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Liverpool scouse

Slow-cooked beef and lamb stew of the Liverpool docks

Scouse is so central to Liverpool that its people are named after it; the thick stew of meat, potatoes and onions was carried from the Baltic by sailors and cooked for dockers' families, and city restaurants still celebrate Global Scouse Day each February. Some of the potatoes cook down into the gravy, making it thick and hearty. Serve it with pickled red cabbage or beetroot and crusty bread. Chef's tip: cut half the potatoes small so they collapse and thicken the stew, and leave the rest in chunks.
Total time
170 min
Difficulty
easy
Serves
6
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Ingredients

Serves6

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Fresh ingredients (6)

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Method

0/5 done
  1. Step 1: Heat the 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large heavy pot and brown the 1 ⅛ lb stewing beef and 1 ⅛ lb lamb neck or shoulder in batches over a high heat, 4 minutes a batch. Lift out.

    15 min
  2. Step 2: Lower the heat and cook the 3 onions for 8 minutes until soft. Return the meat with the 3 carrots, 4 ¼ cups beef stock, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves, 1 ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.

    10 min
  3. Step 3: Cut half the 2 ⅝ lb potatoes into 1 cm dice and the rest into large chunks. Add the small dice now, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer very gently for 1½ hours.

    90 min
  4. Step 4: Add the large potato chunks and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes more, stirring now and then, until the meat is tender enough to break with a spoon and the stew is thick. A common mistake is boiling hard, which makes the meat tough.

    45 min
  5. Step 5: Taste, remove the bay and serve in bowls with 7 oz pickled red cabbage and bread.

    3 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
450 kcal
Protein
34 g
Carbs
40 g
Fat
16 g
Fibre
6 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does liverpool scouse take?
About 170 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
What can I use instead of onions?
2 shallots per onion.
What can I use instead of carrots?
Parsnip or sweet potato, same weight.

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