Investigating the Mystery of Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stew belongs to the “mystery branch” of American cooking, according to award-winning Atlanta journalist Jim Auchmutey. 

   The mystery is centered on the unknown origin of certain dishes – where did they get their start? Theories abound. Perhaps they arrived with settlers, or were copied from Native Americans, or simply evolved out of what was at hand locally.

  There is a Brunswick county in North Carolina that stays on the sidelines of arguments about point of origin for the stew. But it does make a claim of sorts. Here is a chicken-based recipesaid to trace to that location.

   Further south, in Brunswick GA, ingredients likely include beef and pork. The Georgians long staked a claim to being first with the recipe, but lately there has been acknowledgement that the truth may be otherwise. 

  
So who gets the honor of being “first”? It appears that Brunswick County in Virginia has the most credible claim to mixing up the first batch. Credit supposedly goes to the cook for a local squire who asked for a dish to feed a horde of hunter pals. The original dish featured squirrels. "Tree rats" -- the view some say most Americans have of squirrels -- are not a popular ingredient these days. Once source says they we consider them "a pest that we won't eat." Possibly, although for urbanites I think a description I saw of squirrels as "public pets" may be more the case. Also, there have been reports of "mad squirrel disease," enough to turn most people off.
   These days, Old Dominion chefs mainly use chicken. In the book, "Food of a Younger Land," we learn that "...many a Virginian is thrown into a stew when he is subjected to heretical mixtures that foreigners try to pass off for the real thing."

   Be that as it may, today the stew is found throughout the south at church dinners and cook-offs, prepared outdoors in huge kettles.

    Contents vary. “Authentic Brunswick stew claims to use game meat such a squirrel, opossum, or rabbit meat and simmers all day to allow the tougher meats to tenderize,” according to the What’s Cooking America food history site. Modern recipes may well involve beef, chicken and pork.
   New Southern Basics cookbook favors pork, but "if you happen to have a freezer full of squirrel, by all means, throw it in."

   Various recipes involve an array of vegetables. These include tomatoes, corn, onions, lima or butterbeans, sometimes potatoes. In Georgia peas are often added. Okra and bell pepper are included in some recipes. 

   Here’s a basic recipe that calls for obtaining ready-made pulled pork, I suppose because it will have the barbecue flavor.

   One "authentic" recipe calls for nine pounds of squirrel or chicken, six pounds tomatoes, two large onions, two pounds cabbage, five large potatoes, one pound butter beans, six slice of bacon, a pod of red pepper, salt and pepper, cooked in the pot for about six hours.
   Then there is a crowd-pleaser variant from Richmond, VA, involving 240 veal shins, 12 beef shins, 780 pounds of chicken, 48 pounds of bacon, 1800 pounds of Irish potatoes, 18 bushels of celery, 600 pounds of onions, 24 dozen bushels of carrots, 360 pounds of cabbage, 150 gallons of canned tomatoes, 72 gallons of canned corn, 48 pounds of butter, plus salt, pepper and thyme.

   Perhaps more suited to you needs would be another recipe simply asking for shredded pork.

   Elsewhere on the blog you’ll find an entry for Burgoo, a very similar stew which some say is just going under a different name in Kentucky. One difference is that Burgoo sometimes calls for mutton. It also appears that Burgoo is soupier than Brunswick. Here is a site offering a gallon for just over $50. 

   According to report on Burgoo as prepared in Kentucky, “No two cooks prepare it the same way and most keep their recipes a closely guarded secret.”