Maconochie Stew, British Army, WW1

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 Meat & Vegetable Ration (M and V Ration), aka Maconochie Stew, British Army, 1900-1918 

22 ounces of  M&V Ration (reproduction)

 

 From the late 1800s until World War 2, the British Army contracted several commercial canneries to produce the “Meat and Vegetable Ration”. Most famous of these was the Maconochie company, whose name became universally applied to the M and V Ration. As with many military rations throughout history, in World War 1 Maconochie was overused and often eaten cold, which led to its being awarded a perhaps undeserved reputation as a culinary perversion.

 

The directions on the can stated that “Contents may be eaten hot or cold”, and that the unopened can should be heated in boiling water for 30 minutes. Under most frontline circumstances, this method of heating would prove to be a ludicrous recommendation. The average Tommy of the First World War would undoubtedly have not-so-politely begged to differ about the “eaten cold” statement. When hot, Maconochie was described in letters and reports as being anywhere from barely palatable to good. When eaten cold, the fat tended to accumulate in a lump on top of barely recognizable chunks of meat and vegetables, leading one reporter to describe Maconochie as “an inferior grade of garbage”. In all fairness to Maconochie, most any dish intended to be eaten hot but served cold with congealed fat and gravy would be distinctly unappetizing.

 

The recipe is based on the ingredients and scaling from M and V Rations, and on historical descriptions of Maconochie’s stew.

 

As an interesting side-note, Maconochie was widely applied as a slang term within the British Army of WW1. The Military Medal and the Military Cross became known as the Maconochie Medal and the Maconochie Cross, respectively., “Maconochie” was slang for stomach. A telephone receiver, due to the resemblance of the can to the devices in use at the time, also became a Maconochie.

 

 

A Maconochie advertisement from World War 1.

A British Tommy, French Poilu, Russian Cossack, 

and Italian Bersagliere are gathered together

 in an idyllic scene of Entente solidarity over

 steaming cans of Maconochie's stew.

 

 

This recipe yields the equivalent of one 22 ounce can of Maconochie stew.

  

US                           Metric                     Ingredients

12 oz                       340 g                   beef (or one can of corned beef*)

5 oz                         140 g                       waxy potatoes**

1 oz                         30 g                         carrots

1 oz                         30 g                         onions

1 oz                         30 g                         beans, cooked (white beans such as navy

                                                                       or great northern)

2 oz                         60 ml                       beef stock or water

1 tbsp                  15 ml                       flour

1 tbsp                      15 ml                       fat (lard or rendered beef fat)

to taste                        to taste                         salt

 

Procedure

1.       If using fresh beef, cut into ½” to 1” pieces.  

2.       Cut potatoes and carrots into ½’ thick slices.

3.       Cut onions into ½” pieces.

4.       Steam or boil in a little water the beef, potatoes, carrots and onions until tender.

5.       Heat the fat in a pan.

6.       Add cooked potatoes, carrots, onions, beans and beef over medium heat.

7.       Make a batter of the beef stock or water with flour.

8.       Add batter to the stew.

9.       Cook until thickened.

10.   Salt to taste

11.   For a real treat, serve with hard Army biscuits.

 

* If using canned beef, cook the vegetables, add the batter and cook until thickened. Add the canned beef and heat thoroughly.

 

** Waxy (low starch) potatoes, such as red potatoes or “boiling potatoes” should be used. High

starch potatoes such as Russet or Idaho potatoes will fall apart during boiling or steaming.

 

Note: A more authentic version may be reproduced with a pressure cooker, if one is available. For a pressure cooker version, add fresh beef and vegetables together with a little water and cook until the beef is tender. Add the batter and proceed as with the above version.

 

Reproduction Can of Maconochie Army Ration

Variations:

Turnip Maconochie

Some versions of canned Maconochie contained turnips. To reproduce this delicacy, substitute 5 ounces of turnips for the potatoes and cook as for the potatoes. Be forewarned that the combination of beans and turnips was reputed to produce rather hefty amounts of intensely “aromatic” flatulence.

 

There were several “field expedient” Maconochie variations described by soldiers and correspondents:

 

Trench Maconochie All-In*:

This was normally prepared in a dugout or reserve trench.

To one recipe of Maconochie stew, add cooked potatoes, canned corned beef or fresh beef.

(diced and boiled with the potatoes) and water.

Boil beef and potatoes in water.

Add Maconochie when beef and potatoes are tender.

Cook until warmed thoroughly. Add additional salt if needed.

 

Curried Maconochie

One recipe of Maconochie stew

Curry powder to taste

Stir curry powder into cooked and heated Maconochie.

 

Maconochie and Pea Flour

One recipe of Maconochie stew

One or two tablespoons of green pea flour.

Stir pea flour into cooked and heated Maconochie.

 

* All-In: British Army slang for a stew made by taking whatever victuals that were at hand and dumping them into a community pot.

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