Brunswick Stew

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Jessica, I've made the recipe from The Williamsburg Cookbook for longer than I've had children (36 years in December ;) ) and have never been disappointed. I have substituted just chicken legs for the whole chickens - sometimes the corner grocery store will sell them for 39 cents a pound!

Chowning's Tavern Brunswick Stew
 
Jessica, I've made the recipe from The Williamsburg Cookbook for longer than I've had children (36 years in December ;) ) and have never been disappointed. I have substituted just chicken legs for the whole chickens - sometimes the corner grocery store will sell them for 39 cents a pound!

Chowning's Tavern Brunswick Stew

CG what's the purpose of that one teaspoon of sugar? I think what has always turned me off from this stew is the okra. I know I can omit it if I so choose to do. But it has now become a mental block for me.
 
CG what's the purpose of that one teaspoon of sugar? I think what has always turned me off from this stew is the okra. I know I can omit it if I so choose to do. But it has now become a mental block for me.

The purpose of the sugar, like in any other savory recipe, is to balance the flavors. That's why it says to taste. If you don't think it needs it, leave it out.

The original Brunswick stew did not include okra, so it's certainly not necessary to the recipe. Originally, there were very few vegetables in Brunswick stew. They were added over the years since then.
 
There was a old guy in our town that would make the best BS. I remember that he would smoke a chicken and Pork shoulder then pull the meat for the stew. He would use fresh tomatoes, butter beans and corn and cook it down with a little BBQ sauce and some cayenne peppers. I thought the interesting thing he did was use all the juice from the tomato, he said that it added the acid you needed, then would use instant potato flakes to thicken it where he wanted. Maybe it was the cast iron pot over an open flame, stirred with a wooden boat paddle. It was amazing.
 
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