"If gumbo is the national stew of Cajun country, burgoo is the stew of Kentucky," Ronni Lundy asserts in her book Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken. Because the stew is made in many different ways with a variety of ingredients, the "Burgoo Song" by Robert Myles claims, "You can toss in almost anything that ever walked or flew." Many early recipes for burgoo include squirrel in addition to chicken, beef, and pork. In Kentucky, Anderson County, which hosts its Burgoo Festival every September, is known as the burgoo capital of the world. Arenzville, Illinois, makes a similar claim. But the French lay claim to the basic concept of burgoo, and it's conceivable that the word burgoo arose somehow from the French ragout (pronounced ra-goo), also a term describing a stew.

　　Burgoo makers agree

　　• Burgoo should be made in stages: cook the meat first, and then add the vegetables.

　　• No less than 4—6 hours should be devoted to making burgoo. Some recipes call for a 24-hour cooking period.

　　• Burgoo should contain more than one meat.

　　• Burgoo should be prepared outdoors over an open fire.

　　

Ingredients

12 to 14 servings

　　2 pounds pork shank

　　2 pounds veal shank

　　2 pounds beef shank

　　2 pounds breast of lamb

　　1 (4-pound) chicken

　　8 quarts cold water

　　1 1/2 pounds potatoes

　　1 1/2 pounds onions

　　1 bunch carrots, peeled and sliced thickly

　　2 green peppers, seeded and chopped

　　2 cups chopped cabbage

　　1 quart tomato puree

　　2 cups whole corn, fresh or canned

　　2 pods red pepper

　　2 cups diced okra

　　1/2 cup chopped parsley

　　2 cups dry lima beans

　　1 cup diced celery

　　3/4 cup Kentucky bourbon

　　Salt and pepper

　　Tabasco

　　Steak Sauce

　　Worcestershire sauce

　　

Step 1

1. Put the pork, veal, beef, lamb, and chicken into a large pot. Add the water and bring it to a boil slowly. Simmer until meat is tender enough to fall off the bones, about 4—6 hours.

　　

Step 2

2. Lift the meat out of the stock. Cool the meat, remove it from the bones, and chop it. Return the chopped meat to the stock.

　　

Step 3

3. Pare the potatoes and onions and dice them. Add them, plus the carrots, green peppers, cabbage, tomato puree, corn, red pepper, okra, parsley, lima beans, celery, and bourbon, to the meat and stock. Allow the stew to simmer until very thick about 6 hours.

　　

Step 4

4. Season to taste with the salt, pepper, Tabasco, steak sauce, and Worcestershire sauce.

　　From The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook by Albert W. A. Schmid. Copyright © 2010 by The University Press of Kentucky. Reprinted with permission from The University Press of Kentucky.