Brunswick Stew is one of my favorite fall and winter meals. It’s a hearty catch-all for leftovers. I’ve made it for a large crowd in the slow cooker or instant pot with a large pork butt and its even better stirred slowly over an open fire. The simplest way to enjoy Brunswick stew is with leftovers. If you have leftover smoked pork or chicken bbq you can dump all of the meat and the bbq sauce into the pot and it will be really good. Today’s version is a way to repurpose the Thanksgiving turkey. This is a great change from the flavor profiles of sage, cream, and butter. It’s bright and smoky and a nice change of pace from the last few days.
What you need:
1 lb of shredded/chopped meat (turkey in this case, but can choose pork or chicken)
2 stalks of celery
1 small onion
2 carrots
1 sprig of rosemary
3 good potatoes (I love YuKon Golds)
3 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of bbq sauce (one that you like :)
1/2 cup of frozen Lima beans
1/2 cup of frozen green beans
1/2 cup of frozen peas
salt and pepper
butter
olive oil
First chop your celery, onion, and carrots and add to a pot with a drizzle of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper over the vegetables while they are cooking. Next chop up your rosemary (you can use about 1/2 tsp dried) and add it to the pot. When the vegetables have softened pour in your broth and begin to simmer. Add the meat at this point. (If you are going to be cooking the meat in the broth vs using leftovers, add it now and simmer for 20 minutes until its cooked through and begins to fall apart before adding remaining vegetables and bbq sauce)
Dice your potatoes into bite sized pieces and add them to the pot. Next throw in your frozen vegetables, bbq sauce, and another 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper. Continue simmering on low/medium until the potatoes have cooked through, approx 15 minutes or so. Serve with cornbread and red pepper flakes for those who like a little spice.
**If you are going to be adding a piece of uncooked meat to the soup, be sure to season with salt and pepper before adding. If you have a grill, searing the meat on the grill will give you that smoky flavor. For example, if I’m cooking pork butt I’ll turn the grill on medium/high and sear the pork for 5 minutes per side and then add it to my broth.
**Recently made this with sweet potatoes and they were a great addition.
**A splash of apple cider vinegar is a good addition if you are using a sweet BBQ sauce and need some acidity. Can also offer pepper vinegar or hot sauce on the side for people to add their own.