#lobscouse

Some call it Lobscouse and Some call it Cawl. If we can’t agree on the name, we can all agree on one thing, lobscouse or cawl is the perfect stew on a cold winter's day. Gwyn Thomas, a shepherd and farmer in Wales, taught us his mother’s recipe for lobscouse. Lobscouse is a simple stew made from meat and seasonal root vegetables. The stew is considered a perpetual stew and is made to last for days. There is no exact recipe or vegetables that are necessary, but instead, you make the stew based upon what meat and vegetables are available and in season. To watch the film about Gwyn’s legacy as a shepherd in the Mountains of Snowdonia scroll to the bottom!

For the full lobscouse or cawl recipe visit www.therecipehunters.com/lobscouse

Thanks to Visit Wales (www.visitwales.com) for making this trip possible

My finished lobscouse!

I pay close attention to foodways mentioned in Marryat novels, although usually there isn’t much that I want to replicate at home. For one thing, separate from the issue of early 19th century British frigates not being known for their cuisine, Frederick Marryat doesn't seem to like delicious food very much. Mr. Midshipman Easy was my introduction to his hatred of tomatoes, olive oil, and above all garlic. Here's Frank Mildmay on Spain: "The cookery was execrable. Garlic and oil were its principal ingredients." (Someone did not enjoy Spanish food during the Peninsular War.)

The Three Cutters has the closest thing to a complete recipe: mysterious cutlets à l'ombre Chinoise. "They are first to be boiled in vinegar; then fried in batter, and served up with a sauce of anchovy and Malaga raisins.” The sauce is probably better than it sounds, but I'm not eager to attempt it with vague instructions.

Finally, Jacob Faithful provided me with a main course meal that I was willing to try at home: lobscouse, a traditional sea-faring stew. Old Tom Beazeley and his son enjoy lobscouse on their lighter as they drift down the Thames with their passenger, an old schoolmaster.

The Feeding Nelson's Navy book arrived in record time, and I'm reading over the lobscouse recipe as I make my second batch in the oven (using a modern British recipe with fresh beef.)

Good to know that it can use walrus meat, if I ever need to do something with walrus meat. You would think maybe Greenland whalers were using walrus, but according to Janet Macdonald this is the Lapland style:

Lobscouse is an ancient dish known under various similar names throughout the northern world. In Lapland it is called lapskuis and the recipe includes walrus, in Germany it includes both meat and herrings, in Sweden it is called lapskijs and is still made with salt meat, and in the USA it appears as 'corned beef hash', using the type of salt meat which they call 'corned beef' (as opposed to the tins of pink boiled beef which is known in Britain as corned beef).

I had no idea that corned beef (USA style) was related to lobscouse, but it makes sense given the hash-like German lobskaus, and I love both foods.

I also like the idea of adding a fried egg to (British style) lobscouse! I want to learn how to make savoury boiled puddings, if only because I have been reading about them in Dickens et al. since forever, and this book has recipes for several puddings. I will absolutely try the crackerhash variation on lobscouse.

I'm a huge fan of pea soup and dried peas in general, so I look forward to making the pease pudding and pea soup from the Age of Nelson. I've never used ham in pea soup before, even though it's traditional.

On the topic of age of sail food and drink, I only recently figured out that all these 19th century Royal Navy officers were drinking so much Madeira wine and brandy because these two spirits keep well in hot and humid conditions, unlike non-fortified wines. (And rum is obviously more durable than the beer it replaced.) I confess that I thought it was because they were British and had questionable taste in wine.

Chicken garlic bread soup.

I was stumped on this one since I couldn't find any similar recipes online then a Tasting History episode about lobscouse dropped. Ohh this is just fancy lobscouse :D

Hi,

no, I come from northern Germany and we eat labskaus or lobscouse here too. Here it is with potatoes, beetroot, matie and corned beef, and as a side dish, gherkin, beetroot, matie and fried egg.