Booyah Soup Recipe
Booyah (or booya) is a fall stew tradition of the Upper Midwest, cooked outdoors in a giant kettle to feed the masses. This recipe is downsized for the stovetop, a rich and flavorful soup you’ll crave every booyah season!
Booyah is a Fall Stew Tradition of the Upper Midwest
Have you ever eaten a steaming bowl full of Booyah? Have you ever been to a Booyah? That’s right. This fun-to-say word is both a soup and an event, mostly making their appearances in northern Wisconsin, parts of Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. People sometimes refer to it as Green Bay Booyah.
I had no clue about this booyah tradition until a just few years ago when friends of ours invited us to theirs. The invitation read “You’re invited to the Booyah!”, and it talked about eating booyah.
We didn’t know what we were in for. But how could we not be curious?
Of course, we had to accept.
You’re gonna love this rich and flavorful Booyah soup recipe I’m sharing with you today, scaled down in quantity from traditional mega-batch recipes made in giant kettles to feed the masses. Yes, this one can be enjoyed wherever you live, from your very own kitchen.
But…if you’re ever invited to a Booyah, please promise me you’ll go!
Here’s another favorite recipe, perfect for fall: This ultra tender, flavorful Beer Can Chicken just can’t be beat!
The Tradition of a Booyah Kettle
Booyah is a rich and flavorful soup, absolutely delicious, made in huge batches in “booyah kettles”. The photo above shows the booyah kettle and booyah stick owned by our friends, Jason and Dianna. They were the ones who introduced us to this tradition of the Upper Midwest.
It was Dianna’s idea to open up their home and backyard to this Booyah tradition 6 years ago. When her dad heard about it, he jumped in with an offer to help. Growing up in South St. Paul, attending these events at various churches and local festivals was a regular part of life for Dianna’s family.
Their Booyah is now an annual fall event for their family and friends. The actual date is dictated by the availability of Dianna’s brother’s cover band the Lid Twisters, who provide live entertainment all evening long. Each year they tweak the recipe just a bit and lengthen the invite list, currently at over 100 guests.
Jason and Dianna set up a tent in their backyard with seating and long tables to hold all the side dishes and desserts brought by guests. Friends and neighbors catch up on all the latest while kids run and play. It’s a beautiful fall scene.
How our Friends Make Their Recipe
When I asked Dianna to share a little bit about how they prepare this stew, she referred to a spreadsheet that her dad has created, listing ingredients and timing. Isn’t that awesome?
Here is how our friends make their booyah recipe in a giant booyah kettle:
- The day before: pre-cook all on-the-bone meats (to include short ribs, chicken, and oxtails – plus soup bones for extra flavor). Save liquid for broth the next day. Remove all bones and discard.
- The day of, at 4:00 am: light the fire outside under the 20-gallon booyah kettle and add the broth, dried beans, onions, parsley, cubed pork and beef, pork brisket, crushed fresh garlic, and plenty of flavorful dried herbs and spices.
- 6:00 am: add the meats that were cooked and de-boned the day before.
- Noon: add the rutabagas.
- 2:00 pm: add the cabbage, carrots, celery, green peppers, and potatoes.
- 3:00 pm: add the canned peas, corn, green beans, and whole tomatoes.
- 5:00 pm: soup’s on! Or should I say booyah’s on?!
Hosting One of These Gatherings Takes Commitment!
Hosting a booyah is no small ordeal. It takes a great deal of time and energy to pull off the event, not to mention massive quantities of ingredients.
I have to retell the story that Dianna told me, about the one year when she got up at 4:00 am, lit the fire, and added the broth and other ingredients to the pot. She went back to bed, in need of a bit more sleep.
Then she completely missed the 6:00 addition of meats. And what was in the pot ended up burning. Dianna called her dad in a panic, and they decided to proceed as normal, hoping the burned ingredients would just give the stew some extra flavor.
It all turned out alright.
But the following year, and every year since, Dianna says that her dad shows up at their house by 3:30 am, just to make sure everything goes according to the spreadsheet. ;)
A Smaller Green Bay Booyah Recipe
The recipe is from the new Cook’s Country Eats Local cookbook. If you know about Cook’s Country from America’s Test Kitchen, then you know that this recipe has been tried, and tried again, until it reached ultimate perfection.
The majority of us will never buy a 20-gallon booyah kettle and spend a couple days preparing this kind of feast for our family and friends.
That’s where this downsized Green Bay Booyah recipe comes in ultra handy.
But please know that even though this soup was scaled down from a full-fledged booyah recipe, it still requires hands-on time and simmering time. It’s essential for full flavor and tender meats.
And I promise you, it’s absolutely worth it!
The broth is heavenly, super flavorful with a gorgeous silken quality from the gelatin of the beef bones. And there are chunks of tender meats and vegetables in every single spoonful. The stew is rich and hearty.
If you’re looking for a new fall tradition, maxed out in homemade warmth and comfort, this booyah recipe has my vote.
Like this fall stew recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
And a couple more stews to keep you cozy this fall and winter, recipes from my friends: Lemon Chicken Stew from FoodieCrush and Sancocho (Peurto Rican Beef Stew) from The Noshery.
Booyah
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. bone-in English-style short ribs, trimmed, meat and bones separated (I used bone-in beef chuck short ribs)
- 2.5 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs trimmed
- salt
- pepper
- 1 T. vegetable oil
- 2 yellow onions chopped fine
- 2 ribs celery minced
- 8 c. low sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 c. shredded green cabbage
- 1 28- oz. can diced tomatoes
- 8 oz. rutabaga peeled and cut into ½” pieces
- 1 lb. russet potatoes peeled and cut into ½” pieces
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced ¼” thick
- 1 c. frozen peas
- 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Pat beef and chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and black pepper.
- Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown beef on all sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard it.
- Pour off all but 1-1/2 teaspoons fat from pot. Add onions and celery and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth and bay leaves, scraping up any browned bits. Add beef, beef bones, and chicken, and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until chicken registers 175° F, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Cover chicken and refrigerate.
- Continue to simmer stew until beef is tender, about 1-1/4 hours longer. Transfer beef to plate. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding fat. Remove beef bones and bay leaves; discard.
- Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer; discard solids. Allow liquid to settle, about 5 minutes, then skim off fat and return liquid to pot.
- Add shredded beef, cabbage, tomatoes, rutabaga, 1-1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to liquid and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until rutabaga is translucent around edges, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in potatoes and carrots and cook until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Add chicken and peas, and simmer until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Cook’s Country gave me a copy of Cook’s Country Eats Local for my review. I was not compensated additionally to write this post. Originally published in September 2015. Some photographs updated September 2018.
I grew up in Green Bay and never in my life have we used anything canned in Booyah. If you are going to talk tradition then the recipe should be accurate.
I keep on hearing about this soup but have no idea what it is. They said that it is delicious and really a comfort food. Thanks to your blog now I know how it looks likes and thanks also for the recipe, I’ll try this one this on our dinner on Friday night.
When I was growing up in Minnesota, my grandparents’ church did Booya. It is one of the finest memories I have, the ingredients sound the same but the men of the church cooked it and they would grind up all the meat and veggies and it would taste amazing. It was something that because it was ground even the littlest eater could enjoy.
I lived in St Cloud I know Sauke Rapids.
I grew up in Sauk Rapids Minn. We would take our own kettles to the Lutheran Church on Sunday morning and fill them up. It has a flavor you never forget. We could hardly wait for the next years booyah. My wife was from St. Paul and never had heard about it. I try to explain it to her but it’s hard to do. Thanks for this information.
LJT
I LOVE to hear your own story – thank you for sharing! (Maybe you should make a pot of this small-batch Booyah for your wife?!)
I. grew up in St.Paul,Mn. Every Oct. there was a Booya fest at the local playground, for many years it was the highlight of the fall season. Huge pots over open fires.
I love this! :)
Hey, Judith! Was that playground NW Como by chance?
I love Booyha
Thank you for the recipe.. Your right that there are many different versions of Booyah but all in all they look the same, just taste a bit different. We make Booyah for big family gatherings here in Green Bay WI. Churches have it at their picnics too. Its tradition.
Mine is a bit different in that I use whole chickens and let them stew for 5-6 hours till the meat falls off the bone. Then early in the morning the first things that get added are the cabbage and rutabaga and onion to make a great broth. the rest is basically the same except for a few ingredients. I use Lawrys seasoning salt and Tomato juice and a few cans of whole tomatoes when the cabbage go in. Its so good. Thanks so much for sharing!!
So great to hear how you enjoy Booyah. I hope you’re having a great fall!
Thank you for blogging about booya! It’s a staple in our house every fall…went to my first one of the season today! I’ve always wanted to try and make it at home but never knew where to even start. I also grew up in SSP, so I bet you are referencing the Stanefski’s when you talk about Dianna & her brother Mike! Small world to read about them here
So fun that you know the family I was writing about! Thanks for commenting, Cathy.
I think the most important ingredient is beer. Not to be put in the Booyah itself though.
I’ve made this several times and it’s great
Thank you so much – so glad to hear this!
I’ve made this several times and it’s great.
I, too, grew up in South St. Paul. My Grandpa was a Shriner and each fall the Shriner’s made giant kettles of booyah as their yearly fundraiser. I remember my Grandpa explaining that Booyah began much like the story “Stone Soup” where the ingredients were contributed, one by one, depending on what was on hand by those who wanted to enjoy a bowl in the end – with no single ingredient any more or less important than the others. A community effort with a purpose, where the sum of its parts so outweighed its individual ingredients. My Grandpa was adamant that chicken, pork and beef be included in some way in “his” Booyah, and rutabaga, potato, carrots, beans, and corn were a must. If a hunter had venison or pheasant or rabbit to spare, in the pot it went. In fact, one year, I recall the meat of a snapping turtle made it into the pot! Of course, onion, celery and garlic were a given, and the more cooking time, the better – in part, because it gave the Booyah time to come together, but, more importantly, because it gave the community time to unite and mingle. After eating a bowl on a picnic bench at the event, families lined up again with their clean gallon-sized ice cream buckets to purchase some Booyah for another day. Thank you for this recipe and bringing me back in time.
I live in Minnesota and haven’t had this in a long time. Looking forward to going to a Booyah tomorrow at the Lexington Fire Department.
Hi! I’ve attended that booya many times. What a great festival along with the VFW.
My Family is from West St Paul.
I grew up eating booya and going to Hiland Park for the Booyas there. Many parts of my Family and friends of the family had and Have Booyas to this day. I my self have taken up the paddle and cook Booya. The first weekend in October it’s the On the Road World Champion Booya Cook Off. My Family team has taken 3rd place 4 times.Teams are from all over St Paul, South St Paul, West St Paul.on average 80 Gallon of booya is made….. I will do 4 different Booyas this year. I’d you have never tried it…. you don’t know what you are missing.
I make booya every year. This recipe is missing the secret ingredient. The spice packet those who make booya always use. It’s something that is handed down. The men’s church groups will never ever let that secret out.
Thank you for the Booyah recipe… it is not unlike our Central IL “burgoo”, which is a major fund-raiser for a number of small communities in our area. Actually, Brunswick Stew also seems to possess striking similarities.
Born and bred Yooper here. Never, ever heard of Booyah. In other words, it doesn’t exist in the UP. I have, however, heard of kalamojakka.
I grew up in St. Paul and moved away at 13. My family all reminisces soundly and frequently of the Fall Booyah rings in Como park. Great recipe but missing corn and green beans for my liking. Also try it old school with venison & chicken.
I LOVE the idea of venison! Thanks, Steve. It’s been fun hearing about everyone’s experiences with booyah!
Is this Steve, from Lawrence ?
I have lived in Minnesota my entire life and know a lot of Cheeseheads – never heard of this before. Weird, but it looks amazing.
I may not tell my husband it is a Green Bay thing though.
What a GREAT recipe. It is not one that is gonna be a quickie, but the taste will definitely be superb. I love soup, live on it in the winter, so i MUST give it a try.
My husband and I live in Wisconsin and have been to many places in our 50+ years where Booyah was served, but never tried it until last weekend. My husband is a VERY (can’t stress that enough) picky eater and abhors what he calls “mixed food”. Well, we both loved it, and it didn’t hurt that it was prepared by an award winning Booyah-cooking team. Hubby even went over and told one of the cooks how much he loved it and the cook shook his hand heartily. Thanks so much for the recipe! Now I can make this at home for him. Hooray for menu changes!
Thank you so much for sharing this, Denise! Happy Booyah making to you! :)
I have never heard of Booyah, but it sounds good. I will be making this!