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Mark C. N. Sullivan is an editor at a Massachusetts university. He is married and the father of three children. Email
Llama Robbo, soon to be a Temporary Bachelor for two weeks with the departure of wife and kids on holiday, has put out a call for recipes lest he spend the duration supping on Ramming-speed noodles.
Well, there's always something to be said for mixing up a big batch of something in a pot; hence burgoo:
In particular, burgoo is a traditional Kentuckian stew, served commonly at the Kentucky Derby. It is a hodge podge of ingredients and most recipes call for a minimum 24-hour cook time. At the Derby it is served from massive iron pots into paper cups with crackers. Some people use the saltine crackers to eat the whole cup of burgoo like a dip…
It is believed that the word "burgoo" originated in the 17th century on the high seas. These sailors used to subsist on an oatmeal-like porridge made from the Middle-Eastern grain, bulgur (or bulghur) wheat. The term first appears in the 1650 book "Adventures by Sea" by Edward Coxere…
Traditionally, the idea was to make a stew using whatever meats and vegetables were available and in good supply. That meant game meats, deer, but also squirrel, possum, meat from game birds or whatever the hunt brought back. The local Kentucky barbecue restaurants use meats left over from their barbecuing — typically, pork, beef or lamb — as the basis for burgoos that change depending on what meats happen to be left over. There are many jokes in Kentucky about collecting "road kill" as meat for making burgoo.
Meantime, as a Patrick O'Brian aficionado, Robbo no doubt has a copy of the Aubrey/Maturin series' gastronomic companion, Lobscouse & Spotted Dog, which has been described as "a cookbook to treasure even though its recipes are terrifying."
Boiled baby: serves four 4oz plain flour, 2oz suet, lots of nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, a handful of lexia raisins (the really big ones you can get in Waitrose), enough milk to bind. Mix the lot and put it in a pudding bowl. Put a cloth over the top and tie it tightly with string around the lip of the bowl. Boil for two hours - and voila! Your baby!
Now it's on to Gordon Ramsay -- shut it down, you &$%*# donkeys, yes?
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