Lobscouse is almost as synonymous with sailors as rum and ship’s biscuit, and was something many sailors looked forward to both on land and at sea. If you’re a fan of Blood and Plunder, this dish is a must try!

Author’s Note: This recipe does use Ship’s Biscuit as an ingredient! If you haven’t read that article yet I would *highly* advise making some before starting this recipe. They are crucial for creating the texture needed while also thickening the broth!

What is Lobscouse?

Lobscouse is essentially a hash or stew made with meat, potatoes and vegetables. It can be made with fresh ingredients, but traditionally is made from leftovers or preserved provisions. Norway claims to be the inventor, calling it lapskaus, but as of this writing no concrete evidence has been found to support this. For our purposes, however, this recipe is a variation on the lobscouse made in Liverpool, It has often been associated with sailors and was often called a “sailors stew”. To this day, it is the signature dish of Liverpool and was mentioned frequently in the 18th century.

The Recipe

This recipe comes from Lobscouse and Spotted Dog by Anne Chotzinoff and Lisa Grossman Thomas. This book is becoming a staple in this series, and is a companion cookbook to Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin books. The series follows Royal Navy Captain Jack Aubrey and his Irish Surgeon/British intelligence Agent/Best Friend Stephen Maturin as they navigate the Napoleonic Wars. A fantastic movie based off of several of these books was released in 2003 as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. The recipe is pictured below:

If you aren’t serving 8 sailors, halving or quartering this recipe is possible and recommended! We cut this recipe in half since there was only two of us and it made enough leftovers to have lobscouse for lunch for a week! If you are hosting or going to a pirate themed party or hosting a Blood and Plunder game night at your residence, this will provide your players with themed and hearty food!

While this recipe is meant to use sea-faring ingredients found on a ship, it is possible to create a “tavern” version of this dish. Simply change out the corned beef and salt pork for lamb and fresh or salted beef. Potatoes are a necessity, but the onions and leeks can be changed out for any of your favorite vegetables. If you’re looking for an even fancier experience, shrimp, shallots, and even calamari can be used with a fish broth base (just be sure to add the seafood last since it tends to cook rather quickly.

Traditionally, lard is the fat used in the recipe. If lard is not your thing, an oil can be used instead. My personal favorite method is to use bacon grease, specifically from smoked bacon. This adds a pleasant, smoky flavor that feels more “old world” to me.

Preparation

Add the meat, cold water, and bay leaf (more if you’re feeling adventurous!) to a pot. We used a crockpot/slow cooker in order to keep the temperature steady. We let it heat up for about 30 minutes before switching it to low for 4-6 hours. If you are on a stove top, setting the burner to medium heat with the lid partially on will work as well. Let the meat cook in the pot for 3-6 hours depending on your preferred heat. This will create a “quick broth” and a base for the entire dish. If you want a faster solution, using premade broth and pre-cooked meat can work, but will give you a different texture and taste. If opting for seafood, just heat some fish stock in a pot on medium heat while you prepare the other ingredients.

This is the preferred result (pictured below) for your broth. All the fats and flavor have essentially infused with the water, creating a fantastic foundation for the rest of the dish. If you truly want to elevate your lobscouse, making a bone broth the day before will get you a much deeper and complex flavor.

While the meat stews, prepare the onions and leeks by roughly chopping or dicing them. Make sure you separate the dark green portions of the leeks and then rise them under cold water. Leeks can have dirt and silt in them so make sure you rise all of that particulate out of them. After the onions and leeks are prepared, peel and dice the potatoes, then put them in a bowl of cold water. This will remove some of the starches and make them cook a little faster later on. Its okay if you didn’t go to culinary school or aren’t a pro chef. Most cooks aboard sailing vessels tended to be sailors who couldn’t perform some of the hard labor due to injuries, so chances are they were also following a recipe like this one passed down verbally.

The best part of preparation is when you get to smash something! Place your ship’s biscuits in a bag (we used zip lock but traditionally a burlap sack would be used) and smash them into bits with a hammer, belaying pin, rolling pin, musket butt, or other blunt instrument. You are looking for a breadcrumb consistency.

This is the consistence to aim for while flogging the biscuits. If the chunks are too big they won’t incorporate and soak up as much flavor as needed, and if they are too small you’ll end up with more of an oatmeal consistency.

After the meat has stewed, remove it from the broth and slice it (this will be the .”slush” mentioned in the recipe). Be sure to put the broth in something like a measuring cup for temporary storage. You will be adding some it back later so make sure its accessible. Depending on the meat used, it may be so tender than it can be shredded or pulled apart. If it is so fragile that slicing is out of the question, use a strainer to remove it from the broth and then place it in a pan on medium heat with some lard or bacon grease. Sauté for 1-2 minutes before returning it to the pot.

After returning the meat to the pot, add the leeks and onions to the pan and sauté in the fat. the onions should be translucent and the leeks should pick up a bit of color. Sauté for 3-5 minutes and add the vegetables to the pot. Drain the potatoes and toss them into the pot as well (but don’t turn it on yet!)

Now that everything is in the pot, now is the time to prepare the spices. If you are using all pre-ground spices, simply add them into one container to incorporate them all together. If using fresh spices, use a mortar and pestle to grind and combine them before adding to the pot. Dried juniper berries can be sourced, but are rarely ground down. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, a food processor or the “blunt object and a bag method” can be used. I would highly recommend grating fresh nutmeg if possible. It will take your lobscouse from Poorly Equipped flavor to Well Equipped!

If your spices are so fresh they make a dry paste, this is okay! After grinding, set them aside to be added later.

We are in the final stretch! Add about half of the broth to the pot and set to medium-high heat and let sit until the potatoes are tender (poke one with a fork, and if it goes in with no resistance, its done!). This should take between 5-10 minutes.

Once the potatoes are tender, add in half of your your crushed ship’s biscuit and about One and a Half cups of the reserved broth and add in the spices. Let sit for a final 5 minutes and serve! If the mixture feels too soupy, add more crushed biscuit. If its too thick, add more broth. Mix until your desired texture is achieved and serve! Congratulations, all the fruits of your labor have paid off!

How Does it Taste?

We stuck to the recipe, and ended up with a flavor profile unlike anything we’ve ever had before! The combination of spices almost makes it sweet and savory, while the salt from the meat comes in to balance everything out. This can be used as a sandwich filling or served over your favorite bread. This has become a new staple in our house and also makes for a great charity meal if someone you know is going through hardship and you want to bring them dinner.

If you’ve made it this far, I wanted to thank you for reading! Next time, we are going to look at two beverages to separate the officers from the common sailors: Shrub and Grog!

Sources:

• Lobscouse and Spotted Dog by by Anne Chotzinoff and Lisa Grossman
• Townsend’s Video on Lobscouse
• Tasting History’s Video about Lobscouse
• A Taste of History’s Overview on Lobscouse

Additional Recommended Reading

• Ship’s Biscuit
• The Flip