"American Feasts - The Best of American Regional Cooking" - Kentucky Burgoo (Stew)

Date I made this recipe: May 1, 2010 (Kentucky Derby)

American Feasts – The Best of American Regional Cooking by Sallie Y. Williams
Published by: William Morrow and Company, Inc.
ISBN: 0-688-05707-1
Recipe: Kentucky Burgoo – p. 100

People, timing is everything. I purchased this cookbook at Arc’s Value Village for a big old buck ninety nine two weeks before the Kentucky Derby. As I was leafing through the book, I saw the recipe for Kentucky Burgoo and that was that!

Kentucky Burgoo is basically a meat stew – “meat” with a capital “M.” Pork, beef, veal and chicken all go into this dish. It’s like we went to sleep and woke up in a butcher shop. And just for good measure, vegetables are added at the last minute saving this dish from being a featured item on a South Beach diet plan!

And speaking of flavor, the only “spice” in this dish is Worcestershire sauce and a scant amount at that so be sure to salt and pepper accordingly.

As to the Derby, I didn’t watch it as I had things to do but did recall a hilarious moment from one of my favorite movies, My Fair Lady. In the movie, Audrey Hepburn, a grubby, Cockneyed-accented flower salesperson turned lady, goes to the horse races and momentarily forgets herself by yelling at the horse, Dover, to “Move your bloomin’ arse!” (“Arse” is how the English pronounced “ass.”). Her fellow race-goers were not amused.

After eating all this meat, you may not be able to move your bloomin’ arse, but it is a pretty good dish overall and one that is pretty easy to make. Enjoy!

Kentucky Burgoo – 12 servings (you will definitely want to cut this recipe in half if not quarters)
1 pound boneless pork
2 pounds boneless beef chuck
1 pound breast of veal (since veal can be hard to find, I doubled up on the pork)
1 small frying chicken (I used 3 boneless chicken breasts)
Water
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, scraped and chopped
½ green pepper, diced
¼ head of cabbage, chopped
3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 cup corn (fresh if possible)
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne

Place the meats in a heavy kettle and cover with water. Boil until tender (check after a half an hour to see if the meat is done). Drain and reserve the liquid (Or—do what I did and remove the meat, cut it into cubes and then return it to the liquid to which I had already added the vegetables). Add the vegetables, parsley, Worcestershire and seasonings to taste. Simmer the mixture until thick. Serve.