"Working Class food" Topic

Yesterday I had some Bubble and Squeak. Tomorrow I am going to pick the youngest up from my parents, and th eold man has promised liver and bacon with thickening. I will happily eat far too much bread pudding (not 'bread and butter' pudding, which is completely different).

Anyone else have an attachment to such food, the kind designed to fill you up cheaply, rather than look good?

Anyone else have an attachment to such food, the kind designed to fill you up cheaply, rather than look good?

Here in the Colonies, I believe it's called "fast food".

Seriously, we call it "comfort food" here. My homemade burritos are an example, with plenty of cheese. Chili mac and tuna casserole are other examples.

OK. I'm hungry, now.

Hell yes – absolutely love bubble and squeak in particular.

Huh. Working Class? Poncey Southerners. Bubble and Squeak? That's TOFFS food. 'Why Ambassador, with this Bubble and Sqeak you are spoiling us.'

We got bubble.

Pat

Here ya go Saginaw, you should recognize this:

picture

Just leave off the green stuff on the side, no need for garnish.

Ok, I give. Whats bubble and squeak?

Bangers and mash for me, thank you. Though I usually cheat and have beans and toast along side.

Regards, the Gorb

Whats bubble and squeak?

If you roast (or maybe even crockpot these days) meat with veggies and potatoes, the 'bubbles and squeak' is what you have when you heat and serve the leftover veggies and potatoes a day or two later. Usually without any leftover meat (because you gnoshed it all), or maybe the with leftover meat but cold out of the fridge.

Regards, the Gorb

If by 'fast food' you mean McDonalds etc, then that is NOT working class food. It is food whose social economic group often tends to be lower. While obviously they are usually working class, I'm thinking of proper food, not 'never learnt to cook' food (which often is only classed as food because it is digestable, rather than having any form of aesthetic value, such as taste).

I'm thinking that below the Mason Dixon 'grits' would possibly fall into this catagory (I have little idea what a 'grit' is, except for what I have learned from film and TV, mostly 'My Cousin Vinnie'). Stuff that gives the biggest 'bang for the buck' as it were, and could often be a number of meals through the week.

Bread Pudding is traditionally made from stale bread (though modern bread is made to be "fresh" for 7 days, then be unusable- makes sure you shop once a week. When I was a kid in the 70's bread got harder, it didn't suddenly sprout mould), the Bubble and squeak is, as the Gorb said, yesterday's veg with mash- in my case it was the roast potatoes with the boiled veg (many of my grandmother's generation started boiling the brussel sprouts for Christmas about now- this may just be a rumour put around by my dad, but I have had carrots that appear to be wetter than the water they were boiled in) mashed up, then made into potato cakes and fried (in my case served with sausages and served with chop sauce). (Gorb, you talk like a Brit- are you a deserter?)

Lancashire is (in)famous for tripe (note to colonials- you really do not want to know*).

I'm interested especially in non British food, but anyone who comforts there inner Vimes is welcome to post.

*No really, don't go there.

We know what tripe is. In these parts it's turned into menudo, the true breakfast of champions.

In my childhood fried rice used to be whatever bits of leftovers were in the fridge, both cooked and raw. Everything fried up in a generous pool of oil, then yesterdays rice added with lots of misc sauces thrown in, various soya, ketchup, chilli, left over curry etc. And the ubiquitous egg.

Everything-you-can-find fried rice is not so common nowadays. They all have fancy names and specific recipes.

@Last Hussar – No, not a deserter, but have ancestors from Halvergate, etc. Been to a few places and love good pub food.

Recently I have heard stories of many old time pubs going out of business due to strange and convoluted government regulations. Wouldst be a shame should that happen.

Grits is… well, think boiled porridge except from made from ground corn. There's yellow and white grits. White is hulled corn while yellow is the entire kernel.

It is extremely easy to make nasty tasting grits. Many cooks add nothing but salt and butter. A lot of folks fry it. Not too good.

Best grits I have ever had was in Asheville, NC where they served grits with cheese. Nommm…

Here in Cincinnati they have something called 'goetta'.
Goetta is a combination of pork sausage and oats. We say that it is a typical efficient German food which combines both a product that increases your cholesterol with a product that reduces your cholesterol.

Regards, the Gorb

Now you're talkin', Waco Joe!

Black Pudding. Maybe with an egg.

Smoked Haddock rolled up and boiled in milk with small (skins on) white potatoes.

Macaroni and Cheese with chopped onion – but baked in the oven with the cheese – none of this crappy powder sauce.

Oh, and as above – chicken or country fried steak – my favorite or gravy fries and black coffee at a diner.

Borscht. Being of neither Jewish nor Eastern European heritage, I had to learn to make it myself (no badgering yenta to teach me).

french toast. while trendy now Mum told me is was an old depression recipe on how to get one egg around 6 children.

Another of my favourites from my mum, was left over roast with onions and gravox.

I love liver and onions (never understand why bacon is added). For some reason it became an expensive "gastro pub" food round here.

I miss Wednesday stews – made from the very last scraps of the Sunday roast.

Tongue sandwiches are a nice alternative to ham.

Anyone for chitlins – no me neither.

Chicken broth.

sunday = roast chicken dinner.
monday = left over chicken and bubble and squeak.
tuesday = chicken carcess boiled with noddles and veg for chicken broth.

Thats how my old dear used to do it anyway.

Brains Faggots, with peas and mash. Not sure you can even buy faggots any more? I suppose this may cause some consternation amongst our transatlantic cousins.

As mentioned above, you need to fry bubble & squeak otherwise it is just yesterdays leftovers.

We used to have yesterdays leftovers on Mondays, with mash, beetroot and pickle. Mum didn't like bubble & squeak.

Fish and chips is the obvious cheap filler, these days I suppose it is pasta.

Let's see… chipped beef with gravy over toast. For those of you not in the military at one point, this is very thin salted shavings of beef, mixed with as much gravy as you can get out of it, served over white toasted bread. Talk about stretching a buck.

Corned beef dinner (aka New England Boiled dinner). Tough pickled beef boiled into submission with root vegetables. Leftovers get fried up as corned beef hash.

Chicken wings. Now a fancy gourmet item, used to be removed from the family's Sunday chicken and used for soup, or left for the servants to eat. Best part of the bird, IMO.

Liver and onions, mmmn. Can't even find liver for sale any more, people are so afraid of organ meats, what with the chemicals used in the industry these days. Bacon is added for an extra layer of flavor.

Not sure you can even buy faggots any more?

You can round here

…and black pudding has gone upmarket, don't you watch Masterchef*?. I even had it in a fancy bistro in Paris last month. Call it boudin noir and you can charge 20 euro a punt for it :)

*neither do I, but Mrs Sage does…

Chicken soup

Fried chicken

Corned beef hash

Beef stew

Fried potatoes with pork lard

deonsrappiepie.com

link

Liver can be ordered (in the US) from Whole 'Paycheck' (Foods). Is 'organic' so no crap or chemicals in it. Comes in a thin steak form usually frozen and really good. You could also shoot a deer and take the liver.

My dad was extolling the virtues of dripping on toast yesterday.

Kraft dinner or hamburger helper seems more like North American "working class food" to me than much of what is mentioned here…
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Tim