Booyah (stew) explained

Country:United States
Region:Upper Midwest
Type:Stew
Main Ingredient:Meat (commonly beef, chicken, or pork), vegetables (carrots, peas, onion, celery, rutabagas potatoes), seasonings

Booyah (also spelled booya, bouja, boulyaw, or bouyou) is a thick stew, believed to have originated in Belgium, and brought to northwestern Wisconsin by Walloons, it is now made throughout the Upper Midwestern United States.[1] Booyah can require up to two days and multiple cooks to prepare; it is cooked in specially designed "booyah kettles" and usually meant to serve hundreds or even thousands of people.[2] [3] [4] The name can also refer to a social event surrounding the meal.

Description

In cooking booyah, one makes a base or broth derived from meat bones, to which vegetables are added. Beef, chicken, and pork are popular varieties of meat for booyah (with all three often in the same kettle),[4] with vegetables such as carrots, peas, onions, and potatoes also in the mix. A wide variety of seasonings is used, sometimes lowered into the kettle in a cheesecloth bag. Typical large-scale booyah kettles can hold more than 50USgal and are made from steel or cast iron to withstand direct heat and the long cooking time.[5]

Etymology

The term "booyah" may be a variant of "bouillon". It is thought to have derived from the Walloon language words for "boil" (bouillir) and "broth" (bouillon). The spelling with an H has been attributed to phonetic spelling by Wallonian immigrants from Belgium.[6] The Dictionary of American Regional English attributes the term to French Canadian immigrants; others attribute it to a derivation from the Provençal seafood dish bouillabaisse.[7]

An article in the Green Bay Press-Gazette on October 29, 1976, speculating on the origin of the spelling and related fundraiser event, reads:

A November 19, 2015, Press-Gazette article repeats Rentmeester's claim, but also suggests that the dish "could have erupted as a tradition in multiple places at once". The article notes that several variations on the name "booyah" occur around the Upper Midwest that "appear to be attempts to phonetically manage the hard-to-spell word 'bouillon', and they all are pronounced roughly the same".[8]

Modern day

Booyah is still made in northern and northeastern Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula at county fairs, VFW gatherings, booyah-cooking contests, and in small amounts at private gatherings.[9] [10] [4] In a 2018 article in the Post Crescent, Booyah was reportedly sold at church and other nonprofit fundraisers for US$20 per gallon (4 liters).[11] The Green Bay Booyah baseball team was named after the stew.[12]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Episode 3: "Food and Family". https://web.archive.org/web/20060521045853/http://www.pbs.org/opb/meaningoffood/about/pop-episode3.shtml. dead. 2006-05-21. 2011-03-07. The Meaning of Food. Public Broadcasting Service.
  2. Web site: Everything Goes When Cooks Wage Battle Of The Booyahs . Chicago Tribune . July 17, 1986 . September 21, 2016 .
  3. Web site: Booyah (a soup tradition of the Upper Midwest) . September 3, 2015 . September 21, 2016 .
  4. Web site: Booyah! This northeastern Wisconsin tradition could become the official state soup . The Capital Times . Dec 10, 2015 . September 21, 2016.
  5. Web site: You Never Forget the First Time You Have Booya or Brunswick Stew . June 12, 2015 . September 21, 2016.
  6. Web site: Defnet . Mary Ann . Origin of Booyah . Wisconsin's French Connection - Kitchen . . December 30, 1997 . 2011-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101024041613/http://www.uwgb.edu/wisfrench/kitchen/booyalet.htm . 2010-10-24 . dead .
  7. News: Trimble . Steve . Memorable Minnesota Meals - Part II: More about Hot Dish and Booya . Dayton's Bluff District Forum . St. Paul, Minnesota . Dayton's Bluff (District 4) Community Council . June 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071029210910/http://daytonsbluff.org/DBDF/June2004/DBDF_June2004Txt.html . dead . 2007-10-29 . 2011-01-16.
  8. Web site: Getting to the Bottom of Booyah . Green Bay Press-Gazette . November 19, 2015. December 17, 2016.
  9. http://www.startribune.com/in-minnesota-booya-is-more-than-just-a-stew/335078691/#1 In Minnesota, booya is more than just a stew - StarTribune.com
  10. http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/2016/01/16/rivers-booyah-all-flow-toward-one-man/78845862/ Rivers of booyah all flow toward one man
  11. News: Bergin . Mary . Booyah Basics . . September 26, 2018.
  12. News: Reichard . Kevin . New for 2019: Green Bay Booyah . November 15, 2018 . Ballpark Digest . August Publications . November 14, 2018.