Brunswick Stew Recipe
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Brunswick Stew is an iconic dish here in the south. One that you just don’t want to mess up when you make it. Folks know good Brunswick Stew when they see it and there’s no messing around with something like that.
Of course, I make my Brunswick Stew using a couple of different cooking methods. The one I use the most is to use leftover shredded beef, shredded chicken or pulled pork from leftover pork roast that I’ve cooked earlier in the week. By using all of those ingredients, I can generally have Brunswick Stew cooked and ready in hardly anytime at all – just in time for the big game or whatever else we have going on.
The other method I use fairly often is in my slow cooker. For that, I cook all of the meat and other ingredients in the slow cooker so I like to cook it low and slow. I’ll have to share those measurements and cooking times with you another time. I’ve made it so often, but never actually wrote down the exact steps in making it that way so I need to make a big batch of slow cooker Brunswick Stew just for you guys so that I can test it. You know, there’s never a bad reason to make Brunswick Stew but that might just be about the best reason I’ve had!
You can serve your Brunswick Stew alongside more pulled pork from the pork roast or even along with chicken you’ve roasted, or you know, it works perfectly well just right by itself. However, if you’ve ever been to a church or high school fundraiser in my neck of the woods, you know that menu is generally: Pulled Pork, Texas Toast, Slaw, Brunswick Stew, and then a big slice of Pound Cake. I generally like it when I can finagle a slice of Lemon Pound Cake to be exact. It just seems to balance out all of the other goodness on my plate! Heh!
So, why not plan your very own little social using that menu. I might just take that idea and run with it myself. It sounds like a good one to me.
Here’s my family’s favorite recipe for Brunswick Stew. It is sure to become one of your favorites, too!
Brunswick Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 3 cups pulled pork, from pork roast recipe
- 3 cups shredded beef
- 2 cups beef stock, or broth
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 5 medium red potatoes, diced
- 1 (15-ounce) can Lima beans
- 4 cups cream style white corn
- 1 (24-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Stone House Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add shredded chicken, pulled pork, and shredded beef – or mixture thereof – to a large, heavy-bottomed stew pot over medium-low heat. Add beef stock, onion, potatoes, beans, corn, diced tomatoes, ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Stone House seasoning and cayenne pepper to the meats.
- Simmer over medium-low heat until thoroughly heated and all flavors have had time to combine, about 30 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Thanks for the recipe. I’m a bit confused. How can the onions and potatoes cook on medium low in 30 minutes? Mine was still luke warm. Was I supposed to cook them first? It has a good flavor. But, a few commenters added BBQ sauce, which I thought would make it too sweet, since it already had creamed corn and the brown sugar? No?
Jerry, I don’t cook the onions and potatoes before adding with the other ingredients. If your potatoes and onions were not done and the stew was still only luke warm after 30 minutes, you need to turn the temperature up on your stove. It should have been simmering while cooking. I don’t add any BBQ sauce to my Brunswick stew.
Holy cow was this ever good!!!
I’m so glad you loved this stew, Laurel. Thanks!
This is actually a really great recipe. I grew up in Georgia and have seen many good, and a few bad versions of Brunswick stew. I’ve made this recipe many times using leftover whatever I smoked the weekend before and it always comes out good. So, I say don’t get hung up on exact portions of specific meats. I’ve done nearly all pork versions, mixes of pork and beef, mixes of pork, beef and chicken and never been disappointed.
I will also suggest to just buy all can ingredients and not try to get too fancy. It will come out better-trust me. I just use canned Publix sliced potatoes, cream corn, limas, etc.
Enjoy!
Thank you, Lew. Great tips!
This is a great recipe. I never made Brunswick before. After my favorite restaurants changed their recipes and started making Brunswick like baby food. I had to try to made my own. This was one of the recipes I came across. I made it for my family, then for a pot luck at work. Everyone raves about it.
Friends and family want me to make it all the time.
Wonderful to hear! Thanks so much!
The main object to Bwk Stew is to clean out the left over veges and meats. Seasoning toward BBQ is the intended direction to go, whether sweet or not sweet. Smoked meat usually works best for me, but it’s your choice that makes this recipe so good! Your recipe works really good! Thanks.
I made this for my friends’ family reunion. They loved it. I added sweet peas.
Awesome recipe! I’ve made it many times and take liberty with portions of beef/pork/chicken. Like all good cooks, I make the recipe my own by adding my favorite bbq sauces. This recipe is my go to for Brunswick Stew for my family and friends. I always get asked, when am I making my stew?!
I stumbled on to the fact that adding V-8 Juice is Da Bomb! I needed to add liquid and didn’t have more broth, and didn’t want to dilute it with water. V-8 Juice to the rescue, and it ended up being the perfect background note it was missing. It was perfect.
And yes, only use Butter Beans. They are not the same as Lima Beans in my book, simply two cousins from opposite sides of the planet.
Hi, Thank you for sharing the recipe. I’m from North Carolina but live in Wisconsin now. I can’t find butter beans up here. Do you know where I could find or maybe order butter beans. Thanks again, Mary
Mary, I found some on Amazon if you can’t find in grocery stores in your area.
does this recepie have a sweet taste it? I guess if it did I could fix it with a little tobasco1
I made this last week and loved it. I did leave out the Lima beans and next time I will leave out the brown sugar. Thanks for the recipe!
I have been making what I call CAMP STEW for years…. took time to perfect the recipe. Cast iron pot a MUST HAVE lemons halves and meat must be smoked in a smoker….. best way to use left over smoked meats… perfect for freezing.