Brunswick Stew

Being from the north, I had no idea what Brunswick Stew was until we moved to North Carolina. I saw it on a menu in a bbq place that was near where we lived at the time, in Kernersville. It's a "stew" of sorts that might or might not contain tomatoes. It usually contains lima beans, corn and at least one type of meat. I'm convinced that most places probably use leftovers to make this "stew" because it's never quite the same each time you order it. Nevertheless, I really like it.

Of course, I'm the only member of our family that will eat it...until now. I've adapted a recipe from a cookbook called "Quick Fixes with Mixes" from the editors of Southern Living. Their recipe calls for shredded pork + bbq sauce. Instead, I used leftovers from this over-the-top-delicious Jack Daniel's pulled pork bbq that we'd eaten earlier in the week. The pulled pork was made with homemade Jack Daniels bbq sauce. I bought frozen lima beans thinking that I would add them into my stew since I'm the only one who will eat them....I forget all about them until we were half way through the meal. That was a bummer but it didn't take away from this great-tasting "stoup" (if I can borrow that word from Rachel Ray because this wasn't a soup but it wasn't as thick as a stew, either.) But the biggest change that I made was to omit the cubed hashbrowns and instead, serve the soup over cooked elbow macaroni. I can't remember any of the Brunswick stew that I've eaten at different locations ever having any type of potatoes in it. We didn't miss the potatoes one bit.

We enjoyed this version of Brunswick stew. It was a great way to use up leftovers. The best part was that I cooked it all in my crockpot, staying nice and cool in during this heat wave!

Crockpot Brunswick Stew
adapted from Quick Fixes with Mixes
my version in bold text

3 lbs. shredded cooked pork - I used about 2 lbs from leftover my Jack Daniel's bbq pulled pork (thaw if frozen)
4 c. frozen cubed hash brown potatoes - I omitted these and poured the stew over cooked elbow macaroni
 3 (14 1/2 oz) cans diced tomatoes wtih garlic and onions
1 (14 1/2 oz) can corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 oz) can cream-style corn
1/2 c. bbq sauce - I omitted this since my pork recipe already contained bbq sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 1/2 tsp salt - I omitted
1/2 tsp pepper
2 c. frozen lima beans - I omitted but would make a great addition to the stew

The original recipe calls for mixing these ingredients together in a large stock pot. Bring the stew to a boil, and then simmering for 45 minutes, stirring often.

However, I stirred all of the ingredients together in my 6 qt. crockpot and cooked it for 2 hours on low and then for 2 hours on warm. 

Serve with warm cornbread.