Bouja Recipes

BOOYAH

Steps:

• Pat beef and chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and black pepper.
• Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown beef on all sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard it.
• 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 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, until chicken registers 175° F, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to 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 beef bones and bay leaves; discard.
• Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Allow liquid to settle, about 5 minutes, then skim off fat and return liquid to pot.
• Add shredded beef, cabbage, tomatoes, rutabaga, 1-1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to liquid and bring to 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 chicken and peas, and simmer until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Make croutons:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250°F.
• Arrange bread slices in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and brush both sides with oil. Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes. Rub 1 side of each toast with a cut side of garlic.
• Make soup:
• Plunge lobster headfirst into a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling water, then cook, covered, 2 minutes from time lobster enters water. Transfer lobster with tongs to a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard hot water in pot. Put lobster in a shallow baking pan. Twist off claws with knuckles from body, then crack claws with a mallet or rolling pin and separate claws from knuckles. Halve body and tail lengthwise through shell with kitchen shears, then cut crosswise through shell into 2-inch pieces. Reserve lobster juices that accumulate in baking pan.
• Cook tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Stir potatoes into tomatoes with fennel fronds, bay leaf, saffron, sea salt, and pepper. Add stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add thicker pieces of fish and cockles to soup and simmer, covered, 2 minutes. Stir in mussels, shrimp, lobster, including juices, and remaining fish and simmer, covered, until they are just cooked through and mussels open wide, about 5 minutes.
• Stir 3 tablespoons broth from soup into rouille until blended.
• Arrange 2 croutons in each of 6 to 8 deep soup bowls. Carefully transfer fish and shellfish from soup to croutons with a slotted spoon, then ladle some broth with vegetables over seafood.
• Top each serving with 1 teaspoon rouille and serve remainder on the side.

BOUILLABAISSE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.
• Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil for about 3 minutes to allow the oil and water to combine.
• Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.
• Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately.

RIEDER'S BOUJA

Steps:

• Boil chicken and beef in a heavy kettle until tender.
• Use enough water to cover.
• Remove meat and cut into small bite-sized chunks.
• Discard fat and skin.
• To broth, add celery, cabbage, onions and boil until almost tender.
• Add remaining vegetables according to taste and desired thickness.
• After vegetables have cooked a short time together add meat and simmer until meat breaks apart.
• Stir occasionally with a wooden paddle.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Put (VERY IMPORTANT) dry pickling spice in a strong cloth bag and tie firmly with string so it won't come apart.
• Drop the bag into simmering bouja plunging it in and out after a short time, tasting as you go until it tastes right.

MIDWEST LIVING'S BOUJA / BURGOO

Steps:

• In a large cooking pot, cook the chicken in 1 tablespoon hot cooking oil until no pink remains; remove the chicken from the pot, cover and chill but reserve the drippings in the pot.
• Brown the cubed beef chuck in the remaining drippings in the pot, adding more oil if needed.
• Add the water, chopped onion, instant bouillon granules and the dried thyme to the pot; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the cooking pot and stir to combine; return the mixture to boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes more, or until vegetables and meat are tender.
• Stir in the cooked chicken and heat through; season to taste with some salt and some additional pepper, if you like.

BOUYA

Steps:

• Boil chicken and beef in a heavy kettle until tender. Use enough water to cover. Remove meat and cut into small bite-sized chucks. Discard fat and skin. To broth, add celery, cabbage, onions and boil until almost tender. Add remaining vegetables according to taste and desired thickness. After vegetables have cooked a short time together add meat and simmer until meat breaks apart. Stir occasionally with a wooden paddle. Salt and pepper to taste. Put ( VERY IMPORTANT) dry pickling spice in a strong cloth bag and tie firmly with string so it won't come apart. Drop the bag into simmering bouja plunging it in and out after a shot time, tasting as you go until it tastes right.

BOUJA SOUP

Steps:

• Boil chicken and beef in a large soup pot 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Use enough water to cover. Remove meat and cut into bite-size pieces. Discard fat and skin.
• Add celery, cabbage and onions to broth and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until almost tender. Add frozen vegetable mix, rutabagas, lima beans, yellow beans, and tomatoes and continue to cook until soup has reached desired thickness.
• Add meat and simmer until meat breaks apart, stirring occasionally with a wooden paddle. Salt and pepper to taste. IMPORTANT: Put dry pickling spice in a strong cloth bag and tie firmly with string so it will not come apart. Drop the bag into the simmering bouja, plunging it in and out for a short time until the soup tastes just right for you.

BOUJA RECIPE

Steps:

• Stew whole chicken until tender with onion and celery. Cut up chicken after it is cooled off. Put back in broth with all other ingredients. Simmer until tender, remove spice bag, mash through a potato masher a few times. You can use more vegetables and spice if you like. Serve this as a thick soup.