Best Bouja Recipes

RIEDER'S BOUJA

Steps:

• Boil chicken and beef in a heavy kettle until tender.
• Use enough water to cover.
• Remove meat and cut into small bite-sized chunks.
• Discard fat and skin.
• To broth, add celery, cabbage, onions and boil until almost tender.
• Add remaining vegetables according to taste and desired thickness.
• After vegetables have cooked a short time together add meat and simmer until meat breaks apart.
• Stir occasionally with a wooden paddle.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Put (VERY IMPORTANT) dry pickling spice in a strong cloth bag and tie firmly with string so it won't come apart.
• Drop the bag into simmering bouja plunging it in and out after a short time, tasting as you go until it tastes right.

POLISH BOUJA SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stock pot over medium heat, cook chicken, pork, and beef in oil, until brown. Drain well.
• Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery, rutabaga, carrots, cabbage, green beans, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer over medium-low heat all day long, adding water as needed, until thickened.

MIDWEST LIVING'S BOUJA / BURGOO

Steps:

• In a large cooking pot, cook the chicken in 1 tablespoon hot cooking oil until no pink remains; remove the chicken from the pot, cover and chill but reserve the drippings in the pot.
• Brown the cubed beef chuck in the remaining drippings in the pot, adding more oil if needed.
• Add the water, chopped onion, instant bouillon granules and the dried thyme to the pot; bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the cooking pot and stir to combine; return the mixture to boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes more, or until vegetables and meat are tender.
• Stir in the cooked chicken and heat through; season to taste with some salt and some additional pepper, if you like.

BOUJA RECIPE

Steps:

• Stew whole chicken until tender with onion and celery. Cut up chicken after it is cooled off. Put back in broth with all other ingredients. Simmer until tender, remove spice bag, mash through a potato masher a few times. You can use more vegetables and spice if you like. Serve this as a thick soup.

BOUJA SOUP

Steps:

• Boil chicken and beef in a large soup pot 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Use enough water to cover. Remove meat and cut into bite-size pieces. Discard fat and skin.
• Add celery, cabbage and onions to broth and boil for 10 to 15 minutes or until almost tender. Add frozen vegetable mix, rutabagas, lima beans, yellow beans, and tomatoes and continue to cook until soup has reached desired thickness.
• Add meat and simmer until meat breaks apart, stirring occasionally with a wooden paddle. Salt and pepper to taste. IMPORTANT: Put dry pickling spice in a strong cloth bag and tie firmly with string so it will not come apart. Drop the bag into the simmering bouja, plunging it in and out for a short time until the soup tastes just right for you.

BOUJA (BOOYA)

Steps:

• Boil chicken, beef & pork in a heavy kettle in enough water to cover until tender. Remove meat from broth and cut into bite-sized chunks. Discard fat, skin, and bones.
• Add in the cabbage, celery, and onions into the broth and boil until almost tender. Add in the remaining vegetables. When vegetables are cooked through, add the meat back into the broth, stir in the barley, and cook over medium heat until the meat breaks apart. The entire cooking process takes about 5 hours. Stir with large fork to break up the meat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Broth should have a slightly peppery quality to it.
• Once the meat is cooked tender, it is time for the "secret ingredient". Put the pickling spices into a small cloth bag (you can make one out of some cloth and string) and dip into the bouja. You can let it sit for a couple of minutes, moving it around throughout the pot. Remove and stir. You can add more if you'd like a stronger flavor.
• Until you add this, it's just vegetable soup. Once you do this last step, it will be BOUJA!
• If you don't have a cloth to make a spice bag, you can also boil the spices in 1 cup of water for 3-4 minutes. Strain and add the clear liquid to the bouja pot.