Recipe: Brunswick Stew

I admittedly only make this recipe a few times a year because it requires the aforementioned pulled pork to make it work - something that I don't take the opportunity to make very often. Technically, you could do this recipe with an equivalent amount of pulled chicken - about the amount of chicken you'd get from 2 BBQ'ed or rotisserie whole birds. Very often in the south such substitutions are made when someone gets a hankerin' for this recipe yet doesn't have the necessary pulled pork on hand - it's just how we roll in true southern cooking :) The recipe has its origins with one of the deacons and close family friends at the Baptist church I grew up attending in the small town of Lizella, Georgia. I've taken the roots of the recipe my mother could remember and combined those up with modifications I've made over the years (mostly due to ingredients on hand being very different in California) to land on this particular recipe. I've got a few more vegetables in mine because, well, I like the vegetables. However, feel free to make whatever substitutions or additions you'd like in that department - in general, I end up putting whatever I have on hand in the freezer or canned in the pantry in it.

Brunswick Stew

Ingredients

Main

All pork from oven-roasted pulled pork recipe

1 16 oz. can or frozen package of butter beans

1 16 oz. can or frozen package of sweet corn kernels

1 16 oz. can or frozen package of sweet peas

1 16 oz. can or frozen package of cut green beans

1 16 oz. frozen package of chopped collard, mustard, or other bitter greens

1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

Stew Broth

5 cups water

4 cups low salt chicken broth

1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 stalk of celery, stems removed, diced (about 2 cups)

2 large carrots, diced (about 2 cups)

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 cups ketchup

1 cup Djion mustard

1/2 c. dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or similar)

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp. minced garlic (approx. 15 cloves)

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. liquid smoke

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp ground black pepper

1/2 tbsp ground white pepper

2 tsp cracked red pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

2/3 cup brown sugar

Directions

Put all of the ingredients for the stew broth together in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes to allow flavors to combine, stirring occasionally. 

Add pulled pork. Bring back to a simmer and simmer an additional 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add all remaining frozen/canned vegetables. Bring back to a low simmer and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Because of the number and amount of ingredients, the final consistency should be that of a thick, hearty stew. If not thick enough to your liking, use a corn starch slurry (2 tsp corn starch whisked into 2 tbsp of water) to thicken up, adding additional slurry every 5 minutes or so to get to desired consistency. I do not recommend using a roux as a thickener for this stew given the amount of retained fat from the pulled pork. 

Makes enough servings to feed a small army :).

Recipe: Stout-Braised Short Ribs

OK... so I had one bottle of Guinness and some boneless short ribs left in my refrigerator, and that was the inspiration for this recipe. Yeah, I know... kinda corny, but it turned out REALLY good. Oh, how I love short ribs :).

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. of short ribs (bone-in preferred)
1 16 oz. bottle/can of Guinness or other stout beer
1/2 cup of maple syrup
1 1/2 cup of your favorite spicy/tangy BBQ sauce (choose one that is low to nil on sugar content, or lower the maple syrup amount used)
3 tbsp. of chopped garlic
2 cups of beef broth
2 - 3 tbsp. of olive oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, placing racks on their lowest rungs in the oven. In a medium-sized Dutch oven (I use a cast iron Dutch oven which seems to work the best... although a regular aluminum/steel one works fine, too), heat the olive oil on the stove over medium-high heat. Place the short ribs in the Dutch oven with the olive oil, brown on the non-bone sides (about 2 mins. each side). Add all other ingredients to the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer.

Once the liquid has started simmering well, cover Dutch oven with lid and transfer to the oven (the rack you place it on should be no more than two rungs from the very bottom of the oven). Bake for 2 1/2 - 3 hours. The sauce will caramelize around and infuse the meat, so it's not necessary to pour any of the sauce over the meat when serving.

Short ribs are generally quite lean, but keep in mind that almost all of the fat in them cooks out during this braising process, so while 2 1/2 - 3 lbs. sounds like a lot, it'll actually only feed 3 - 4 people (2 if they’re really hungry ;)).

Makes 3 - 4 servings.