It’s Derby Day! The big hats are out, all the mint in the US is harvested and shipped to Kentucky for their world-famous Juleps, and the food served is some of the best in the South! It’s definitely a bucket list experience of mine to get all dressed up, don the big hat, and attend the actual Kentucky Derby…

For this year, we’re settling for a night in on the couch watching it on TV with some Kentucky Burgoo (accent on the first syllable) and piping hot cornbread! Like the Irish Mulligan Stew, Kentucky Burgoo is a catch-all meat-and-veg stew cooked and served as a communal event during harvesting or butchering – all times of the year. Sometimes even, it contained squirrel (mine did not).

This unique stew is a long-simmering one. Ingredients are added in stages and flavors allowed to develop in a big pot of broth each step of the way. In the end, the stew is so thick, one’s spoon could stand on its own submerged. The flavors are clean and fresh, but vibrant and distinct despite the simplicity of the combination of elements.

Finishing each serving with snipped fresh parsley and a chunk of crusty cornbread makes this a pretty filling meal; and gentle reheating on the stove-top the next day didn’t dry the meat out at all. The recipe I used from my copy of the Joy of Cooking cookbook will feed a crowd, so it’s definitely ok if you cut it in half like I did.

What are some of your favorite stew combinations?