Chef Greer

Now that it is finally Summer time all of us will be participating in more outdoor activities. For me, that means more cooking outside! Grilling, hot or cold smoking, and, my personal favorite, dutch oven dinners.  The all-time traditional dutch oven dinner in my family has always been a dish called ‘Potjiekos’. Pronounced (Poi-ki-kos) directly translated, ‘pot food’ the cast iron pots were brought to South Africa by the Dutch settlers, for their ability to hold on to a lot of heat for hours and hours. Currently, the modern day dutch oven still looks extremely similar to what the original Dutch settlers brought to South Africa, and in all honesty, the dish itself hasn’t changed much either.

Chicken, Bacon, Beer Stew (Potjiekos) or “Poiki” serves 6-8

4-5 Chicken Breasts (cut into bite size pieces)

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

Cayenne

Allspice

Worcestershire

Steak Seasoning

Thyme

Bacon - 16 oz – Cut into 1″ pieces

Onion – 2 large – Diced

Garlic – 6 – 10 cloves diced

Carrots – 2 lb – I use the little bite size carrots for ease

Russet Potato – 2 lb – Skinned and cut into 3/4″ – 1″ cubes

1/2 or full loaf of cheap squishy bread (rip each slice into fourths, then squish each piece into a ball, this is a fun group activity)

4-6 Beers of your choice (I used Blue Moon because it was what I had)**

**Of course you could use water or chicken broth….but you would be missing the point**

Mix all seasonings with chicken and set aside for 4-48 hours.

Place your dutch oven/soup pot over your fire/stove and begin to fry the bacon pieces. Add the onion when the bacon looks mostly rendered, you don’t want the bacon too crispy. After the onion has become translucent, add the rest of the ingredients including the beer to cover.

Proper mixing will ensure everything is done at the same time and nothing gets burned.

You need to check every 10-20 minutes to make sure the beer hasn’t evaporated quicker than anticipated, especially if you are working over an open fire. Simply add more beer to perpetuate a happy and moist cooking environment.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked and the veggies are fork tender. about 30-60 minutes. ENJOY

There are a few things one comes to appreciate through preparing this dish. Firstly, the simplicity, all ingredients can be prepped the day before the meal as to avoid more work the day of. Secondly, DO NOT LET THE SPICE LIST SCARE YOU. I’ve tasted this dish flavored many different ways. The point is to go a little overboard with seasonings in your pantry and be creative. HOWEVER, if you are in a crunch just use two of your favorite McCormick spice rub packs (tequila chicken and mesquite BBQ work very well together).