How to confuse your kids.

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Most of you have heard of New England Boiled Dinner. It's a feast in a pot, with potatoes, carrots, beef or venison (at least in our house), onion, cabbage, garlic, and salt and pepper, all swimming in a perfectly seasoned broth. It resembles a soup, but I think is classified as a stew. In any case, it's a staple east of the Mississippi. But what if you take all of those same ingredients, and cook them in a saute' pan, then mix together with some butter, and serve it on a plate instead of a bowl. Then it's more like a hash, but tastes too good to be called that. So, if you enjoy creating a bit of good-natured mischief with your family, just call it dinner. When they ask, "What's for dinner?" Answer them correctly and just say dinner. After all, it is boiled dinner without the boiling part. They'll pester you for a little time while you smile at your private joke. After you've got them going just a bit crazy, you can explain it if you wish. Who knows, they just might like the idea of calling this particular dish "dinner". Then they can use it to confuse their friends and future families. And besides, this meal tastes great.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Andy M.]

Curiously enough, here, well east of the Mississippi, it's cooked in flavored water but served dry.

The meat is removed from the water and sliced like a roast. The veggies are removed from the liquid and served separately without broth.

I have seen it on TV served in broth. Interesting how dishes vary regionally.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Dry is how I've always seen it served in NY too Andy, & how I make it myself here in VA (where I've also only seen it served dry). Go figure.

 

[LPBeier]

My heritage calls it Irish Boiled Dinner and we cook it in broth and serve it as Andy said, dry on a plate. But we still call it Boiled Dinner.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

To serve in broth then must be a Yooper thing. Yooper Boiled Dinner. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Claire]

Oh, this brought back some memories. My parents are both from New Hampshire, of French-Canadian descent, and boiled dinners were a real staple. I think my parents both grew up on them almost exclusively (not kidding, neither of my grandmothers could cook, they just threw whatever in a pot and boiled it)(My father bought my mother a cookbook for their wedding, it was that bad!). But I mostly remember when my dad was sent to USAF survival training, and he only got to eat 2 meals a week at home. Thursday and Friday nights. Thursdays we always had New England Boiled Dinner, usually made with beef. Friday evenings we'd have something "fancy", what in most homes would be the Sunday dinner. We were Roman Catholic, and Mom said, to heck with fish, if the only nice meal I'm going to make for the week is on Friday, it will be meat.

 

[Claire]

Oh, by the way, I have an aunt who always made her New England Boiled dinner with ham and would put parsnips and/or turnips in the mix as well as potatoes, carrots and onions (the latter being what Mom did).

 

[bigdaddy3k]

We just had cornedbeef, cabbage and boiled potatoes for dinner. As usual I made twice as much as we love St. Patty's hash later in the week. It is very close to Goodweed's non-hash hash.

 

[Mimizkitchen]

You don't know my kids They want to know exactly whats going on... I to am from the land of Yooper, it's boiled and then served dry... Might be interesting to try it different next time...

 

[Mimizkitchen]

Oops thought the Yooper was dry.....

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Yay. I brought up an old post. Thinking about making NE boiled dinner this weekend. Haven't bought a corn beef brisket yet. They is on sale, although who knows what they cost any other time of year. Tempting.

When I make something like ths, same veggies and well, l cut up the beef if it isn't already stewing size and add back in the pot, it is soup.


If I serve it dry, then it is a NE boiled dinner?
But then, what to do with the juice. Neverminde, I got ideas.

Yoopers? I think I could make Pasties with the leftovers

 

[Aunt Bea]

Make sure you cook extra so you can make some hash!

Chop everything fine, cook slowly in a cast iron skillet until nice and crispy then enjoy with some ketchup!

As far as the original post the code name in our house for an unusual dinner was Shutupandeatit!

When we get together we still joke about it, it's odd the things you remember!

 

[taxlady]

I have had, and made, the version of this that is made with a ham bone that has a bit of meat left on it. At one time I knew what this was called in French, but I can't remember. I never heard an English name for it before. I always thought of N.E. boiled dinner as something made with corned beef. Oh, and the version I have had in small Quebec towns always had the broth with it. Love the stuff.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I've had it made with beef, corned beef, and venison. Each had cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onion cooked with the meat to make a rich broth. I think my dad's version had a bit of garlic added as well. It was always served in a bowl with the broth. That's how I always made it too.

Chief Longwind of the North

 

[taxlady]

I've had it made with beef, corned beef, and venison. Each had cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and onion cooked with the meat to make a rich broth. I think my dad's version had a bit of garlic added as well. It was always served in a bowl with the broth. That's how I always made it too.

Chief Longwind of the North

You gotta try it with a ham bone some time. That bone really enriches the broth. I usually make a lot. The first day it's like a chunky soup. It gets drier with each reheating.

 

[Addie]

I just cooked a picnic shoulder. Or as we call it, a smoked shoulder dinner. Put in in a pan, cover with water and when it is almost done, remove the meat, add potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions and place the meat back in on top of the veggies. By the time all the ingredients in the pot are done, the liquid has reduced down quite a bit and is delicious.

My mother used to make this all the time. And she would prepare my dish for me. She would fork mash up all the veggies, add butter and some of the pan broth. She always put some of the broth in a gravy boat and put it on the table for anyone who wanted to add it to their plate.

Later in the week, when almost all the meat was off the bone, she would make pea soup. She always used split green peas along with the broth from the boiled dinner. Nothing went to waste.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Addie, that sounds great. I make mine with ham, and always with the broth in the bowl.

 

[buckytom]

the new england boiled dinner must be handed down from the irish tradition of a one-pot boiled ham, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. the same one we get the corned beef and cabbage for st. pat's day.

both are served "dry", no broth.

i prefer a new england clam bake, which isn't necessarily baked but steamed or boiled.

 

[Addie]

We also make what we call a Yankee Pot Roast. In the summer it is made on top of the stove. In the winter in the oven. Why heat up the house in the summer. Don't waste the heat in the winter. The oven helped heat up the home.

Place a large piece of chuck in a dutch oven. Add beef stock halfway up the side of the meat. Low simmer until halfway done. Remove from the pan, place veggies in bottom of pan, put meat back in the pot. Finish cooking until veggies are done. Remove veggies and meat from pan, make a slurry of flour and water with Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouguet. My mother always put it in a lidded jar and shoook the heck out of it until no lumps were left and all flour was mixed in. Bring broth to a boil, slowly add the slurry until thickness for gravy is attained. Serve.

My mother grew up during the Depression. Nothing got wasted in our house. And I learned some valuable lessons that have stayed with me all my life.

 

[Addie]

i prefer a new england clam bake, which isn't necessarily baked but steamed or boiled.

If you really want a taste of the sea, try to find a clambake that is held on the beach where they dig a pit and cover the food with seaweed. It is a lot of work, but so worth it. I went to one once as a teenager.