Brunswick Stew


 

K Kruger

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
This is adapted from a recipe from a bar on St. Simon's Island, Ga.



Brunswick Stew

For the barbecue sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 ½ cups ketchup
½ cup prepared yellow mustard
½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbls coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
6 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls Tabasco
juice of ½ large lemon
½ cup dark brown sugar

In a large pot over med-low heat melt the butter. Add the garlic and cook till soft but not brown, about 3 min. Add the remaining ingredients, except the brown sugar, stirring to blend well. Increase the heat to med-high and add the brown sugar, stirring well. When combined and just simmering, reduce the heat to med-low, and cook, stirring frequently, 10 min. Remove from heat; reserve. Makes 5 ½ cups, more than you’ll need for the stew.

For the stew:

3 sticks unsalted butter
5 medium onions, peeled and diced
2 Tbls dried thyme
10 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cans (14oz) low-sodium chicken stock
3 pkg frozen baby peas, thawed and drained
3 pkg baby lima beans, thawed and drained
3 pkg frozen corn, thawed and drained (see note)
1 smoked chicken, boned, skin removed, the meat diced
2 lbs smoked pork butt, diced
6 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup reserved barbecue sauce
Salt and pepper

In a large 20-quart pot over med-high heat melt the butter. When the foam subsides add the onion and cook till starting to brown, stirring occasionally, about 20-30 min. Add the thyme, cook 3 min more, then add the stock and potatoes. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and cook till the potatoes are barely tender, about 10 min. Add the frozen peas, limas, and corn. Increase the heat to high, return to a simmer, and cook till the limas are just tender, 3-5 min. Add the chicken and pork, return to a simmer, stirring. Add the tomatoes with their juices and reserved sauce. Simmer, uncovered, till as thick as you’d like. Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasoning with reserved barbecue sauce and/or Tabasco. Makes about 3 gallons.


Note: To add flavor to frozen corn thaw it and drain it well, blotting excess moisture with a paper towel. Sauté the corn in unsalted butter, in batches, till lightly browned in spots.
 
Here's a little article I wrote for a website on Brunswick stew.

Brunswick Stew....by Jim Morgan



Geez, does anyone in the barbecue world agree on anything?

Again, the number of recipes for Brunswick Stew are as numerous as the number of cooks you ask. Like barbecue, the origin is also debated. Brunswick, Ga, claims to be the birthplace, Brunswick County in Virginia does as well. And then there's the Brunswick Islands of North Carolina. Whereever it started, it started with folks making it in big black kettles, using whatever they had, and was often divided up between families who contributed what they had. It is similar to a Kentucky Burgoo, which often includes veal or lamb.

I grew up on it in North Carolina, where it was almost always served as a side dish to barbecue. It is served just about everywhere in the south, and that of course leads to debates on what it is and who does it best. I've got recipes from Alabama, Georgia, both Carolinas and even one from up way up north.

Some of the old-timers will say it's not Brunswick stew unless it has squirrel or rabbit in it. I don't cook with those meats, although I've tried both. It's easy to understand how they got added in though. Brunswick stew originated from poor southerners, who subsisted on whatever they had.

The meats used in the recipes I've seen include beef (chuck),chicken, pork (ham, butt or loin), rabbit, squirrel, and even goat.

Vegetables I've seen included are tomatos, corn, onions, bell peppers, potatos, and lima beans. However, due to the fact that it was often made with whatever was on hand, it is not uncommon to find green beans, pea, carrots, okra or other vegetables in a Brunswick stew.


Like barbecue hash, I make my Brunswick stew with
meat that I have already smoked. You can use any cooked pork, beef or chicken, but I really find the smoke flavor, especially in the chicken, takes the stew to a whole different level.

Here's a link to Virginia's claim to the birthplace of Brunswick Stew, with the earliest known recipe.

Brunswick Stew


1 pound chopped or shredded pork butt
1 pound chopped or shredded chicken
1 pound beef chuck roast, shredded
1 large onion, chopped
28 oz crushed or diced tomatos, with juice
8 oz (1 small can) of tomato paste
10 oz lima beans, frozen or canned
15 oz of cream style corn
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 oz hot sauce (Texas Pete is traditional in my house)
1 oz Worcestershire sauce
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbls black pepper
2 tbls salt
1/2 tbls Dried red pepper flakes


Note that I use meat that is already cooked. If you are using raw meats, you can throw them in a big pot of dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the meat is falling apart. Remove bones and other undesirables. After the meat is cooled, shred or chop it up.

Add all ingrediants into a pot and just cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a couple of hours. Everything should start to blend together. Stir frequently, as this will keep the meat from sticking to the bottom, and will help break up the ingrediants.

Check seasonings and add to taste. Brunswick stew freezes well, but let the stew cool before popping in the fridge or freezer. It can sour.
 
I posted this under another thread a few days back. Seems apropriate to add it here also.

This is a typical southern Virginia Brunswick Stew recipe. Most every church or organization have thier own variation. In this area, between October and March you can find several stew sales every weekend as it's a great fund raiser.

This is burnswick stew recipe that I’ve used many times for a local church fund raiser, it’s been a few years thought since I cooked it. We started cooking around 4 AM and stew would be ready around 11:30 AM. Times are not exact, went by how things looked in the pot before I moved on to next step. It was very popular and we always sold out. Recipe cooks 100 gallons (400 quarts) in a cast iron stew pot. Originally cooked it over wood and then moved to gas for convenience, couldn’t tell much difference in taste. Some members would cook chickens and leave them at the church. Started using caned chickens when I caught one that had spoiled (before it went in the pot). I do recommend fresh cooked chicken over the canned if you can control the chicken.

10 Gallons Water
70-80 lbs. Beef – Sirloin Tip - cubed into 1 inch pieces
40-50 lbs. Pork – Boston Butt – cubed into 1 inch pieces
Try to trim most of the fat off, through in a couple of bones for extra flavor, they can be removed later.

Let beef and pork simmer for 2 hours.

50 lbs of – peeled and cut with a commercial French fry cutter
200lbs of potatoes – peeled and cut with a commercial French fry cutter

Let simmer for 2 hours

3 cases of #10 butter beans Save liquid and add during cook to thin out stew.
1 case of #10 Black Eyed Peas

Let simmer 1 hour

2 ½ cases #10 crushed tomatoes
2 lbs margarine
15 oz bottle Worcestershire sauce
16 oz bottle of Texas Pete

13 oz box of salt
8 oz pepper
2 ½ lbs sugar
I would always mix the Salt, Pepper and Sugar a couple days before, I’m not sure if it really made any difference in the final outcome.

Let simmer 1 hour

14 cooked hens – de-boned, de-skinned and chopped
or 2 cases caned shredded chicken

Let simmer 1 hour

1 case or #10 whole corn
½ case #10 Cream Corn
1 to 3 cans #10 tomato puree – depending on how it looks and how thick it is

If you think you need to add water to thin do it now, you don’t want to add it after you start to package it.

Let simmer 1 hours and you should be ready to eat.
 
Originally posted by Keri C on January 18, 2005
-------------

Brunswick Stew for a Large Crowd

Recipe By :Linda Garland Page and Eliot Wigginton, Editors
Serving Size : 99 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Soups & Stews

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
10 lbs ground beef
10 lbs chicken
5 lbs pork
4 1/2 gals tomatoes
4 gals fresh, canned, or frozen corn
5 lbs onions -- finely chopped
-- and boiled or sauteed
1/2 gal ketchup
1 lb butter
1 1/2 c worcestershire sauce
5 ozs tabasco sauce -- or to taste
1 lb cheese -- optional
salt and pepper -- to taste

Precook chicken, pork, and beef by boiling each until tender. Grind or cut chicken, beef, and pork into small pieces. Mix with remaining ingredients in a large pot and cook until good and done. Be careful with Tabasco sauce, using only the amount to suit taste. If canning this mixture place jars in a water bath and process them for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Yield: 32-1/2 quarts

Formatted by: Michael Whitehead; shared by him for Jamie's 2002 Summer Swap

Cuisine: "Appalachian Cooking"
Source: "The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery"
Copyright: "1984"
Yield: 32.5 quarts
 
Originally posted by Jim Morgan on January 18, 2005
--------------------

This recipe for Brunswick stew makes 7 quarts. You can do the math for what you need.

7 lbs. chicken
4 28 oz cans of whole tomatos
3 15 oz cans baby limas
6 cups frozenbaby limas
6 medium potatos
2 large yellow onions
4 15 oz cans cream corn
2 cups sugar
3 tblspns salt
1 tblspn black pepper
1 stick butter
1 1/2 oz Texas Pete
1 squirrel (this can be omitted...but many Carolinians say it ain't Brunswick Stew without squirrel.)

Place chicken pieces in large pot, barely cover with water, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and let it go till tender (around 40 mins.) Remove chicken, reserve stock.

In another pot, add the tomatoes and crush.
Add 6 cups of chicken stock to tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 40 mins.
Stir frequently, it should reduce to about a third.

Shred the cooked chicken meat. Peel and dice the potatoes and onions. Open and mash the baby limas in the cans. Add the limas, onions, potatoes, chicken and frozen limas. Simmer, stirring frequently for 3 and a half hours.

Add the rest of the ingrediants and cook for another hour. Because of the sugar you should stir almost constantly to prevent sticking.

Makes 30 servings.
 

 

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