Mulligan stew, also known as Hobo stew, is a type of
stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...
said to have been prepared by American
hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
s in camps in the early 1900s.
![Hotel de Gink - preparing Mulligan stew LCCN2014698227](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Hotel_de_Gink_-_preparing_Mulligan_stew_LCCN2014698227.jpg)
Another variation of mulligan stew is "community stew", a stew put together by several homeless people by combining whatever food they have or can collect. Community stews are often made at "
hobo jungle
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
s", or at events designed to help homeless people.
Description
Mulligan stew is broadly defined as a stew made of odds and ends or any available ingredients. A description of mulligan stew appeared in a 1900 newspaper:
Another traveler present described the operation of making a "mulligan." Five or six hobos join in this. One builds a fire and rustles a can
Can may refer to:
Containers
* Aluminum can
* Drink can
* Oil can
* Steel and tin cans
* Trash can
* Petrol can
* Metal can (disambiguation)
Music
* Can (band), West Germany, 1968
** ''Can'' (album), 1979
* Can (South Korean band)
Other
* C ...
. Another has to procure meat; another potatoes
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
; one fellow pledges himself to obtain bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
, and still another has to furnish onions
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
, salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
. If a chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
can be stolen, so much the better. The whole outfit is placed in the can and boiled
Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. T ...
until it is done. If one of the men is successful in procuring "Java," an oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...
can is used for a coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
tank, and this is also put on the fire to boil. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that California hobos always put a "snipe" in their coffee, to give it that delicate amber color and to add to the aroma. "Snipe" is hobo for the butt end of a cigar
A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
that smokers throw down in the streets. All hobos have large quantities of snipes in their pockets, for both chewing and smoking purposes. A "beggar stew" is a "mulligan," without any meat.
Ingredients
"Mulligan" is a stand-in term for any
Irishman
The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...
, and Mulligan stew is simply an
Irish stew
Irish stew ( ga, stobhach/Stobhach Gaelach) is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from t ...
that includes
meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
,
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...
es,
vegetable
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
s, and whatever else can be begged, scavenged, found or stolen. A local Appalachian variant is a
burgoo
Burgoo is a stew, similar to Irish or Mulligan stew, often served with cornbread or corn muffins. It is often prepared communally as a social gathering. It is popular as the basis for civic fund-raisers in the American Midwest and South.
Et ...
, which may comprise such available ingredients as
possum or
squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
. Only a pot and a fire are required. The hobo who put it together was known as the "mulligan mixer."
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, homeless men (
hobo
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
s) would sleep in a "
hobo jungle
A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; and a bum neither travels nor works.
E ...
" (a campsite used by the homeless near a railway). Traditionally, the jungle would have a large campfire and a pot into which each person would put in a portion of their food, to create a shared dish that was, hopefully, more tasteful and varied than his original portion. Usually, they would afterward enjoy themselves with story-telling and, sometimes, the drinking of alcohol.
In popular culture
Literature
*In
Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar ( ; born March 20, 1954) is an American young-adult mystery-comedy author. He is best known for the ''Wayside School'' series and the novel ''Holes''.
''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature 's book ''
Wayside School is Falling Down'', a hobo who lives on mulligan stew erroneously claims that the stew is named after a hobo named Mulligan who was eaten by cannibals.
*In
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...
's poem "
Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too", the character Tickle "serve
coffee and mulligan stew".
*In
George R.R. Martin's book series ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
'', the impoverished smallfolk of
King's Landing rely often on a communal stew calle
Bowl of Brownfor sustenance - Bowl of Brown is the fictional equivalent of Mulligan Stew
*
John Varley's ''
The Golden Globe
''The Golden Globe'' is a 1998 science fiction novel by American writer John Varley. The book takes places a few years after the conclusion of ''Steel Beach.'' It was nominated for Best Science Fiction Novel during the 1999 Locus Awards.
Plot
...
'' has an extended description of the mulligan as a
perpetual stew
A perpetual stew, also known as forever soup, hunter's pot or hunter's stew, is a pot into which whatever foodstuffs one can find is placed and cooked. The pot is never or rarely emptied all the way, and ingredients and liquid are replenished as ...
.
Music
*The verse to
Rodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...
's showtune "
The Lady Is a Tramp" (from the 1937 ''Babes in Arms'') begins: "I've wined and dined on Mulligan Stew, and never wished for turkey."
*A phrase in a line from
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...
's song "Rejoyce" (1967) is: "Mulligan stew for Bloom".
*The song "Old Pigweed" on
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...
's album ''
The Ragpicker's Dream
''The Ragpicker's Dream'' is the third solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on 30 September 2002 by Mercury Records internationally, and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album recei ...
'' describes a mulligan stew being prepared, but ruined, by addition of old
pigweed Pigweed can mean any of a number of weedy plants which may be used as pig fodder:
* ''Amaranthus'' species
** '' Amaranthus albus'', white pigweed, tumble pigweed
** ''Amaranthus blitoides'', prostrate pigweed
** ''Amaranthus californicus'', Calif ...
.
*A line in the song "Jitterbug Boy" on
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
' album ''
Small Change'' is written as: "I've burned hundred dollar bills, I've eaten mulligan stew" in reference to the wildly varied and most likely fabricated experiences of the narrator.
*Elvis Presley's version of "
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (sometimes shortened to Old MacDonald) is a traditional children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer and the various animals he keeps. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise ...
" contained the ending line: "If those animals ever get out of line, we'll have a Mulligan stew!"
*A line in the song "Whistlin Past the Graveyard" on
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
' album ''
Blue Valentine'' is: "Cooked up a mess o' mulligan and got into a fight". The opening verses of this song contain railroad/hobo-related imagery.
*Harry "Haywire Mac" McClintock's song, "The Bum Song No. 2", includes the line: "Some folks like their high class stuff and lots of service too, but give me a shady jungle and a can of Mulligan Stew."
Television
(Alphabetical by series title)
In ''The Abbott and Costello Show'' episode, "Car Trouble", the pair encountered two hobos. Lou tried to ask for a cup of coffee but they insisted he had to put something in the mulligan. A third hobo then appeared with a prize hen stolen from a nearby farmer.
*In the ''
Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Th ...
'' episode, "Opie and His Merry Men", the hobo Opie and his friends come across in the beginning tells them that he is having mulligan stew.
*In the ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
'' episode, "The Saga of Annie O'Toole", the title character, a recent Irish arrival to the frontier, offers mulligan stew in the ad hoc restaurant she opens to serve the silver miners in Nevada.
*In the ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' episode, "Earshot", Xander says, "I knew the lunch lady was going to do us all in with that mulligan stew. I mean, what the hell's a mulligan?", while talking about the school's cafeteria.
*In the ''
Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...
'' episode, "Catching Out", the homeless men invite Rossi and Morgan to a bowl of mulligan stew.
*In the
''Mad Men'' season six episode, "
The Doorway, Part II" (airdate April 7, 2013), Betty Draper teaches
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
squatters on
St. Mark's Place, in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, how to make
goulash
Goulash ( hu, gulyás) is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the ...
from their "mulligan stew" contributions of ingredients.
*In the ''
Mr. Ed
''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
'' episode, "Be Kind to Humans", Wilbur and Ed get lost while out for a ride in the park. They happen across a few hobos and one complains, "mulligan stew, that's all we been eatin", then Ed invites them to have dinner and sleep over with the Posts while Carol's father is visiting.
*In ''
The Rifleman
''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show wa ...
'' episode, "The Sixteenth Cousin", when asked what she suggests, Ms. Mallory says: "The mulligan stew is very good tonight". However, Mulligan stew is believed to have been created early in the 1900s, and ''The Rifleman'' is set in the 1880s.
*In the ''
Rawhide'' episode "The Boss's Daughters" Wishbone serves Mulligan stew to Mr. Favor's daughters when they come out from Philadelphia to visit their father on the trail. They couldn't eat it.. Rawhide is set in the 1880s also.
*In the Hallmark Channel movi
''Crown for Christmas'' a scene centers on the appreciation of, and reminiscing about, Mulligan Stew (described as “everything in the cupboard… plus peas.”)
See also
*
Booyah (stew), a social stew popular in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin
*
Brunswick stew
Brunswick stew is a tomato-based stew generally involving local beans, vegetables, and originally small game meat such as squirrel or rabbit, though today often chicken. The exact origin of the stew is disputed. The states of Virginia, North Caro ...
*
Burgoo
Burgoo is a stew, similar to Irish or Mulligan stew, often served with cornbread or corn muffins. It is often prepared communally as a social gathering. It is popular as the basis for civic fund-raisers in the American Midwest and South.
Et ...
, often prepared communally
*
List of stews
This is a list of notable stews. A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potato ...
*
Mulligatawny soup
*
Stone soup, also known as button soup, wood soup, nail soup, and axe soup, often prepared communally
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan Stew (Food)
American stews
Historical foods in American cuisine
Peasant food