Does anyone remember the oatcake man who had a shop at the bottom of Barkerhouse Rd., Nelson and who hawked oat cakes round Kelbrook, Earby and Barlick, mainly in the pubs and clubs for that wonderful drinking man's delicacy "STEW and HARD"????
My father-in-law kept the Stone Trough Pub for over 21 years and the racks in the kitchen were festooned with soft oatcakes drying to make the "hard" for the stew and hard.
The "Stew" was a concoction of meats, pigs feet or a cow's foot and a touch of gelatine, peppers and salt, that were boiled for ever and ladled into basins to "set".
Commercial Travellers would congregate daily at dinnertime for a Gill of ale and a stew and hard and walk out smacking their lips.
My mouth waters at the thought of an oatcake with thick slices of stew and raw onion and a pint of Tetley's bitter beer. Food of the Gods!!!
Unfortunately we cannot get oatcakes in New Zealand, but from time to time I make the "Stew" and eat it with an oat biscuit similar to "hard", the missus thinks I've got summat wrong with me, just shakes her head and says "Who the hell eats that kind of tucker....???"
Aye Hatepe
Posted - 14/05/2011 : 06:49
I tried to contact Tony Holroyd via the website contact panel but it failed. I tried another way and he got back to me this morning. I've alerted him to this topic.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk
Stew and Hard
