Go almost anywhere in the South and you can hear a different story about how Brunswick stew got started. One is that a couple of hundred years ago a hunting party in Brunswick County, Virginia, left a lazy fellow at the camp with a large stock of tomatoes, onions, cabbage, butter beans, corn, and instructions to have supper ready when the hunters returned. Disgruntled at being left behind, he threw everything into one pot, added a couple of squirrels that he shot out of the closest tree, lit the fire, and went to sleep. When the hunters returned at dusk, eureka! The famous Southern dish was born. Even today, owning a well-seasoned 25-gallon cauldron with a secret family recipe is proof of an authentic Southern identity.
Most would agree, the best stew is to be had at outdoor community gatherings. Every year churches, high school football teams, and marching bands rise early in the morning to cook for hours and fundraise for the year. You are as likely to see ladies at the First Presbyterian Church holding 'Honk If You Love Jesus' signs outside on a fall afternoon as you are to see maple leaves falling from the trees. In my childhood neighborhood, the church was so serious about their stew and community spirit, they invested in a God’s Pit Crew motorhome that rivals any at NASCAR.
Raconteur and humorist Roy Blount Jr. quips that Brunswick stew is what happens when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbecue pits. It's true that Brunswick stew was once made with a variety of wild game, particularly squirrels and rabbits, but it's now usually made with chicken and pork. Each cook has a secret combination of vegetables and seasonings, but nearly all agree that corn, butter beans, and tomatoes are required.
The good people of both the town of Brunswick, Georgia and Brunswick County, Virginia, equally and passionately claim to be the point of origin for the eponymous stew. Some decades ago, Brunswick, Georgia, mounted a 25-gallon iron pot atop a town monument. The inscription declares the pot to be the very one in which the very first Brunswick stew did bubble on July 2, 1898. Georgian Brunswick stew tends to be made in relatively small batches, often in local cafes where it is served as a barbecue side dish. In 1988, the Virginia General Assembly issued a decree naming Brunswick County the home of Brunswick stew, claiming they can trace their stew back to 1828. These days, stew making in Virginia is often a male-dominated ritual. Men known as stew masters tend huge cauldrons, stirring the contents with boat oars, cooking up hundreds of quarts to be sold for community causes. These stews are very thick, often not declared done until an oar can stand upright in the center. Virginian Brunswick stew is served as a main dish with bread on the side.
Bickering over who made it first and who makes it best is one of those (mostly) good-natured battles that will never be settled. Today in Danville, farmers and townspeople arrived from all directions with loads of produce at the church. At long tables, they shucked the corn and cut it from the cob, shelled the beans and peas, chopped the tomatoes, potatoes, onions, okra, and whatever else their gardens had produced, all of which went into the pots with the chickens that had been boiled and boned. Then the seasoners and tasters took over, adding hot red peppers fresh from the stalk, and salt. Occasionally someone would drop in a quartered squirrel or rabbit they had brought, which added to the flavor. After hours of simmering, one pot was labeled mild, the second hot and the third ''the one the dog fell in.''
Some things are quick. Brunswick stew is not one of them (until now), but the results are worth every minute. And if you should pass by the First Presbyterian Church today, give the ladies an extra honk for me.
Honk If You Love Jesus Brunswick Stew
INGREDIENTS:
- 2.5-3 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 28 oz fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (if you cannot find any crushed tomatoes will work)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 2-3 tsp hot sauce
- 2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 15 oz can butter beans, canned
- 2 15 oz cans baby lima beans, canned
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 15 oz cans creamed corn
- 1 lb pulled pork (optional – see notes)
INSTRUCTIONS:
For Stove Top
- In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté the chopped onions in a little oil for a few minutes until they are translucent.
- Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions and pour over the chicken broth. Add the salt, pepper, hot sauce, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce then pour over the crushed tomatoes on top of the chicken pieces. Cover pot and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and shred them apart with forks.
- Drain the canned beans, and then mash only the butter beans. Add both the mashed butter beans and lima beans to the pot.
- Add back the cooked chicken, peeled diced potatoes, creamed corn, and cooked pulled pork if using.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add more salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.
For InstaPot
- Turn on the sauté function on your Instant Pot or other pressure cooker and sauté the chopped onions in a little oil for a few minutes until they are translucent.
- Place the skinless bone-in chicken thighs on top of the onions and pour over the chicken broth. Add the salt, pepper, hot sauce, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce then pour over the crushed tomatoes on top of the chicken pieces and do NOT stir.
- Lock the lid, turn the steam release vent to 'sealing', and using the manual or pressure cook settings, adjust it to cook for 8 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, allow the unit to reduce pressure on its own without opening the steam release vent (Natural Release) for 5 minutes, then carefully release the pressure and open the lid
- Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and carefully remove the skin (discard) and meat from the bones and cut it into smaller pieces or pull it apart with forks.
- Drain the canned beans, and then mash only the butter beans and add both the mashed butter beans and lima beans to the pot. *See note
- Add back the cooked chicken, peeled diced potatoes, creamed corn, and cooked pulled pork if you are using it.
- Lock the lid, turn the steam vent to 'sealing' and using the 'manual' or 'pressure cook' button, adjust it to cook for 4 minutes.
- When the cook time is up you can immediately open the vent to release the pressure, then serve the stew. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
*If your InstaPot is too small or liquid volume is too high for equipment, you can cook the remainder on the stove for 30 min or until potatoes are fork-tender.
