Fry Meat and Gravy - Vol. IV, Episode 7

We continue to explore how to prepare rations in the field with this episode. Frying meat is a quick and simple preparation and we bring it up a notch with a simple flavorful gravy to go with it. This recipe comes from a primary source available to the soldiers at the time. It utilizes the fresh beef, flour, and vinegar parts of the ration, along with salt, pepper and pork grease.
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[@bamaguy5000]

This guy needs to be on tv! Like the history channel or something. Man we love the videos. Very professional and knowledgeable. Keep em coming!

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you! Stay tuned. We have something coming. Get on our email list to hear more!

[@mikegallant811]

All those in favor of the civil war digital digest being brought to the History channel, please give your assent, by clicking on the like button.

[@jean-charlesblanc8454]

vinegar was also used to be mixed in drinking water at least 60 years earlier for French soldiers - the sergent was issued with a vinegar bottle to add to the water for his soldiers. Your simple soldier cooking series is excellent

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you!

[@martyshannon7542]

Did not know that. I was Infantry in the 80's.

[@silverjohn6037]

If memory serves the Roman legions did the same.

[@clockmonkey]

Like the idea of an entire company setting up camp, gathering wood and water, pitching shelters then settling down to cook. Looks more fun that charging across a field being hit by canister fire.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

It sure is a site to see and smells to smell! I agree with you! Will

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

What about double canister? A single shot is deadly. Double canister is so deadly it's fun.

[@MikeD56034]

@@GeneralKenobiSIYE Ok General Kenobi...not all of us clones can be a Jedi and just dodge the canister rounds...thats why i issue catchers gloves to my men. -CT-666

[@patrickbarslou6869]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest ]

[@isatq2133]

@@MikeD56034 😂

[@jennifert6982]

Put the flour in the grease first brown it, and then add your liquids. It will thicken up smooth and taste better.

[@markcharbonneau7529]

A rue Englishmen don't understand that.

[@Beaguins]

I like the idea of partnering up so one soldier's dish is used for cooking and the other soldier's dish is used for eating. By the way, mix a little COLD water into the flour first and stir it up to avoid lumps.

[@fuzztsimmers3415]

they wouldnt have cared about lumps back then

[@LlamaPunchXO]

This video is awesome. I really like historic food recipes. I’m gonna try this one

[@Buddygold9509]

Pork fat and beef. Delicious combination. I believe the flour used at that time would have been whole grain, brown in color. Bleached flour came after the war. I like that you show a meal can be cooked on a very small fire. Very authentic.

[@warrenroy7333]

Put your flour in first n then your water n stir it’ll help with the clumping of the flour n then the vinegar at the end for a couple mins

[@jennifert6982]

Been scrolling through the commits all the cooks got the same idea.

[@guynemer53]

What type of vinegar was issued? Malt vinegar? And how was it distributed? Did it arrive in a barrel and each soldier came by with their cup and received their share?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

This was a simple distilled vinegar. Vinegar would come in barrels. A NCO with a detail would likely get the ration allotment for the company. Then issued down to the man. Using whatever vessels were on hand.

[@wizardofahhhs759]

It came in PYA/Monarch packs.

[@Inko_Inko]

You should change the camera angle at the later points of the video to get closer to the fire so that the viewer can better see what is happening in the pan/etc. Eg. At around 4:30 would have been a good time for a close up.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thanks for the suggestion. We were shooting with two cameras already here, and in real time. As we've gained Patrons on Patreon, they have helped us expand and we are now shooting with three, making excellent suggestions like this possible. Much appreciated, both for the suggestions and to those who support us on Patreon!

[@stoneblue1795]

Great stuff here, this is all quite interesting. Sometime explain the shoes your chum has on, looks like they were enhanced with some bits for traction.

[@philbennink5632]

Hobnails to help hold the boot together and provide small amounts of traction, very commonly done before rubber soled boots were widely available

[@gwydionml6479]

If you don’t want lumps you do a deglaze with a small portion of water. Then remove that to another pan. Add lard and once melted, add flour to make a roux. Then re-add the deglaze and more water and vinegar.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

All good suggestions, from a modern skill set. We used the instructions given without applying a bunch of things we know. The soldiers back then probably knew a lot less about cooking due to gender roles at the beginning of the war than many men do now. It was a problem for both armies. Check out our “Casey’s Stew” episode for a discussion on how officers dealt with it. Cheers!!

[@BocageTiger]

Outstanding!

[@SanToyWasAwfullyMean]

Dash it, now I'm hungry.

[@brianfuller5868]

This sounds very interesting. I need to try this

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

One of my favorites! Jeremy

[@touko_nanami]

could you do a video on desiccated vegetables aka desecrated vegetables? Is there a modern day equivalent to experience the taste?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

It is one we are doing a lot of research on and just need the right things to fall into place.

[@eileenkung9278]

Nice video.👍

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thanks!

[@jeffreyrobinson3555]

Very enjoyable, I do civilian living history of a few decades before ya-all but this is simple good cooking. I think cooking HC is a great way to experience history

[@99Racker]

I would suggest you add the flour to the pan and fat first and THEN add the liquid. Let the flour cook in the pan a couple of minutes and you won't have lumps. Just reduce the liquid to the desired amount.

[@johnzajac9849]

So that's where 'Spot' went!

[@johnsettle4789]

I’m just getting to doing more authentic camping and I have one question: you referred to the active duty manual published in 1861. Was there a Confederate version (I do more Confederate than Federal) or were the guidelines similar for both sides?

[@MikeD56034]

little thread-cromancy here, but its highly likely that Southern soldiers used the same book, given the war started in 61, and there was a mad dash to make sure Union troops had this knowledge. its very likely that in the early days of the war and with all the Confederate victories that they captured or looted many of these. of course thats only speculation based on simple thinking and not a fact.

[@mickeyholding7970]

If the company had some onions to issue to the men would have been great with the meat.

[@Strasburg57812]

Where can I locate the civil war handbook for active service??

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Check out the link below to find the sources we have used. civilwardigitaldigest.com/pages/library.php

[@Fedelity]

Wow

[@ScottAvellino1]

Can’t wait to see more videos about cooking on campaign. Maybe some more with just a pan or canteen half. My boiler is not big enough for those soups I watched hahaha!

[@davisjacobs5748]

Fantastic video! I look forward to using this and many others y'all have done at Gettysburg this year! Do you have an episode on how to make hardtack in the works? It can be a bit confusing as it seems everybody and their grandmother has a way of making it. I know it would clear up a lot of confusing for me and many others out there looking to make their own.

[@karljoachimgoll]

very, very nice video - Question: Why didn't they put the flour in the hot fat - get ALL the flour get soaked - than add water e.t.c. .... avoids clumps......😋

[@jhchooo]

Where is the chopped tarragon and demi glace?

[@ryogakunnisan4061]

I'm so hungry

[@grizzlehouse]

Lawd have mercy! I'm glad we didn't have gravy like that in the South. I believe you've got the directions mixed up. The flour should have been mixed in with the grease and browned before adding the water. Refreshing and gravy don't belong in the same sentence.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

We don’t. There are better ways to do this now. We followed the recipe provided. Welcome to some historic recipes... A soldier who had rarely cooked before the war had different experiences than we do now. Cheers! Will

[@unclejohnsoutdoors]

Everyone complaining about "oh there's no roux, brown the flour first": After a day of trying not to get hit in the chest with musket balls or grapeshot, marching miles upon miles, and fighting off the freezing cold with nothing but shitty wool clothing. . .I expect the soldiers would have said "FUCK making a roux, get the beef on the fire Thomas, I'm starving." 😎

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Or, the soldiers had no concept what the word “roux” was or what it meant...

[@unclejohnsoutdoors]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest that as well. 😎

[@CalumMacNeil-qb6wp]

Very interesting and informative. But what saddens me is that meal could be their last before the gore of war. What was the life expectancy of a union soldier or confederate soldier during the civil war?

[@middleway1885]

Sad indeed... as the history is only told in snippets. Imagine being scared, seeing your brothers/sisters fighting for something they didn't want nor need to... they tell us it's for certain ideals... but what if it was made for making money...

[@Wasparcher1]

fry the flour and make a roux, adds more flavor, and your gravy won't taste like lumpy paste.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

A great tip that I have done at home. Reading a soldier publication with little/no direction I went with what I believed a soldier with no cooking experience and in the field would do. Just add flour like the book said! Thanks for sharing the tip with everyone. Jeremy

[@jimharris4013]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest Mix your flour with cold water, it will mix right in with no lumps. Them add the coldwater & flour to the skillet and it will thicken into gravy. You can't mix flour and hot water, it doesn't work. Flour and hot fat will mix (roux).

[@craigshaw7659]

There was no such thing as a roux back then

[@craigshaw7659]

They didn't have butter to waste on that either

[@jimharris4013]

@@craigshaw7659 You are wrong. Look it up. Even the south was smart enough to make gravy. And as a bonus, I said fat and flour, nothing about butter.

[@ClancyWoodard-yw6tg]

My mom makes something like this with an onion gravy

[@sangkang6294]

What? No possom soup or ground hog stew?

[@coltonregal1797]

As armies flew around that tend to strip the land bare. For soldiers wild game would have been a delicacy.

[@tomhenry897]

That’s csa

[@tomgreen8390]

Well arnt we just the Martha Stewart of the Civil War

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Lol

[@grizzlehouse]

I imagine the vinegar was to protect against scurvy. Definitely not for flavor.

[@Cinemagoer_64]

How about vegetarian?

[@AiluridaeAureus]

You know, something tells me starving soldiers in 1860's either being forced by their nation to die for an idiot cause, or fighting for the rights of all Americans not to be owned as chattel property didn't quite care about the ethical mental gymnastics of vegetarian/veganism, bud. If you're out in the mud, getting shot at, after seeing you closest friends and compatriots die brutally, the meat in your rations are the least of your concerns.

[@bobbylee2853]

They would eat earthworms before they resort to grass.

[@emintey]

From what I can gather soldiers in the field in the Civil War weren't getting nice little steaks like that.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Often but not always. Every time you butcher a cow, you get ribeyes and filets - and you also get gristle. We used brisket there because it was available.

[@emintey]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest Thanks for your reply, I very much appreciate what you do. I suspect that the better cuts of meat would have gone to the officers. I recall reading in a book by one of the famous civil war historians (I don't recall which one now) that when Hooker took command of the army that among many reforms, he improved the rations reaching the soldiers. Apparently the government invested large sums in such things as fresh vegetables but that they seldom actually reached the troops due to graft, but Hooker being a little crooked himself understood that how rations could get "lost" and made sure that the soldiers were eating better.

[@gilmangus83]

pardner has it easy. he might be passive aggressive.

[@deadman3750]

This sounds unseasoned

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

You're supposed to add the liquid INTO the flour, not the flour into the liquid! So uncivilized.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

This is following a Civil War era recipe. We’ve learned a lot cooking wise since then 😄 - Will

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest I wonder which fine red wine would compliment fried beef and hardtack gravy? lol Alderaanian Red wine vintages are now particularly rare!

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest Honestly, cooking out on a wood fire in a camp looks like so much fun. I hope to be able to do something like this some day, but at 35 years old with a hip replacement makes that difficult at best.

[@MikeD56034]

@@GeneralKenobiSIYE fighting a war and killing droids, beating a former padawaan and killing your oldest enemy tends to do that to you.

[@charlie1571]

I can't believe this. This title bit of scrapes is a meal?! Maybe the choices were slim but This is a little bit unbelievable.