Not Really Son-of-a-Bitch Stew

Name: Not Really Son-of-a-Bitch Stew
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients: 4 pounds venison stew meat, cut into bite-size cubes; 2 (12-ounce) cans cola soda; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon kosher salt; 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup chopped yellow onion; 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 medium cloves); 1/2 cup silver tequila; 2 cups red wine; 4 cups beef stock; 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes; 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed; 5 stalks celery, chopped; 6 medium carrots, chopped; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

December 14, 2011

I’m betting it took a strong stomach to handle what cowboys called son-of-a-bitch stew, a concoction that included cow innards, even, and especially, the guts. “A son-of-a-bitch might not have any brains and no heart, but if he ain’t got guts he ain’t a son-of-a bitch” is the old cowboy saying. Known as son-of-a-gun stew in polite company, the dish was standard chuck wagon fare and said to include everything from a young calf but “the hair, horns, and holler.” According to Come an’ Get It: The Story of the Old Cowboy Cook by the late western folklorist Ramon F. Adams, the real thing did not include any vegetables save perhaps a “skunk egg,” cowboy slang for onion. I guess the only thing that my stew has in common with the cowboy favorite—and I know I am stretching things here—is my use of venison, just about as accessible to many of us Texans as the calves were to cowboys on the range. Everyone around here shoots deer, and many of my friends have freezers full of venison to prove it. If you don’t, feel free to substitute beef stewing meat. You can make this stew up to 3 days in advance, or freeze it for up to 3 weeks.

Recipe notes