BBQ Lingo
Burgoo
A thick Kentucky BBQ stew of mutton, chicken, pork, vegetables, and spices, simmered for hours.
Burgoo is the side dish that completes a Western Kentucky BBQ plate. Originally a frontier dish built from whatever protein was available — squirrel, venison, mutton — modern burgoo uses smoked mutton, chicken, and pork stewed with corn, lima beans, potatoes, cabbage, and tomatoes until it falls into a thick brown porridge. Served by the bowl alongside mutton sandwiches.
Why it matters
It's how Owensboro pitmasters historically used every scrap of the long-smoked mutton.