The meat in the dish was normally cut into medium-sized pieces and boiled with the vegetables in water. The stock was thickened with either oatmeal or flour. It was then served, without the meat or vegetables, as a first course. The vegetables and slices of the meat would then be served as a second course. Cawl served as a single course is today the most popular way to serve the dish. Cawl is similar to "lobsgows", cawl's north Wales equivalent. "Lobsgows" differs in that the meat and vegetables are cut into smaller pieces. The stock is not thickened.