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Burgoo is a fun word to say and a unique food to eat. Mr. Handsome and I had the chance to try it at a BBQ festival in Owensboro, Kentucky. A type of stew made of vegetables and three types of meat, burgoo is a regional dish popular in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia.
Burgoo is an old-timey dish that was traditionally made using whatever kind of meat people had available. Squirrel, possum, and racoon have all been known to make it into a pot of burgoo, as well as your standard chicken, beef, pork, and venison A well-made cup of burgoo is supposed to be so thick that your spoon will sit straight up in it.
I would not have eaten the burgoo if it had had varmints in it, but Mr. Handsome probably would have. I tried squirrel once, and I don’t plan on having that experience ever again. I would have to be very hungry to eat possum or racoon. The burgoo at the festival contained pork, chicken, and mutton. It had a sweet and spicy flavor and was quite good.
Have any of you tried burgoo? Would you eat it if was made of possum, squirrel, or racoon?
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Comments
Lucija We have similar dish in my home country. It is called bograč – it contains 3 types of meat (beef, pork and game), potato and different spices. It is delicious but cooked properly it takes hours and big caldron on open fire. I simplified the recipe for home usage. 🙂
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- Ellie
Thanks for sharing! Interesting that it’s a similar sounding word too. May I ask what country you live in?
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- Lucija
I come from Slovenia. It is a really small country in Europe, neighbour to Italy and Austria. Not many people know us! 🙂
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- Ellie
I went to Austria as a kid. We drove from Switzerland to Austria, so I believe we would have come close to your country.
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- Anonymous
Akin to Brunswick stew.
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- Lynn
I’m from Owensboro. I’ve never been interested in eating Burgoo. I do love the mutton though at the Moonlite BBQ Inn in Owensboro.
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- Ellie
What a coincidence! Have you been to the BBQ festival? I read that it’s been going for more than 40 years.
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- Anonymous
I’ve never heard of Burgoo or tried it. Growing up my father would hunt for rabbit, squirrel and pigeon. My mother would clean these herself and put the meat in her slippery potpie. We all thought it was good.
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- Ellie See AlsoWestern Kentucky BBQ Trail
I would perhaps consider eating it a bit more in a pot pie. Pot pies are so delicious.
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- Anonymous
My dad was a hunter so a lot of wild game was fixed for dinner. I was born while he was in dental school and since money was tight he would take the screen out and shoot squirrels. Luckily I don’t remember eating them but as I got older I ate a lot of PB sandwiches when he brought home things like rattlesnake, muskrat, alligator or anything else that didn’t come from the grocery store.
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- Ellie
Oh my, that sounds…interesting. LOL. Where did he get the alligator? Did you live in Florida?
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- anonymous
I’ve lived in FL almost my entire life, only moving out of state a few times. Family has always brought us back.
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- Anonymous
For two days I had chilli from Tim Horton’s and Sobeys. Even though it’s summer I craved it. Then today I read your blog about a chilli type of food eaten in summer. There were just beans in the chilli I had and hamburger and a ‘bit’ of steak. I find the idea of eating varmits sort of icky. That’s likely why they use spices!
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- Anonymius
Very cute picture Ellie!
Your Nashville wifey hat is sweet!Reply
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Meet Ellie
Mr. Handsome and I married six years ago and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Between recipes, photos from our travels, money saving tips, DIY suggestions, post about our daily life with our son, and more, our lifestyle blog features a little bit of everything. Read More…
