We decided to make the Whatcha Gonna Do Stew exactly as written by Chris LeDoux, singer and songwriter. In case you don’t remember, it consisted of two steps: 1.) Chop vegetables and meat. 2.) Dump into pot of boiling water and cook until “good enough to eat.”
First, you do not want to use too much water otherwise you don’t have stew; you have soup. Second, meat cooked in boiling water tastes like rubber. Even a good cut of meat. Luckily I don’t like meat so I didn’t use very much.
One bit of caution: if you do decide to try this recipe, don’t use minced garlic from a jar. It just floats on the top of the water and looks very unappetizing.
According to the Cowboy Poet, I probably should have made my stew in a hole in the ground (in Texas with Colorado dirt and the Wyoming wind, of course).
I didn’t know anything about Chris LeDoux, who died way too young, but apparently “whatcha gonna do” was his tagline. If you go to his website, you can purchase all kinds of goodies including his “Whatcha Gonna Do” wines and spirits. Below is one of his songs.
If he had lived longer, perhaps he would have starred in his own Whatcha Gonna Do Cooking show. Unlike other cookin’ shows, no need for trips to the store for fancy spices. Just meat, potatoes and vegetables all cooked in some water. I have a feeling he was a cool guy to know but Jacques Pepin, he was not! But … whatcha gonna do?
Saying nothing in particular 
Well, if you were starving, boiling meat is the best way to extract all of the nutrients. But maybe, a quick brown, and a braise with red wine would have helped.
Tasting History w/Max Miller is one of my favorite youtube channels. That and Adam Ragusea’s channel.
Ah, so all the flavor from the meat went into the water. That makes sense.
I’m going to skip this stew!
I wish I had too but it was such a cute cookbook!
thanks for introducing us to Chris LeDoux and his stew – oh and his voice has that twang like a good country star should have
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also, I bet he would have his own show today – and it would have been fun
He was a character! No doubt he would have had some kind of show.
😊
I love stews in general–and adore cookbooks! They don’t feel so good as ebooks.
Many of our cookbooks are more like coffee table books. Interesting reading even if the recipes aren’t that good!
You’re very noble to suffer for us
Yummy.
Btw, I don’t like habaneros. Don’t know, they taste like rubber to me. Besides, though I love chilly peppers, when they are too hot, I lose interest.
I love hot and spicy food but 10 jalapenos is too much for me!
Even 1 is. I’d normally eat it for a week.
I do like a good stew.
Stew is one of my husband’s favorites too. Not this one though.
Still, there is something yummy in this.
I’m a veggie, so I make veggie stews all the time. This recipe has too many peppers, not enough veggies and what’s with the sugar and vinegar. UCH!
I think many of the recipes in the book were tongue in cheek and meant to be entertaining and not edible!
If only he had added a little wine or beer for flavour and tenderisation purposes. I suppose cowboys only drank spirits.
I did add a little wine – it didn’t help. Like many of the recipes in that book, I don’t think it was meant to be taken seriously.
My husband made a very similar stew when we were first married. That was 38 years ago and I haven’t let him cook since. He’s a smart man,my husband. 😉
P.S. Ally Bean sent me.
Clever husband! Mine does all the dishes because I don’t load the dishwasher properly!
Well done.
😈