Brunswick Stew

There’s a (mostly) friendly disagreement as to which Brunswick has proper claim to this stew. Is it the county in southern Virginia? Or is it the town in coastal Georgia? And how is it different from Kentucky’s Burgoo? Whichever, the original premise of it was to feed a lot of people with inexpensive—or free—meat. The dish has evolved to generally star chicken or pork, but if you have a good source for rabbit, squirrel, or ’possum, please use it—if only for complete authenticity. The hot sauce quantity is often adjusted up for wilder, more gamey meat.

Ingredients

2 ears corn kernels cut from cob, preferably white, cobs reserved (may sub 1 cup frozen corn and omit cobs)

Directions

In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat and brown the chicken pieces, working in batches if necessary, and transfer the browned pieces to a plate. Return all the chicken to the pot and add the onion, cobs, celery, salt, and pepper. Cover all the ingredients with water, bring to a boil, and cook at a low boil until the chicken is easily pulled from the bone, about 45 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to cool. Remove the corn cobs and discard. To the pot, add the corn kernels, lima beans, potatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, and honey. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for 60 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the bones and shred. Return the meat to the stew and stir in with the hot sauce and marjoram. The stew should be thick and full of meat and vegetables. Lore suggests Brunswick, Georgia, prefers it thicker than Brunswick, Virginia, does. If you prefer to thin yours, add chicken stock until it’s where you like it.

Related Recipes

Get the BigOven app!

Find any recipe, add your own, make grocery lists easily from recipes. Enter any 3 ingredients and BigOven will tell you what you can make. It's free! (4.5/5 stars)