Dutch Oven Buffalo Stew and Biscuits – And a Pioneer Day Guest Post!

As some of you know, if you live in Utah you get July 24th off as a State Holiday to honor the day when Brigham Young sat up in a borrowed wagon and said “This is the right place.  Drive on.”  That was 1847 and we celebrate the Days of 47 throughout this great state!

One of my ancestors was with Brigham Young on that important trip and wrote about it in his journal.  One of the things that I have learned by reading these accounts is that these pioneers spent much of their day just trying to figure out what to eat.  All of them carried flour for biscuits and bread and they hunted and fished anytime they could to keep going.   We also know they used dutch ovens along the way to cook their meals.  This meal is in honor of these pioneers.

It was also our pleasure here at 3 Guys Outside to have a guest post on the BSA Utah National Parks Blog about this recipe this week!  See our post HERE!

Starting with dutch ovens is a great science and an art.  You should stay tuned for much more information about how do make incredible meals in the old black pot, but this post is not the place to learn all about it.  More later on this subject.

So here is the recipe:

STEW INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ lbs of Buffalo meat (or beef, venison, antelope, etc.)
• 6 medium potatoes
• 6 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 stalks of celery (pioneers probably didn’t have this, so you can leave it out for authenticity)
• 6 bouillon cubes
• 6 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
• 4 cloves Garlic (again, they probably didn’t have garlic, but we sure like it)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 3 tsp cornstarch to thicken

STEW DIRECTIONS:

1. For a 12-inch Dutch oven to reach 350 degrees, you’ll need to use 24 briquettes. If you are also making biscuits and stacking your ovens, start 36 briquettes.
2. Cut the meat into stew-sized chunks
3. Chop carrots, potatoes, onion, and celery
4. Once the charcoal is white hot, dump it on your cooking surface. Pour oil into your oven and cover. Preheat your oven by putting it on top of the coals. Once it’s hot, add garlic and onion and let cook for 1 minute. Then add meat and brown.
5. Once the meat is browned, add the rest of your ingredients. Add enough water to just cover all of
   your ingredients (approx. 6 cups). The pioneers probably added more water because the broth could be used for several days.
6. Leave 12 briquettes on the bottom and put twelve on top of your oven.
7. Cook stew for about an hour or until your vegetables are tender. About 30 minutes in you will probably need to heat up another 12 briquettes to replace the ones that are spent.
8. When the vegetables are tender, mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of cold water and then stir into the stew. Allow to return to a boil for several minutes or until it thickens to the consistency you like.

BISCUIT INGREDIENTS:

We cheated and used biscuits in a can available at your local grocery store!  🙂

BISCUIT DIRECTIONS:

1. Line your Dutch oven with tinfoil and spray with cooking oil. Cut out biscuits and place in the bottom of the oven. If you are feeding a lot of people you can layer the biscuits to make a sort of pull-apart bread.
2. Cover oven and place over coals. If you are just cooking biscuits, place 8 coals on the bottom and 16 on top. If you are stacking your Dutch ovens, place the biscuit oven on the bottom with 8
   coals below and 16 above. Then stack the stew oven on top and place the remaining 12 briquettes on the lid. It will probably take your biscuit oven about ten minutes to heat up to 350. Once it is hot, a single layer of biscuits should cook in about ten minutes. If you have multiple layers, it will take longer. Because the stew takes much longer than the biscuits, you can start the stew first and add the biscuit oven later so they finish at the same time.
3. When the biscuits are browned and cooked through, take them out of the oven.
4. Serve with honey or preserves if you’re feeling extravagant. We cheated on the biscuit dough, so we made up for it by using honey from our own beehive.

Never underestimate the power of stew and biscuits to bring on a feast of epic proportions!  Enjoy!