Last weekend I made traditional Burgoo (1 pic)

[CyberQue]

I've been a griller all my adult life, but I never *really* barbecued anything until my wife bought me a Big Green Egg about three years ago. Now, I'm hooked. To feed my new addic -- uh, --hobby, I went to Amazon and ordered a really interesting book on the history of BBQ called "Barbecue: The History of an American Institution", by Robert F. Moss.

There's a section in the book about a famous Southern dish called "burgoo". Being from the Midwest I had never heard of burgoo so I decided to make some. But first, a little history of this interesting concoction:

ABOUT BURGOO
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Kentucky legend says that Burgoo was invented by a French barbecue chef named Gustave (Gus) Jaubert, who used to make a blackbird stew. Due to Gustave's French accent (and hairlip) some believe that "Burgoo" was what people heard when he said he was cookin' up some, "blackbird stew".

The legends about Gustave are probably just fanciful stories, however, as there are references to "burgoo" dating all the way back to 1830, ten years before he was born. Still, Gus was the undisputed "King of Burgoo", once presiding over the barbecue pits at the National Encampment for the Grand Army of the Republic, the famed fraternal organization for veterans of the Union army. That year, Civil war leaders from both sides came to be honored and an estimated 150,000 veterans attended the encampment. Gus made 12,000 gallons of burgoo using 4 tons of beef, 900 whole chickens, 4500 ears of corn, 50 bushels of onions, 100 pounds of pepper, and more.

In 1905, the Reverend John H. Aughey shared his memories after talking to a famous burgoo chef at a Kentucky BBQ:

The fires were lighted under the vats before the roasting commenced on the trenches, and the burgoo has been steadily boiling ever since. This boiling necessitates steady stirring, and next to Uncle Jake's ministerial powers the old expert who presides over each kettle comes in for due respect and glorification.

"You might not think it," says the old grey-headed Kentuckian, whose eye is on the largest of the pots where 500 gallons of burgoo are bubbling, "but a piece of mutton suet as large as my hand thrown into the pot would spoil the whole mess. That shows you that there are some things you can't put in burgoo. Sometimes out in the woods we put in squirrels and turkeys, but we didn't have any this time. I think they've got a leetle too much pepper in that pot down there, so if you don't find what you get is just right come to me and I'll fix you up with some of this."

As the meat boils from the bones the latter are raised from the bottom of the kettle by the paddle and thrown out. Gradually vegetables lose all distinctive form and appearance and the compound is reduced to a homogeneous liquid about the consistency of molasses. Burgoo ought to boil about 14 hours"says the old expert...

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Everyone has their own recipe for burgoo, so I just did my own thing. To the best of my recollection I added:

- A package of stew meat
- A package of chicken breasts
- A big hunk of smoked pork butt
- Some soup bones

- Several ears of corn
- 2 potatoes
- An onion
- A can of butter beans
- A can of baked beans
- Several tomatoes
- A small can of tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- A1 sauce
- Beef broth
- Chicken broth
- Salt and Pepper
- A bunch of garlic
- A little brown sugar
- Some Kentucky Bourbon

Late last Friday night I put all the meat in a roasting pan, with some of my spices plus the beef and chicken broth; then I put it on my Egg at about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. (I used direct heat, as I wanted the liquid in the pan to boil slowly.)

I had intended to get up in the middle of the night to check on everything, but unfortunately that didn't happen, and the next morning I jumped out of bed only to discover that my broth had completely evaporated, leaving the meat inside looking like a burnt mess. I scooped some crunchy stuff off the top and was pleased to discover that the meat underneath was nice and tender. Whew.

About 7:00 AM Saturday morning I added my other ingredients and filled the roasting pan with water. I checked on my burgoo throughout the day and stirred it every hour or so. After about 14 hours I took this picture:


gifs upload

I have no idea if this tasted like traditional Kentucky burgoo, but I CAN tell you that it was DELICIOUS. It was spicy, smoky, meaty, and just a little bit sweet. My daughter said it sort of reminded her of a meaty version of baked beans. (The beans and potatoes completely broke down, so she was talking more about the flavor than the consistency.)

Will definitely make this again!

 

[cowgirl]

It looks fantastic!

 

[landarc]

That is a nice looking stew, whether it is Burgoo, or not

 

[Kamadojim]

Looks delicious!

 

[Kyle Serlington]

nice, i've had that book for a while but i'm having a hard time getting through it, i keep getting distracted and start reading other books instead

 

[CyberQue]

nice, i've had that book for a while but i'm having a hard time getting through it, i keep getting distracted and start reading other books instead

Yeah, it's a bit dry. I had intended to read it straight through, but I find myself just skimming certain sections.

To be honest, I find the BBQ shows on TV really inspirational (sort of like Barbecue Porn), and I was looking for a book equivalent... something I could read while sitting outside by the smoker, drinking a beer.

What I really wanted was a book that not only described the history of BBQ, but talked about some of the early/famous BBQ pioneers, with lots of pictures and interesting stories about pitmasters from around the country. Not sure that one exists.

 

[Kyle Serlington]

What I really wanted was a book that not only described the history of BBQ, but talked about some of the early/famous BBQ pioneers, with lots of pictures and interesting stories about pitmasters from around the country. Not sure that one exists.

yeah, that's what i was looking for as well. check out the big bob gibson book if you haven't yet, it's one of my favs. cool history about bob and the restaurant, lots of great recipes and some nice pics as well. Peace Love and BBQ is another good one to check out, lots of history and recipes from places all over the US, not many good pics though.

 

[Wickedcajun]

That looks fantastic!!

 

[CyberQue]

Oops, I forgot to mention why I used the word "authentic" in my title...

I've looked at some modern recipes for burgoo and most suggest cooking it more like a stew. You brown your meat, add your vegetables and other ingredients, and then cook it for only about four hours, I assume so the vegetables won't break down.

This is the first picture that comes up in Google when you type in "burgoo":

But according to my history book (and research) some older burgoo recipes call for cooking times of up to 24 hours, and per that quote from 1905: "Gradually vegetables lose all distinctive form and appearance and the compound is reduced to a homogeneous liquid about the consistency of molasses."

I wound up cooking mine for about 16 hours. By then most of the liquid was gone and it was quite thick. The meat was tender, but definitely had texture -- though I found it impossible to tell if I was eating pork, chicken or beef. The corn didn't break down, which I enjoyed, but the potatoes, beans, onions, and most everything else were pretty much completely dissolved.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Yeah, it's a bit dry. I had intended to read it straight through, but I find myself just skimming certain sections.

To be honest, I find the BBQ shows on TV really inspirational (sort of like Barbecue Porn), and I was looking for a book equivalent... something I could read while sitting outside by the smoker, drinking a beer.

What I really wanted was a book that not only described the history of BBQ, but talked about some of the early/famous BBQ pioneers, with lots of pictures and interesting stories about pitmasters from around the country. Not sure that one exists.

We have a BBQ Historian here. PM Boshizzle or check out some of his posts. He has supplied a deep rich history of the origins of BBQ here in the USA.

Great looking dish!