Virginia Brunswick Stew
The thick Southern tomato stew two states claim: bacon, onions, potatoes, butter beans and corn simmered with chicken thighs until the potatoes melt and the chicken shreds, all in one pot, with crackers or cornbread alongside.
Edited by JP Lambiase
Change the estimate
Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Brunswick stew is a thick tomato stew of lima beans (butter beans), corn and other vegetables with one or more meats; it began with small game such as squirrel or rabbit, and chicken is now the most common meat (Wikipedia:). Two places named Brunswick claim it. Virginia's story is the older: in 1828 Jimmy Matthews, an African American hunting-camp cook, made a squirrel stew for Creed Haskins's hunting party in Brunswick County, Virginia, a tradition the Virginia General Assembly backed with a proclamation in 1988 (Georgia Encyclopedia, John A. Burrison, 2005, edited 2013:). Brunswick, Georgia, points to a 25-gallon iron pot whose plaque says the first Brunswick stew was cooked in it in 1898, on St. Simons Island; the Georgia Encyclopedia notes that a south Georgia writer, describing a Fourth of July barbecue around 1880, said "There was no Brunswick stew in those days." Wikipedia sums up: neither claim traces the real origin. Kentucky has a cousin, burgoo, a communal stew of pork, chicken, beef or mutton served at the Kentucky Derby, with an Oxford English Dictionary first reference from 1743. Today Virginia versions lean on chicken, Georgia versions on pork, often beside barbecue (Wikipedia; Georgia Encyclopedia).
🇺🇸 This one is American
The thick Southern tomato stew two states claim: bacon, onions, potatoes, butter beans and corn simmered with chicken thighs until the potatoes melt and the chicken shreds, all in one pot, with crackers or cornbread alongside.
🇭🇺 The original
Hungary's gulyás is a paprika beef and potato soup cooked in a kettle, the dish American goulash is named after. See the Hungarian Gulyás (Goulash Soup) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Potatoes as thickener
Simmering the potatoes until they are very soft and then stirring hard lets them fall apart and thicken the stew, so there is no flour.
Whole thighs, shredded in the pot
Thighs stay moist through a long simmer, and shredding them back into the broth spreads the chicken through every spoonful.
🧰 You'll need 4 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
Pans and pots
Tools
Step by step
- Step 1
Cook the bacon in a 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring, until it has given up its fat.
- Step 2
Add the onions and cook 5 minutes, until softened.
- Step 3
Add the broth, both cans of tomatoes, potatoes, sugar, lima beans and the whole chicken thighs. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to medium-low, partly cover and simmer 30 to 35 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are very soft and the thickest thigh reads 165°F.
- Step 5
Push the chicken to one side and shred it right in the pot with two forks, then stir in the corn.
- Step 6
Simmer uncovered on low 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom so it does not scorch, until the potatoes break down and the stew is thick.
- Step 7
Season with salt, pepper and a splash of hot sauce or vinegar. Serve with crackers or cornbread.
Virginia Brunswick Stew
Serves 8 · about 4 quarts · 1 hr 25 min total
Base
- 3 slices bacon (85 g), chopped
- 2 large onions (450 g), diced
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, with juice
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, with juice
- 4 medium russet potatoes (about 1 3/4 lb, 800 g), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups frozen baby lima beans (300 g)
- 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs (680 g)
Finish
- 2 cups frozen corn (300 g), or one 15 oz can cream-style corn
- 1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
- A dash or two of hot sauce or cider vinegar
To serve
- Saltine crackers, cornbread or biscuits
Equipment: 7-quart Dutch oven, Instant-read thermometer, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons
Method
- Cook the bacon in a 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring, until it has given up its fat.
- Add the onions and cook 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the broth, both cans of tomatoes, potatoes, sugar, lima beans and the whole chicken thighs. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 10 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, partly cover and simmer 30 to 35 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are very soft and the thickest thigh reads 165°F.
- Push the chicken to one side and shred it right in the pot with two forks, then stir in the corn.
- Simmer uncovered on low 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom so it does not scorch, until the potatoes break down and the stew is thick.
- Season with salt, pepper and a splash of hot sauce or vinegar. Serve with crackers or cornbread.
Adapted from Mollie Kirby, "Brunswick Stew, Virginia Style," Frugal Hausfrau (February 26, 2018; serves 8): as written but with raw chicken, following her own note: we simmer 1 1/2 lb raw boneless thighs in the stew and shred them in the pot, instead of adding 3 cups of cooked chicken. We use frozen corn instead of a can and give a heat level for the bacon. Estimated cost: about $18.75 for the pot, about $2.34 a serving. frugalhausfrau.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Estimated cost: about $2.34 a serving, about $18.75 for the pot.
- Georgia-style: use half pork shoulder and stir in 1/2 cup barbecue sauce with the corn.
- Freezes well (Frugal Hausfrau). Cool it in shallow containers within 2 hours; frozen, it keeps best 3 to 4 months (FSIS).
- The thick stew catches on the bottom easily at the end; keep the heat low and stir.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Brunswick stew was invented in Brunswick County, Virginia, in 1828. Disputed: Virginia's 1988 proclamation backs it (Georgia Encyclopedia); Brunswick, Georgia, claims 1898 by its iron pot; Wikipedia says neither claim traces the real origin.
- Georgia's legislature answered Virginia's proclamation with its own. Folklore for us: reported only in search summaries; not confirmed.
- Real Brunswick stew uses squirrel. Documented as the original game meat (Wikipedia; Georgia Encyclopedia); chicken is the norm now.
- Brunswick stew and burgoo are the same thing. Folklore: Wikipedia treats them as separate stews and does not compare them.
- Brunswick stew must have barbecue sauce. Disputed: many Georgia and barbecue-stand versions do; Frugal Hausfrau's Virginia version has none.
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