BOOK & A RECIPE SAMPLE! >> Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon: A Kentucky Culinary Trinity >> www.eurospanbookstore.com/burgoo-barbecue-and-bourbon
Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon A Kentucky Culinary Trinity Albert W. A. Schmid Foreword by Loreal “Butcher Babe” Gavin Photographs by Jessica Ebelhar
Burgoo, barbecue, and bourbon have long been acknowledged as a trinity of good taste in Kentucky. Known as the gumbo of the Bluegrass, burgoo is a stew that includes meat—usually smoked—from at least one “bird of the air,” at least one “beast of the field,” and as many vegetables as the cook wants to add. Often one would find find this dish paired with the Commonwealth’s other favorite export, bourbon, and the state’s distinctive barbecue. Award-winning author and chef Albert W. A. Schmid serves up a feast for readers in Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon, sharing recipes and lore surrounding these storied culinary traditions. He introduces readers to new and forgotten versions of favorite regional dishes from the time of Daniel Boone to today and uncovers many lost recipes, such as Mush Biscuits, Kentucky Tombstone Pudding, and the Original Kentucky Whiskey Cake. He also highlights classic bourbon drinks that pair well with burgoo and barbecue, like the Moon Glow, Bourbaree, and the Hot Tom and Jerry. Featuring cuisine from the early American frontier to the present day, this entertaining book is filled with fascinating tidbits and innovative recipes for the modern cook.
Albert W. A. Schmid is the director of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina, and the former director of the Hotel-Restaurant Management and Hospitality Management Departments at Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey Cocktail, The Manhattan Cocktail, the award-winning The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook, and the award-winning The Beverage Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits.
“Schmid is the dean of Kentucky cuisine. His meticulous, and thoroughly accessible, scholarship about Kentucky’s historic and contemporary foodways is unparalleled. Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon should be in every library devoted to American cooking and food history.”—Susan Reigler, author of Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide
and Kentucky Sweet & Savory
The Gumbo of the Bluegrass Lexington, KY—Every section of the country has its own regional stew, whether it be gumbo in Louisiana, Brunswick stew in Virginia, or booyah in Minnesota. Burgoo is Kentucky’s, and its story reflects the history and culture of the Commonwealth. Burgoo falls somewhere between a stew and a soup and incorporates many meats—traditionally at least one “bird of the air” and at least one “beast of the field”—and vegetables. To Kentuckians, though, it is a community event. Historically, the making of burgoo was an excuse for a family or a community to get together and socialize while the food cooked. As a result, political rallies in the south are sometimes known as burgoos. Acclaimed chef and award-winning author Albert W. A. Schmid traces that history and provides examples from the days of Daniel Boone to the present in Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon: A Kentucky Culinary Trinity. Drawing on both archival and contemporary cookbooks, personal letters, and newspaper archives, Schmid presents more than a simple collection of recipes. He traces burgoo from its military origins as a meal that could be prepared from whatever soldiers had gathered through its Depression-era function as a political gettogether to its modern standing as a Kentucky heritage dish. Schmid also presents recipes that allow for entire meals that can be centered around burgoo with chapters delving deeply into barbecue (a common pairing), sides, breads, and desserts. Burgoo’s long history is rife with intriguing anecdotes. Schmid chronicles Kentucky counties where specific forms of burgoo originated and relates the story of General Anthony Wayne, whose flesh was buried in one grave and bones were interred in another. He explores the connection between burgoo and famous personalities such as former governor John Y. Brown and M*A*S*H’s Private Igor (Jeff Maxwell). He also includes interesting facts discovered during his research, including a chart from an 1895 British mixologist group that indicated a longer lifespan for drunkards than teetotalers, and touches on the debate over whether “true” barbecue must always be wood-smoked. Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon never loses sight of the food and includes over 130 recipes from historical burgoos for feeding armies to contemporaries ones for feeding a few friends. He also presents numerous barbecues and sauces with different bases, including tomato, mustard, and vinegar, from multiple Kentucky counties. An entire section of bourbon-based drinks includes potent potables ranging from a drinkable bourbon ball to a spiked apple cider perfect for fall tailgating. Sections on side dishes and breads range from a lima bean and mushroom casserole to pancakes made from leftover corn bread. Rounding any good meal is dessert, and Schmid presents classics like vanilla ice cream and pie in many forms as well as Kentucky favorites like halfmoon fried apple pies and tombstone pudding, ensuring that there is something for every palate. Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon weaves together the story of the essential players and significant milestones of burgoo that add depth and complexity to the story of Kentucky cuisine. Through narrative history, anecdotal storytelling, and an eye for the art of pairing foods, Schmid reveals the rich origins of this Kentucky original and provides the knowledge necessary to cook the perfect pot and pairings. Albert W. A. Schmid is the director of the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina. He is the author of The Old Fashioned, The Manhattan Cocktail, and the award-winning The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook.
A Biography of Albert W. A. Schmid Chef Albert W. A. Schmid is a culinary practitioner, educator, and author whose career spans thirty years.
Schmid, who previously served as an executive chef in the Midwest, became a culinary arts instructor at Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies in Louisville in March 1999, where he taught basic culinary skills; advanced culinary techniques; and wines, beers, and spirits before transferring to the hotel-restaurant management department in 2004. In 2009, Schmid assumed the chair of the hotel-restaurant management and hospitality management departments. He earned the title of Professor in 2010 and was promoted to director of hotelrestaurant management and hospitality management departments in 2015. He currently serves as the director of Culinary Arts and Hospitality management at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina. In addition to his teaching and administrative duties, he is the author of The Beverage Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits and The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook, both of which have won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award. He is also the author of The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey Cocktail and The Manhattan Cocktail: A Modern Guide to the Whiskey Classic. In 2011, Schmid was honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals with an Award of Excellence. Schmid also served on the Journal of Culinary Science and Technology editorial board from 2005 to 2010 and has consulted with corporations such as General Electric and YUM! He is active in many professional organizations and holds the distinction of Master Knight in Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine and is Master Commander of the Kentuckiana Chapter, of which he is a founding member. He is also a member of the Society of Wine Educators, the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and The Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE). Schmid received the IACP Le Cordon Bleu/University of Adelaide scholarship for graduate study in gastronomy. He received his Le Cordon Bleu Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the University of Adelaide, South Australia in 2006. His dissertation was titled The History of Beer in Recipes in the United States. He also earned a bachelor’s degree from Charter Oak State College in Connecticut and holds the following professional certifications: • Certified Culinary Professional (CCP) through the IACP. • Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE), a Certified Food and Beverage Executive (CFBE), Certified in Hotel Industry Analytics (CHIA) from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. • Master Certified Foodservice Executive (MCFE) from the International Association of Foodservice Executives. • Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) and Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators. • Certified Culinary Educator (CCE), Certified Executive Chef (CEC), Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA) through the ACF. • Certified Online Instructor (COI) and Certified Faculty Developer (CFD) through LERN Corporation. As the author of multiple books on bourbon, it is hard to imagine that Schmid spent years avoiding the beverage. He is allergic to corn, one of bourbon’s primary ingredients, and had always opted for barley-based Scotch instead. During a 2002 dinner with Lincoln Henderson, master distiller for Brown Foreman at the time, Schmid was shocked to learn that what he was allergic to was lost in the distillation process. The world of bourbon was now opened to him, and his fascination led to the creation of The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook and now Burgoo, Barbecue, and Bourbon
Hart County Burgoo
12 quarts
2 pounds pork shank
2 pounds veal shank
2 pounds beef shank
2 pounds breast of lamb
4-pound hen
8 quarts water
1½ pounds potatoes, pared and diced
1½ pounds onions, peeled and diced
1 bunch carrots, diced
2 green peppers, diced
2 cups cabbage, chopped
1 quart tomato purée
2 cups whole corn, fresh or canned
2 pods red pepper
2 cups okra, diced
2 cups lima beans
1 cup celery, diced
salt and cayenne to taste
parsley, chopped
Tabasco to taste
A-1 sauce to taste
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Put all the meat and cold water in a 4-gallon kettle and bring slowly to a boil. Simmer until the meat is tender enough to fall from the bones. Lift the meat out of the stock; let cool, then chop the meat, removing the bones.
Return meat to stock and add potatoes and onions. Stir frequently with a long-handled spoon or paddle. Add remaining vegetables.. Allow to simmer until thick, stirring almost constantly when stew thickens. Burgoo should be very thick but still “soupy.” Season as it cooks, but not too much until almost done. Add parsley just before the stew is ready to serve.
Total cooking time is approximately 10 hours.
