Brunswick Stew with Pork and Chicken
Brunswick stew simmered with pulled pork, shredded chicken, corn, lima beans, and potatoes in a smoky barbecue tomato broth. Feeds 8 and freezes well.
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Brunswick stew is the Southern pot that turns leftover pulled pork into a whole second dinner. It’s built to feed a crowd without much fuss. Pork and chicken go in with corn, lima beans, and potatoes, all of it in a tomato base sharpened with barbecue sauce and Worcestershire. Then it simmers down until a spoon stands halfway up in the bowl.
Virginia and Georgia have argued for two hundred years about who invented this. The versions differ mostly in which meat goes in. What they all agree on is texture. Brunswick stew is thick, closer to a chunky spoonable gravy than a soup. You get there by pulling the lid off at the end so water cooks away and the potatoes give up their starch.
Because the pork and chicken are already cooked, the timing is simple. The potatoes set the pace: 20 minutes of covered simmering gets them fork-tender. Everything after that is thickening and heating through.
Why You’ll Love This Brunswick Stew Recipe
- Leftovers become dinner. A cup of pulled pork from the weekend and a picked-over rotisserie chicken cover most of the ingredient list.
- Feeds eight without stretching. One batch gives you eight full bowls, and it costs less per serving than almost anything with two meats in it.
- It’s better on day two. The barbecue sauce and tomatoes keep melding in the fridge, so the flavor deepens overnight.
- Freezer gold. No dairy and no pasta means nothing in the pot breaks or goes mushy, so it thaws tasting the way it went in.
Brunswick Stew Ingredients
The barbecue sauce matters more than anything else on this list, because a full cup of it goes in. Pick a vinegar-forward or smoky sauce over a thick sweet one. Sweet sauce stacked on top of the brown sugar makes the whole pot taste like dessert, and there’s no walking that back once it’s in.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups frozen lima beans
- 2 cups pulled cooked pork
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Recipe Variations
- Make it all chicken. Use 4 cups of shredded cooked chicken and skip the pork, which is how plenty of Georgia versions run and the cheaper way to do it. Heat the chicken through to 165°F just the same.
- Add 2 cups of sliced okra along with the corn and lima beans. It’s traditional in the Virginia versions and it thickens the pot a little as it softens.
- Swap the pulled pork for 2 cups of chopped smoked turkey. Stir it in with the chicken at the same point and heat both through to 165°F.
How to Make Brunswick Stew
- Soften the onion: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until it turns translucent.
- Bloom the paste and spices: Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Cook 1 minute, until the tomato paste darkens a shade and smells sweet instead of tinny.
- Build the base: Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the chicken broth, potatoes, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir and bring it up to a boil, about 4 minutes.
- Simmer the potatoes: Turn the heat to low, set the lid on askew, and simmer 20 minutes, until a potato cube slides off a fork with no resistance.
- Add the corn and lima beans: Stir in the frozen corn and lima beans and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Leaving the lid off from here on is what turns this from soup into stew.
- Add the meat: Stir in the pulled pork and shredded chicken. Simmer uncovered 8 minutes more, until the stew is thick enough to mound on a spoon and the meat reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Taste and serve: Taste for salt and heat. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
What’s the Difference Between Brunswick Stew and Burgoo?
Both are thick Southern meat-and-vegetable stews built to feed a crowd. Burgoo is Kentucky’s version and leans on mutton or beef with a peppery kick. Brunswick stew leans on pork and chicken with corn, lima beans, and a tomato and barbecue base.
Do I Have to Use Two Kinds of Meat in Brunswick Stew?
No. Pork and chicken together is the most common combination, but plenty of good versions use only one. Use 4 cups total either way, and heat it through to 165°F before serving.
Can I Use Canned Corn and Lima Beans?
Yes. Drain them and add them in the last 5 minutes instead of 8. They’re already fully cooked and they’ll fall apart if you simmer them long.
How Do I Make It Thicker?
Simmer it uncovered another 10 minutes, or mash a few of the potato cubes against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. The starch they release thickens the whole pot without dulling the flavor.
Can I Make Brunswick Stew in a Slow Cooker?
Yes. Do the onion and tomato paste steps on the stove, then move everything except the pork and chicken to the slow cooker for 4 hours on low. Add both meats for the last 30 minutes so they heat through to 165°F without turning stringy.
Cooking Tips
- Cut the potatoes small and even, about half an inch. They’re the only thing in the pot that needs real cooking time, so their size sets the clock for the entire stew.
- Take the lid off once the potatoes are tender. A covered pot traps steam and the stew stays soupy no matter how long you leave it on the burner.
- Give the tomato paste its full minute in the hot pot. Raw paste tastes metallic and thin. Cooked until it darkens, it turns into the savory backbone that the barbecue sauce sits on top of.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits, so add a splash of broth when you reheat.
To freeze: This one freezes as well as anything gets to. No dairy and no pasta means nothing to break or turn to mush. Freeze in portions up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge.
To reheat: Warm it in a pot over medium-low, stirring, until it reaches 165°F, about 10 minutes. The microwave handles single bowls fine; stir halfway through so the middle isn’t still cold.
How to Serve Brunswick Stew
Brunswick Stew wants cornbread, and it isn’t picky about which kind: a skillet round, a pan of squares, or a basket of hush puppies all do the job of sopping the bottom of the bowl. Coleslaw on the side is the Southern move, since something cold and vinegary cuts through all that barbecue sauce. If you’re feeding a crowd, set out extra barbecue sauce and hot sauce and let everyone fix their own bowl.
Loved This Recipe?
Brunswick Stew is the reason to smoke extra pork, and it turns those leftovers into eight bowls of something completely different.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
Brunswick Stew with Pork and Chicken
Equipment
- Instant-Read Thermometer 165°F, checked in two spots rather than one.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups frozen lima beans
- 2 cups pulled cooked pork
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Instructions
- Soften the onion: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until it turns translucent.
- Bloom the paste and spices: Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Cook 1 minute, until the tomato paste darkens a shade and smells sweet instead of tinny.
- Build the base: Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the chicken broth, potatoes, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir and bring it up to a boil, about 4 minutes.
- Simmer the potatoes: Turn the heat to low, set the lid on askew, and simmer 20 minutes, until a potato cube slides off a fork with no resistance.
- Add the corn and lima beans: Stir in the frozen corn and lima beans and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Leaving the lid off from here on is what turns this from soup into stew.
- Add the meat: Stir in the pulled pork and shredded chicken. Simmer uncovered 8 minutes more, until the stew is thick enough to mound on a spoon and the meat reads 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Taste and serve: Taste for salt and heat. Ladle into bowls and serve hot.
Notes
If you made this, leave a star rating down in the comments. It takes about ten seconds, and it’s how other cooks decide whether a recipe is worth trying.
