ban·nock [pronounced ban-uhk]

Noun – Scottish and British Cookery
A flat cake made of oatmeal, barley meal, etc., usually baked on a griddle.

Growing up, I loved when my Mom would cook Stew–and to have it with Bannock was the ultimate home cooked meal.
Here’s my tried and true recipe for stew, and my wonderful Step-Mom Margaret’s recipe for Bannock. There are many variations out there depending on culture…..I grew up eating my Mom & Grandma’s, so Margaret’s Bannock is just what I like-Albertan Bannock ;-).

Margaret is from Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. I’ve never been there but have seen photos and I think the scenery looks beautiful and serene.

A blurb from the RMWB website:

Fort Chipewyan:

Nestled on the northwest shore of Lake Athabasca, Fort Chipewyan is one of the most northern communities in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Isolated by nature, Fort Chipewyan can only be accessed by plane or boat in the summer and by a winter road in the winter.

Established as a trading post in 1788 by the Northwest Trading Company, Fort Chipewyan is the oldest settlement in all of Alberta. More than 230 years later, trapping and fishing are still activities enjoyed by residents of Fort Chipewyan.

With 1,261 residents, Fort Chipewyan is the second largest community in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Many of the residents of Fort Chipewyan are Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Métis .

Crockpot BEEF STEW

2 lbs stew meat –(add sea salt/pepper then coat in flour)
2 large onions-finely chopped
8 large mushrooms-sliced
2 cloves garlic-chopped
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf
3 cubes beef bouillon cubes –(I like McCormick’s brand)
1 can (398ml) no salt tomatoes
1 can O’Doul’s Amber Beer
4 large carrots chopped into large pieces
5 Celery stalks chopped into large pieces
Baby potatoes –(I threw in about 16)
a small amount of vegetable oil to sauté vegetables & to cook beef

1. Sauté onion-add to crockpot.

2. Sauté mushroom-add to crockpot.

3. Sauté garlic-add to crockpot

4. Add can tomato, thyme, and rosemary to crockpot

5. Brown meat in batches….adding to crock pot each time

6. Once done meat, pour a small amount of beer into pan and scrape bottom to remove browned flavourful bits. Add bouillon cubes and dissolve into beer. Add to crock pot. Add more beer to pan and continue scraping bottom until all the flavourful bits are off. Add remaining beer to crock pot.

7. Cook minimum 4 hours on high

8. Add carrots, celery, potatoes-add water if needed.

9. Make bannock–because by the time that’s done….so is your stew!

Cook until bannock is ready, or you can easily pierce a potato with a fork

Margaret’s BANNOCK

6 cups flour
1/2 tsp sugar—(1 used 1 tsp)

1/2 tsp sea salt –(I used 1 tsp)
8 tsp baking powder
¼ cup lard
3 cups milk —(I used 2%)

1. Preheat oven 425F
2. Add first 4 ingredients

3. Cut in lard with a fork until totally blended

4. Gradually add milk

5. Knead for a minute or two

6. Lightly spray 2 large cast iron skillets (I only have 1 medium & 1 small)
7. Add dough in 2 even batches, push out to cover pan surface, and poke with holes

8. Cook 25 minutes or until golden

My Sister remembers our Grandma cooking it the same way as this recipe calls for-in a cast iron skillet. She had a wood burning stove, I have an electric oven 😉

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NOTE: I only have medium and small skillets so these ended up being fluffier than they should have been. But they still looked and tasted good and had a nice texture. I also added more salt & sugar as that’s how my taste buds roll. Play with it a bit and make it to suit yours 😉
If you have any questions on the recipes, feel free to ask.