Brunswick Stew

As a Southern Son of many generations, let me offer a word: butter. It’s the first ingredient in real-deal Brunswick Stew and a big miss flavor-wise if you do this with olive oil. The two claimed “original recipes” in Virginia and Georgia with start with a pound of the good stuff. I get it. Your heart! Well, you’re missing out on an amazing dish and experience if you never make it with butter and only use Olive Oil.

Cooking hint: Blanch the tomatoes and peel them. I know the recipe doesn't call for them to be peeled, but with the long term cooking of this recipe, there's nothing delightful about separated tomato skins floating in all that delicious stew. Make a tiny X at the bottom end; dip into boiling water for 10 seconds, and the skin will slide right off.

Why would anyone use bland fresh plum tomatoes - except in summer when they’re at the height of flavor and inexpensive? Of course, use canned tomatoes in other seasons. The large 28oz can is the equivalent of 2 1/2 to 3 pound of fresh tomatoes. Minus the work, and much cheaper.

wha? spend the time blanching and x'ing tomatoes having a glass of wine instead, or just meditating on the beauty of an imperfect world. umpteen Virginians and others have managed to enjoy this without the exactitude. stews like this are meant to be made with relaxed joy. and i command you to obey.

I grew up an hour from “Brunswick”. In SE Georgia, it is more commonly made with shredded BBQ pork- the leftovers from smoked butts. Use butter or bacon grease- please. Use a good home made ham stock instead of chicken. Frozen baby lima beans. We always used Vidalia onions (sweet, not yellow), and no sugar needs to be added). I’ve made it with canned fore roasted tomatoes . Nobody I know uses cayenne, just lots of black pepper.

My grandfather made it and I agree that sautéed onions in butter is the best start. Canned tomatoes are fine, frozen corn and limas make it easy. This recipe is just like grandpa’s otherwise except we never made it unless we had barbecued a pork shoulder a day or two before so we could use the leftover chunks of pork as an addition to the chicken and often the chicken was also left over from a chicken dinner. It’s a tasty way to get rid of leftovers at the end of the week.

Old Girl Scout trick: To protect your cook pot when cooking over an open fire, rub the outside of the pot all over with dish soap, makes cleaning off the soot a snap!

The Brunswick Stew of my youth in NC has barbecue sauce in it. Just a dab of a good quality, not very sweet barbecue sauce, enhances this stew. I usually use Lillie Mae’s Carolina Gold. And then I leave out the sugar. I’ve also used shelled edamame instead of butter beans and liked the results.

The recipe I have used for 30+ years, from a well-known Virginia cookbook, uses canned whole tomatoes.

As an Atlanta native living in the Southwest I miss Brunswick stew. I added a few ingredients that made it taste like the Georgia recipe that I remember. Because the plum tomatoes lacked the acid from those Georgia tomatoes grown in red clay - I added apple cider vinegar to taste which ended up being about 1/4 cup as well as more sweetener in the form of honey. Finally, I thought it needed smoke since shredded smoked meats were the choice in those days. Two teaspoons smoked paprika worked great

Recipe is very similar to mine, but I have a couple child-friendly changes, made for my son, that also were very popular with guests. Instead of crushed or diced fresh tomatoes, I use a high-quality plum tomato puree, and instead of lima beans (which my guests often pick out), I use butter beans, the fully-ripened large version of limas which have a nicer flavor. Brunswick Stew is such a wonderful food!

Always wish recipes included weights — how big is a “large” onion, anyway? I bought two large onions and diced them, and they filled half of the pan. Is that how much it’s supposed to be? Or were my two onions “huge” rather than merely “large”?

when we lived in VA we were accustomed to seeing this cooked outside, in a huge pot over an open fire, or on a grill. you can imagine how this sweet smell of smoke added to the meal, especially on a cool fall day. .

I make Brunswick Stew 10-15 times a year. A few notes: 1) forget the whole Brunswick GA claim. Definitely Brunswick County VA. 2) Okra. 3) I smoke pork on a regular basis, and I always use leftover smoked pork, not chicken. A whole different level. 4) +1 on the butter. 5) some apple cider vinegar as well. 6) I find that a large can of crushed tomatoes works quite well. Brunswick Stew is one of the great pleasures in life.

Can’t wait to make this but wondering if I can sub canned tomatoes (or roasted then frozen plum tomatoes) for the plum tomatoes which are not that flavorful this time of year?