Brunswick Stew
'Real' Brunswick stew with chicken and rabbit.
Equipment
- 2 Stockpot or Dutch Oven One 8qt and one 16qt saves time, but you can manage with one large pot.
Ingredients
Stock
- 1 whole Chicken approximately 4 pounds
- 1 whole Rabbit approximately 2 pounds, quartered
- All Giblets chicken heart, gizzard, and liver, and rabbit liver and kidney
- 1 medium Yellow Onion peeled and quartered
- 3 ribs Celery cut into 2-4inch lengths
- ⅛ tsp Red pepper flakes more to taste
- 2 whole Bay leaves
- 1 tsp Thyme dried, crushed, more to taste
- 2 tsp Salt more to taste
- 12 whole Black peppercorns
- 2 quarts Water
Stew
- 4 ounces Pork side-meat chopped, bacon is good, pancetta is better
- 1 ½ cups Yellow onion finely chopped (2 medium to small onions)
- 1 cup Celery finely chopped
- 1 cup Carrots quartered and cut into 3/4" lengths (or sliced into bite-sized rounds)
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- ¾ tsp Thyme, dried dry, crushed, more to taste
- 1 whole Bay leaf
- ¼ - ½ tsp Red pepper flakes more to taste
- ½ - 1 tsp Smoked paprika more to taste
- 1 tbsp Malt or apple cider vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 14.4oz cans Chopped tomatoes with juice
- 1 ¼ cups "Baby" Lima beans fresh or frozen, small immature beans
- 2 cups Russet potatoes peeled, cubed'ish (small yellow potatoes work well too if quartered)
- 2 cups "Shoepeg" (white sweet) corn Fresh "double cut" or frozen kernels
- 7 cups stock and all the fat from poached chicken and rabbit
- Additional vegetables in season as you like (peas, okra*)
Instructions
Make the Stock by Poaching the Chicken and Rabbit
- Wash the chicken and rabbit under cold water and allow them to drain in a colander. Quarter the rabbit. You can poach the chicken whole, but I find it fits the pot better if quartered.
- Combined the onion, celery, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, peppercorns, and water in the 8-quart stock pot. Bring rapidly to a boil over high heat.
- Carefully add the chicken and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a slightest of simmer and poach for about 35 minutes.
- Carefully add the rabbit and enough water to cover. Return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for another 20-25 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and rabbit from the stock. Reserve the stock and resist the urge to skim off any fat as it cools. When the chicken and rabbit are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone (you can start the stew prep while the meat cools).
The Rest of the Story, I Mean Stew
- While waiting for the meat to cool, return the stock and fat to a boil. Reduce to approximately 7 cups.
- Bone the chicken and rabbit. Chop the meat into 1 inch cubes. Dice the giblets and reserve all meats in a bowl
- Render the finely chopped side-meat in the Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika. Toss to combine. Stir in the tomatoes and all their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring as needed.
- Add the lima beans, potatoes, and corn. Return to a boil and stir in the meats and giblets with the stock and fat. Bring to a boil again, and then simmer until the stew thickens--about 1 hour. Stir often to prevent sticking.
- As you proceed through the steps above, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Want more heat? Add some red pepper flakes or paprika. Let it simmer a few minutes and taste again before seasoning further.
Notes
I started to make thin in a single 8 quart pot which was perfect for the poach but too small for the stew. Hence the addition of the large Dutch oven.