Best stew I ever had

30 years ago, I had a friend with an elderly Dad. I think he was 80 or so and his eyesight wasn't quite good enough to drive, but he got around the house just fine. His wife had passed a few years before and he was on his own, so I would stop on my way home from work to see if he needed anything, groceries, go to pay bills, just whatever.

One day I went in and smelled something delicious. Now, this man had lived through some damn tough times and could make a meal out of just about anything and I knew he was a pretty good cook, so it was no surprise. I asked "What's cookin' that smells so good ? "
He simply said "stew". "Be done in a little bit "

Well, of course I stuck around till it was done.

I'm workin' on my second bowl, spoon in one hand and cornbread in the other, when my friend walks in, sees me eating, kinda smiles and asks "Dad, did you make that stew you were talking about ?
He just says " Yep " [ not much of a talker ] My friend turns to me and asks "Do you know what's in that ? "
My reply was " Nope..and if it tastes like this, don't care"
My friend says "groundhog"

My spoon never missed a beat. That was the best and I mean THE BEST stew I ever had.

a reply to: DAVID64

My friend says "groundhog"

Did you end up stuck in a time loop eating the same bowl over and over!!

a reply to: Kurokage

Only thing that would have made it better is if Andie MacDowell was there too.

a reply to: DAVID64

When I think about all the exotic foods I ate in my life I realize that the most adorable creatures are usually the most delicious ones, sadly.

a reply to: Trueman

Are we talking roasted guinea pig here? That is supposed to be outstanding. Of course anything cooked on a spit is already ahead of the curve. Cuteness makes the juices flow better. It’s been scientifically proven with my belly.

a reply to: Trueman

Ya know...I've eaten at some of the best steak houses in Fort Worth. Del Frisco's, Ruth's Chris, Cattlemen's....but I'd walk right past them to get just one more bowl of that stew.

When we lived in Mongolia, in a nomad camp, I used to make a stew out of horse meat. Neighbors came by to get a bowl. Anytime I felt a little lonely and wanted some visitors around, I'd announce I was cooking up a pot and invite anybody who wanted to eat. Never failed to draw in a crowd.

Mine was a different recipe than what those herders were used to. I'd cook up a base of good Cajun roux (browned wheat flour), then darken it further with a dose of coffee (either brewed poured in in lieu of water - or lacking - some instant granules. It was not so common for the men to do the cooking there, so it was a bit of a novelty for them to watch me standing over the wood-burning stove, cooking it up.

Food is the great unifier, and a good stew is one of the best.

(I've eaten ground hog - actually marmot - and it warn't bad at all. Dangerous to harvest as their fleas tended to carry bubonic plague, but once it was dead, dressed and properly cooked there wasn't any danger; just in the initial killing and skinning.)
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originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: Trueman

Ya know...I've eaten at some of the best steak houses in Fort Worth. Del Frisco's, Ruth's Chris, Cattlemen's....but I'd walk right past them to get just one more bowl of that stew.

I know what you mean.

One of the meals that stick out in my mind was a bowl of black beans with a scrambled egg plopped down on top, and a side of fresh green sauce made from nothing but crushed jalapeños and a pinch of salt. Of course, there were fresh, handmade tortillas made from real corn that'd been ground on a stone metate. I ate that outside of a little indian hut on the top of a mountain that I'd hiked for over an other to get to. Somehow, those black beans and egg with that salsa and those fresh tortillas stand out in my mind above and beyond many of the fancier meals that I've eaten.

a reply to: DAVID64

There's a high end eatery in a little town to the north of us that I would love to eat at someday that occasionally features groundhog.

And when I say high end ... I mean it. All their pork is heritage and stuff like that. It's ex-pen-sive.

But if they can turn it into haute cuisine, it must be pretty tasty stuff.

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: Trueman

Are we talking roasted guinea pig here?

Yes, we are. For me, the best way to cook them is seasoned, coated with coarse corn flour and slowly fried until it gets crunchy as a cracker.

You can search a recipe under "cuy chactado"

I ate hundreds of them in South America.

a reply to: Trueman

It always amazes me how shocked people get when you mention wanting to eat rabbit or that folks eat guinea pig.

Cute and cuddly is no bar to tasty. While I would never eat my family pet ... unless I were starving ... a farm animal is a farm animal and there is a reason why they aren't pets.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Trueman

It always amazes me how shocked people get when you mention wanting to eat rabbit or that folks eat guinea pig.

Cute and cuddly is no bar to tasty. While I would never eat my family pet ... unless I were starving ... a farm animal is a farm animal and there is a reason why they aren't pets.

To be honest. I couldn't kill them but once the plate is in front of me and the colors and aromas hit me I won't have regrets.

A survival situation would be a different story but family pets are family. You don't do that.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Trueman

It always amazes me how shocked people get when you mention wanting to eat rabbit or that folks eat guinea pig.

Cute and cuddly is no bar to tasty. While I would never eat my family pet ... unless I were starving ... a farm animal is a farm animal and there is a reason why they aren't pets.

I grew up eating rabbit and squirrel. Love them. Don't get much of it now days, and I miss it.

Everything is cute to somebody.

A little suckling pig is precious to look at and cuddle, but even more precious to look at on a spit over a mesquite fire.

Cows, with those big brown eyes, can be so emotive, but nothing stirs up my feelings like a 3/4 inch thick sirloin or rib-eye on the rare side of medium-rare.

Bunnies and cute little squirrels running around in nature, jumping through the brush or collecting nuts for winter? Sweet. But throw one of those into a sauce piquant or in a gumbo and you'll have my heart melting in short order.

I ate Woodchuck one time with my dad, he shot two of them and we tossed them in a stewpot and we cooked them up. They had way too strong of a taste, like the taste of an old swamp buck on steroids. I lost my taste for Woodchuck that day, at first we were saying it isn't bad, but then after a bowl full of it, we concluded it was terrible and it went into the garbage, our dog wouldn't even eat it. Too much of a wild taste. There were veggies in with it, we couldn't even eat those they tasted so strong. Sorry, but I would have to be starving before I ever ate woodchuck again.

a reply to: rickymouse

I imagine it's like any game animal. You have to know what you're doing with it. I'd imagine the elderly dude in the OP was working off an old family recipe, and those are the best for this kind of thing.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I ate Woodchuck one time with my dad, he shot two of them and we tossed them in a stewpot and we cooked them up. They had way too strong of a taste, like the taste of an old swamp buck on steroids. I lost my taste for Woodchuck that day, at first we were saying it isn't bad, but then after a bowl full of it, we concluded it was terrible and it went into the garbage, our dog wouldn't even eat it. Too much of a wild taste. There were veggies in with it, we couldn't even eat those they tasted so strong. Sorry, but I would have to be starving before I ever ate woodchuck again.

Next time, let the meat soaking in fresh cold brine for few hours. That's all you have to do. Cheap and easy. This is perfect for grills/fires.

If you want to be a bit fancier, put the meat in a 5 gallons bucket, with 50/50 cheap wine and orange juice. Let it soaking overnight. You need something heavy to be sure the meat is 100% covered. Next morning, drain and throw the solution. This one is awesome for ovens.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I ate Woodchuck one time with my dad, he shot two of them and we tossed them in a stewpot and we cooked them up. They had way too strong of a taste, like the taste of an old swamp buck on steroids. I lost my taste for Woodchuck that day, at first we were saying it isn't bad, but then after a bowl full of it, we concluded it was terrible and it went into the garbage, our dog wouldn't even eat it. Too much of a wild taste. There were veggies in with it, we couldn't even eat those they tasted so strong. Sorry, but I would have to be starving before I ever ate woodchuck again.

In South Louisiana there's a bayou fish we call choupique. You may know it as a bowfin. It has a mealy flesh, a bit on the muddy side.

My family made a camping trip once to a bayou that my step-father knew. We planned on "roughing it" a bit and didn't bring a lot of food. Plan was to catch fish and feed ourselves that way. Problem was that the fish weren't biting. Come sunset we were hungry.

At night, the choupique nestle up to the bank, hoping to nab a frog or something wandering around on the edge. After dark, we walked along the edge of the bayou with a Coleman lantern and a machete, whacking every choupique that we came across. We collected half a gunny sack full, took them back to camp, cleaned them, cut them into chunks and fried them up.

Not something I'd do by choice, but they didn't taste bad that night. I've always said that the best sauce is fresh air, hard work and hunger. That combination will make just about anything taste at least passable.

In the midwest, people set lines for the big catfish. When you catch a bigun' you can't just clean it and eat it right away. A big cat like that spends a lot of its life down in the mud, eating stuff that's been down in the mud. Ergo, it tastes like mud. A lot of time, the local bait shops have large tanks you can pay to put you large cats in for a period of days. This time allows the mud taste to flush from the fish. They aren't lying in it and eating stuff steeped in it, so it's cleaned out. Another remedy my cousin swears by is to use 7-Up when cooking the fish.

I've never had the occasion to have to try any of these remedies as I never set lines for the big cats myself. I just fish rod and reel and never caught anything larger than 8 to 10 lbs which is quite enough fresh fish for the meal.

a reply to: Trueman

Petsmart wont sell me anymore guinea pigs after last time. Lame

a reply to: ketsuko


I fished for cats out of the Ohio River in Kentucky.
Biggest I ever caught on a rod and reel was a 52 lb Bluecat, HELL of a fight and I played him for almost an hour, cause I only had 20 lb line. I put him in a cooler with ice and when we got home, hung him from a tree branch, cut the head off and bled him out. After cleaning and rinsing him, it was great.