Brunswick Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What was original Brunswick stew made of? ›

Virginia's Early Record of Brunswick Stew

In 1849, the Alexandria Gazette described Brunswick stew as "a genuine South-side dish, composed of squirrels, chicken, a little bacon, and corn and tomatoes."

The difference between Brunswick stew and beef stew is very simple. Beef stew consists of beef, vegetables, tomato sauce, and some seasoning, while Brunswick stew has a very spicy flavour that comes from a combination of BBQ sauce and ketchup, and is made with beef, pork, and chicken.

Georgians find Virginia's stew mushy and thick; theirs is more liquid, with identifiable chunks of vegetables and meat. In Georgia, Brunswick stew almost always contains peas; in Virginia, almost never.

Serving Sides

Serve this Brunswick stew with pickles, coleslaw, or a salad on the side. Don't forget about the cornbread or biscuits. Get creative and serve this with fried okra, hushpuppies, or sautéed spinach.

Brunswick, Georgia, claims to be the place of origin for Brunswick stew. A twenty-five-gallon iron pot outside that coastal town bears a plaque declaring it to be the vessel in which this favorite southern food was first cooked in 1898.

For safety reasons, the general guideline is that perishable foods, including cooked beef, should not be left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. If the room temperature is above 90°F (32°C), this time is reduced to just 1 hour to prevent bacterial growth.

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

Origin. The stew's specific origin is unknown. Brunswick County, Virginia, and the city of Brunswick, Georgia, both named after the German Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, then home to the House of Hanover which ruled the British throne, claim to have created it.

Bumble Bee Foods acquired Castleberry/Snow Brands in December 2005, and Castleberry was shut down by the FDA in 2008. Bost Distributing Company bought the Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew brand from Bumble Bee in 2007, according to its website.

How many days is Brunswick Stew good for? ›

Store any extra Brunswick stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 3 or 4 days. Reheat before serving. Brunswick stew also freezes well.

It's preferable to use fresh corn and butter beans when they are in season. The stew can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 4 months.

See, Brunswick, Georgia claims to be the birthplace of the very first Brunswick Stew. And Brunswick County, Virginia, makes the same claim. But if you look at the dates, Brunswick, Georgia made its first stew in 1898, and Brunswick County's stew was created in 1828, 70 years earlier.

Brunswick, Georgia, and Brunswick County, Virginia, have long squabbled over who has bragging rights as the birthplace of the hearty soup that's filled with meat and vegetables and thickened by hours of simmering. There have been cauldron-topped monuments and state decrees, festivals and dedicated stew-masters.

A pint will generally feed 3-4 people, and a quart will generally feed 6-8. Half pan will generally feed 20 and a full pan will generally feed 40.

Brunswick Stew is a great Virginia tradition that goes back to about 1816. First cooked by James (Jimmy) Matthews as a squirrel stew, the recipe as we know it today was pretty much settled between 1816 and 1828 thanks to a fellow named Ned Stith. Both Matthews and Stith lived in Brunswick, VA.

Bumble Bee Foods acquired Castleberry/Snow Brands in December 2005, and Castleberry was shut down by the FDA in 2008. Bost Distributing Company bought the Mrs. Fearnow's Brunswick Stew brand from Bumble Bee in 2007, according to its website.

There were no potatoes or tomatoes yet, so their main vegetable crops were turnips, parsnips, leeks, onions, and cabbage. They would chop all these vegetables into a big cauldron and boil them in whatever broth they could make from stray bones and vegetable scraps.

Fish out all the meats and remove the meat from the bones; this makes the stew a lot easier to eat. Discard the bones. Add all the tomatoes and the potatoes and simmer 30 minutes. Add the beans, corn and okra and simmer another 30 minutes.