GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
Dundas Sheep Stew
8 sheep (about 600 lbs.)
400 lbs. onions, peeled
100 lbs. Irish potatoes, cooked
40 lbs. fatback meat, cut up
40 lbs. margarine
16 lbs. flour, cooked, for crumbs
1 lb. red pepper
2 lbs. black pepper
2 lbs. salt
Two days ahead, make bread for crumbs. One day ahead, slaughter sheep. Chill overnight. Day of stew, at 5 a.m., put cut-up meat in 4 large black pots. Keep a fifth pot full of hot water to add to stew. Add fatback. At 6 a.m., have meat boiling. At 8 a.m., add onions and cook stew fast in the a.m.
At 1 to 2 p.m., reduce to a slow boil. Pick out bones. Return to fast boil. Add salt and peppers to taste a little at a time. At 3 p.m., add margarine. At 4 p.m., add cooked, mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Now, at 4:30 p.m., add bread crumbs. At 5 p.m., ready to dip into containers.
From "Seasoned with Love, the Perseverance Church Cookbook," by Helen Daniel and the Friendship Circle, in honor of the Dundas Ruritan Club and in memory of Buddy Wilkinson.
Note: According to the book "The Lunenburg Legacy," this stew was made by the men of the community as a fundraiser. They sold it in quart containers and always sold out. "They cooked it in huge pots outdoors or in a shed, stirring it with paddles for twelve hours. The younger men, assumed to be stronger, get to stir the last shift because it is really thick and has to be stirred hard to keep it from burning."
Someone even made a documentary of it: The Sheep Stew of Dundas: A Gastronomical Delight
8 sheep (about 600 lbs.)
400 lbs. onions, peeled
100 lbs. Irish potatoes, cooked
40 lbs. fatback meat, cut up
40 lbs. margarine
16 lbs. flour, cooked, for crumbs
1 lb. red pepper
2 lbs. black pepper
2 lbs. salt
Two days ahead, make bread for crumbs. One day ahead, slaughter sheep. Chill overnight. Day of stew, at 5 a.m., put cut-up meat in 4 large black pots. Keep a fifth pot full of hot water to add to stew. Add fatback. At 6 a.m., have meat boiling. At 8 a.m., add onions and cook stew fast in the a.m.
At 1 to 2 p.m., reduce to a slow boil. Pick out bones. Return to fast boil. Add salt and peppers to taste a little at a time. At 3 p.m., add margarine. At 4 p.m., add cooked, mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Now, at 4:30 p.m., add bread crumbs. At 5 p.m., ready to dip into containers.
From "Seasoned with Love, the Perseverance Church Cookbook," by Helen Daniel and the Friendship Circle, in honor of the Dundas Ruritan Club and in memory of Buddy Wilkinson.
Note: According to the book "The Lunenburg Legacy," this stew was made by the men of the community as a fundraiser. They sold it in quart containers and always sold out. "They cooked it in huge pots outdoors or in a shed, stirring it with paddles for twelve hours. The younger men, assumed to be stronger, get to stir the last shift because it is really thick and has to be stirred hard to keep it from burning."
Someone even made a documentary of it: The Sheep Stew of Dundas: A Gastronomical Delight