Tandy Elliss Burgoo Recipes

BURGOO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large stockpot (8-quart) over medium-high heat. Season the chicken and beef with a few pinches of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil skin-side down and cook until the skin is golden brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to cook until golden, about 2 minutes more. Carefully remove to a plate. Working in batches, cook the beef in a single layer spaced about an inch apart, turning a few times, until browned on at least three sides, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. As the beef finishes browning, transfer to a large plate.
• Add the sausage to the pot and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon into small bite-size pieces, until cooked through and browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until the vegetables are crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaves, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
• Return the chicken and beef to the pot, along with any juices that may have accumulated on the plates. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper, then give everything a good stir. Bring to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the chicken and beef are very tender, about 2 hours.
• Keep the burgoo over low heat. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool slightly; remove and discard the skin and bones, then shred the chicken and return it to the pot. Skim the fat from the surface of the stew, discarding all but 1 tablespoon. Stir the 1 tablespoon of skimmed fat with the flour in a small bowl until a thick paste forms, then stir the paste into the stew. Add the potatoes, butter beans, corn and Worcestershire sauce. Increase the heat to medium-low, then continue to simmer uncovered until the potatoes are cooked through and the stew has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and stir in the vinegar, if using. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.

KENTUCKY BURGOO

Steps:

• Brown the meats: Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a large soup pot (at least 8 quart size). Salt the meats well on all sides. When the oil is shimmering hot, working in batches brown all the meats. Do not crowd the pan or the meat will steam and not brown well. Do not move the meat while browning a side. Let the meat pieces get well seared. Remove the browned meats to a bowl.
• Sauté onions, carrots, celery, and green pepper: Add the onions, carrots, celery and green pepper to the pot and brown them. If necessary, add a little more oil to the pot. After a few minutes of cooking, sprinkle salt over the vegetables.
• When the vegetables are well browned, add the garlic: Cook for 30 seconds more, until fragrant.
• Add back the meats as well as the chicken, beef broths, and the tomatoes: Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 hours.
• Remove the meat pieces, strip from bones, cut into smaller pieces, and return to pot: Uncover and remove the meat pieces. Strip the chicken off the bone and discard skin if you want. Break the larger pieces of meat into smaller, more manageable pieces. The reason you did not do this at first is because the meats stay juicier when they cook in larger pieces. Return all the meat pieces to the pot and bring it up to a strong simmer.
• Add potatoes: Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks about the same size as the meat pieces (if using new potatoes, you can skip the peeling, but russets you'll want to peel). Add them to the stew and cook them until they are done, about 45 minutes.
• When the potatoes are done, add the Worcestershire sauce: Mix well and taste for salt. Add more Worcestershire sauce to taste if needed.

TANDY ELLIS'S BURGOO

Steps:

• Put the beef, lamb, and dismembered chicken in a soup kettle with water, salt, black and red pepper. An old-fashioned iron kettle was specified by Mr. Ellis, but any heavy aluminum or metal kettle with a tight-fitting lid will do. Let this come to a hard boil, reduce the heat, and simmer about 2 hours with the lid on. Add potatoes, onions, and at intervals of 10 minutes, the butterbeans, carrots, green peppers. Then add corn and simmer for 2 hours or until mixture seems very thick. Watch carefully so that it does not stick. Add more water from time to time if necessary, but use as little as possible. Add okra and tomatoes and the garlic and let simmer another 1 1/2 hours, or until these vegetables too are done and blended with the others. Mr. Ellis insisted that the stew should cook for 7 hours, but 4 to 5 hours should be quite sufficient. As soon as soup is taken from stove, stir the parsley into it. This soup improves by standing and can be kept for a long time in the refrigerator. It is delicious when reheated. Serve with corn pones and follow it with a piece of pie-a most satisfactory repast, Kentucky style.

TRADITIONAL KENTUCKY BURGOO

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in an 8-quart pot over medium heat; brown pork and beef cubes in the hot oil, working in batches if necessary.
• Stir in chicken broth, chicken pieces, potatoes, and carrots. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer stew for 1 hour.
• Stir in stewed tomatoes, barbeque sauce, green beans, okra, corn, onion, green bell pepper, celery, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
• Bring stew back to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 more hour.
• Discard bay leaves before serving stew in bowls.

BURGOO

Steps:

• Place the beef, lamb, and chicken in a large Dutch oven. Add the salt and water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer until the beef and lamb are fork tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the beef, lamb, and chicken pieces to a plate and let cool. Strain and measure the broth; it should be about 6 cups. With a paper towel, wipe the inside edges of the Dutch oven to remove any residue clinging to the pot. Pour the broth back into the Dutch oven. Stir in the onion, garlic, mixed vegetables, okra, butter beans, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, sorghum or molasses, ketchup, vinegar, cloves, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, remove the chicken, beef, and lamb from the bones and cut into small pieces. Add the chopped meat to the vegetables and cook for about 1/2 hour to thicken the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley.