Southbound Barbecue’s Brunswick Stew eats more like a meal than a side. It’s chock full of smoked meat, vegetables, and Southern flavors. The recipe is relatively easy to prepare and all the ingredients you’ll need to prepare it are easily found at your local grocer. Of course, readily available smoked meat might be a concern if you’re trying to whip up this Brunswick Stew on short notice or to accompany a meal not made on the smoker. But don’t fret – this is easily resolved by substituting 1/2 rotisserie chicken or a rack of already prepared ribs from your favorite butcher or the grocer deli counter. Even still, you just might be lucky enough to find 2 pounds or so of smoked chicken or pulled pork leftovers sitting in your freezer from your last cook. On the other hand, if your house is like mine – “leftovers” is a foreign concept!
You’re sure to be spoiled by our version of this traditional southern classic once you’ve had a bowl. You can rest assured we know what we’re talking about with this one – after all, Brunswick Stew was invented right here in Georgia (we don’t subscribe to any nonsense in this house). You’re sure to agree no other version will ever do. Don’t worry though, we won’t tell your local pitmaster on you. Make your way to The Shop to grab two of the superstars that make this recipe so doggone tasty – Southern Sweet Heat & Primo Pig Powder. Don’t have any of our goodies on hand? No problem, use your favorite off-the-shelf BBQ sauce and seasoning or whatever you’ve got sitting in the fridge or cupboard. We promise you won’t hurt our feelings, but we do think our version is the best one! This home-run hitter is sure to please no matter the season – hot or cold.
Southbound Barbecue’s Brunswick Stew
Ingredients
Meat
- 1.5 – 2.5 Pounds Chopped Smoked Chicken or Pulled Smoked Pork Prepared Ribs & Rotisserie Chicken Work Too
Vegetables
- 15 Ounces Diced New Potatoes 1 Can
- 14.5 Ounces Fire-Roasted Tomatoes (Salsa Style for Added Flavor) 1 Can
- 14.75 Ounces Creamed Corn 1 Can
- 12 Ounces Baby Lima Beans 1 Bag Frozen (Baby Work Best)
- 1/2 Cup Sweet Vidalia Onion Diced
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
Stock
- 4 Cups Chicken Stock Low-Sodium Works Best
- 2 Cups Southern Sweet Heat Barbecue Sauce
- 1 Tblspn Primo Pig Powder
- 1 Tblspn Bacon Grease Lard, Tallow, or Olive Oil Work Too
- 1 Tblspn Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tspn Salt Kosher
- 1 Tspn Pepper Freshly Cracked
Instructions
Meat & Veggie Prep
- Pull or chop your chosen meat to small tidbit sized pieces and set aside. Objective is to ensure thick, hearty stew and to ensure meat makes it into every bite. Southbound Barbecue prefers chicken for our version, but pulled pork and literally ANYTHING else works too. Don’t be afraid to work several meats into your stew – just ensure a total of 1.5 to 2.5 pounds of meat make it into the dish.
- Dice the onion and set aside.
- Mince the garlic and set aside. Don’t be afraid to add more if you’re a garlic junkie!
- Pre-Open all vegetable cans & bags – set aside. Mixing ingredients will go fast once ready.
Final Preparation
- Add bacon grease to large, heavy-bottom pot like a dutch oven or similar over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Allow to melt and come to “sauté temp”.
- Add onions to pot, stir and sauté. Keep onions moving to avoid burning.
- Once onions begin to change color and turn translucent – add garlic and stir. Garlic can burn easily, so we add it after giving the onions a head-start and we need to keep it moving, so keep stirring as you sauté.
- Once onions and garlic begin to release their fragrance and soften prior to browning – add fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir once or twice.
- Add chicken stock, diced new potatoes, baby lima beans, creamed corn, Southern Sweet Heat, Primo Pig Powder, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir to incorporate all vegetables and stock ingredients.
- Finally, add your meat slowly to avoid splatter. Stir well to incorporate all ingredients
- Turn heat to HIGH and bring stew to BOIL. Stir well. Reduce heat to MEDIUM-LOW to LOW to allow stew to SIMMER.
- Monitor stew about every 15 minutes and stir – we want to reduce the liquid by about 25%. This normally takes 45 minutes to an hour. Reducing the liquid allows the stew to thicken while also intensifying the flavor. This is what yields such a hearty bowl in the end!
- Once thickened to your liking (can go longer than an hour if you’d like) serve your Brunswick Stew in hefty bowls as a side or main dish. Pairs well with saltines and cornbread!
