Burgoo is a term used for many types of stew or porridge made from a mixture of ingredients.
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Burgoo is a spicy stew, similar to Irish or Mulligan stew, often served with cornbread or corn muffins.
Traditionally, burgoo was made using whatever meats and vegetables were available -- typically, venison, squirrel, opossum, raccoon or game birds, giving it its mocking name "roadkill soup". Today, local Kentucky barbecue restaurants use a specific meat in their recipes, usually pork, chicken, or mutton, which, along with the spices used, creates a distinct flavor unique to each restaurant.
Burgoo making in Kentucky often serves as a social event, where each person brings one or more ingredients. In Kentucky and surrounding states such as Indiana, burgoo is often used for fund-raising for schools. This kind of event has been claimed to have been invented by the family of former Major League Baseball player, Ollie Beard.[1] In Brighton, Illinois, a local traditional burgoo is prepared and served annually at the village's summer festival, the Betsy Ann Picnic.
No standardized recipe exists, but it is a combination of at least three things. Today, the meat is usually one of or a combination of beef, pork, chicken, and mutton, often hickory-smoked, but other meats are seen occasionally. Vegetables such as lima beans, corn, okra, and potatoes have always been popular. A thickening agent of cornmeal, ground beans, whole wheat, or potato starch is all that most cookbook recipes use today, but it is traditional to add soup bones for taste and thickening.
The ingredients are combined in order of cooking time required, with meat usually going in first, vegetables second, and if necessary, thickening agents last. A good burgoo is said to be able to have a spoon stand up in it. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and other savory spices can be added much like in Cincinnati chili. Some varieties use cider vinegar, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or chili powder. These condiments are often made available for people to spice up their own bowl as well.
Burgoo is still widely served in Owensboro, the self-proclaimed burgoo capital of the world. While burgoo in Owensboro is generally associated with special events, such as church picnics and BBQ competitions, it is sold year-round in locally owned BBQ restaurants. Owensboro burgoo is made exclusively with mutton and pork as the meat base.
In the British Royal Navy of the Napoleonic Wars, burgoo was eaten for breakfast and consisted of coarse oatmeal and water.[2]
On May 5, 2011, the last living veteran of WWI, British-born Claude Choules, died. He served in the Royal Navy during World War I. He remembers, "We'd come back and on the stove, Granny would have a big pot of porridge or as she'd called it 'burgoo'."[3]