Hell Fire Stew
Crushed hardtack that is soaked in water and fried up in bacon grease
City/Region: United States of America
Time Period: 1861-1865
Depending on the circumstances, Civil War rations could vary a lot. There could be bacon, fresh beef, soft bread, dried peaches, coffee and tea, onions, and much more, but you couldn’t rely on getting any of that regularly. What you could rely on was hardtack (clack clack).
One of the ways to make hardtack edible was to crush it up, soak it with water, and fry it up with pork grease, as described in drummer boy William Bircher’s diary. It turns out to be a really weird texture that’s kind of like a drier, crumblier chorizo, but the flavor isn't bad. Use the amounts of hardtack, water, and grease that seem right to you. If the hardtack is aged and very dry, it’ll take more water and/or grease.
“When, as was generally the case on a march, our hard-tack was broken into small pieces in our haversacks, we soaked these in water and fried them in pork fat, stirring well and seasoning with salt and pepper, thus making what was commonly called a “hell-fired stew.””
Ingredients:
- Hardtack*
- Water
- Pork grease, from bacon or salt pork
- Salt
- Pepper
*See notes below.
Instructions:
- Crush the hardtack so that at least some of it is in fine crumbs. To do this, stick the hardtack in a bag and hit it with whatever blunt instrument you have on hand.
- In a bowl, pour some water over the crushed hardtack and let it sit for a few minutes until it soaks up the water and softens a bit.
- Heat the pork grease in a large skillet and add the soaked hardtack. Sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper and stir it around until it browns, a couple of minutes.
- Once the hell fire stew has browned, serve it forth.
Notes
- Find the recipe for hardtack here