Lobscouse (Mess Stew)
A sailor's stew: desalted salted meat, onions, potatoes, and pieces of ship's biscuit to thicken it. Nourishing, hot, ideal for warming a freezing night watch.
A sailor's stew: desalted salted meat, onions, potatoes, and pieces of ship's biscuit to thicken it. Nourishing, hot, ideal for warming a freezing night watch.
Here, taste this, and thank the ship's cook. My poor devils would simmer it for hours in the great galley cauldron, desalting the beef I'd salted in my brine beforehand. They'd crumble the old biscuit to thicken, stir, and it'd hold your belly in foul weather. Many a sailor downed his last steaming lobscouse before I called him to the deep.
- •Salted beef or pork (in brine) — a good piece (protein)
- •Onions — a few (aromatic)
- •Potatoes — as needed (starch)
- •Crumbled ship's biscuit — a few biscuits (thickener)
- •Pepper — according to the ship (spice)
Lobscouse (Mess Stew)
A sailor's stew: desalted salted meat, onions, potatoes, and pieces of ship's biscuit to thicken it. Nourishing, hot, ideal for warming a freezing night watch.
Why this dish? The hot, hearty meal shared by the men of the ships Davy Jones followed in his wake: a frugal stew marrying the ship's salted meat with softened biscuit. The ordinary fare of those who sometimes ended up in his locker.
Here, taste this, and thank the ship's cook. My poor devils would simmer it for hours in the great galley cauldron, desalting the beef I'd salted in my brine beforehand. They'd crumble the old biscuit to thicken, stir, and it'd hold your belly in foul weather. Many a sailor downed his last steaming lobscouse before I called him to the deep.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salted beef or pork (in brine) — a good piece (protein)
- Onions — a few (aromatic)
- Potatoes — as needed (starch)
- Crumbled ship's biscuit — a few biscuits (thickener)
- Pepper — according to the ship (spice)
Ingredients
- Salted beef brisket or shank — 400 g (protein)
- Onions — 2 large (aromatic)
- Potatoes — 500 g (starch)
- Ship's biscuit (recipe r1) or stale bread — 2 biscuits (thickener)
- Black pepper — 1/2 teaspoon (spice)
- Water or broth — 1 liter (cooking liquid)
Method
- If the meat is very salty, soak it for a few hours in cold water, changing the water once.
- Cut the meat into cubes and brown in a large pot.
- Add the sliced onions and let them turn golden.
- Pour in the water or broth, add the potatoes in chunks, and simmer covered for 45 minutes.
- Near the end, crumble the ship's biscuit into the stew to thicken, pepper, and serve very hot.
How it was made : 'Lobscouse' (which gave the nickname 'scouser' to the people of Liverpool) was the all-purpose dish of northern European sailors. Anything the hold offered was thrown in: salted meat, root vegetables, and the ever-present biscuit to thicken a thin broth.
The contemporary twist : Serve in individual cocottes, topped with a shard of golden ship's biscuit and a drizzle of oil, 'pirate stew revisited' style.
Davy Jones · Charactorium