Chef John’s Brunswick Stew - Food Wishes 

"...once we're happy, at least with the stew..." You have to love this guy.

Congratulations, Chef John. It looks just like the Brunswick stew made by my grandmother, who I don't think ever left the state of North Carolina. She made it with chicken and whatever squirrel and/or rabbit my grandfather could shoot. In my experience, squirrel is kinda stringy but tasty. I remember it would get stuck in my teeth. Yes, your stew is missing the cornbread, but that's easy to fix.

I like to make one pot of soup each week for lunches all week long, and you just made my decision for me of what soup I'll be eating next week.

You learned our secret Chef John! Growing up in the mountains I always as a kid heard we made it with squirrel meat but later on it was revealed to me that we didn’t do that at all😂😂😂 We used grilled chicken and pork chops too, but we also added smoked ham hocks when we made the broth to go in it. That was basically equal parts chicken and just bone broth with one chicken bouillon cube added in. Changed the game

Native North Carolinian here. Brunswick Stew and Hushpuppies is what we ate together in my neck of the woods growing up. I still eat that combination to this day.

Chef John, your recipes are always a calm oasis in a stormy world so thank you !!

I’m usually a day late and a dollar short! This recipe turned out really well and was appreciated by some friends from Georgia. Served with cornbread, a salad, sweat tea, hot sauce and a peach cobbler. Well received and complimented! Thanks! (I lived in Augusta Georgia both in the Army and at the Medical College of Georgia as a LPN and RN.) Great memories of great Southern foods. I was told that the original stew was a true poor man’s and slaves food made from leftovers and anything available or in season from meats to vegetables.

Born & raised in Brunswick VA here!! 🥰

I can't wait to try this. My grandfather made this with a whole chicken and a hog head. This seems like a more manageable batch to give a try

Brunswick stew is a fantastic dish. It give us Virginians great pleasure to know that folks everywhere can enjoy this original Brunswick County, Virginia creation.

I'm here for the humor. The recipes look delicious too.

I watched some old timers cooking this in a cauldron, stirring with a boat paddle, and they added bricks of butter. That was one step over the line for my tastebuds. 😮

I will try this next week it’s my turn to cook for card club. As to groundhog it is actually very tasty. Our sportsman club has a wild game supper every year and groundhog is one of the meats that gets cleaned out first. It reminds me of shredded roast beef.

When I lived near Atlanta in the 80's, a coworker used to make Brunswick Stew by the boatload and sold it by the gallon. He used chicken, but never squirrel or other meats. It was amazing. Was just thinking about it the other day, and here it is. 🎯

Growing up in western NC, this bring back so many memories. My mother and grandmother definitely just tossed everything into one pot, and the meat was just whatever was leftover and/or found in the freezer. I've had it with beef, chicken, sausage, deer, and bear (and maybe other things like rabbit, who knows). I'm so glad you added the okra and corn, as those were definitely the two constants in the many variations of the stew.

Being from NC this looks like a good version of Brunswick Stew, normally when I make mine I'll use ribs beef and pork as well as chicken. I have had true Brunswick stew made with squirrel, venison, dove and quail (as well as the pork, chicken, and beef) vinegar is a good thing to use for the gamier meats often used at hunting camps etc.

As someone from north alabama I have definitely eaten squirell half a dozen times and it's not bad... the hind legs are all you can really eat. A big squirell has legs the size of a small chicken leg quarter and tastes good simmered in a stew until shreddable or pressure cooked till tender then battered and fried. It tastes like a cross between pulled pork and chicken thighs.

This is a poor man classic! Inexpensive cuts of meat and vegetables are magic after a long cooking time.

Just made this for dinner and it's delicious. Thanks chef John

I had brunswick stew for the first time at an Apple harvest festival in the mountains of VA this last summer, it was so good I had to make my own batch the next week-it’s a nice twist on traditional stew

It was going so well, especially leaving the bacon in throughout the cooking process, and then the ever magnificent Chef John added - OKRA. It is now over-the-top, excessively delicious. You, Chef John, are the greatest. Thanks so much!

"Well, I can't really answer that since this is a cooking lesson, not a philosophy class." Chef John at his absolute best!!! 🤣🤣🤣

A common recipe includes a sweet & sour tomato sauce with butter. It gives it a more robust kick. Whether light or high def version this is a great dish! It’s also delicious if you use smoked BBQ meats. Never seen it with bacon but it couldn’t hurt!

OMG!!!!!! Yes!! I am born and raised from Brunswick Ga. But honestly. Pulled smoked pork is ABSOLUTELY necessary. This looks alright but you def should have left out the bacon and used pulled smoked pork and some smoked paprika. And about another 1/4 cup of brown sugar for a pot that big.

Southern classic... New Yorker living in CA.

I got the ingredients to make this tomorrow. Doing it North Carolina style. I'm glad to see you use Liam beans instead on green peas, and I always add potatoes too. I add a couple of teaspoons of liquid smoke so it tastes like its been cooked in one of those huge cast iron pots over an open flame at a church sale. And, if it's not thick enough, I stir in unseasoned instant mashed potatoes.

Looks great! When I was in Georgia it seemed like every tiny town had it's own version of Brunswick stew. I think I tried them all and liked them all😊 I can't wait to try this recipe. THANK YOU.

Another NC native here. We'd brine the squirrel, possum & jack rabbits in Cheerwine (or Coca Cola) to cut the gaminess. Brunswick Stew is love in a pot.

I had this down in Georgia last year OMG it was amazing

I have everything except the bacon and canned beans, but I have dried beans and hog Jowl. So I am making this dish for my family tonight. Thanks Chef!

Just made this and it’s fantastic. Putting it into the regular rotation. Thanks, Chef John1

a BBQ place near me serves this on fridays. They put in the same veggies (except potatoes) and ad: bbq pulled pork & chicken. it is Outstanding.

Nutrition in a bowl. Protein, potassium, tomatoes, veggies, fiber & mmmmm!! I wish someone from Campbell’s was watching this

"This is a cooking lesson not a philosophy class" ... genius!

You an chef JP are the best.

So great to make after Thanksgiving when the leftover turkey is abundant. LOVE Brunswick Stew!! 🍲

People in NC have communal dinners based entirely on Brunswick stew, saltine crackers, and Texas Pete hot sauce.

I’m 64 my grandmother and great - grandma were from Georgia lived NYC. She made this all the things I remember she said three types of meat beans corn canned whole tomatoes shredded elbow macaroni

Outstanding winter cold day meal. I cooked the onions peppers garlic chicken the same on the stove put transfer to a crock pot. I also use chicken stock. Please serve with biscuits or cornbread. And finally, the state of South Carolina is offended you said the recipe is from the north.

Someone in the comments always has a chef John mind read moment, and here's mine. I was JUST googling Brunswick stew recipes! Thanks! You are the Samuel L Jackson of my food craving mental connection.

North Carolina here. The biggest mistake you made was using a small pot. Use the biggest pot you have and multiply the recipe by 10. You can never make too much because everyone loves it! We make it in a cast iron cauldron over a wood fire in the winter. We jar up all that goodness and eat well all winter long.

I never heard of this. But i love learning new recipes! It looks I’ll have to try it sometime

This is one of the most Visualy appealing soups I’ve seen in a long time

It's winter here in Australia This dish is perfect

My favorite winter dish!

The best Brunswick stew is made with the leftover pulled pork from a smoked pork shoulder.

Thanks for the recipe. I used to eat the version of this sold at Smithfields when I was stationed in North Carolina.

I feel your pain. Born, raised and living in the Boston area of Massachusetts and now living in dimwitted indiana...ugh. situations happen. Nothing compares to the East Coast for me. I don't miss the rent, but I definitely miss the food.

Looks delicious, Chef John, you should totally come to the Brunswick festival in October, it's in Lawrenceville VA, and omg the Brunswick stew contest sounds right up your alley.

Oh... yes. I haven't had Brunswick stew since I lived in northern Georgia. My favorite take on it kind of tastes like if barbeque was soup, so fantastic.

We ate Brunswick stew once a week at my elementary school in GA. It was my favorite lunch. It was made with leftover smoked pork butt or goat, leftover BBQ chicken, onions, tomato, and shoepeg corn. It was so thick you could eat it with a fork, and it definitely included BBQ sauce. What you have here could be a righteous gumbo on the Gulf coast. Looks delicious, just not what I've ever seen called Brunswick stew!

That pork chop is beautiful.

Having never heard of the dish, I expected a Brunswick Ham stew. Not disappointed of course!

This looks pretty darn good coming from a native from Savannah, Ga.

I was born and raised in NC and I fully approve of your stew. Your pulled pork was also pretty darn good.

Just finished a pot today. It's always a staple in our house with leftover Southeastern NC pulled pork barbecue and 1/2 head of cabbage (the other half was used for slaw with the pulled pork). Lol, we don't use squirrel either like the traditional recipe calls for, but chicken is always added with the pork, baby lima beans, potatoes, diced tomato, onion and corn. 😋 Edit: And yes, we always add a little bit of barbecue sauce. I like Baby Rays original

First time I ever made Brunswick stew was for a church fundraiser with our youth group in NC. We used a huge vat and boat oars to stir the stew, acting like the witches from MacBeth.

This looks soooo good. I will try it with rice for my take-to-work lunch.

Johnie is for real! My cookbook might floor him! Best to John.

Just made it. Best of the best.

Chef John, come and visit our town, Brunswick, GA, where the stew came from. Every year we have our annual Stewbalee toward the end of the summer. Some great stews are made.

I make a big batch of Brunswick stew almost yearly. I prefer butter over bacon and no worchestershire. I use squirrel and chicken broth. You can sauce in your bowl with bbq or hot sauce. This is good with BBQ pork.

Being from Brunswick County, NC, Brunswick Stew was never a thing in my family oddly enough but your recipe is very close to my grandma’s vegetable soup recipe that was made with a leftover hambone and trimmings. There’s usually a couple cans of tomato soup as part of the base along with whatever vegetables were on hand. Leftovers were usually given away in large mason jars. I make my version with beef stew meat that I cook to literal shreds after browning before adding remaining ingredients-potatoes and okra (pronounced okrie) are added last as they require less cooking time.

Potatoes in Brunswick stew?? That’s a new one! But, as you said, I love potatoes, so I’m sure it was a great addition! We might just have to try this!

I grew up in SC on Brunswick stew. Thank you for triggering good childhood memories for me.

I've always thought of it as part of a BBQ. Most BBQ joints in Georgia serve Brunswick Stew.

Add the potatoes. As a southern that has used wild game it helps bulk up the stew and the BBQ sauce is to cover some of the game taste not needed with the white meat. And consider trying over some rice. Thank you chef!

OMG! YOU READ MY MIND! I was *just* thinking about this stew this morning 😃

Crazy how a stew from my small county is so famous throughout the south, Win for Va

I'm making this tonight with venison meatballs, lil smokies and greens. The secret ingredient is a liberal amount of garlic pepper.

Brunswick Stew was first made in Brunswick County, Virginia. You need to add some BBQ sauce.

I'm from the Hudson Valley and I have my grandfather's recipe (which is not as complicated as this one and only calls for chicken) but I originally thought that Brunswick referred to the town in New Jersey where Rutgers is because he was a graduate of the class of 1929.

Bless your heart

This is pretty different from what I'm used to over here in Georgia, but it looks great none the less!

My family makes a production of at least 50 quarts when they make this for winter. Your take on this stew is way more beautiful than the long day project we make. What would you thicken your stew with? The "original" squirrel version was thickened with old bread and cooked over a fire in the woods. Our "fat hen" version thickens by reducing, broken down veggies, and time.

Leftover pulled pork (if such a thing actually exists) works great and can cut the cooking time down a bit as it's already tender. Boston butts are the most economical cut in the store right now.

Love your presentations Chef John. You seem like a great guy. Keep it up!

I really like this and I am So Southern. Well, except the okra, that is absolutely perfect. Thank you!

I love a good brunswick stew, definitely gonna make this.

I am going to try your version. The one time I made one I had followed a recipe which had bbq sauce and it was terrible. Yours looks a lot more pleasant.

Oh looks sooo good!!! Thank you for sharing it, gonna try it!! :D 1:57 this made me laugh so hard! well done! haha.

Definitely doing this one, sans squirrel. Thanks again Chief John.

Call me odd but it makes me swoon when Chef stirs the mixture then smooths the top. He knows how to stir things up!

Let's see, I'm from Georgia, and grew up here, and I've never seen Brunswick stew made that way whether it was from me, friends, family or restaurant. It's mostly meat including pork and ground beef. You got to add things that bring the tang with lots of tomatoes; got the corn right. Made some homemade barbecue sauce so you would use the same ingredients that you put in barbecue sauce. Or it won't taste like Brunswick stew. That's what we call vegetable and meat stew growing up. It's like the poor man's vegetable and meat stew. And we never used raccoon, squirrel or any other wild meat; that would be a different type of stew. That is just not Brunswick stew at all.

I started watching this video and got as far as "Sorry, no squirrel." I stopped there and planned on watching it later and the first RU-vid thumbnail I saw was, 'Squirrel shows gratitude'.

NO SQUIRREL?! Dernit!

I'm from PA mountains. Up to the 5 minute mark, that's how my mom cooked squirrel and rabbit. Kind of an Allegheny caccitore. No, we didn't eat possum or woodchuck. We're not animaks. But squirrel and rabbit, yes.

By far the best Brunswick stews I've ever had, are the ones I make in my own kitchen. Boston pork butt is my favorite meat for it. Chicken thighs are the second best though. Mine absolutely has BBQ sauce in it. I think most people who have had bad luck with BBQ sauce Brunswick stews, simply had bad stews. If you rely on it as one of the primary sourced of flavor, than of course it would be bad. I think that is the way with many foods. If it has been well made by someone who knows what they are doing, then it will taste good. Mine is distinctly different from Chef John's , but that is because I am making a different stew. Brunswick stew can be like gumbo. There are a bunch of different styles and types. While we may have our favorites, as long as the execution is good, that any type will be delicious.

When I saw the Brunswick stew tag, I thought, “chef John of San Francisco is going to cook squirrel?!? This I gotta see!” Gotta say, I was a tiny bit disappointed that no rodents were used.

I'm sure I've heard the name Brunswick Stew before but I've never known what it was. This version looks really tasty, (and probably decidely less stringy than other meat options). I'll have to try it some time.

Brunswick Stew is one of my favorites but I'd smoke the meats first, it's just what I'm accustomed to in alabama

I was actually looking for a great Brunswick stew!

‘What’s a good substitute for squirrel meat?’ 🤣🤣🤣

I've had squirrel meat....it's very good. Hunted, cleaned and skinned it all myself. I made a stew with parsnips and potatoes and other stuff....too long ago to remember. It was all dark meat and very tender. Quite good....but....it was really hard to get all that hairs off of it....lol.....so I highly recommend seeing if you can find some already cleaned and skinned by someone who knows how. 😆

This looks great! I think there's a misunderstanding about "BBQ sauce." North Carolina BBQ is not the gross, sticky, sweet junk they serve in Memphis, KC, or Texas. Our "BBQ sauce" is primarily apple cider vinegar and spices.

I'll share a family secret for Brunswick Stew: Coca-Cola. My family always made a "big ole pot" that included 1 bottle of Coca-Cola. For yours, I'd say about 1/4 of a bottle would work and leave off the vinegar. And instead of cayenne, use Tobasco.

I'm sure someone is complaining it's not authentic without the squirrel. LOL

Not using the brown sugar and adding the bbq sauce gives you exactly the sweet and smokey flavor that takes it over the top. I use chicken thighs, left over smoked pulled pork and left over smoked beef brisket in mine.

Chef John I'm going to assume you don't know there's a huge argument in the south between two very different dishes that both call themselves Brunswick stew. This is the Carolina style Brunswick Stew. It definitely is NOT what what is referred to as Brunswick stew in Georgia (which is made with pulled pork and chicken and not squirrel).

Cornbread biscuits are a thing and I demand a recipe and soon.