Calf-fried up: Amarillo's Starlight Ranch hosts event benefiting first responders
The Starlight Ranch Event Center in Amarillo hosted its inaugural Calf Fry Festival Saturday night, with proceeds going to the Potter County First Responders.
Over 300 people attended what organizers hope will become an annual festival, featuring music and a plate of calf fries - a local favorite at the Big Texan since it opened in March of 1960. Music from Velvet Funk and Bomb City Groove kept the crowd entertained as they partook in the Texas area delicacy. Funds from the festival went to the Potter County Sheriff and Fire-Rescue Employee Benefit Fund. The fund was created to help first responders of Potter County with any unforeseen need like a family emergency or funeral.
Bobby Lee, co-owner of the Starlight Ranch and the Big Texan, spoke about the first-year festival and the reason for the choice of featured food. Earlier in the week, Lee was concerned about the elevated temperatures affecting the turnout for the festival but said he was happy with the number of people who came out to enjoy unique food and a worthy cause.
“We hope this is the first of many years with the Potter County Sheriff’s group,” Lee said. “This has been a delicacy of the Big Texan for 63 years. We sell over 60,000 pounds of calf fries a year. People come from all over the place to eat our calf fries. We have not changed the original recipe for this item and many people say we have some of the best calf fries they have eaten.”
Lee said it took a while for him to understand the appeal of calf fries, which are cooked bull testicles. Well, at least until he was about 7 years old.
“We have been cutting these since day one and it was just like cutting a chicken or peeling shrimp,” Lee said. “At the time, we never thought about a calf fry as what it really is. Our chicken fried gravy really helps make them taste so good. It is a really simple recipe which is like what they batter chicken gizzards with.”
Lee said the reaction to the calf fries was exceptionally good during the vent but he also made available chicken tenders for those that decided to chicken out after receiving some feedback from some that would not eat the featured dish.
“I was amazed that my father, a Yankee, was so flexible and amenable to making this part of my menu, but it has continued to be a crowd favorite at our restaurant,” Lee said.
Sgt. Jimmy Hinson from the Potter County Sheriff’s Department and a member of the employee benefits board that the festival was benefiting spoke about his group's mission.
“Tonight’s concert and festival will benefit the employee benefits board of the Potter County Sheriff’s and Fire Rescue,” Hinson said. “We put our efforts into helping employees and staff of both agencies. We work together in the field, so we work together on this board as well.”
Hinson said his board has helped employees who have had bad illnesses in the family and have lost their homes to fire, as well as many other needs.
“Any money that we raised tonight will go straight to the board I am grateful for all that came and supported us for this event,” Hinson said. “This was a great event; these were the best calf fries I have ever eaten.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo Starlight Ranch hosts Calf Fry Festival first responders
