David's Brunswick Stew

Brunswick stew is different for everyone who makes it. There are a few requirements for a real Brunswick stew. These requirements can be ignored and there may still be a good stew. It just won’t be real Brunswick stew. The stew that I am describing is cooking as I write and appropriate substitutions will be noted.
The absolute requirements are:
1) At least three types of meat, at least 1 of which is cured.
2) Okra…A lot of people leave this out; but they aren’t making real Brunswick stew.
3) Tomatoes
4) Corn and Corn meal
5) Beans

My Brunswick stew is always made in a crock pot. A pressure cooker or even a big pot on the stove will work fine. Slow cooking makes it better. The ingredients should be almost unrecognizable in the finished product. Brunswick stew can be eaten almost any time of year. It is best in the Winter; because it really is heavy and warming. Of course that means that it will probably not be made with fresh ingredients from the garden. As much as possible things from the garden that have been preserved should be used.

The beans are the beginning. Small speckled limas are my favorite. Canned or fresh beans could be used. I use the dried beans. A 16 oz. bag is put into the 5 quart crock-pot and rinsed. The beans are covered with water and left overnight to soak. The next day the pot is turned on and about a teaspoon of salt is added. Do not put much salt at this stage; because their may be salt in the meats or vegetables. Seasoning is best left until the end. Cook the beans until they are tender. I usually dump about 1/3 of a cup of coffee in the beans at this point. It is not required. We used to season the beans as they cooked with some type of cured pork. Now, due to cholesterol concerns, chicken bouillon is used.

The meats used are at the discretion of the cook. They will probably be based on what is available. The stew that is cooking right now will have ground lamb, pork neck-bones, pork chops, Colombian chorizo and chicken thighs. These are placed in another crock-pot; but they can be cooked anywhere. They are not seasoned as they are being cooked except for a few sprigs of rosemary. When the meats are cooked they are allowed to cool and the meat is stripped from the bone.

Stewed tomatoes, chopped green chilis, frozen okra, canned creamed corn, diced potatoes, carrots, celery and chopped green onions, including the tops, are thrown into the bean pot after the beans are cooked to the point of being tender. Potatoes should not be added unless the pot is at a rolling boil. Potatoes will have a better texture if they are started in boiling water. When the potatoes are added a little more salt should be added as well. Potatoes tend to soak up the salt from the other foods.

Depending on how much of the vegetables have been used, there is probably not much room in the 5 qt. Pot to put in the meat. No problem. This pot has an excellent vegetable soup. Pull out a bowl or two and eat it to make room for the meat. The juices from the meat should be added to the bean pot as well as the meat itself. When everything comes back to a rolling boil, self-rising corn meal can be added to thicken the stew. Just add a little bit and let it cook some. The corn meal will swell up and it is possible to get too much. Corn meal takes about 30 minutes to cook at a rolling boil.


David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/