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Everyone loves barbecue! Despite its popularity, one question remains: where does barbecue come from? Most Americans are not aware of it, but there is a great deal of history behind the barbecue sauces of the Carolinas. In fact, when the average American talks about one of the four favorite types of barbecue sauce (vinegar & pepper, mustard, light tomato, and heavy tomato) he or she is referring to a sauce that comes from the Carolinas. North Carolinians use three of these sauces, and South Carolinians use all four.
The first, and simplest, of the sauces is vinegar and pepper. All that this sauce is made of is vinegar that has had red pepper flakes soaked in it. No one really knows where this particular sauce came from, but thousands of people up and down the Carolina coastline love it.
The second sauce is the mustard sauce. It is unique to South Carolina and has come to be identified as the definitive barbecue sauce of South Carolina. The credit for this sauce goes to the German settlers who called South Carolina home in the 18th century. Even today, this mustard sauce is associated with family names like Bessinger, Shealy, Hite, Sweatman, Sikes, Price, Lever, Meyer, Kiser, and Zeigler.
The light tomato sauce is a simple sauce made by adding vinegar and pepper to ketchup. It was first prepared around the early 1900s, and quickly became a favorite with those who wanted a bit of sweetness in their sauce.
The heavy tomato sauce is hardly a half a century old, but has been embraced with gusto across the United States. It is available in the supermarket under such brand names as Kraft Foods and KC Masterpiece. Americans love this particular type of sauce and slather it over all their barbecued foods. Barbecue would not be the same without this delicious type of sauce!
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The wonderful thing about this dish is that you can use just enough meat to flavor your veggies or all you want. I usually fill the pot 1/3rd full of meat. Last time I made this dish I cleaned out the fridge. Please do not snub the hominy in this recipe. It is simply a blistered corn product with a sweet nutty taste and a barley type texture. Hominy will add needed texture to your dish and not melt away as macaroni does.
Chili, hamburger, or sausage
Onions, chopped
Celery, chopped
Bell pepper, chopped
1 can tomatoes, diced or stewed
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can green beans, regular cut
1 can pinto beans or kidney beans
1 can white or yellow hominy or both for color
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Brown the meat and chopped fresh vegetables. If you opt for them, please consider the onion as a must. You can use any mixture of compatible meats, fresh or leftover. Drain excess grease and add the canned goods, liquids included. Optionally, you can use one or two cans of each vegetable. Stir occasionally. Consider serving this with flour tortillas and cheddar cheese. This can cook all day at a safe temperature and will get thicker.
While we are talking stew, here is another great recipe:
HUNTERS STEW
This is a favorite meal both at home or on the camp stove. One-pot meals are our favorite – fast and little cleanup.
1/2 pound pork sausage
2-3 pounds stew beef
2 medium onions
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart V8 juice
2 pounds carrots
6-8 medium-large potatoes
1 cup black coffee
Any other vegetables (optional)
1-2 chipolatas, smoked jalapeno peppers (optional)
In the bottom of #12 Dutch oven, put your pork sausage and onions, coarsely chopped. Cook over medium-high heat, until onions are translucent. Add garlic cloves garlic (minced), stew beef, salt and pepper. Also, this is the time I add the chipolata. I use the flesh (chop very fine) for flavor and discard the seed (heat). Brown the stew beef well. Add black coffee and bring to a boil, cooking until the liquid is reduced by 1/2 to 2/3. Add V8 juice and all vegetables. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer, and then cook, until vegetables are soft. At a simmer a “puff” of steam will come from under the edge of the Dutch oven lid every 10 to 15 seconds.
Beginning from the time the sausage and onions go into the pot, until the time the V8 and vegetables are added, this needs to be stirred often. After the V8 is added, it only needs stirring occasionally to be sure the vegetables are not sticking.
Serve hot with corn bread.
Notes:
I use the cheapest stew beef available. The black coffee acts as a meat tenderizer.
Some people like sugar in their stew, but I personally don’t use it. If you would like, add 1/4 cup of sugar at the time you add the carrots and potatoes. Sometimes, especially with young children, sugar makes this stew more appealing.
Venison can be substituted for the stew beef with almost no detectable change in flavor or texture.
I use a round bottom 10-quart cast iron pot suspended from a tripod over a campfire, not charcoal. A #12 deep Dutch oven works equally well.
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This hearty dish from the New England coast is equally suited to the succulent blue crab of Maryland, the Pacific coast’s renowned Dungeness or Alaska’s King!
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
2 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 large potato, peeled, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 11-oz. can corn, drained
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into ¼-inch dice
1/2 pound cooked crab meat, canned or fresh
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Cook bacon in a large stockpot over medium heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes; drain and discard excess fat. Add butter and onion; sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add flour, mix well and cook an additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and whisk well, then add potato.
Reduce heat to simmer and cook until potato is tender, about 12 minutes. Add half and half, corn, bell pepper and crab. Simmer 5 more minutes or until heated through and bell pepper is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with green onions.
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