Winning Dinner Is a Spin Away

By Heather Rule

On a Friday night in Ottertail, the spin of a wheel can decide what’s for dinner. 

Dan Hurder usually explains a meat raffle to someone quite simply as a raffle where you win meat. “They usually look at me a little funny, but it is literally exactly like it sounds,” said Hurder, CEO of Great Plains Hospitality and the owner of a few dining destinations in Ottertail and beyond. 

Meat raffles are a staple at bars and restaurants throughout the region. Raffle entrants pay $1 for a chance to win meat with 35 chances per raffle board. They spin a wheel, and the holder of the winning number wins a package of meat. 

Any kind of meat is fair game. Bacon is always a popular choice, and bacon-wrapped pork chops are especially coveted, said Hurder, often disappearing from the prize table first. The meat itself is locally sourced by the Ottertail Lions from Amor Pork, adding another layer of homegrown pride to the tradition.

“I had never heard of a meat raffle until I bought the Otter Supper Club,” Hurder said. “As far as I know, it’s been going on as long as anybody can remember, so it’s a pretty historical thing for our region.” And with the proceeds benefiting local nonprofits, it’s a tradition that gives back as much as it brings people together.

The raffles start promptly at 6 p.m. on Friday nights at the Otter Supper Club and the Woodshed Bar and Grill — a standing appointment for many locals. The raffles become part of people’s routines on the weekends, so it’s best to arrive early because tables fill up and meat runs out. 

Each raffle board has a set number of tickets. Those who choose to participate pay $1 per ticket before spinning the wheel to see if the number it lands on matches up with their ticket number. There’s no limit to the number of tickets someone can buy for a board. 

When a number hits, the winner gets first pick from whatever meat remains on the table. Behind the scenes, ordering for the weekly raffles is part instinct, part experience, with past crowds and the season guiding how much to bring in. Fridays in the winter  look a little different from the packed nights of summer.

Part of the popularity is the tradition. “People have been coming for years and years,” Hurder said. “Now some of those same people are bringing their children, just like they once came with their parents or grandparents.”

“For us, it’s part of Friday night life in Ottertail.”