Why Everyone Should Make Brunswick Stew, a Southern Classic

Soul-warming, savory and sweet, this dish with a deep history is perfect for right now.

Soul-warming, savory and sweet, this dish with a deep history is perfect for right now.

Raconteur and humorist Roy Blount Jr. quips that Brunswick stew is what happens when small mammals carrying ears of corn fall into barbecue pits.

Some decades ago, Brunswick, Georgia, mounted a 25-gallon iron pot atop a town monument.  

Freeman Alley, NYC

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It's true that Brunswick stew was once made with a variety of wild game, particularly squirrels and rabbits, but it's now usually made with chicken and pork 

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The inscription declares the pot to be the very one in which the very first Brunswick stew did bubble on July 2, 1898.

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Georgian Brunswick stew tends to be made in relatively small batches, often in local cafes where it is served as a barbecue side dish.

Georgian Brunswick stew tends to be made in relatively small batches, often in local cafes where it is served as a barbecue side dish.

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In 1988, the Virginia General Assembly issued a decree naming Brunswick County the home of Brunswick stew, claiming they can trace their stew back to 1828.

Bickering over who made it first and who makes it best is one of those (mostly) good-natured battles that will never be settled 

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Old Virginia Brunswick Stew." 

Old Virginia Brunswick Stew."