Soups and stews are an all time favorite. They represent a maximum degree of efficiency in cooking, variety, cost effectiveness and creativity, which makes them just plain smart cooking. A generous bonus is found in the magnificent flavor. They may be rustic or fancy, simple or complicated; although I must question the soundness of making them complicated. A simple rustic soup or stew is a beautiful thing. And it’s smart cooking. Changing it up and making it complicated takes away the smart cooking aspect and turns it into…..well….I shan’t utter another word.
Smart cooking means that you use things that are available before they spoil. It also means that you can stretch out the meal to feed a whole bunch of hungry folks without breaking your food budget. Heaven knows, food budgets get stretched to the hilt these days. Smart cooking also means that you may be as creative as your little heart desires. Soups and stews get tasted all during the cooking process in order to make necessary adjustments. If an added ingredient results in an undesirable flavor, you can fix it by throwing in different flavors for balance as opposed to a roast where you have to wait until the dadgum thing finishes cooking to figure out how it’s going to taste. Not so with soups and stew. You can taste and adjust as many times as it takes to achieve the desired outcome. That’s right smart.
The nostalgic component of soups and stews appeals to my heart and soul and helps me feel a strong connection to my ancestors. They would throw together soups and stews from scraps of this and that and anything they could rake up. Adding lots of liquid would enable to them to feed many. My people never worried about breaking their food budget. They were much too poor to even have a budget. If they had food, they ate. If they didn’t have food, they went hungry. You can bet your bottom dollar that nary a drop of food went to waste. That would be an unforgivable sin in their eyes. To this day, long since they all have moved on to heaven, it makes my heart sad and tears well in my eyes to think of the hard, hungry times that my loved ones experienced. As such, I feel it’s my calling to pass on their stories and the lessons learned by living in such harsh conditions. I thank God everyday for the blessing of being a link in the lineage of such admirable and good people. I’m undeserving and I’ll never forget that.
Y’all come see us!
Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew
I used a jelly canner (extremely big pot) that measured 13 inches across and 9 inches high. When the stew was all done, I had the pot filled about 3/4 full. I don’t know how many gallons it made, but it was a bunch. You can feed lots of folks and still have some leftover to freeze. This stew freezes exceptionally well. That’s smart, too!
An intense tomato base is necessary for an authentic flavor. In addition to diced tomatoes, ketchup or tomato paste is essential. I prefer ketchup for the touch of sweetness it adds. If you have an aversion to ketchup or wish to eliminate sugar, substitute tomato paste, not tomato sauce.
Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew
1 whole 4 to 5 pound chicken
1 (4 to 5 pound) bone-in Boston butt pork roast, cut in large pieces
5 onions, divided
1 bay leaf
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 pounds whole kernel corn (I prefer Silver Queen)
2 pounds tiny green limas, shelled (we call these butterbeans)
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes and the juice (or use an equivalent amount fresh tomatoes)
2 pounds okra, sliced
32 ounces ketchup
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Place chicken and Boston butt in an extremely large pot along with one whole peeled onion, a bay leave and one tablespoon kosher salt. Cover with water and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until both chicken and pork are shreddable. Remove chicken and pork and let cool. When they’ve cooled enough to handle, remove bones, skin and excess fat. Shred. Strain cooking broth and return to large pot. Add chicken and pork back to the extremely large pot.
chicken and pork, shredded
Chop the remaining 4 onions and add to the extremely large pot. I want the meat and onions to cook all alone to give the onion flavor a chance to permeate the meat before the other ingredients were added.
lots and lots of chopped onions <sniff, sniff>
Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Permeate, onions, permeate!
chicken, pork and onions settling in the extremely large pot to simmer for a while
After 30 minutes, add peeled and chopped potatoes. Don’t make the chopped size any smaller than an inch or the potatoes will cook to mush.
peeled and chopped Yukon gold potatoes
And…..here’s the rest of the gang ready for the extremely large pot. I use fresh corn, okra and butter beans if available. If not, I will substitute good quality frozen. Fresh or canned tomatoes may be used.
butter beans (green limas), corn, okra, tomatoes and ketchup
Add Tobasco sauce and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve hot.
Enjoy with soda crackers. You may know them as saltines.
You may also enjoy this post which contains the culinary history of Brunswick Stew as well as a recipe for another version:
Old Fashioned Brunswick Stew
Ingredients
- 1 whole 4 to 5 pound chicken
- 1 4 to 5 pound bone-in Boston butt pork roast cut in large pieces
- 5 onions divided
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 pounds whole kernel corn I prefer Silver Queen
- 2 pounds tiny green limas shelled (we call these butterbeans)
- 2 28 ounce cans diced tomatoes and the juice (or use an equivalent amount fresh tomatoes)
- 2 pounds okra sliced
- 32 ounces ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken and Boston butt in an extremely large pot along with one whole peeled onion, a bay leave and one tablespoon kosher salt. Cover with water and simmer 3 to 4 hours or until both chicken and pork are shreddable. Remove chicken and pork and let cool. When they've cooled enough to handle, remove bones, skin and excess fat. Shred. Strain cooking broth and return to large pot. Add chicken and pork back to the extremely large pot.
- Chop the remaining 4 onions and add to the extremely large pot. I want the meat and onions to cook all alone to give the onion flavor a chance to permeate the meat before the other ingredients were added.
- Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Permeate, onions, permeate!
- butter beans (green limas), corn, okra, tomatoes and ketchup
- Add Tobasco sauce and bring to a boil. Cook for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Serve hot.
Kurt says
“Hallelujah” !!!
Jackie you just brought back a rush of warm, yummy memories ! I cant tell you how MUCH a bowl of Brunswick stew and some garlic bread can make the worst day great…
I used to work with this amazing lady and every now and then (often ) we would just HAVE to run up the road and get a TUB O’ STEW, from a local restaurant, and eat it all, yes ALL.
Thank you for reminding me I need to make this…
God Bless you and Keep ’em coming 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Kurt,
I thought this would strike a nerve with you! I hope you give this recipe a try. Please let me know what you think about it. 🙂
Michele says
Dea, dear Jackie, I totally agree with Kurt! Hallelujah! And yes, this wonderful recipe certainly does bring back precious memories from days long gone, of dear relatives long gone… How I wish I had a big crowd to feed so I could treat them to this wonderful stew! Many thanks, (((hugs))) and lotsa love 🙂
Jackie Garvin says
Michele,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments! Take good care of yourself. 🙂
Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef says
When I was a kid my mother would make this and of course she called it Brunswick stew. Most of my life I thought it came from Maine because there’s a Brunswick not too far from where I grew up. I must have been 30 before I realized it was Brunswick, Georgia. 🙂
Your stew looks smashing!
Jackie Garvin says
Maureen,
I discuss the history of Brunswick Stew in this post: https://syrupandbiscuits.com/the-stew/
The origins are hotly contested. Several locations want to lay claim to this iconic stew. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Maureen. I always enjoy reading your thoughtful comments.
Danny Taylor says
Thanks Jackie…this is a very good recipe and it does bring back some lip smacking memories of many bowls of this delightful dish!!! Don’t think I can find fresh butterbean’s in AZ but the frozen ones will work!! Keep the good things coming!!
Jackie Garvin says
Danny,
I don’t have an aversion, at all, to using good quality frozen vegetables. If you have to rely on grocery stores versus produce stands for vegetables, the frozen ones are probably the best bet. They were frozen at the peak of freshness. It’s no telling how old the “fresh” produce is and it’s highly doubtful that it ripened on the vine. 🙂
Leanne says
Love Love Love Brunswick stew!! My GA husband does too……I have a really good one, but I’m trying yours this weekend!!
Jackie Garvin says
Leanne,
I eat soups and stews all year round. Brunswick Stew is one of my favorites. Don’t be intimidated by the large quantity because it freezes very well. I just thawed a bag last week from a I batch I made at Christmas. It was still utterly delectable. 🙂
Jean says
That looks just yummy! Have you missed me? Spent a very interesting week in ICU and the hospital. Home now and starting on the mend….and I know you were wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth. Still holding on!!
Jackie Garvin says
Jean,
I was getting ready to email you! I’m doing that right now.
Kim Bee says
This looks fantastic. It brings back memories of my dad. Thanks for that, made me smile today.
Jackie Garvin says
Kim,
Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate your sweet comments. 🙂
Cathy King says
I’m from Kentucky and and we call the green ones lima beans and the larger brown ones butterbeans. I can’t wait to try this version…..as I’m a soupaholic!! Love your blog!!
Jackie Garvin says
Thank you so much, Cathy! I hope you enjoy the stew. Please let me know how it turns out. Post a photo on our FB page. 🙂
drae says
I was with you until you added ketchup. The Okra would be a tossup. I use pork neckbones in place of the boston butt.
Diana says
Wow! I made this for a club meeting tonight and everyone liked it. I have never boiled a Boston Butt before, and it only took about 2½ hours. The chicken took about 3, but only because I put it in frozen. I added a good amount of salt and pepper but left the hot sauce out. A few people added it at the table. Thank you for a great recipe. I’ll definitely make it again.
Jackie Garvin says
Thanks, Diana!
Melissa B. says
Hey Diana. I’m from Georgia and I use a smoked Boston butt instead of boiling it. It makes a big difference around my dinner table. I also do not put okra and potatoes in mine. I enjoy passing down all the Brunswick Stew versions with my grown children. God Bless!
Allison C says
Jackie, I had a great recipe from a co-worker of mine years ago which I lost and have been looking for another one to replace it and have decided that next time I am going to try yours. It looks great! I had kept forgetting to put okra in mine and am so glad that you reminded me. lol Can’t wait to give this a try.
Jackie Garvin says
I hope you enjoy it, Allison!
Dana McK says
Yes! Finally someone makes it like my Granny did. I have looked through all her old recipes and have yet to find it. Truth be told she probably never even wrote it out. She was always just add some of this and some of that but never did I see her use bbq sauce like every recipe I found today. Traditional Brunswick stew does not have bbq sauce it. So thank you for this recipe. I went with my gut on the ingredients and was 99% accurate. Thank you again.
Jackie Garvin says
You’re most welcome.
Shelley Corrigan says
Hi Jackie, I pulled this recipe out of The House and Home Magazine a few years ago because it looked like the kind of recipe my grandmother and great aunt would have used to make Brunswick Stew. I’ve made it three times now, following the instructions to a T! And it buckles my knees every time!! It is my favorite stew recipe and I just wanted to thank you!! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. For anyone thinking of making it, you won’t be disappointed, it’s worth all the effort and it freezes well!