Brunswick Stew

It's Second Monday Dinner time...my favorite day of the month. Second Monday Dinner Club is a group of good friends who share a love of delicious food, intoxicating drinks and superlative conversation. For each month we choose a theme...we have tackled Thailand, Spain, Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the Mediterranean, Oktoberfest aka Germany and for a little fun on my birthday a White Trash buffet--including pigs feet and spam. This month we are celebrating the foods of the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry with an oyster roast and all the accompaniments.



I'm making Brunswick stew and a couple pies...pecan and pumpkin. My parents are both from Georgia, my dad from South Georgia, I grew up eating Brunswick stew from all over. I never really liked it all that much as a kid, but I was sure glad that my dad did because it meant we stopped at Sweat's Bar-B-Que whenever we were traveling to Atlanta. I loved Sweat's, it was the most delicious bbq I'd ever had. Plus, it meant getting out of the car, stretching my legs and banana pudding. As I grew up and started making the drive to Atlanta on my own, I still made every effort to get to Sweat's either on my way to the city or on my way home. If it was on my way home I would get a quart of bbq and Brunswick Stew to go. My Dad loved their Brunswick Stew, and I learned to love it. My stew is not exactly the same as Sweat's, but it's pretty darn good. I have always tried to re-create that first taste and have never been able to get quite the same silken texture as the cooks at Sweat's, so I gave up and just created something I enjoyed with hints of the Brunswick Stew of memory.



If you look Brunswick Stew up on Wikipedia it tells the story of a stew native to either Brunswick County Kentucky or Brunswick Georgia. I like to think of it as a Georgia native as that's where I first enjoyed it...I think Kentucky can keep their Burgoo's if we can keep our Brunswick Stew. Traditionally it is made with rabbit or squirrel or pork, I add chicken and smoked ham just because I like it that way.



Carolyn's Brunswick Stew for a Crowd



1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 large chicken breasts, bone in

2-4 lbs pork --I like to use pork butt if possible, for today's stew I used bone in chops after cutting the bone out, added the bone to saute while the onions were cooking.

1 large can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped garlic

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 can creamed corn

6 cups mixture of chicken and beef stock

6 T Smoked Paprika (my friend Angela introduced me to this and I never want to use the other stuff again)

1/2 cup hot sauce--I use Cholula hot sauce, it's got a nice sweet pepper flavor and not too much burn

1 cup bbq sauce..most of the time I use a mustard based sauce, but whatever you might have leftover in your fridge will work as long as it's got some smokeyness to it.

4 T dry mustard

4 T dry parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 1/2 lb frozen corn

1 1/2 lb frozen lima beans--I like to use the petit lima beans

1 stick butter

olive oil



In a large dutch oven melt the butter and add about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. When the butter starts to brown add the chopped onions and saute until translucent. (I added the pork bones at this point to saute and get the flavor from.) Add the paprika, mustard, parsley and garlic. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Sear the meat a few pieces at a time. Add the stock, diced tomatoes, vinegar, hot sauce and bbq sauce. Bring to a boil and then lower temperature to a simmer. Cook until meats are done. This should take around 20-30 minutes. Remove meats and let cool enough to be able to pull/chop them. While the meats are cooling add the corn, lima beans and creamed corn. Bring to a boil and check seasoning...you may need to add salt and pepper at this point or add more hot sauce. You want it to have a balance of tangy/peppery and a little sweetness. Once you have chopped the meats add back to the pot and stir thoroughly. Simmer with meats for around an hour. This soup is best made the day ahead and allowed to rest. At home we served with corn bread or hot biscuits and maybe a side of slaw.



This stew freezes very well and makes a good food gift to just about anyone. I like to keep a few soups in my freezer just in case I have one of those days where all I want is a comfy soup and a chunk of bread.



The pecan pie is from the Silver Palate Cookbook..the original. I added 1 cup of chocolate chips and cheated by using a pre-made pie crust. The pumpkin pie is the one on the cover of Southern Living this month...looks good, don't know what it's going to taste like yet, but I sure am looking forward to it.