Pine Bark Stew

From the 1830s to the present day, outdoor political rallies, fund raisers, civic anniversaries, family reunions, camp meetings, and parties had their own repertoire of dishes and a class of specialist caterers capable of handling on site cooking over open fires and propane rigs. Event cooks tended to go in one of three directions: barbecue, fish fry, or oyster roast. The fish fry was the most complex of these because it was never restricted to fried fillets or planked shad; there was inevitably a stew, either catfish or pine bark, often a chicken bog or perloo, and sometimes mullet or shad roe, plus sides.