According to Sarah, “If you have frozen, dressed squirrel or rabbit, or shank of venison, throw it into this; otherwise, store-bought meats will do the trick.” Great! To put the “Kentucky” into your stew, be sure to select a variety of vegetables including potatoes, onions, celery, cabbage, carrots, sweet green peppers, corn, lima or butter beans. Chef Sara does not use okra, as Kentuckians are not as fond of okra as are diners in the more Southern states. According to Ms. Fritschner, you’ll want to make enough to feed a big gathering and cook and stir it for so long, that the soup is nearly as homogenous as gravy, with bits of corn or lima beans appearing once in a while and the meat reduced to shreds.

In the photo above, members of the St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Sorgho, Kentucky, cook up fourteen 70-gallon kettles of mutton-based Burgoo for their annual parish picnic every July 4. This photo is taken from Southern Lens…A monthly series dedicated to bringing ETV viewers the voices and culture of the South through the medium of independent films.

Recipe: Sarah Fritschner’s Kentucky Burgoo

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds beef short ribs
2 pounds lamb shanks
2 meaty ham hocks
3 1/2 - 4 pound chicken
1 (4-pound) hen, or substitute rabbit
5 or 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
3 or 4 medium onions, peeled and diced
1 pound carrots, trimmed, and diced
2 green peppers, stemmed, seeded and diced
2 cups whole corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
2 cups diced okra
2 cups lima beans
1 cup diced celery
1 quart tomato puree
2 Tbsp salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
Chopped parsley

METHOD
Put all the meat in a large, deep pot and add 2 gallons cold water. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer gently, skimming any foam off the top, until the meat is falling from the bones, about 2 hours. Strain the broth and chill meat and broth separately. When the meat is cool enough to handle, separate it from the bone (much of this may have already happened); remove and discard skin, cartilage, fat and other pieces you want out of your soup. When the broth is cold, skin fat from the top and discard.

Combine meat and broth and return to the boil over high heat. Add remaining ingredients (except parsley) as you prepare them, stirring often. When the mixture boils, reduce heat and simmer 4 to 6 hours, adding water when necessary and stirring often. In the end, the meat should be thin shreds and the vegetables should be insignificant – at the very least the potatoes should disintegrate – with fragments of a few still visible. The mixture is almost like a thick meat gravy. Add chopped parsley just before serving. Improves by standing a day or two (refrigerated). Freezes well.