Brunswick Stew is a thick stew made with vegetables and meat, often with stewed tomatoes as a base. Its origins are disputed between Virginia and Georgia, but it is a popular dish in the southeastern United States, often served at church fundraisers and political rallies.
Brunswick Stew is a thick blend of vegetables and meat traditionally served hot. It normally has a minimal amount of broth, making it a thicker, chunkier stew. The morsels of meat and vegetables are normally cut into medium-sized pieces that are about double the size typically found in soup.
The ingredients suggested in Brunswick Stew are often as varied as the purported origins of the recipe. Most recipes call for stewed tomatoes as a base for the broth. Vegetable additions often include corn, okra, lima beans, or butter beans. Depending on the origin of the recipe, the meat and poultry ingredients range from regular cuts of chicken, pork and beef to the more exotic additions of squirrel or rabbit. A significant number of Brunswick stew recipes suggest adding liquid smoke to add depth to the dish.
There are two opposing and popular stories about the origin of the stew. One historical account traces the dish to Brunswick County in southern Virginia, and the other attributes its origins to Brunswick, Georgia. The Virginia history claims the dish was created in 1828, and the Georgia account claims the stew was first made in 1898.
The Virginia Tale tells the story of a Virginia State legislator on a hunting trip with some friends and his chef, “Uncle” Jimmy Matthews. Matthews was the camp’s appointed cook, and while the others hunted, he shot and dressed some squirrels. While he waited for the hunters to return to camp, he placed the squirrels in a large cast iron pot with some onion, butter, stale bread, herbs and spices and stewed the concoction for hours. Though wary of the strange concoction, the hunters tasted it and declared it delicious and satisfying.
According to Georgia history, the first batch of Brunswick Stew was cooked on St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia near the town of Brunswick. No person is credited with the recipe. The stew’s origin claim here is based entirely on the plaque on a historic pot in the town which states that the first such stew was cooked there on July 2, 1898.
While Brunswick Stew is still a family favorite in parts of the Southeastern United States, it is most often found at church fundraisers throughout the South. It is also commonly served at family gatherings and political rallies. Some recipes still list squirrel as the main ingredient in the meat, but in many neighborhoods, chicken is the favorite companion to stewed vegetables.
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