Brunswick Stew

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Butterbean
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Brunswick Stew

Post by Butterbean » Wed Sep 24, 2014 01:12

Rick's head cheese thread reminded me of Brunswick stew. I don't know if many are familiar with Brunswick stew but it is considered almost a holy dish in the south. There are a lot of canned stews that claim to be Brunswick stew but anyone who has had the real stuff knows these are poor watered down imitations.

Brunswick stew aka Hogs head stew is something that was cooked each fall during the normal pig slaughtering. At this time friends and neighbors would come together and help each other get the pigs put up. As with any gathering there were a lot of mouths to feed and thirsts to quench.

A usual dish at these events was hog head stew. It was practical, delicious and would feed a lot of people.

I thought I'd share my grandmother's recipe. It takes several hours to make but is well worth it and can be canned or frozen.

1 hog head
1 large hen
1 front shoulder skin on or off
juice of 4 lemons
3 pounds of onions - chopped
1 small bottle of worchestershire sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
2 1/2 (32 ounce) bottles of ketchup
4 or 5 large potatoes chopped up into bits.
1 quart of stock
gallon of shoe peg corn or white cream corn
salt and pepper to taste
tabasco to taste
can also add peas

Boil meat till done. Remove from water. Drain all stock out except about a quart or so. Remove meat from bones.

Put everything in a big pot, cover in water and cook SLOWLY for several hours stirring often. Usually will take about 5 hours.
The key is to cook as much water off as possible so the stew is really thick. When cool, it has the consistancy of mud. Personally I add extra potatoes, canned tomatoes and corn. Okra is good too but I kept the recipe as it was given me. Peas are good too.

Will make about 50 servings and you will have to run backwards while eating it to keep from swallowing your tongue.

Ingredients

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Boiling the meats

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Almost finished reducing. When finished and cooled a spoon should stand up in the stew. Having it thick allows reduces the number of canning jars and allows you to cut with water if your stores are getting slim. Still good, just not as good.

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ssorllih
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Post by ssorllih » Wed Sep 24, 2014 02:07

In Virginia it required one squirrel and one muskrat. ;-)
Ross- tightwad home cook
cogboy
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Post by cogboy » Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:46

looks good !
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