Kentucky Burgoo

After you and your family have raced through the corn mazes and picked the perfect pumpkin this weekend chances are you are going to have a serious appetite worked up! Sometimes after a day of running around dinner out doesn’t sound appealing.

So grab your crockpot and get ready to fix your family a tasty meal to come home to after a day of fun!

This is my father – in – law’s recipe for Burgoo, a dish native to Kentucky. Don’t let the name burgoo scare you off. This is very similar to a hearty stew.

Kentucky Burgoo:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds pork shoulder or country ribs, cut into large pieces (3 to 4 inches wide)
2 pounds chuck roast, stew meat, or other inexpensive cut of beef, cut into large pieces (3 to 4 inches wide)
5 chicken legs or thighs (bone-in)
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 quart beef stock or broth
1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
2 large potatoes
1 bag of frozen corn
1 bag of frozen lima beans
Salt and pepper
4-8 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

1 Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a large soup pot (at least 8 quart size).  When the oil is shimmering hot, working in batches brown all the meats.  Make sure not to over crowd the meat or it won’t brown properly. Let the meat pieces get well seared. Put the meat in the crockpot.

2 Add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours.

3. Strip the chicken off the bone and discard skin if you want. Break the larger pieces of meat into smaller, more manageable pieces.

To serve, taste one more time for salt, and add either more Worcestershire or salt if you want. Serve with crusty bread or cornbread and a bottle of hot sauce on the side.