Hobo stew also known as mulligan stew is a delicious stew with a somewhat sad past. But, I’ll show you the way to make it amazing!
When short on money or ingredients with a family options can be limited. How do you make a dollar stretch?
Well, hobo stew or mulligan stew* is a stew from the early 1900’s prepared by, you guessed it, hobos. It was all about scraping together what you could find to make dinner.
The definition of hobo isn’t the greatest but this is how they chose to live their lives. And they did a great job creating a standard of what this soup is and should be.
The ingredients should be cheap and easily assemble. Yet the proper flavors to make a stew amazing.
Tossing things to together is very cowboy-like with caviar and stew but let’s get started with this version.
How To Make Hobo Stew
Ingredients needed
- Beef stew meat (buy under that name or slice up some chuck roast into cubes)
- Yellow Onion
- Diced tomatoes
- Yukon potatoes
- Creamed corn
- Sliced carrots
- All purpose flour
- Italian seasoning
- Salt & black pepper
- Garlic
- Hot sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
A few tips before starting the recipe
- There is flour in the stew to thicken it but that means you need to simmer on a very low heat and stir often. If you don’t you can scorch the bottom of the pan and have burned pieces floating in your hobo stew.
- Remember the meaning of the stew. Always have fun cooking and this recipe allows you to add some of your favorite ingredients into it. Today you be the hobo!
Making the hobo stew recipe
- In a large pot or dutch oven on medium high heat add a little oil then chunks of beef. Season with salt and black pepper and sear at least two sides of the beef cubes.
- Then, toss in diced onions. Add more oil if needed. Now, toss in diced tomatoes, minced garlic and diced potatoes. Season everything with salt and pepper. Note, you can always add more later so go light if you have a heavy hand.
- Next, add in sliced carrots then sprinkle flour over everything. Mix the flour within the ingredients cooking the flour at least 30 seconds to 1 minute to remove the raw flavor.
- Now, pour in can of creamed corn, Italian seasoning then beef broth. Bring to a very light simmer. Then, add in hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Note, the broth should stop slightly under the top of the ingredients. Do not submerge the stew in broth.
- Cover the lid and simmer for 25 minutes, coming back occasionally to give everything a stir from the bottom.
- After it’s done allow to cool a bit. At this point before serving you want to do your final taste for salt and add more if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you freeze hobo stew?
You can freeze leftovers from the soup. Note, that when you freeze veggies the texture will change but the flavor will stay the same.
What is hobo stew made of?
Honestly, there is no standard. At the time the ingredients were whatever they could find or steal. If they did buy things they were super cheap ingredients so they could make a lot at low cost. Thing of cheap cuts of meat like chuck roast and a lot of canned ingredients.
Do you serve anything with hobo stew?
The stew is great alone with carbs and protein but here are some side dishes or appetizers that would pair well with it:
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Hobo Stew
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained & rinsed
- 3 Yukon potatoes, diced
- 4 ounces carrots, sliced
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 15 oz can of creamed corn
- 2 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven on medium high heat add a little oil then chunks of beef. Season with salt and black pepper and sear at least two sides of the beef cubes.
- Then, toss in diced onions. Add more oil if needed. Now, toss in diced tomatoes, minced garlic and diced potatoes. Season everything with salt and pepper. Note, you can always add more later so go light if you have a heavy hand.
- Next, add in sliced carrots then sprinkle flour over everything. Mix the flour within the ingredients cooking the flour at least 30 seconds to 1 minute to remove the raw flavor.
- Now, pour in can of creamed corn, Italian seasoning then beef broth. Bring to a very light simmer. Then, add in hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Note, the broth should stop slightly under the top of the ingredients. Do not submerge the stew in broth.
- Cover the lid and simmer for 25 minutes, coming back occasionally to give everything a stir from the bottom.
- After it's done allow to cool a bit. At this point before serving you want to do your final taste for salt and add more if needed.