The Best and Easiest Recipe for Brunswick Stew

Brunswick stew is a dish I grew up with in Georgia. It has always been a favorite of mine, and I have fond memories of going to the American Legion in Rome, Georgia every year for their Brunswick stew sale. Seriously though, if you do a google search you will find recipes for both Georgia Brunswick stew and Southern Brunswick stew, it is just that big of a deal to those of us in the know

When you Google Brunswick stew recipes you may feel overwhelmed with all of the different versions there are out there Trust me, I have been there. I have been making different versions of this stew for a decade and have finally developed my own recipe, that I love. It is easy to make, it can be made using leftovers, it is packed with protein, and it brings so much flavor, making this the best and easiest Brunswick stew recipe I have ever made.

So without further ado, lets get it started.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken thighs

• 1 lb pork- cooked and shredded

• 1lb Ground beef

• 4 cups water

• 2 chicken bullion

• 1.5 cups BBQ sauce, we love Sweet Baby Rays but use your favorite sauce.

• 1/4 tsp cayenne

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tbsp black pepper

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3 tbsp minced onion

• 3 tbsp minced garlic

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 56 ounces of crushed tomatoes (2 large cans)

• 1 bag of frozen corn

• 1 cup of dried lentils, I use green.

It has a little bit of heat to it, but Declan loves it just the way it is! If you are worried about the heat, I recommend cutting the cayenne in half.

Before you get started let me give you some tips to make your Brunswick stew making easier.

• You can precook your meat, or just buy precooked meat like a rotisserie chicken. Brunswick stew is so forgiving and flexible. Whenever I make pulled pork, or have extra chicken/beef I shred it up and freeze it, so that it is just waiting to be turned in to Brunswick stew.

• If you do not have chicken bullion or prefer to eliminate this option, use 4 cups of chicken stock instead of water.

• I always keep dehydrated minced onion in my pantry and a jar of minced garlic in the fridge. It decreases prep time for this dish.

• You can add in extra vegetables if you want, traditionally Brunswick stew has lima beans and potatoes in it but I have chosen to leave them out.

• You can skip the pot and cook everything in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours.

Instructions

If starting with precooked meat, start at step 5. 

1.Start with precooked pork, shred if needed. I tend to always keep extras in my freezer

2. In a large stock pot or dutch oven brown your ground beef

3.After browning, remove the ground beef from pot and place on a towel lined plate. If your beef produced a great amount of grease, pour some off, but leave about a cup in the pot.

4. Add chicken thighs to the pot and brown in the fat left from the ground beef. Cook the chicken thighs until brown on each side, about 3 minutes per side. You do not have to cook the chicken through during this step.

5. Dump all remaining ingredients into the pot, directly on top of the chicken breast. If you are starting at this step with cooked meat, dump all ingredients into the pot.

6. Cook on medium heat for 1 hour stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.

7. Remove chicken thighs from pot, turn the stove down to low heat, and simmer with the lid off for 30 minutes.

8. While simmering with the lid off, remove the chicken from the pot; shred chicken, discarding the bones; and then add the chicken back to the pot.

9. After simmering the stew on low for 30 minutes, taste your stew and see if the lentils are to the doneness you would like, Simmer another 30 minutes for softer lentils.

10. Serve your Brunswick stew. We prefer to pair it with saltine crackers or biscuits, but it can also be served plain.

If you have extras, it reheats wonderfully as left overs and it freezes just as well. This recipe filled my 6 quart dutch oven to the brim. I am able to get 4 dinners out of it for my family of 3. To reheat, defrost in the fridge for 24 hours. Add to a pot and heat on medium heat until warmed throughout.

Have you ever had Brunswick stew before? If so, where are you located? It came as a complete surprise to me that many people have no idea what it is. I have made it a few times throughout our journey so far, and I always receive request for the recipe. Its such a heartwarming stew, with a million different variations.

If you try a this recipe, change up this recipe, or make a variation of Brunswick stew, I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment below, tag me on Instagram, or write me a post on Facebook. I love to change it up from time to time, and your take on it may be my next inspiration.