on stem duty. He was visiting relatives in the area when Terry gave him a jar of pickles to sample. Impressed by the taste and crispness, he decided to join the party.”Terry told me if I was around I should come to the pickle party,” Howard said.”I’ve ordered 16 jars so I can bring them back to Alaska for my wife and boys.”

Delmont’s pickle party is a community event, but the recipe remains top secret. Pickle partiers go home with as many jars as they want – for $2 each.

After being stripped of leaves and stems, the cucumbers are run through the rinse/spin cycle of a washing machine. Three to five gallons of cukes are placed in the washer at a time. Towels are positioned around the sides of the tub to buffer the cucumbers from breaking or bruising. Mike Grosz, Terry’s son, runs the machine.”I’ve been washing cucumbers for about 10 years,” he said.”I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

The washed cucumbers are carried to the community room in tubs where an assembly line of chatting, smiling picklers stand waiting on both sides of long tables. A turkey cooker with a canner placed on top serves as the hot water bath for the jars. Peggy Grosz, Mike’s wife, pulls the jars from the hot water. Her PVC coated gloves demonstrate the potential hazard to tender skin.”I’m the hub of the wheel,” she said.”If I quit everybody has to stop.”

Each person on the line after Peggy has a designated task: packing cucumbers, dill, hot peppers, garlic or vegetables, adding alum and finally pouring in the brine and sealing the jars.

Terry won’t share the recipe for the crunchy, savory dill pickles.”When my cousin gave me the recipe years ago, he made me promise not to give it to anyone. He died a year and a half ago, but I’m still keeping my promise.”

He’ll share the pickles though, if you bring your own jars.

Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the May/June 2009 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy, or to subscribe, call 800-456-5117.