Irish Stew

This recipe was put out by the Tabasco pepper sauce people in the 1940's.

3 lbs lamb; shoulder chops or breast
2 lg. potatoes per person
2 med onions per person
1 or 2 carrots per person
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Tabasco pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
Water to cover

Arrange lamb, which have a minimum of fat, in alternating layers with potatoes, onions (thickly sliced) and carrots. Add the seasonings and just cover with water. Cover pot and either simmer on top of the stove or cook in a 325 degree oven for 1-1/2 or 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Test for seasoning and serve with crisp bread and a good salad.

Serves 4 to 6.

Beef Stew with Fresh Vegetables

Best served with cornbread!

2 lbs stew beef
1 tsp salt
2 cups diced carrots
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups diced potatoes
1 onion diced
2 tablespoons flour
black pepper to taste

Rinse the beef under cold running water. Put in a pot with the salt and onions. Mix these ingredients and cover with water to 1 inch higher than the meat. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly, covered, for 1-1/2 hours or until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Cover the pot again and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add a little hot water if necessary to keep the ingredients covered.

To thicken the stew, make a paste by combining the flour with 1/2 cup water (mixing them well) and stir the paste into the ingredients in the pot a little at a time, using only as much as need to make a stew as thick as you like it. Add pepper and cover the pot. Let the stew sit for 15 minutes to ripen the flavor.

Serves 8.

Southern Boatman's Fish Stew

Southern Boatman’s Fish Stew

A really good 1960's ‘down south’ recipe. If you can't find any cod, haddock, or halibut, you can use whatever firm-fleshed white fish you can buy at the supermarket. A good, inexpensive and filling stew.

• 2 lbs firm-fleshed white fish (cod, haddock, halibut), cut in large chunks
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 onions sliced
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• ½ teaspoon each; red pepper and black pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 6 slices of Italian bread (toasted, if desired)

Sprinkle fish with ½ teaspoon salt; let stand 1 hour. Meanwhile, lightly brown onion in hot oil; drain. Stir in water, tomato paste, red pepper, black pepper, 1-½ teaspoons salt, parsley and wine. Simmer 20 minutes. Add fish; simmer about 10 minutes longer or just until fish flakes easily with a fork. To serve, place a slice of bread in each soup bowl, ladle soup over. 6 servings.

Brunswick Stew

Here's our first recipe - good old fashioned North Carolina Brunswick Stew. Hmmm, Hmmm, Good! Y'all enjoy y'hear?

Brunswick Stew

About fall, (hog butchering time) this would be cooked outside in a big, black pot to celebrate a job well done. In the winter during hunting season, the stew was made with rabbit or squirrel or venison and a ham bone.

• 2 lbs pork neck bones
• 6 cups finely chopped potatoes
• 1 chicken (2lbs), cut up, or chicken parts chopped, with juice
• 2 cans (16oz ea) tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 3 cups okra
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 cups corn
• 2 pkgs (10 oz ea) frozen baby lima beans

Rinse the neck bones under running water and put them in a large (1-½ gal) pot. Cover with water. Let come to a boil, and then cook for 30 minutes. Put the chicken into the pot, adding water if necessary to cover. Continue cooking until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes. Take out the pork and chicken. Skim off the fat, strain the liquid, and return it to the pot. Add 1-quart water and all the vegetables and seasonings. Remove the pork and chicken meat from the bones and cut the chicken meat into pieces. Put the meat back in the pot and let cook slowly for 1 hour.

Serves 12 to 15.