Topic: How do you make Scouse?

[Garstonite]

We Scouse we used to have never had consistent ingredients anyway.

[The Bill Hicks Appreciation Society]

In Spain,  just gonna introduce my girl to some Scouse,  so was looking for the traditional recipes on here as it's like only the third time I've made it on me tod. Then I saw Billy's last comment so thought I'd bump it. Right time of year after all

[John C]

Hello Dave, have you moved out there or visiting Vic?

[kavah]

if you want to impress then you must serve it with picked red cabbage or beetroot or both

and crusty bread 

[Red Beret]

I always got the impression that Scouse was simply whatever the hell the family could find thrown in a pot with some gravy.  I know the origins are Norwegian and Irish but I'm not sure there's any hard and fast rules when it comes to Scouse stew.

Favourite bit was warming up the leftovers next day for breakfast.  Suck on that, Ready Brek!

EDIT: Maybe this might help?

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/u0Fn9seb18M" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/u0Fn9seb18M</a>

[gazzalfc]

[CHOPPER]

Hmmmmmm, what an interesting day to have it on. Boss scouse and a sound scouse win - Could anyone ask for more on Scouse Day.

[The Bill Hicks Appreciation Society]

Thank god it's not the 29th It went down pretty well, since I had to improvise with no meat in the house, and it being a sodding bank holiday saturday, yes bank holiday saturday, you heard right!

Yeah John, moved out here. Living in a small place an hour away from Madrid.

[Upinsmoke]

Thank god it's not the 29th It went down pretty well, since I had to improvise with no meat in the house, and it being a sodding bank holiday saturday, yes bank holiday saturday, you heard right!

Yeah John, moved out here. Living in a small place an hour away from Madrid.

Blind Scouse?

[Cletus vanDamme]

If you're using beef in your Scouse then you can't whack beef skirt. Get it from your local butcher or they do it in Morrisons. Never seen it in the Asda, Tesco or Sainsburys though.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

This is my mum's method and timings which I now use.

I know celery is controversial for some. Bouquet garni are just like little tea bags of herbs, which you fish out at the end - my nan used to tie her own bundles of herbs (thyme and rosemary and stuff), but life's too short. Some people say Scouse doesn't need any herbs, but I think it's what makes my mum's Scouse better than theirs!

Mum's Scouse

1lb diced beef or lamb
1/2lb minced beef
4-5 carrots (diced)
1 small Swede (diced)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2-3 sticks of celery (cut into 4cm chunks)
6-8 medium sized potatoes (cut into chunks)
Tomato purée
2 bags of bouquet garni
2 pints of good quality beef stock
A good slug of Worcester sauce
Tinned tomatoes if needed

Fry onions until soft, then add mince and meat and brown. Then add stock (couple of pints), carrot and swede, celery, bouquet garni, Worcester sauce, a good squeeze of tomato purée and season well. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 3 hours. If you need to add liquid later on, add a tin of chopped tomatoes. If too much liquid, remove lid for a while. With 1.5 hours to go, add half the potatoes, and then add the rest with an hour to go.

[Solomon Grundy]

Me nan used to make scouse with cheap cuts of lamb(mutton). Instead of beef. It was absolutley superb.

[Solomon Grundy]

This is my mum's method and timings which I now use.

I know celery is controversial for some. Bouquet garni are just like little tea bags of herbs, which you fish out at the end - my nan used to tie her own bundles of herbs (thyme and rosemary and stuff), but life's too short. Some people say Scouse doesn't need any herbs, but I think it's what makes my mum's Scouse better than theirs!

If she used diced lamb, I take it she'd use mince lamb instead of beef?

[aggerdid]

I know this splits opinion on everyones wonderful scouse but imo its just another british meal with no thought into the flavours whatsoever. People talk like beetroot or red cabbage is gonna jazz it up. To me its just as boring as cottage pie. I might try and make my own modern twist on scouse. First off garlic is needed

[Solomon Grundy]

I know this splits opinion on everyones wonderful scouse but imo its just another british meal with no thought into the flavours whatsoever. People talk like beetroot or red cabbage is gonna jazz it up. To me its just as boring as cottage pie. I might try and make my own modern twist on scouse. First off garlic is needed

Wash your mouth out son. My scouse and cottage pie is both tasty and filling.

[brownie 09]

I know this splits opinion on everyones wonderful scouse but imo its just another british meal with no thought into the flavours whatsoever. People talk like beetroot or red cabbage is gonna jazz it up. To me its just as boring as cottage pie. I might try and make my own modern twist on scouse. First off garlic is needed

haha at last im not alone. scouse, shepards pie, cottage pie i cant think of anything as boring to eat.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

If she used diced lamb, I take it she'd use mince lamb instead of beef?

Not necessarily. Not shy about mixing the two.

[Solomon Grundy]

Not necessarily. Not shy about mixing the two.

Hmmmm...I'm now wondering how that would taste.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

Meaty.

[redbyrdz]

Seeing this thread bumped never fails to make me hungry.

[trinityroad]

I know this splits opinion on everyones wonderful scouse but imo its just another british meal with no thought into the flavours whatsoever. People talk like beetroot or red cabbage is gonna jazz it up. To me its just as boring as cottage pie. I might try and make my own modern twist on scouse. First off garlic is needed

I would say cottage pie is comfort food, not necessarily boring. Depends what you put in the pie. Lea & Perrins and strong ale should be in it. Guinness Foreign Extra goes really well in them.

[tinman1]

Im with the general opinion of lamb, potatoes, carrots, onions and oxo with beetroot and crusty tiger bread, every now and then I like to mix it up and add mushrooms an sweetcorn. Originally named Lob Scouse as you can lob anything into it

[۩ Imperator ۩]

Originally named Lob Scouse as you can lob anything into it

Yes and no. Initial statement correct, reason not so much.

The first known use of the term "lobscouse" is dated 1706, according to Webster's dictionary.[1] Smollet refers to "lob's course" in 1750.[2] The roots of the word are unknown,[1] but there are at least three competing theories. It has been suggested that the dish is "almost certainly" of Baltic origin,[3] and labs kauss in Latvian and labas kaušas in Lithuanian both mean "good ladleful".[4] Similar dishes are traditional in countries around the North Sea, such as Norway (lapskaus) and Denmark (skibberlabskovs, meaning "skipper's lobscouse"). Another theory posits a Low German origin from lappen (dewlap) and kaus (bowl).[5] An English origin has also been proposed: through "lout’s course", via "lob’s course" to "lobscouse".[3]

[DJBrenton]

So my local Greene King pub in Nottingham have just launched a 'Best of British' menu that includes something called 'Scouse stew'. I pointed out that was like offering "Vichysoise soup" or "cassoulet stew" but thought I'd try it anyway. It turned out to be some poncy cheffy version. Probably 50% was shin of beef with beautiful and identically shaped chunks of carrot, onion petals and 2, yes 2 cubes of potato. All in a rich gravy. Accompanying this were 4 slices of bread and butter and a small bowl of soft red cabbage in balsamic vinegar with a bay leaf. Where would a chef get that sort of recipe from?

[Tesco tearaway]

So my local Greene King pub in Nottingham have just launched a 'Best of British' menu that includes something called 'Scouse stew'. I pointed out that was like offering "Vichysoise soup" or "cassoulet stew" but thought I'd try it anyway. It turned out to be some poncy cheffy version. Probably 50% was shin of beef with beautiful and identically shaped chunks of carrot, onion petals and 2, yes 2 cubes of potato. All in a rich gravy. Accompanying this were 4 slices of bread and butter and a small bowl of soft red cabbage in balsamic vinegar with a bay leaf. Where would a chef get that sort of recipe from?

Haven't got a clue, but it sounds like something this suave ladykiller might have thought up

[rob1966]

Said it in another thread the other week, its well over 10 years since I last had Scouse. I've never made it, always my Mum that did it and not had any since she died.

[Kenny's Jacket]

Put the lamb in first, then add onions into a stock.  Leave about 30 mins on low medium heat. Then add the spuds and swede, then the carrots and celery.

Never tried it with beef. Isn't that just stew then?

[۩ Imperator ۩]

I add my spuds in two batches - some near the beginning that disintegrate and thicken it, then some with an hour to go that remain chunky. Yum.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

I add my spuds in two batches - some near the beginning that disintegrate and thicken it, then some with an hour to go that remain chunky. Yum.

This is a good idea. I usually chop them into different size so half the spuds will be finely chopped and disintegrate more quickly, and the rest will still be visible lumps. I call mine 'wool stew' because I'm not scouse

It always tastes better the day after to me.

Also I make my own bread when I can and it shits on supermarket bread in terms of quality.

[Mag Hull]

This is a good idea. I usually chop them into different size so half the spuds will be finely chopped and disintegrate more quickly, and the rest will still be visible lumps. I call mine 'wool stew' because I'm not scouse

It always tastes better the day after to me.

Also I make my own bread when I can and it shits on supermarket bread in terms of quality.

Red cabbage?

[kopite321]

Lobscouse ... not the modern shite....

50g beef dripping or 50ml vegetable oil
750g neck of lamb fillet or shin of beef, cut into rough 2cm cubes
1 large onion, peeled
3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
500g medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
200g dried peas, soaked overnight
A few sprigs of thyme
2 litres beef or lamb stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g pearl barley

Melt the dripping in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, season the meat with salt and pepper and fry on a high heat until nicely coloured. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, lightly season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for 2-2.5 hours until the meat is tender. That's it. Serve with buttery cabbage or mashed root vegetables.

[SamAteTheRedAcid]

Red cabbage?

A spoonful on top if we've got some in.

200g dried peas, soaked overnight

Really?

[Millie]

Dried peas in Scouse?  Seriously?

[kavah]

Peas 




There are not many more contentious issues in Liverpool than how to make scouse.
My daughter organized a scouse night during her summer job last year - in one of the backpacking-hostels in town -  and there was murder for days about what to put in and leave out.

[Claire.]

Peas though? That sounds an awful lot like some Wirral witchcraft to me.

you know Paul O'Grady is from over there, right?

No peas round here, though I do use oxo - only thing I buy them for and it's cos me mum always uses them and I'm scared to do it another way. I do use half and half lamb and beef, and weight in meat is matched by weight of spuds, cos it goes to the right consistency - chop them different sizes. the type of spuds is important - king edwards are preferred but maris pipers are alright.

[۩ Imperator ۩]

Half a carrot? Two and a quarter potatoes? What the fuck?

[kavah]

Half a carrot? Two and a quarter potatoes? What the fuck?

Ha ha - what can you do with the other half - please don't answer

[kavah]

I add my spuds in two batches - some near the beginning that disintegrate and thicken it, then some with an hour to go that remain chunky. Yum.

Making it for the first time in ages (years). This is a top tip - cheers 

Although no swedes, turnips, celery and tomatoes in my version

[ToneLa]

Fry beef in flour in Worcestershire sauce, then add onions to fry, then lash this into the pot with chopped carrots and spuds

Little salt, little pepper, beef stock or Oxo or whatever I have around. Maybe a squirt of tomato puree, but no more than that. Sometimes tart it up with thyme and or basil

[Tesco tearaway]

Fry beef in flour in Worcestershire sauce, then add onions to fry, then lash this into the pot with chopped carrots and spuds

Little salt, little pepper, beef stock or Oxo or whatever I have around. Maybe a squirt of tomato puree, but no more than that. Sometimes tart it up with thyme and or basil

Are you James Martin in disguise?