Brunswick Stew

[Monkey Uncle]

I decided to clean out the freezer and make my first attempt at authentic southeastern Brunswick stew. I loosely followed a recipe called "James Villas's Brunswick Stew" from the book Holy Smoke by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed.

In true Brunswick stew tradition, I used a variety of wild and domestic meats that I had on hand: one rabbit, two squirrels, and a hunk of smoked pork spare rib tips. The meat took a hot bath for an hour or so, then it came out to be picked while the onions and potatoes cooked in the broth for an hour. Then the crushed tomatoes had their hour, and then the limas and the picked meat did their one hour turn. The corn finished things off for about 20 minutes.

A little salt, sugar, smoked jalapeno, black pepper, and butter went in with each addition. Things thickened up nicely toward the end, and the finished product looked like the Brunswick stew that I remember from growing up in North Carolina.

Good stuff. A little too salty for my taste, but otherwise good. I should know better than to use all the salt that a recipe calls for.

 

[Randy3269]

Looks great to me!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

I have never had it but it is something I definitely want to try

 

[Big Andy]

looks good. Don't be afraid to put the meat in sooner, and stir quite a bit. The meat strands will separate more and the overall product will be more homogenized.

 

[PatAttack]

looks good. Don't be afraid to put the meat in sooner, and stir quite a bit. The meat strands will separate more and the overall product will be more homogenized.

True.

Adding more liquid and cooking it down more would take the salt lick out of it somewhat. They were not afraid of salt back in them days!!

 

[Monkey Uncle]

I was afraid to leave the meat in for the whole time given that the rabbit accounted for most of the meat. Rabbit is a lot like white meat chicken - very easy to overcook. But I guess if it's broken down to the individual strands it doesn't matter much.

Ate some of the leftovers today. Added some water prior to heating it, which helped a lot with the saltiness without making it too thin. I think next time I will use half of the salt that the recipe calls for.

 

[ShadowDriver]

Looks great!

Brings back memories of Brunswick Stew at Meltons Barbecue in Rocky Mount, NC... before it was swept away by a flooded Tar River. :sad:

 

[Big Andy]

I was afraid to leave the meat in for the whole time given that the rabbit accounted for most of the meat. Rabbit is a lot like white meat chicken - very easy to overcook. But I guess if it's broken down to the individual strands it doesn't matter much.

Ate some of the leftovers today. Added some water prior to heating it, which helped a lot with the saltiness without making it too thin. I think next time I will use half of the salt that the recipe calls for.

The big pots of stew are cooked overnite for a serving time of 8:00 a.m. or so for fundraisers, or started early morning for supper service. When it's done, the meat is just strands, corn and green beans, if added, are about the only thing that still hold their shape. You can look thru and figure out most of whats in it but everything is cooked to pieces.
Add some salt early on, then wait to close to the end to finish seasoning. You can also use a mild hot sauce like Louisiana to add salt and an underlying flavor. Some people add some worchestshire also.