Ever since our Smoky Mountains vacation last November, I’ve been wanting to make one of my favorite culinary discoveries from that trip — Brunswick Stew.
I’d heard about Brunswick Stew, but never tried it (not exactly a common dish out here in Southern California) until Jeff I ventured over Newfound Gap Road and dined at the Dillsboro Smokehouse in Dillsboro, North Carolina. Brunswick stew is a traditional southern dish whose origin is uncertain. The style varies by region — we enjoyed the East Carolina version on our vacation.
This recipe appears to take after the Carolina version because it includes potatoes, and it is conveniently prepared in a slow cooker — simply throw all the ingredients in the crockpot in the morning, turn it on low, and come home to a delicious hearty filling stew. Jeff and I skinnied the original recipe down a bit by using a lean pork tenderloin roast, light margarine, and fat-free chicken broth.
Oh, and the kids totally loved it!
- 3 pounds pork tenderloin roast, trimmed of fat
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 medium sized new potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 9-ounce package frozen lima beans
- 1 9-ounce package frozen corn
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups fat-free chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ cup barbecue sauce
- 10-ounces bottled chili sauce(Heinz or store brand)
- ¼ cup worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon tabasco sauce
- 3 tablespoons reduced fat margarine (we use Brummel & Brown)
- Season trimmed pork with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Add chopped onion and potatoes, frozen lima beans and corn, tomatoes, chicken broth, brown sugar, barbecue sauce, chili sauce, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper, tabasco sauce, and margarine.
- Cook on low 10 hours or on high for 5 hours.
- Remove pork from slow cooker and shred. Add shredded meat to slow cooker and stir.
- Serve with cornbread!
What is the size of a serving?
About a standard 2 cup soup bowl serving. For the points, she calculated everything in the recipe and divided it by the 12 servings the recipe claimed to make. We got around 10-12 2 cup servings out of it, so it is pretty close.
Thanks
I made this earlier this year and I have to admit, this was the BEST Brunswick stew I’ve ever tasted.
I live by myself and I made the full 12 servings knowing that I wouldn’t be able to finish the entire pot before it went bad. Nope, I ate all 12 servings within a week. Sometimes, I ate 2 servings of it a day. Never got tired of it. Call me crazy, but this stuff was good.
So glad you enjoyed it! We usually end up freezing individual size servings, so one week is impressive! Thanks for bringing this recipe back to my attention… will make it again as soon as temperatures cool down out there.
This is the BEST stew EVER! I grew up in Eastern NC and this is the closest thing to real Brunswick stew I have tried. I have made it 3 times already and it is gone within 3 days! (I have to half the recipe, my crock pot is small) This is my NEW favorite dish!Thank you!!