KENTUCKY BURGOO (sixteen 1 cup servings)
“This is the recipe of a friend of mine who told me that in making a burgoo, which is a first cousin to a Louisiana gumbo, ‘It is customary to begin with the chicken, then add to the kettle something that happens to run by — a squirrel, possum or rabbit.’ He added that nothing ran by when he made this version, so he added ham for depth of flavor.” Craig Claiborne, Southern Cooking
1 fowl (4-½ to 5 pounds)
1 quart beef stock
6 large ripe tomatoes, cut up
2 medium-size onions, whole and unpeeled
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt, if desired
1-½ cups 100-proof bourbon
2 chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into large pieces
1 cup diced country ham, optional
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 cup diced raw potatoes
2 cups shelled fresh lima beans
2-½ cups okra, trimmed of stems and cut in half
1 tablespoon file powder (optional)
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1. Place the whole, cleaned fowl in a large stockpot with 3 quarts water and the beef stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and skim off foam as it rises to the surface. When the broth is clear, add the tomatoes, onions, curry powder, pepper and salt. Simmer gently but steadily, partly covered, for 2 hours.
2. Add 1 cup bourbon and simmer gently but steadily, partly covered, for 4 more hours.
3. Remove all the chicken. Trim off and discard skin and bones. Reserve the meat in large pieces.
4. Strain the soup, removing the onion skin and rubbing any remaining tomato and onion solids through a sieve into the broth. Cool completely, then skim off the fat from the surface.
5. Return the soup to a rinsed pot. Add the remaining ½ cup bourbon, the reserved cooked chicken, raw breast meat, ham and all the vegetables. Simmer gently but steadily, partly covered, for 30 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. If you are using file powder, add it to the hot soup as soon as it is removed from the heat. If file has been added, the soup should not be reheated, because it will become gummy, so do not add file to any more burgoo than you expect to serve at one time.
6. Traditionally, burgoo is ladled into the mugs from which mint juleps are drunk, but any mugs or bowls can, of course, be substituted. Eat with spoons.
