Lumberjack Beef Stew
This is the real thing. I got this recipe from my father, who got it from his mother. She was a cook in a Michigan lumber camp in the 1890's. In fact, that's how she met my grandfather. He was one of the men she was cooking for.
I have set up this recipe for a one gallon crock pot or slow cooker. My grandma used about four 20 gallon cauldrons per dinner. I'm not that ambitious.
LUMBERJACK BEEF STEW
I got this recipe from my father, who got it from my grandmother. She was a cook in a Michigan lumber camp in 1899, where she met my grandfather.
All spices can be adjusted for individual taste. The method that I use is a 1 gallon slow cooker set to High. If cooked on top of the stove, cooking time should be adjusted to the length of time needed to make the carrots and potatoes tender and thickening should not be added until just before serving. The original recipe called for far larger amounts of everything since it was intended to make 20-30 gallons at a time.
1 ½ pounds of beef (can also use wild game such as venison or rabbit) cut into ½ inch cubes.
6-9 potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes.
4 carrots, cut into 1 inch chunks.
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges.
2 stalks of celery, cut into ½ inch pieces.
2 tablespoons salt.
1 ½ tablespoons pepper.
1 teaspoon garlic powder.
2 tablespoons beef stock mix combined with 2 cups of hot water or 1 pint of liquid beef stock.
3 tablespoons corn starch combined with 2 cups of hot water.
Solid ingredients should be placed into a 1 gallon slow cooker until they come to within 1 inch of the top. If there is not sufficient room for all solid ingredients, cut back on potatoes, carrots and onion until they fit.
Salt, pepper and garlic powder can be mixed with the beef stock or added dry to the solid ingredients and mixed in before adding liquids.
After adding beef stock and corn starch mixture, add sufficient water to bring liquid level to the top of the slow cooker. NOTE: If cooking in a stove top pot, corn starch mixture should not be added until cooking is complete. Replace it with water and let the water boil down and be replaced as needed as it boils. The last addition in that case should be the corn starch mixture used as thickening.
Set slow cooker on High Heat and let cook for 4-6 hours, stirring about once an hour. Ready to serve when potatoes and carrots can be cut with a spoon and thickening has taken place. If not thick enough, add more corn starch mixture at the end of the cooking.
YOU MAY WISH TO START THE SALT, PEPPER, BEEF STOCK AND GARLIC POWDER AT A LOWER LEVEL THAN GIVEN. IF SO, TASTING WHILE COOKING IS TAKING PLACE WILL ALLOW FOR ADJUSTMENT TO TASTE AS NEEDED.
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sounds like it is good and filling and would feed a hungry lumberjack
Great recipe TTGA! I love stews. I will certainly give this one a try. Thank you for sharing your Grandmother's great recipe.
Sounds like good hearty working class fare. My favorite kind of eating.😃
I have to make that for Matt. Sounds yummy beef style (not bunnies... I used to breed them and keep them as pets).
Perrie, a gallon of this stuff goes a loooong way. If you add homemade bread, you could feed you, Matt, the girls and their boyfriends. Need lots of people to finish it. Only real problem is that it does not store well. In the refrigerator, it tends to solidify and not re heat as a liquid. We've never had that problem though. Me, wife, two adult kids, daughter in law and four grandkids somehow manage to finish it off in one sitting (of course, we don't move around well for a week or so).
Regarding the bunnies, my grandpa had a rule about that. "Never get emotionally involved with something that you intend to eat".
Looks delicious! I may add more garlic powder or use minced. I love garlic!!!!
You may be interested in this stuff... I buy two containers every year at the local fair. Delicious, but a tad pricey.
Thats a big thing of spice! It looks good, I may just have to get some! Thanks
Sounds like a good meal for a cold winter night.
Indeed. A pot of this stew and Fry Bread. Can't beat it. (grin)
Sounds yummy! When I was growing up I worked in the woods with my dad....this would have been perfect. But I usually stuck with blagona, cheese and mayo..
That is probably best. Having that great stew in the woods would likely have meant that you would have been sharing your dinner with who knows how many denizens of the deep. (grin)