Brunswick Stew
I have long resisted the rotisserie chicken on display at the grocery store. I think it was pure snobbery on my part. I thought- well I can cook a chicken better than the grocery store! And while that is true, for some incomprehensible reason the already cooked and seasoned rotisserie chicken is almost half the price of its raw counterpart. And its already cooked– ie instant dinner! Why is this? Does Costco think “I will get you here with my low priced chicken and you will inevitably spend $300 on toilet paper and other other random items that somehow add up to $300.” If so, I think they are on to something. I cannot walk into Costco and not spend $300. Its like a disease.
Well I am done fighting the rotisserie chicken. I am embracing whole heartedly. As in every week I now buy a cheap rotisserie chicken and use it up in a variety of ways throughout the week. This is a gamechanger. For all of your working parents out there- embrace!
This stew is a perfect way to use up your rotisserie chicken, turning what feels like a comforting Sunday dinner into a weeknight meal with leftovers. Still not buying into the pre-cooked chicken? You can certainly use your own cooked poultry.
I had not heard of a Brunsick Stew until I read Julia Turshen’s recent book. As a Canadian, I assumed this had something to do with New Brunsick but was disappointed in its lack of Canadian back-story (apparently it is a southern dish emanating from either Brunswick, Georgia or Brunswick County, Virginia and this is a hotly debated origin of course). Regardless of where it came from, it is a warm, filling, tasty dish with the same comfortable feeling I get from great chicken soup. Think of it as thick soup.
If you can’t find frozen lima beans (I have not been successful), canned beans work fine. According to Turshin you can omit the bacon and just add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil, but what is the fun in that!
Brunswick Stew
Julia Turshen, Simply Julia
Serves 6
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded, skin discarded and bones reserved
4 cups water
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound (113g) bacon (about 4 slices), finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
kosher salt
One 28-ounce (794g) can diced tomatoes with their juice
One 10-ounce (283 g) package frozen lima beans
Kernels from 3 ears of fresh corn (or a 16-ounce (453g) package frozen corn kernels
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Place the chicken bones in a medium pot over high heat. Add the water, bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer while you get the rest of the stew going. [Note: if you have time to spare, let this simmer for an hour or so, if no no worries!]
Place the olive oil and bacon in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring now and then, until all of the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve it (leave the fat in the pot).
Stir the onion into the hot fat and turn the heat to medium. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt and cook, stirring now and then, until the onion begins to soften, about 8 minutes.
Add the shredded chicken meat to the onions along with the tomatoes and their juices. Ladle the chicken stock through a handheld sieve or colander directly into the pot and discard the bones.
Turn the heat to high, bring the stew to a boil, then turn it to low and allow it to simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Season the mixture to taste with salt.
Add the lima beans, corn, and black pepper and simmer just until the lima beans and corn are tender, about 10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together the butter and flour in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew. Simmer until everything is thickened and all the parts come together to make an irresistible sum, a final 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve hot with the reserved bacon sprinkled on top.