Brunswick stew is a traditional dish, popular in the American South. The origin of the dish is uncertain, and there are two competing claims as to the place in the South where it originated, in addition to some claim to a German origin. In some parts of the South (particularly the Carolinas), it is also known as "hash", and served over rice.
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Recipes for Brunswick stew vary greatly but it is usually a tomato-based stew containing various types of lima beans/butter beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Most recipes claiming authenticity call for squirrel or rabbit meat, but chicken, pork, and beef are also common ingredients. Some versions have a distinctly smoky taste. Eastern North Carolina Brunswick Stew has potatoes, which thickens it considerably. Eastern Virginia Brunswick Stew tends to be thinner, with more tomato flavor and less smoky flavor.
The stew essentially resembles a very thick vegetable soup with meat. The key distinguishing factor between soup and Brunswick stew is the consistency. Brunswick stew must be thick; otherwise, it would be vegetable soup with meat added. Most variations have more meat and vegetables than liquid.
The main difference between the Georgia and Virginia versions have been the types of meat used. The Virginia version tends to favor chicken as the primary meat, along with rabbit. The Georgia version tends to favor pork and beef along with squirrel. As there is no "official" recipe for Brunswick stew, it is possible to find chicken, pork, beef, and other types of meat included in the same recipe. North Carolina natives have been known for their own unique concoction, similarly thick and tomato based, using chicken-breast chunks and pulled Eastern North Carolina–style barbecue (pork) as the meat.[1]
Currently, there is a debate as to whether Brunswick stew was originally made near the town of Brunswick, Georgia or in Brunswick County, Virginia.[2]
In Georgia, a plaque on a pot in Brunswick states that the first Brunswick stew was cooked in it on July 2, 1898, on nearby St. Simons Island.[2] A competing story, however, claims that the dish hails from Brunswick County in southern Virginia. According to one legend, the camp chef of a Virginia state legislator invented the recipe in 1828 on a hunting expedition, and everyone was immediately hooked.[3][4]
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings claimed in her 1942 cookbook Cross Creek Cookery that the dish, said to be one of Queen Victoria's favorites, may have originated in Braunschweig, Germany.[5]
In most areas where Brunswick stew is sold for fundraising, it is cooked in large iron pots over open flame or gas. Unlike soup, the stew is usually allowed to simmer and cook for long periods of time. This may be attributed to the older tradition of putting game meats into the stew, which might require a longer cooking time to ensure that the meats were tender.