u/burgiebeer

Hello fellow Mid Century enthusiasts. I picked this highboy up around 2010 and after repairing the legs, it’s been my personal dresser ever since. I doubt I’ll ever part with it, however I’ve long been curious about the maker since I’ve never run into another like it. There are no makers marks anywhere to be found on it (only a stencil that says “100 Dresser Gunstock Walnut on the back panel).

It shares some passing similarities to McCobb planner group, but it’s quite obviously not. This is without a doubt the heaviest highboy I’ve ever handled. Solid wood throughout, there is even walnut used in some of the interior drawer supports.

I’ve always just assumed this was a smaller American furniture maker that wasn’t very prolific and made some pieces “in the style of…”, but alas I’ve been stumped for over 15 years. Thought I would put it out to the community and see if any of y’all have come across a similar piece or can offer up any history.

This was my first time doing a proper chili cookoff, which was something of a Pro-Am. Although I didn’t win (the winners were established restaurants) it was so much fun to see people enjoying a chili recipe I’ve been developing for years.

I had to scale my normal 5qt recipe 12x to 15 gallons which was a huge logistical challenge for a home cook without a commissary. I bought a 40qt pot, induction burner, and 4” hotel pans.

Here are a few things I learned:

-my stove just couldn’t really keep up with the volume of liquid so it was a slow process.

-the induction burner worked great to hold temp for service but struggled to bring 7.5 gallons that were cold up to temp

-the recipe didn’t quite scale exactly. Certainly things i just couldn’t do like browning the meat and deglazing with beer when I had 24# of cubed chuck to sear.

-somehow lost a lot of heat. Still not sure how. Same ratio of dried peppers and fresh jalapeño. Not sure if anyone has any suggestion

-even if you have a Cambro hot box and hotel pans with lids, make sure you add foil so you don’t end up with a pile of chili falling out into your trunk.

-what normally takes me 3-4 hours took me 3 days.

-holy crap I’m tired but that was a lot of fun.

Here’s what’s in my chili:

-Fresh onions and jalapeños cooked in lard
-Fire-roasted tomatoes and poblanos
-Roaster garlic
-tomato paste
-San marzanos
-dried chili paste with ancho, pasilla, and guajillo
-chipotle sauce
-malty beer
-white wine
-worcestershire
-cubed chuck
-bacon
-dried spices (incl cumin, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano, basil, s&p)
-muscovado sugar
-black and kidney beans

I go with a low and slow simmer for 3-4 hours until the meat falls apart with a fork. Any suggestions are welcome.