"What is the next ingredient?" "Nutmeg." "What? No its not." "Yes, it is." "What' your name, soldier." "Townsends, sir." "Oh, right, carry on. Nutmeg it is."
I can proudly say, yes i have watched a man boil water with oatmeal and then add molasses and eat it for 8 minutes when i could've been asleep at 2 am on a week day.
"Doctor Johnson proposed to define the word ‘oats’ thus: ‘A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.’ And I replied: ‘Aye, and that’s why England has such fine horses, and Scotland such fine people.’" -James Boswell.
Vin lmao I know I was just joking I was in the marines and sometimes we eat the same bond things everyday and it gave me flashback to the “again” kind of thing haha
You are spot on sir 👏👏👏👏 I said that if you say Burgoo really slowly it sounds like Porridge 👍👍👍👍 I myself, abserlutly Love Burgoo/Porridge and have eaten it all my life, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe the Bur is short for Butter and goo is the gooey Porridge that's mixed with a pinch of salt and molasses or as we do it, mix in some Honey ???
You have to keep in mind that the beer was what's known as "small beer", which had just enough alcohol to keep it from turning bad as water does, but not enough to get you intoxicated. It's along the same lines as grog.
Pretty sure Drachinifel talked about the beer served in Navy rations as being somewhere around 1% alcohol. I don't know what their beer is like over there, but most of the mainstream beers here in the states are around 5%. So a gallon seems like a lot but in reality it's like drinking 2 modern beers. I'm just curious what it tasted like, I'd love to be able to go back and try it.
This channel truly feels like it’s meant to be on actual cable TV or Hulu. The music, the script, the topic, all of it feels like the educational videos I actually enjoyed as a child.
@@dizzybabyy211 ah yes, clicking on a video to answer a question that could be answered in two seconds, yet isn't for multiple minutes is totally the very definition of being entertained.
HEHEHE I AM A SUPAHSTAR SKETCH [ace736] if it could be answered in 2 sec why even click the video ? Oh yeah thats right cause ur interested in the video ... dumbass
It IS just oatmeal ... Once you have cooked the oats, you can put anything on them you like. What you put on them doesn't make it "burgoo", it's still oatmeal and dude here is just guessing what they might put on their oatmeal.
@@acts9531 You weren't listening closely enough. Remember the book at the beginning? The memoir of a British sailor, that's where he finally turned up the recipe for 'burgoo' So he wasn't guessing, he made it according to how it was done in the Royal Navy during the 18th century.
I can just imagine the sailors trying to sleep on the creaky wooden boats during rough seas in those times. The saying is "That's when the ships were made of wood and the men were made of iron". Really enjoying these wonderful videos.
As soon as I heard “burgoo” I thought about burghul, an Arabic term for a food made from parboiled groats. Wikipedia suggests a Welsh etymology for burgoo so I put the Arabic hypothesis aside, but today I casually searched the Oxford Dictionary, and guess what? Burgoo actually comes from burghul! Makes 100% sense after all.
Wiktionary says: "Of unclear origin. Apparently from the dialectal term burgood (“yeast”). Perhaps ultimately from Welsh burym (“yeast”) + cawl (“cabbage, gruel”),[1] or perhaps from Arabic بُرْغُل (burḡul).[2]"
It migth sound fancy and exotic when one doesnt know the language, but good ol' "boiled grain" is a nigh on universal classic. In norway this would probably go by the name "grøt".
@@henryviape1201 Every culture in the world has some boiled grain once agriculture develops whether it is rice porridge in China, wheat in Mesopotamia, millet in Africa, corn in the Americas, Oats in Northern Europe, etc. Grøt is obviously similar to the English groat and Old English grytt and in the US a corn porridge is called grits.
Medieval era 5th to the 15th century this is the 18th century. Remember this guy is inspired by a time that America was being discovered the medieval era is centered around Europe and the middle east. If you want to know what food was back then it's real simple everything is cooked to death in water they used bread plates and after they ate the bread. This was in castles most peasants probably were happy if they had food at all.
Kwa ndo There’s a few medieval cookbooks man, don’t knock medieval cooking until you’ve tried it, they knew what they were doing. Sour flavours were the most popular back then.
"Hey...you making oatmeal?" "Nah, mate. I'm gonna whip me up some of this burGOO real quick..." "Did...did you......wtf did you just say?" "You 'eard me. Come get some of this burGOO. Fix ye right up." "Why are you putting so much emphasis on the 'goo'? And why are you talking like a character from Oliver Twist??" "I said what I said."
For those wondering...the 1-gallon beer daily ration was in place of what we now drink everyday and take for granted...CLEAN filtered water. Back in the 18th century, fresh clean water was even difficult to find while on land and any fresh water on a ship is reserved for cooking (and possibly bathing). Beer could be stored for long periods of time at relatively warm temperatures and would provide the sailors with enough water to keep them hydrated plus the alcohol helped with moral etc. Cheers!
That’s how it was in the North Atlantic; beer doesn’t keep very well in the tropics without refrigeration. Fortunately, there _was_ an alcohol that would keep for a long time in hot weather before spoiling that could be produced in great quantities for a reasonable price in the very place this was a problem. *_Rum._*
On land, you can scoop water from the nearest river or even stream and boil it freely to drink, but at sea it is more difficult because it was very problematic to remove the salt from the water back then.
Growing up in Kentucky we always had something called burgoo that was pretty much a throw whatever you have in the pantry to make a stew. Similar to a gumbo.
I'm English and it's link to the Royal Navy is a stew with leftovers of any meat and any vegetables cooked with porridge of any grain , oats , wheat , barley left over from breakfast like an Irish stew .
I have been eating oatmeal sweetened with molasses and fruit for a couple weeks once a day. I mill the oatmeal before cooking. Had no idea I was eating burgoo. If you mill the oats before cooking it makes the oatmeal smoother but you have to stir vigorously otherwise it clumps.
John, I've so thoroughly enjoyed your videos and the old world craftsmanship of the things you build and foods you prepare. As an experienced sailor (I've sailed sailboats on the open ocean, in Alaska's Inside Passage, etc), I can tell you that this burgoo would be like the perfect breakfast meal. These ships didn't have much in the way of heat and in England during the late fall and winter, this meal would have been a warm, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs dish that would have been appreciated. One thing I've learned from a few thousand miles of sailing is that you work hard, so a hearty meal shared with friends goes a long way to making a passage that much more comfortable. It becomes something to look forward to! And adding the molasses and nutmeg? Over the top!
Burgoo was one of my favorite memories of the Horatio Hornblower novels. In it, as captain he was provided burgoo for breakfast and a biscuit that he had to tap to drive the weevils out of it. In addition, he had "Coffee" , which was actually an extract of fresh water with the dregs of burnt biscuit that it was strained though. In the novel, they reach the South American coast and revicualate with South American Delights. But...dang...burgoo...read the novels...it's great....
I loved the part when Hornblower was fighting to keep his steely composure when hearing the South American rebels could supply his ship with coffee, cigars and rum! By God!
Loblolly is the also the original term for us Corpsman who brought food and cared for the sick and injured. We were eventualy called pharmacists mates then after along while Corpsman.
a little further info on 'loblolly', the word remained in use for the very thin gruel that was served to invalids and wounded in the sick-bay of Royal Navy ships, and the common name for the sick-bay attendant who served them their food (among many other duties) was the 'loblolly boy'. *edit* Just heard your comment about 'officer's burgoo' and actually there WAS a special version of burgoo called 'skillygalee' which is burgoo kicked up in flavor with butter and sugar, possibly goat's milk if it is available.
Jon, You will need to come down to Kentucky in September. All over Kentucky are "Burgoo Festivals." You will not be bored with the versions. Traditionally here, burgoo was made after the fall hunting and animal slaughtering was done, and the last of the harvest was taken in. The holler folk would get together and have a big potlatch contributing whatever vegetables, greens, and assorted wild and domestic meats to the cookpots.
@@lonewolftrucker3955 In the USA Oatmeal is made from Oats, Grits is made from corn. Its always been like this as far as im aware. Whoever made your oatmeal mightve just messed it up, although I dont know how thats possible because oatmeal is dirt simple to make.
@@lonewolftrucker3955 grits is made from corn. Porridge is to describe a soupy dish made from grains. So oatmeal is a type of porridge, grits is also a porridge and congee is a porridge.
It is interesting to see the same word use for two different dishes. I grew up eating burgoo in Kentucky as a stew made with lots of vegetables and different types of meat.
First time I read the word was in the novel Sharpe's Trafalgar. They eat Burgoo more often than they wanted. Thank you for showing me what it might have looked like.
In another usage, in Kentucky "burgoo" is a stew akin to what is elsewhere called Brunswick Stew. I think that, technically, Kentuckian burgoo must contain rabbit as one of the meats used.
My Mother used to make Tapioca pudding from scratch (took forever) and I would mildly dust it with fresh whole Nutmeg, no other desert like it. I Love you Mom R.I.P.🙏🤟
Wow! That's not at all what I expected. Appalachian style burgoo is more like a stew/porridge/chilli hybrid. You stew up whatever game meat you have, then add grains and vegetables at simmer it low and slow until everything comes together. P.S. I see that E. Rivertree also knows the style I recall. Nice!
In Southern Bavaria, we have a traditional dish called "Brennsupp'n" which best translates as "burned soup". It was, starting from celtic times, the food of the pour masses and served daily in both houses and taverns. You take any available flour - here int the Allgäu mostly rye or spelt - whith any available oil or fat - mostly linseed oil or pork - and heat the mixture up until the flour begins to bubble and smell slightly crisp. Then, water is added and the mash ist thinned with water to the desired thickness. According to the time of the year, any available herbs, dried fruits and salt were added. So I wonder if the ship's cook did fry up his flour prior to the additve water. It does add a lot of taste to the dish. I grew up with this meal and I still love it now in my older days!
And lines to the head forming early the next morning... "Who's throwing the ballast rocks o'er board?" "Tis not rocks, Captain. Tis last nights burgoo."
ghostofonyx Both my husband I served and did our time Cranking and he backs me up on the boxes of meat marked “unfit for prison consumption” When all the Filipino MSs (CSs now) made pancit, lumpia, and other Philippine delicacies we all were thrilled! But white rice? Always on the menu.
Thankfully, I either avoided or was unaware of the unfit for prison consumption, but recall the "all purpose patties" served as whatever meat the galley chose that day. I also remember it being one of the better meals, when served as chicken parmigiana that we called scabs. They looked like huge scabs from skinned knees. A good cook made life aboard so much better.
Two worst things I had in the valley as a sailor: Braised beef cubes, which had so much hard fat, I could bounce it on the table. And the worst, an underdone omelet, halfway-done whites looking like a something from a porn film, totally disgusting. I switched to scrambled eggs only, after that.
In Asia, we have something just like this, but it's made with rice, which has been boiled in extra quantities of water for a long time. And for flavor, we use dried fish flakes, powdered shrimp, sesame oil, and soy sauce.
I sat down to watch RU-vid while having some oatmeal and this video was recommended 😂 What a great episode! I LOVE watching your channel. I even recommended it to my Mother and grandfather. We are all watching now! Thank you for such wonderful content 💕
The tiny town my mom grew up in has an annual Burgoo Festival. Their version of burgoo is a thick stew. I don't know what it's made of, but based off the texture I can see it being this oatmeal as a base with plenty of meat, vegetables, and grease added. They cook it in an outdoor pavilion with huge vats heated by wood fires beneath, then at the festival they sell it by the gallon. People freeze it and eat it over the winter.
Is it possible the etymology of burgoo is something like: “beurre gout”? Which would seem like bastardized French for “butter taste” or maybe “buttery”?
My Strange Addiction: In tonights episode we get to hear the story of John Townsend, an American man with a life-long addiction to nutmeg. "I can't go a day without it, sometimes I even wake up three, four times a night just to get some".
Mr. Townsend. Keep the content coming, I am partial to your sailor cooking and the like, being I am a cook in the Navy. It's Incredible to see the way my fellow cooks took care or their crew. Thanks for the video good Sir.
I'm from northern Kentucky. Yes, it just depended on what you had on hand for meat but the tomatoes and lima beans and sometimes corn were the main ingredients. I have no idea where this idiot got the idea that oatmeal was burgoo. I think he's just stupid.
Nik Burton mixed with the other comments on this video your experience might explain the linguistic drift. Former naval personnel bring the name along, and eventually it is applied to mutton soup with oats/oatmeal as thickener, and then later it becomes more like a hearty meat/veg stew as preferences or resource access changes. My Mormon heritage has a frybread tradition that for whatever reason is called “scones”, often known as Utah scones outside of the culture. We might have (and this is just an educated guess here) picked it up from Native American groups in New Mexico, like the Navajo, when the Mormon Battalion was raised and volunteered to serve in the war with Mexico. This is also where we picked up dryland farming technology that was brought back for use in the Utah valley after a segue in California just before the Gold Rush. But yeah. “Scones”. Talk about linguistic drift.
We preferred the finer Asian cuisine: two packs of dried rice noodles, left to sit for 4 min in hot water from a tea-cooker, remove the hot water, add the powdered ingredients (hoping that it doesn't give you Parkinson's in later years), et voila... repeat once the daily rations of hemp have been consumed from an empty tin of coke with two holes...
It's interesting, in Appalachia, burgoo and Loblolly are both still well used terms, though they mean different things than suggested in this video. When I saw the videos name, about "burgoo" I thought this would be about a type of thick stew. And loblolly is a road or path with lots of ups and downs, not paved, and generally references a really difficult, messy way to go.
Kentucky Burgoo had any critter that you could scrounge up... Possum just happened to be one of the easiest of all the varmints to catch. But beef and pork, and chicken were fine too... if you were rich... But in general Kentucky Burgoo was poor folk food... And so, varmints...
Northern variants often include weasel, fisher, mink, and pine martin as the stew base. Then you add normal meats such as chicken, duck, venison, pig, cow, whatever cheap cuts could be bought. Then in go root vegetables. Most of the French that came through the Great Lakes areas utilized weasel-based meats since they trapped them for their fur and would stew the meat remains instead of wasting it. Supposed to taste kind of oily
I asked for more Naval stuff like this and you've delivered...Great stuff and Thank you for your dedication, your care and attention to detail your careful caveating of sources etc and your balanced approach. Gem of a channel.
That salt beef “slush” didn’t go to waste once they stopped giving it to the men, it was used as fuel for lamps and used to grease cables and lines to protect them from rotting and weathering
Stephen M. Stouter, the slush, when not used, was saved by the cooks and was sold back to the ship’s company for various uses, the money he got for it was one of the cooks perks and gave rise the term ‘Slush fund’
@@stanlygirl5951 The quality could be quite good in the case of ships of the line. They frequently had colliers loaded with live cattle that would be used to supply the ships. They also had salt preserved meats for long voyages where they didn't have immediate access to the colliers. Salt pork was a smoking step away from being bacon.
Thank You, John. I have read stories of sailing ships, and they had mentioned both Lob Lolly, and Burgoo. I assumed they were separate meals. Not the same with different names. I would agree with the molasses choice. Black strap is extremely heavy in sulfur compounds. Not something most would enjoy with oatmeal, but in the 1700's it was a cheap product, being left over from the manufacture of rum and sugar.
My father talked about getting burgoo (porridge) in the Australian Navy he joined 1945 left 1983. Issued the the last rum issue as officer of the day in HMS Hermes on exchange with the Royal Navy early 70s. And Plum Duff (plum pudding) was a desert in the RAN in 1980s when I served. Sailors loved the old Nick names for things food and people.
Thank you for doing such a great job keeping living history alive, your channel helps preserve and pass on knowledge onto future generations, so thank you for all you and your teams hard work.
Modern day burgoo is a Rocky Mountain favorite stew. It’s three types of meats, some type of vegetable, and spices. Each recipe is different as everyone has their own idea of what it should be but it is covered in water and left to stew for along time.
I absolutely LOVE your channel. Those who feel that history is boring have never gotten into the day to day living during a specific time. So informative.
