Downeast (American) Chop Suey

Amateur home chef here :) This is more like a cooking diary than a collection of recipes. I try to keep notes about what works and what doesn’t. Yes, I like shortcuts. I enjoy cooking but usually don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.

New England American Chop Suey, with its mid-century history, is meant to be a fast, easy, dollar-stretching meal; at its cheapest and most basic, it's just macaroni, onions and any appropriate vegetables left in the crisper, ground beef (not likely to be lean!), and whatever canned tomato item is on sale that week. Some people even used condensed tomato soup, tomato juice, or V8. There are variations up and down the coast. This one has midcoast Maine origins.

ACS is often rather bland, and not Italian in flavor. The stuff I grew up with didn’t even have garlic. This version is practically luxurious. The garlic and parsley can be omitted, but I’d be really reluctant to take out the Worcestershire. It’s the secret ingredient. Adjust the amount in relation to the other ingredients you use. You don’t want a terribly obvious Worcestershire taste— it’s there to boost the rest of the flavors.
Serve with an iceberg-based salad and slices of buttered white bread for the whole experience.

Servings: Plenty

1 16 oz box elbow macaroni (or whatever shape you want, I like to use Creamette large elbows)

5 to 6 Tbsp butter

2 medium onions, chopped

1 or 2 bell peppers, chopped (optional, but highly recommended)

1 or 2 stalks of celery, chopped small (optional)

Salt

Pepper

2 garlic cloves, finely minced (or ½ tsp garlic powder) (optional)

1 to 2 lbs lean ground beef (2 is best, if you’ve got it)

1.5 tsp dried parsley (optional)

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 14½ oz cans stewed tomatoes, undrained OR 28 oz diced tomatoes, undrained

1 8oz can tomato sauce (optional, depends on how saucy you want it, or how much veg and meat you’re adding)

Prep your vegetables and set aside.

Bring a very large pot of water to a boil, and salt the water. Cook macaroni to desired tenderness. Drain well and mix about 1 Tbsp of butter in to keep it from sticking. Set aside, covered.

While the macaroni cooks, melt 3 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, bell peppers, and celery to skillet. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and cook until about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook a minute more.

Add ground beef to vegetables in skillet. Cook until browned, about 5 minutes, occasionally draining grease.

Add parsley to meat mixture and combine well. Add Worcestershire, and all cans of tomatoes (and sauce, if you want), and stir to combine. Break up stewed tomatoes a bit with your spoon. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Bubble for about 10 minutes.

Carefully add contents of skillet to the pot of cooked macaroni. Blend well. Warm through on low temp, for about 5 minutes.

Serve with salt and pepper at the table. Some people like to add a little hot sauce.

American Chop Suey isn't supposed to have cheese of any kind. None. Some people will insist on adding grated Parmesan. Those people are doing it wrong. ;) I guess if you absolutely HAD to have shredded cheese in it, mild cheddar would work okay. But really, if you want pasta with cheese...just make something else.

Most of the ACS I had back in the day didn’t have a lot of tomato product in it. It’s not supposed to be saucy or overwhelmed by tomatoes.

This is not a dish in which the perfect al dente pasta texture is a goal. The pasta will probably end up well-cooked and that’s how it’s supposed to be.

I tried adding the extra can of tomato sauce, and it turned out too saucy for me...YMMV.

If you only have diced tomatoes instead of stewed, you should really add some fresh celery and bell pepper, and extra garlic for just a little bit of vegetable zing. Or don’t. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Servings: Plenty

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