The Recipes of our Ancestors

[Winchester]

Well you asked for it and called me out.
The funny thing is when Grandad taught me this recipe it was because it was a secret and He said,"I'm teaching you this because it goes back a long ways and I know your Daddy can't keep a secret!"
But I figure you all are part of my extended family, so here we go!!


Growing up we always had our Winchester side of the family reunion on Thanksgiving. The family would come from all over to meet on a piece of family owned land and camp, that is right camp. Out in the middle of nowhere were three buildings, if you can call them such. One was a huge screened in old pole barn, another was a smoke house, and lastly a bathroom. The water came from the well on the back side of the smoke house. I remember growing up camping and sleeping under the stars at these events. I thought growing up that I was terribly unlucky because I was an only child and what Granddad called a misplaced child. You see in my family I was the only kid my age, poor planning on my folks part, tried for 7 years to have me, so all the cousins were either 7 years older or 7 years younger than me. So I had no one to play with, I know that you brothers that know me just now thought, Well that explains a lot!!.
But what it really meant to me as I look back was that I was the luckiest, I always chose to stay with the men and listen, watch, and learn from them!! They taught me more in my formidable years about life and what it means to be a man then at any other time in my life. I will add that what we need is indeed more men showing and teaching our younger generation, glad to be part of a brotherhood that promotes this!!

Sorry about all that but that was the price of admission. Now for recipe.

• Boston Butt
  Whole, or leg quarter Chicken
  Season with caverndares, and season salt/ heavy handed on season
  Smoke all the meat together until the chicken is done/ if you can bend the leg over and it pops out it is done. Take the chicken out and continue to cook butt until you can pull the bone out.
  Pull all the chicken and butt apart and set a side
  In a big pot mix fresh sweet peas and fresh cut off the cob sweet corn/ you can use 4 cans of leseurr young sweet peas and 4 cans do whole kernel corn, pour juice and all into pot.
  Next mix a bottle of each/ ketchup, Worcester sauce, Heinz 57 sauce, Barbeque sauce of your choice, I use my own. A squeeze of mustard, two spoons full of molasses, a box of brown sugar, hot sauce to taste.
  Combine all the ingredients together in a huge Dutch oven, a 16 or bigger. The family used a large syrup kettle.
  Bring to a boil and let simmer until you are about to starve to death and eat hot with close family and friends!!

Good eating Mark! May this bring you closer together with your family as you tend to the smoker and the pot! Great time to be shared around the cook shed!
From my family to yours enjoy!

[Bosco]

I posted some of my favorite breads here:

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showth...28#post1220128

[Amish]

These are from my cousins.



Pimento cheese:
This is how Aunt Dottie fixes hers. Velveeta cheese mashed together with pimentos, a little pimento juice, mayo, & sweetener to taste. At home, sometimes I grate up extra sharp cheese instead of the Velveeta to use. Depends on what I have a taste for. The recipe I have given you is how Aunt Dottie, Aunt Annie Lee, and my Mama all made it. Good luck! : )


Aunt Frieda's baked beans:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup ketchup (name brand that is less watery is better but any will do)
1/3 kayro light (white) syrup (we use store brand best value)
2 16oz can of pork and beans
1 med size onion (this can vary depending on how much or how little onion you want)
1 package of bacon

turn oven to 350
in a casserole dish mix in ketchup, brown sugar, kayro syrup and onions. Once all mixed until its smooth (no clumps from brown sugar) drain the beans in a strainer to remove excess juice and then add them to the mix. Mix everything together until its well blended. Then lay slices of bacon across the top of the dish. Cover put in oven for 1 hour. Remove lid and back another 20/30 mins until bacon is done.

Tips, if you want it less greasy you can pre cook the bacon some,
the less watery and the more drained the beans are the less time it takes to cook. You don't want the beans to be soupy when they are done.

[Shnick]

I posted some of my favorite breads here:

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/showth...28#post1220128

I made your Johnny Cake a while back Bosco, it turned out great!

[rackem1899]

My girlfriend gave me a 5L Lodge Dutch oven for Christmas! I was supper excited until I realized... I don’t have a single recipe to make! I asked my mom, who is responsible for my love of cooking… and it turns out I actually have a few family recipes that have since been adapted to modern cooking equipment! My mother can recall my great grandmother using only cast iron, however, all of the records have been adopted to modern cooking equipment (unfortunately). Anyways, here are some family, heritage, recipes you may enjoy.
PS: I’m ½ Portuguese (3rd generation form the Azores) and ½ Irish/German (living in the same small town since 1850), however, most of my cooking influence comes from my mother (Portuguese):

Portuguese beans: (not all that different from regular beans, but I can trace this recipe to my great grandma who arrived in America in 1916)
1 ½ cups pink beans
Water
1 medium onion, diced
3 pieces of bacon, chopped
1 small can of tomato sauce
Salt/peper to taste
¾ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground all spice
Sort and rinse beans. Pour in large pot soak the beans in water overnight. Drain water and replace with clean water. While waiting for it to boil, cook the bacon and onion together until onion are translucent. Set aside. Add onion, bacon, cumin, allspice and pepper to pot of beans. Do not add salt until the beans are fully cooked. Once the beans come to a full boil, lower the heat and cover. Cook approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours on low. Add salt and tomato sauce. Adjust spices to your liking.

Soupish/Sopas
Most ethnicities have a recipe that is indigenous to their region (pizza = Italian, ect) this is a recipe that has great significance to Portuguese. It started during a time of famine, when the queen decided to have a feast/celebration in honor of our Lady of Fatima (Portuguese are typically Catholic). Despite the economic and food scarcity problems, the queen feed all of the people of the land this dish. Depending on the Portuguese population in your area, you may be able to still take part in this celebration, which is now commonly referred to as “Portuguese feast, or Festas”
4lbs chuck roast
2 soup bones
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 TBS whole cumin
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
4 bay leaves
4 cups White wine
4 cups chicken broth
5 cups Water
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1 head cabbage cut into four wedges
Salt & pepper
1 loaf (day old) French bread

Cut meat into 2”x2” cubes. Place whole spices: cumin, allspice, bay leaves & cloves – into cloth bag (new baby sock, tea steeper, cheese cloth, ect)
Slowly cook (low heat) meat, in chicken broth, wine and water mixture with soup bones, onion, garlic, spices (in container), tomato sauce until meat is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cabbage and cook for an additional 30 min (low heat).
Cut French bread into slices, place on a plate. Serves dish with juice from pot onto the bread and serve.

Unfortunately, these recipes have been modified to not use cast iron, although I’m told they were originally done in cast iron. Anyways, though I would share my family’s recipes with you all… I look forward to hearing yours!

[bigcknott88]

Renter you making my mouth water. My step side of the family is polish from pennsylvania they always made halushki just a lil different same noodles but mixed in fried cabbage and served with kielbasa and redundant but peirogies. I'm gonna have to introduce my wife to pennsylvania cooking.

[renter6]

Renter you making my mouth water. My step side of the family is polish from pennsylvania they always made halushki just a lil different same noodles but mixed in fried cabbage and served with kielbasa and redundant but peirogies. I'm gonna have to introduce my wife to pennsylvania cooking.

Back at you, that all sounds pretty good!

[Poor Richard]

Well you asked for it and called me out.
The funny thing is when Grandad taught me this recipe it was because it was a secret and He said,"I'm teaching you this because it goes back a long ways and I know your Daddy can't keep a secret!"
But I figure you all are part of my extended family, so here we go!!


Growing up we always had our Winchester side of the family reunion on Thanksgiving. The family would come from all over to meet on a piece of family owned land and camp, that is right camp. Out in the middle of nowhere were three buildings, if you can call them such. One was a huge screened in old pole barn, another was a smoke house, and lastly a bathroom. The water came from the well on the back side of the smoke house. I remember growing up camping and sleeping under the stars at these events. I thought growing up that I was terribly unlucky because I was an only child and what Granddad called a misplaced child. You see in my family I was the only kid my age, poor planning on my folks part, tried for 7 years to have me, so all the cousins were either 7 years older or 7 years younger than me. So I had no one to play with, I know that you brothers that know me just now thought, Well that explains a lot!!.
But what it really meant to me as I look back was that I was the luckiest, I always chose to stay with the men and listen, watch, and learn from them!! They taught me more in my formidable years about life and what it means to be a man then at any other time in my life. I will add that what we need is indeed more men showing and teaching our younger generation, glad to be part of a brotherhood that promotes this!!

Sorry about all that but that was the price of admission. Now for recipe.

• Boston Butt
  Whole, or leg quarter Chicken
  Season with caverndares, and season salt/ heavy handed on season
  Smoke all the meat together until the chicken is done/ if you can bend the leg over and it pops out it is done. Take the chicken out and continue to cook butt until you can pull the bone out.
  Pull all the chicken and butt apart and set a side
  In a big pot mix fresh sweet peas and fresh cut off the cob sweet corn/ you can use 4 cans of leseurr young sweet peas and 4 cans do whole kernel corn, pour juice and all into pot.
  Next mix a bottle of each/ ketchup, Worcester sauce, Heinz 57 sauce, Barbeque sauce of your choice, I use my own. A squeeze of mustard, two spoons full of molasses, a box of brown sugar, hot sauce to taste.
  Combine all the ingredients together in a huge Dutch oven, a 16 or bigger. The family used a large syrup kettle.
  Bring to a boil and let simmer until you are about to starve to death and eat hot with close family and friends!!

Good eating Mark! May this bring you closer together with your family as you tend to the smoker and the pot! Great time to be shared around the cook shed!
From my family to yours enjoy!

OMG that brings back memories of how much we ate last September at Chickenstick! I thought I was gonna explode!

[Ewker]

I have nothing to add but was wondering if anyone remembers their parents making a Jam cake? I had a recipe (it was 40-50 yrs old) from my mom but it got lost, misplaced or thrown away by accident so I am looking for another one.

[Eugene]

My girlfriend gave me a 5L Lodge Dutch oven for Christmas! I was supper excited until I realized... I don’t have a single recipe to make!

You don't need a recipe to use it, you can cook nearly anything in it. I grab beef and pork roast when Kroger has them buy one get one free and make one fresh and freeze one for later.
Have made roast, pulled pork, beef brisket, home made vegetable soup, etc.