I heard the name, Brunswick Stew, many times in the past without ever knowing anything about it ... origin or taste or composition or how to make it. Then I saw a recipe in a magazine that looked rather tasty. I figured that at least now I know how it should look and what ingredients are used. Beyond that, the name Brunswick made me think of New Brunswick, so I associated the food with Canada. Okay, I was wrong. The Brunswick of the stew world refers to the city of Brunswick, GA.
Some readers of the magazine article commented about recipe variations they tried and loved, so I got the benefit of that input as well for my pending attempt to make this dish. Per usual I checked out a half dozen or so additional recipes for Brunswick Stew on the Internet ... and I got a most unpleasant surprise. No two recipes are alike in ingredients, let alone cooking directions.
It looked like Brunswick Stew is typically a way to use miscellaneous meat/fowl leftovers in combination ... and quite frankly I wasn't very impressed with most of what I read, for a number of the recipes will produce a dish that is lacking in carbohydrates to balance with the protein. Others appear, in contrast to the more robust recipes, to be sadly deficient in general ingredients and seasonings.
I upgraded the original magazine recipe with some additional ingredients that should be present in most any stew ... like garlic. I also eliminated ketchup as a seasoning in favor of obviously better choices, like barbecue sauces. Also, given the very limited amount of carbohydrates in the magazine recipe and other recipes I recommend serving crusty rolls or bread for balance in the meal.
The recipe that I tried initially is shown below, though I confess I cheated by using raw ground beef, which turned out fine. My recipe is one that already incorporates enhancements suggested by readers who experimented successfully with the magazine recipe, and it contains yet other ingredients based on what I found on the Internet or from my own experience that made sense to me.
I hope you make this stew as it is hearty and quite tasty ... just the thing for cool to cold days of Fall and Winter. I think the barbecue sauces and the bourbon combine to make it deliciously unique in taste. The stew pairs well with crusty rolls or bread, with butter, and a bottle of a good red wine, like Merlot or Pinot Noir or even Shiraz. I actually made some homemade garlic bread and that was fine also.
I tried my recipe and made very minor modifications and serendipitously wound up with a winner. Oh, like many stews, this one will taste best the day after it is made, for the flavors will have time to blend to perfection.
Note that shredded meats/fowl can be created from small roasts or leftover pieces of meat/fowl. You will need to simmer raw meat (chicken breast is fine after one hour) for three hours in a quart or more of chicken broth, or chicken broth mixed with water.
Simply use forks after simmering to shred the meat/fowl, for it will be falling apart tender after the long period of simmering. If it is not totally tender you can use a sharp knife to cut it and your fingers to shred the meat. As necessary, remove and discard any fat or bone or other waste products during shredding of the meats/fowl. Remember to use very low heat and cover the pot with a lid during simmering to minimize evaporation.
Note also that broth left over from simmering can/should be used in place of the chicken broth listed in the recipe below. Simply skim and discard any material from the surface of the simmering broth, and if necessary, defat it.
Ingredients: (4 to 6 Servings)
3/4 to 1 lb. of cooked shredded (or ground) beef
3/4 to 1 lb. of cooked shredded pork
3/4 to 1 lb. of cooked shredded chicken breast
1 qt. of chicken broth (or broth from simmering the meat/fowl for shredding, defatted if necessary)
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, cleaned and chopped
1, 1/4 lb. stick of butter
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 large cloves of garlic, diced
1, 15 oz. can of cream style corn
1, 28 oz. can of whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice, chopped
1 cup of frozen baby lima beans or petite peas
2 Tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of the commercial brand of sweet hickory flavored barbecue sauce that you like best
1/4 cup of Kansas City Classic barbecue sauce (see the BBQ sauce note in the directions)
1/2 tsp. of black pepper
2 tsp. of sea salt
1/2 cup of sour mash bourbon, like Jack Daniels®
2 Tbsp. of cornstarch mixed in 1/2 cup of water for thickening the stew
Hot sauce like Sriracha served on the side with the meal
Directions:
Pre-warm individual wide serving bowls for your guests in a 200 degrees F warming oven.
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet or a Dutch oven on medium high heat, and add the celery, green bell pepper and sweet onion, then stir to mix the ingredients well. Sauté on medium heat, covered with a lid, for the first five minutes, and then uncovered with stirring until the onions are translucent, about five additional minutes.
Add the diced garlic and sauté, stirring, for two additional minutes.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, both barbecue sauces, the pepper and the salt and mix well.
Note about the barbecue sauces: You want a blend of the sweet with the more pungent. Thus, you use whatever common commercial brand you like for the sweet hickory sauce, and you make/use the Kansas City Classic barbecue sauce (recipe in Food Nirvana) or locate some commercial brand of pungent sauce that is not sweet. If necessary you can try to buy a small amount of a pungent sauce from a local BBQ restaurant. They typically offer multiple types of sauces for barbecued meats.
Add the corn, the chopped plum tomatoes and juice, and the baby lima beans or petite peas and mix well.
Add the shredded meats/fowl, the chicken broth (or meat simmering broth) and the bourbon and mix well.
Bring the mixture to a boil on high heat while stirring.
Cover the skillet or Dutch oven and simmer on a very low temperature for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and let the stew simmer for an additional 30 to 60 minutes to evaporate excess liquid to help the stew thicken. Stir the stew every five minutes to keep ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the skillet or Dutch oven.
If the stew has the consistency you like the cooking is done. Otherwise, to have a thicker stew, mix/stir two tablespoons of corn starch into a half cup of water and add that gradually to the stew while stirring. Make sure the corn starch mixture is thoroughly mixed into the stew, then let the stew simmer for an additional five minutes while stirring.
Serve the stew hot with crusty rolls or bread with butter. Better yet, wait until the next day to serve it and the flavors will be even better due to natural blending overnight.
Remember to serve some hot sauce on the side, like Sriracha, for those guests who want to kick up the seasoning a notch or two. Your guests may also want to adjust the seasoning by adding salt or pepper.
Did you remember the wine? Get some wine, or, you can also serve this stew with beer as the beverage.
Enjoy!