Southeastern Stew Converted to Pioneer Life.

Written historical “facts” can be highly debated due to the old saying of, “history is written by the victors”.  The “winners” of a war write out their history to depict, not only how strong their troops and strategy were, but how weak and disorganized the losers were.  But another factor that makes much of written history questionable is that a culture may only have related their history orally.

Take, for example, the Celtic Druids who left no written history due to a strict religious doctrine that forbade committing their sacred knowledge to writing. They believed that relying on written words would weaken memory, and that their divine secrets were too profound to be recorded for the general public.  What we know of the Druids comes from records written by the observations of the Greeks and Romans.  The Romans, however, were unsuccessful in assimilating the Druids into their newly formed Christian beliefs, so eliminated all they could capture.  A perfect example of, “If you’re not one of us, you’re against us.”

Other cultures did not use writing tools and some type of recording medium, such as stone tablets, parchment, papyrus or paper.  What is referred to as “rock art” around the world refers to the drawings of indigenous cultures in various lands.  Their drawings tell stories, give news, and have become their historical records.  Unfortunately, too many people are ignorant to the historical significance of “rock art”, and desecrate sites by adding their own version of signature or artwork.

So, where am I going with all this about written vs. unwritten history?  Recipes often have no factual origin history, or background, due to not being recorded.  Families may have handed them down, for generations, via word of mouth; or written in a book that stayed within a family, and never shared.

For example, Brunswick Stew, and the name sounds very British, doesn’t it?  Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (author of The Yearling), wrote in her 1942 Cross Creek Cookery, that this dish is similar to a stew which originated in Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1815-1918), Germany, and was quite a favorite meal of England’s Queen Victoria. 

 

 

 

 

However, oh yes, here comes the big however, two states in America debate that origin story.  Brunswick County, Virginia (1828): Virginia lore credits Jimmy Matthews, an African American hunting-camp cook for state legislator Dr. Creed Haskins, for creating the stew in 1828 during a hunting trip along the Nottoway River. The recipe originally featured squirrel, butter, onions, and stale bread. The Virginia General Assembly officially recognized Brunswick County as the birthplace of the stew via a 1988 resolution.

 

 

 

 

 

Brunswick, Georgia (1898): The coastal city of Brunswick, Georgia, lays claim to a slightly later origin. Local lore asserts the first batch was cooked there in 1898, and a 25-gallon iron pot stands in the town square marking the historical vessel. The Georgia version of the stew often incorporates barbecue sauce or ketchup.

But wait! Anthropologists and culinary historians widely agree that the stew's true foundation lies in communal dishes prepared by Southeastern indigenous tribes. They simmered seasonal game, such as squirrel, groundhog, or venison, with corn, squash, and beans long before European arrival. The Virginia tribes noted are Algonquian, Sioux, and Iroquois, and in Georgia they are Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee.

There are dozens and dozens of recipes online for Brunswick Stew, and each depends on whether the home cook/chef is looking for more authentic, or primarily using ingredients of their region.

Here’s an overview of what many of these recipes might consist of, and how they are prepared.

Key Ingredients

Meats: 1 whole chicken (cut into parts) and 1 lb. smoked pork shoulder or pulled pork

Base: 4 cups chicken broth, 1 can (28 oz) crushed or whole peeled tomatoes

Veggies: 2 cups baby lima beans, 2 cups corn, and 2 medium potatoes (diced)

Seasoning & Sauce: 1 chopped yellow onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ cup BBQ sauce, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp smoked paprika

Thickener: 1–2 tbsp butter and optionally a handful of breadcrumbs (or creamed corn) 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cook the Chicken: In a large Dutch oven, boil the whole chicken with the onion and seasonings in the broth until it is falling off the bone.

2. Shred & Prep: Remove the chicken, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat.

3. Build the Stew: Add your tomatoes and chicken broth back to the pot. Add the potatoes, lima beans, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, and the smoked pork.

4. Simmer: Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 to 2 hours, stirring frequently until thick.

5. Add Corn: Stir in the corn and shredded chicken during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking.

6. Thicken & Serve: If the stew is too thin, stir in butter or a small amount of breadcrumbs, and serve hot.

Well now, here we are in the southeastern corner of Utah, so I’m going to pretend to be a pioneer, and use the ingredients available in the 1880s to early 1900s.  Now remember, the San Juan Mission pioneers, aka Hole-in-the-Rock, had 83 wagons full of people, clothing, household goods, and food.  It took six months to reach Bluff, so much of that food was consumed by the 200 pioneers, their horses, oxen, and chickens; there were no supermarkets or convenience stores, along the route, to restock supplies at.  Once in Bluff, trading with the Navajo and Ute was essential, also learning what native plants were edible, as well as fishing from the San Juan River, hunting game, and developing vegetable gardens. From the local natives, they traded for corn, squash, melons and beans; and cultivated crops of tomatoes, peas, potatoes and turnips.

So, now, with all that information, here’s my recipe for Brunswick Stew that a San Juan County pioneer would have cooked up.  Ok, wait, I’m only pretending to cook pioneer style, so no open fire cooking, just using my handy-dandy crock pot.

 

Brunswick Stew

 Ingredients:

3 and ½ lbs. chicken parts with bone (I used legs and thighs as the meat won’t dry out while cooking in the crock pot)

2 cups diced (medium dice) potatoes (peeled & parboiled)

2 cups whole kernel corn

2 cups pinto beans (or Anasazi for that true heritage appeal)

2 cups diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade which already includes salt, black pepper & paprika)

½ cup diced onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. chili powder

¼ cup all-purpose flour (the thickener)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375F, spray a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. 

 

 

 

Remove skin and as much fat as possible from chicken parts and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes, let cool to touch and remove all meat into bowl, breaking up into bite sized pieces.

 

Set 4-quart crock pot on low, place parboiled potatoes, corn, beans and chicken inside; spread tomatoes over all.  In a large bowl, mix broth, onion, garlic and chili powder together, and pour over ingredients inside crock pot.

 

Cook for 4-6 hours; test potatoes to see if fork tender.  If they are, whisk the flour into the stew quickly to avoid clumping; let cook another 15 minutes and liquid will thicken, and remain clear.

Makes 6-8 servings.

This stew has influences from the indigenous tribes with the use of corn, beans, onion and garlic (wild variety of onion and garlic would have been used).  The pioneer influences are the chicken, potatoes and tomatoes.  Put it all together and you have a southeastern stew converted to a pioneer life.

Mary Cokenour