Cowboy Stew Recipe
Y’all will love this hearty cowboy stew that’s easily put together in a slow cooker; it’s perfect for kidding season when you’re extra busy checking on does and taking care of new babies — just set it and forget it! It can also be made in one pot over the campfire or on a stovetop. Either way, this one will have your family wrangled up for dinner.
This recipe is also great for potlucks or large gatherings. You can use your own preserved ingredients, bought from the store or a farmers market, or picked fresh from your garden. As with all my recipes, it’s easily adjusted to your family’s lifestyle and the ingredients you prefer.
You can also substitute with ground beef if you don’t have goat meat. Naturally, goat milk cheese is the go-to for topping this one, but cheese made with cow milk will work just fine, too. I sure hope y’all love it as much as I do.
Cowboy Stew recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 pound kielbasa sausage, sliced into ½-inch bites
- 1 pound ground goat meat, browned
- 1 pound ground turkey, browned
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 quart diced tomatoes
- 2 pints baked beans, with liquid
- 2 pints sweet corn
- 1 can (7ounce) diced green chiles
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed into 1/2-inch bites
- 1 cup beer (light or golden ale)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Feta cheese
- Sour cream
Let’s make stew!
For the Slow Cooker
- Prepare all diced and chopped ingredients.
- Brown your ground meat, and cook your diced bacon.
- Dump all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours on low.
Stovetop or Campfire
- In a large cast-iron Dutch oven, cook your bacon. Remove the bacon, but leave the grease.
- Brown ground turkey and ground goat meat in bacon grease.
- Add in onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often to prevent meat or onions from burning.
- Add all remaining ingredients to your Dutch oven and stir.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour.
For topping: crumbled goat cheese (feta is the best for this one) and sour cream. Serves well with cornbread or beer bread.
Serve hot, and enjoy!
HANNAH MCCLURE is an old soul mother of 4 from Ohio. In her spare time she enjoys sewing, gardening, raising chickens and seasonal hogs, and baking and cooking from scratch. With a love of good food, she loves to use quality locally or home grown ingredients in her recipes including goats milk and cheeses. Find Hannah on instagram @MuddyOakHennHouse.
Originally published in the March/April 2025 digital issue of Goat Journal
