MONDAY RECIPE POST - BOOYAH SOUP RECIPE

As the days will be getting colder, we were talking the other day about what we would like to make for our first soup of the season.  We are both looking forward to our favorite Cheesy Corn Chowder, which you can find at this link, but this won out and we will probably make the chowder next time.  During Fall and Winter we live on good, hearty soups.

There is an interesting tradition behind it, and if you want to find out what this is you can click here. It is like a beef stew with the addition of chicken.  The blog is A Farm Girl Dabbles, hosted by Brenda.  She explains this soup as follows:

"Booyah (or booya) is a fall stew tradition of the Upper Midwest, cooked outdoors in a giant kettle to feed the masses. This recipe is downsized for the stovetop, a rich and flavorful soup you’ll crave every booyah season!"

Booyah - 8 to 10 servings

2-1/2 lbs. bone-in beef short ribs, already separated and ready to go
2-1/2 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
2 yellow onions, chopped fine
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
8 ozs. rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup frozen peas
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pat beef and chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and black pepper.  Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown beef on all sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate.  Cook the chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes, and transfer to plate.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.

Pour off all but 1-1/2 teaspoons fat from pot.  Add onions and celery and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and bay leaves, scraping up any browned bits.  Add beef, beef bones and chicken and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a bowl.  When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones.  Cover chicken and refrigerate.  Continue to simmer stew until beef is tender, about 1-1/4 hours longer.  Transfer beef to plate.  When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding fat.  Remove the beef bones and bay leaves.  Strain broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids.  Allow liquid to settle, about 5 minutes, then skim off fat and return liquid to the pot.

Add the shredded beef, cabbage, tomatoes, rutabaga, 1-1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to the liquid and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until rutabaga is translucent around edges, about 15 minutes.

Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the chicken and peas and simmer until heated through, two to three minutes.

When heat is off, stir in the lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

What do we think of this soup?  Delicious!  We topped it with some freshly grated Parmesan and with a slice of sour dough bread.

It does take a lot of time in preparation, but the end result is worth it as we gave it a ten out of ten.  The broth alone was one of the best we have ever had. Brenda cooks the meat the day before and you could prepare some of the vegetables too. 

This is what I would probably do the next time. I would cook the meal and stop up to the point of adding the beef and vegetables and put the pot in the fridge overnight, (the beef and chicken are already in the fridge on separate plates).  

I always make sure to cool the broth before putting it in the fridge, so as not to bring the heat up for perishables you may have in there.  The same with the finished product, but there I separate it into two smaller containers, so it will cool even faster.

The fat layer on the top of the broth becomes solid and very easy to remove the next day.  You can pop it back on the stove and proceed with the recipe - please see added note below.

I had a pre-cut package of cabbage in the fridge which we usually used for coleslaw or a stir-fry, and I bought already peeled carrots.

I didn't have vegetable oil and didn't want to buy any just for this recipe, so I used olive oil instead.  

We had leftovers and were able to have several meals.  The taste got better and better.  This soup recipe has definitely been added to our favorites folder.

Just as a matter of interest I wanted to refresh on food safety tips when storing hot soup in the fridge.  I found just what I needed here, at the Washington State Department of Health on their Food Safety and Myths page.  It says: 

"Myth: You shouldn't put hot foods in the refrigerator.

Fact: Hot food can be placed in the refrigerator. Large amounts of food should be divided into small portions and put in shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.  Perishable foods should be put in a refrigerator that is 40 degrees or below within 2 hours of preparation.  

If you leave food out to cool and forget about it after 2 hours, throw it away.  Bacteria can grow rapidly on food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.  If food is left out in a room or outdoors where the temperature is 90 degrees F. or hotter, food should be refrigerated or discarded within just 1 hour."

So, there you go, if you have any more doubts there is lots of online information for you to read at the link I provided.

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a great week.

Bon Appétit!