Brunswick Stew

Poststructural Pub
1

Now, many of you do not live in the Southeastern United States so you not only are unaware of how to make a proper Brunswick Stew, but you are also unaware of the need to prepare one. So, let me help you with the former and then the latter will follow naturally.

Brunswick Stew, Proper

2 quarts water
1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken, cut up
Smoked turkey necks and/or ham hock
1 (15-ounce) can baby lima beans, undrained
1 (8-ounce) can baby lima beans, undrained
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (16-ounce) package frozen baby lima beans
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans cream-style corn
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce

Bring 2 quarts water, smoked turkey necks and/or ham hock, and chicken to a boil in a Dutch oven; reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken, and set aside. Remove turkey neck/ham hock and discard. Reserve 3 cups broth in Dutch oven. (Reserve remaining broth for other uses.)

Pour canned lima beans and liquid into a wire-mesh strainer so that the liquid goes into the Dutch oven, reserving beans.

Add tomato to Dutch oven.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook, stirring often, 40 minutes or until liquid is reduced by one-third.

Skin, bone, and shred chicken.

Mash reserved beans with a potato masher.

Add chicken, mashed and frozen beans, potato, and onion to Dutch oven. Cook over low heat, stirring often, 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Stir in corn and remaining ingredients; cook over low heat, stirring often, 1 hour.


Yield: 3 1/2 quarts

2

Brunswick Stew is a Virginia dish and the Virginia recipe is as follows:

1 whole Chicken, or rabbit or three to four squirrels.
1 yellow onion
2 ribs Celery
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
16 oz. frozen corn
10 oz. frozen small butter-beans
16 oz. canned diced tomatoes
16 oz. sliced frozen okra
2 potatoes, cubed, not squared
ketchup
2-3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 Tabasco
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

put meat in dutch oven and cover with water. Add onion, celery, salt and pepper, cook until meat comes off bones. Removed meat from dutch oven and cool. Add corn, butterbeans, tomatoes, okra, potatoes, ketchup and vinegar to Dutch oven broth and cook for several hours. After meat has cooled remove bones and place meat back in dutch oven with rest of ingredients. I use Pickapeppa sauce in mine and skip most of the butter. But let me assure you this recipe is the Authentic Brunswick Stew recipe. I was in Brunswick Co. once so I know.

3

Rather than get all territorial, I will instead bow to the Buddha nature in this Virginia recipe and will try it one day soon. A Google search yields an uncanny variety of Brunswick stews, including some abominations, such as those containing ground beef.

4

I have never had Brunswick stew. How interesting that the recipes vary so, especially when it comes to okra and lima beans. I don’t think I have ever heard of butter beans; is that another name for Lima beans?

5

Seems that they are the same bean. Okra as a thickener, nice, almost everyone I know hates the stuff.

6

I have at least fifteen “authentic Brunswick stew recipes.” I have no idea if any of them are even remotely correct. I do think it’s origins are based on a “hunter’s stew” meaning most likely with small game animals but I suppose some folks could mistake a cow for a squirrel or rabbit.

Raymond Sokolov wrote an interesting take on Brunwick Stew in his book Fading Feast that claims the vegetables, excepting the onions, in Brunswick stew are later additions. The original was game, water, butter, onions, stale bread, and seasoning. The owner of the slave who developed it also added sherry in later years. Tabasco sauce is another slave originated recipe that is still used today. The McIlhenny’s have another story of origin of course.

7

Okra must have been another addition from African culinary decent.

8

It just so happens that I had a bowl last night at a newly opened restaurant here in my neck of the woods: http://raleigh.citysearch.com/review/6179179?reviewId=50300981

I was very impressed by everything at this place except the Brunswick stew, which was good, but not outstanding. My wife was able to diagnose the issue: they had added tomato ketchup to the mix. Now why, when you’re winning in every other way, would you go and do something like that? :confused:

9

Do you know what vintage they were using? Maybe it was from a bad year? :tomato:

10

Heinz '57 is the only year for me.

11

Only those who have not had it appropriately fried.

12

Okra is very mucilaginous if improperly prepared. I have never had that problem when preparing it myself. We have several friends from Nu’awlins who apparently never learned. Many in the hibiscus family, including cotton, can get quite gooey. My mother had a particularly unpleasant experience with okra on a trip, I use the memory to keep her in line, worse than fingernails down a blackboard for her.

13

My husband fixed me brunswick stew in the crockpot for one of our earliest dates. Not bad, as I recall. He also had a decent go at cashew chicken. He never again cooked after that, as far as I can recall.

14

No. Butter beans are shaped like Lima beans and they come in different sizes. All sizes are good. They taste like a Northern bean that has been saturated in butter. They are also the same color as Northern beans.

15

Well, I’m going to keep my eye out for it (the stew).

In the meantime, I wish to make a recommendation. Since the first time I ever tasted Tabasco Sauce by McIlhenny, I have thought it was too vinegary and not chili-y enough. It has always been disatisfying.

I have tried every chili sauce equivalent I could find and wish to humbly offer that for me, the very best is Cholula (from Mexico). Thanks to the miracle of modern distribution, it can now be found at Costco. I prefer it over all others. And, if you go to specialty stores, they have branched out into other formulas, including a Chili Lime sauce that is excellent as well.

16

I had some okra properly fried down in Georgetown SC a year ago. It was the appetizer…I made it the whole meal and would almost kill for some right now. Delicious!

17

It is one of my great sadnesses about life in Minnesota: that the beauty of fried okra is generally unappreciated. Our sucky weather pales distantly in comparison.

18

Yeah, but it goes great in a tater tot hotdish. I’d suggest cream of celery soup.