Recipe - Buffalo Stew

3 pound Buffalo; cut up for stew
Salt & freshly ground black
pepper to taste
One fourth cup Peanut oil for browning
3 Cloves garlic; cut or sliced up
1 lg Yellow onion; chopped
2 Bay leaves
One half cup Dry red wine
One fourth cup Catsup
Kitchen Bouquet to taste
1 cup Mushrooms; cut or sliced up and
sauteed

SERVES 68

It was necessary for the emigrants to supplement their diet with whatever
could be found along the trail. When buffalo meat was available, it was
eaten boiled, fried, roasted, and dried. It proved to be a lifesaver in
desperate times, and it was quite good besides.

The great move to the frontier practically wiped out the buffalo.
However, the animals have been saved from extinction and are now being
farmraised for food. Isn't that an interesting turn of events?

The following stew recipe is quite delicious. It was given to me by
Lorraine Czimer, of Czimer's Meat outside Chicago. They carry buffalo and a
terrific assortment of other specialty meats, including bear. If you can
track down a buffalo, you will like this dish. It is a bit more elaborate
than would have been possible on the trail. The meat tastes a bit sweet and
it is very good.

Lightly salt and pepper the meat. Heat a large Dutch oven and add the
oil. In two different batches, brown the meat on all sides. Add the
remaining ingredients to the pan and stir well. Cook slowly, covered, over
low heat.

A good gravy should form in this dish. If you wish more gravy, Lorraine
suggests you add a bit of water and some waterflour mixture for
thickening. If the color ofthe gravy is too light, add some Kitchen Bouquet
to taste.

Cover the meat and bake at 325ø for 1One half hours, or until tender.

Serve this with Bacon Corn Bread and Creamed Cornmeal Timbales (see
recipes). They wouldn't have had timbales on the trail, but they sure are
good with this stew.

From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.