# Dundas Sheep Stew



## GotGarlic (Mar 25, 2013)

*Dundas Sheep Stew*

8 sheep (about 600 lbs.)
400 lbs. onions, peeled
100 lbs. Irish potatoes, cooked
40 lbs. fatback meat, cut up
40 lbs. margarine
16 lbs. flour, cooked, for crumbs
1 lb. red pepper
2 lbs. black pepper
2 lbs. salt

Two days ahead, make bread for crumbs. One day ahead, slaughter sheep. Chill overnight. Day of stew, at 5 a.m., put cut-up meat in 4 large black pots. Keep a fifth pot full of hot water to add to stew. Add fatback. At 6 a.m., have meat boiling. At 8 a.m., add onions and cook stew fast in the a.m.

At 1 to 2 p.m., reduce to a slow boil. Pick out bones. Return to fast boil. Add salt and peppers to taste a little at a time. At 3 p.m., add margarine. At 4 p.m., add cooked, mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Now, at 4:30 p.m., add bread crumbs. At 5 p.m., ready to dip into containers.

From "Seasoned with Love, the Perseverance Church Cookbook," by Helen Daniel and the Friendship Circle, in honor of the Dundas Ruritan Club and in memory of Buddy Wilkinson.

Note: According to the book "The Lunenburg Legacy," this stew was made by the men of the community as a fundraiser. They sold it in quart containers and always sold out. "They cooked it in huge pots outdoors or in a shed, stirring it with paddles for twelve hours. The younger men, assumed to be stronger, get to stir the last shift because it is really thick and has to be stirred hard to keep it from burning."

Someone even made a documentary of it: The Sheep Stew of Dundas: A Gastronomical Delight


----------



## Hoot (Mar 25, 2013)

I appreciate the recipe. It sounds good. Now.....I reckon I got to see about tracking some sheep.....


----------



## Steve Kroll (Mar 25, 2013)

I honestly thought the first step would be "Move to Dundas..."


----------



## GotGarlic (Mar 25, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> I honestly thought the first step would be "Move to Dundas..."



I thought it was interesting that there are no directions for what to do with the sheep once slaughtered


----------



## Dawgluver (Mar 25, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> I thought it was interesting that there are no directions for what to do with the sheep once slaughtered



Yeah.  Do you peel them first?


----------



## buckytom (Mar 25, 2013)

margarine.

really?


----------



## taxlady (Mar 25, 2013)

Dawgluver said:


> Yeah.  Do you peel them first?


Definitely.


----------



## buckytom (Mar 25, 2013)

yeah, otherwise you end up spitting out a sweater.


----------



## sparrowgrass (Mar 26, 2013)

I always use butter in mine.


----------



## GotGarlic (Mar 26, 2013)

buckytom said:


> margarine.
> 
> really?



I think the recipe was written up some time ago when margarine was all the rage. Butter would definitely be better.


----------



## MrsLMB (Mar 26, 2013)

I would add 1/4 teaspoon of garlic


----------



## GotGarlic (Mar 26, 2013)

MrsLMB said:


> I would add 1/4 teaspoon of garlic



That would make all the difference!


----------



## CraigC (Mar 26, 2013)

You forgot the major ingredient and steps. The ingredient being cases or kegs of ice cold brew and the steps are to drink a beer after every step in the stew recipe. Its just as important that the cooks get stewed while making the stew!


----------



## GotGarlic (Mar 26, 2013)

CraigC said:


> You forgot the major ingredient and steps. The ingredient being cases or kegs of ice cold brew and the steps are to drink a beer after every step in the stew recipe. Its just as important that the cooks get stewed while making the stew!



That's probably one of those things passed down from father to son as they're stirring the pot. lol


----------



## buckytom (Mar 26, 2013)

"a"beer?

since this is a macro recipe, i'd think a 12 pack between steps.


----------



## erehweslefox (Sep 9, 2016)

If you have a pot where you can cook 8 sheep, and a fire to cook it, you are my new cooking idol.

I will give up the Christian God for your cooking god, that is a cauldron.


----------



## Souschef (Sep 9, 2016)

I was once sent the wrong military specification after I had ordered one on some equipment I was working on.
The recipe was for canned beef in some kind of sauce. It had a recipe for the sauce, and the final ingredient was "water enough to make 100 gallons"


----------



## blissful (Sep 9, 2016)

I needed to read this today, lol.


----------

