Here is something non-political…

The first thing you are saying is… WHAT THE HELL IS BURGOO? There might be a dozen or so people that read this blog that know what I’m talking about.

Burgoo is a  BBQ soupy-stew dish that has as many recipes and cooking methods as there are people that eat it! It is made from nearly anything you can hunt, gather or grow.  Here we have a bunch of festival for burgoo so it’s not all that obscure regionally. Now normally Burgoo is cooked long and slow in a large iron kettle outside over wood fire with fresh ingredients and can be cooked as long as a full day or more – so cooking it becomes more of a social gathering than anything else.

Burgoo is a ugly food that taste great… it normally met with the phrase ‘Do we eat it or did we eat it?’ It’s not a pretty food as most cooks will attest and reading most recipes even ones for so called small amounts still makes a lot.

But say you want a little Burgoo and you don’t want to make 30-100 gallons and spend a day and a night doing it… you can cheat!

Here is my cheater version of the rather long and complicated versions that gets pretty damn close to the real flavor of the dish. I had some left over BBQ pork and I did not want another damn BBQ sandwich so it was time to mix it up a bit with something different.

First make a 3 or 4 lbs pork roast (you can use or add cooked shredded chicken too or omit the pork for chicken entirely if you are Jewish or have some other aversion to pork) one night in a slow cooker and enjoy you meal but save about a pound or so of it for the burgoo and when it cools shred it by hand and stick it in the fridge as likely you are already full from the rest of the pork.

Now take the cooked shredded pork/chicken and warm it up in a 3 or 4 qt pan, turn the heat down to medium and pour a couple of cans of mixed vegetables in the pan and gently mix with the pork/chicken. You can also add a small can of Southwest or Mexican Corn or whatever you like. Okay, just when you see a little steam coming off of it turn the heat down to low and pour in some cheap regular old BBQ sauce… say 10 oz or so and continue to cook on low for 30 mins. Stirring occasionally.

Now test it… does it need more BBQ sauce if so add it… maybe salt? Pepper? Tabasco? Veggies? Meat? Whatever you need to make the flavor you like.

For me I use about 2 packed cups of shredded BBQ pork, 2 cans of Veg-All, 1 can southwest corn, one 12 oz bottle of cheap BBQ sauce and cook on low for 30-60 mins stirring regularly and then eat! If it is too thick (too stewy like) add some chicken broth to thin. This gets real, real close to the flavor of  real burgoo without needing a small army and a full day to make.

Try it you just make be surprised… or as I say when I cook something different “This will either be good or the dogs will eat well.”

Just in case you want to know, here is one of the many full versions of a Burgoo recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound lamb shoulder roast, cut into 1″ cubes
1/2 pound pork butt, cut into 1″ cubes
1 1/2 pounds chicken leg/thigh quarters
1 quart beef stock
1 quart chicken stock, plus 2-4 quarts more
1 cup unpeeled red potatoes, medium diced
1 cup red onion, medium diced
1 cup lima or fava beans (frozen are OK)
1 cup diced green peppers
1 cup diced, peeled carrots
1 cup corn kernels (frozen are OK)
1 ounce Ancho chilies, toasted, seeded,
stemmed and cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup sliced okra
4 large garlic cloves , minced (more to taste)
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons Kentucky Bourbon, more to taste (Susan likes to use Jim Beam)
12 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Directions:
Cut excess fat from chicken legs, leaving skin intact. Combine lamb, pork and chicken in large stockpot with beef and chicken stock. Bring to a full boil and skim any froth or gray foam from the top. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the chicken legs and let cool. Remove skin and bones, shred chicken meat and return to pot. Add potatoes, onions, beans, green pepper, carrots, corn chiles, cayenne, salt and pepper. Simmer another 3 hours, adding 2-4 quarts of chicken stock, as needed, to keep stew from getting too thick.

After 3 hours add okra, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, lemon juice, bourbon, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. simmer another 6 hours, adding chicken stock if necessary.

Add parsley after burgoo is cool. Finished burgoo should have a soup, not stew consistency and must cook 12 hours. Can be started one day, cooled quickly and finished the next day. Refrigerate overnight to mellow the flavors and make the removing of fat easier.