A dish of Brunswick stew always hits the spot
Living in the South when the weather has a touch of Autumn in it, you can’t help but think of good old Brunswick stew. It always hits the spot.
Of course you can buy Brunswick stew by the gallon container, but the real fun comes when you make your own. Some people cook the stew outdoors in cast iron pots. Some recipes are handed down from generation to generation and guarded as prized family secrets.
For those of us who have busy work schedules and little time to spend watching stew cook, I use a slow cooker.
I adapted my Brunswick stew recipe from a 100-year-old recipe given to my mother by the pastor’s wife of her church a number of years ago. I left a few ingredients out and added several new ones.
I started by skinning and cooking 7 leg quarters in a slow cooker. Be sure to save the broth for stock. You can freeze the broth in ice trays and use the cubes when needed. Each cube holds about 1 and a half tablespoons of broth.
Brunswick stew is delicious as temperatures cool
When the chicken was done and deboned, it made approximately 5 cups. I placed that in another slow cooker and added the following ingredients: 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) cream style corn; 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) tomato, okra, corn mixture; 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) cut okra (this I drained); 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) petite diced tomatoes; 1 1/2 cups of ketchup; 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce; 1 tablespoon of sugar; 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar; 1 teaspoon of Lawry’s Garlic Salt; and 3 (3 1/2 ounces) jars of cocktail onions. You could use 1/2 cup of chopped onions instead, but I had the cocktail onions and wanted to see how they would do. They turned out great, but look like peeled white grapes in the stew.
Once all the ingredients were in the slow cooker, I gave them a good stir and added 2 cups of the chicken broth I had saved. Once everything was combined well, I set the slow cooker on low and let it cook for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, the stew was ready to eat. However, I continued to let it cook on low for several more hours just to allow all the ingredients to blend together well. Besides, everyone knows the longer you cook Brunswick stew – the better it gets.
Thanks for stopping by today. Do you have a favorite Brunswick stew recipe or a traditional way of preparing it? If you give this a try, be sure to drop back by and let me know how it turns out or tag it with #thesurprisedgourmet. I’d love to know how it went.
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Serves: 8 servings
- 5 Cups of cooked chicken
- 1 Can (14½ ounces) cream style corn
- 1 Can (14½ ounces) tomato, okra, corn mixture
- 1 Can (14½ ounces) cut okra (drained)
- 1 Can (14½ ounces) petite diced tomatoes
- 1½ Cups of ketchup
- ¼ Cup of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of sugar
- 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon of Lawry's Garlic Salt
- 3 (3½ ounces) Jars of cocktail onions (or ¼ cup of chopped onions)
- 2 Cups Chicken stock
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir well and cook on low for 2 hours. It can be cooked longer, if desired.
