Lancashire hotpot

In the 17th century, the word "hotpot" referred to a hot drink—a mixture of ale and spirits, or sweetened spiced ale. An early use of the term to mean a meat stew was in The Liverpool Telegraph in 1836: "hashes, and fricassees, and second-hand Irish hot-pots" and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) cites the dish as being served in Liverpool in 1842. The OED gives the etymology as "hot adj. + pot n.", and cites the analogous French term pot-au-feu. A Book of Cookrye (1591) gives a recipe for hodgepodge, using "neck of mutton or a fat rump of beef", cooked and served in a broth thickened with bread. The term "hotchpotch" for a stew continued into the 19th century: Mrs Beeton (1861) gives a recipe under that name for a beef and onion stew in beer. Hotpot became associated with Lancashire. In the OCF the food historian Roy Shipperbottom writes: ==Preparation==

The recipe usually calls for a mix of mutton (nowadays more frequently lamb) and onions covered with sliced potato, and slowly baked in a pot containing stock or sometimes water. Some early recipes add lamb kidneys or oysters to the dish. Regardless of the baking dish, the lid should fit tightly. Lancashire hotpot is traditionally served with pickled red cabbage. ==Notes==