This is an amalgam of many recipes for Brunswick stew dating back to the 1870s. Generally speaking this is a Virginia version, not a Georgia version. My recipe is "deluxe" in that it has all the optional ingredients, but you can use whatever you have on hand, skipping what you don't. Meats are variable, too.
Recipe by Hank Shaw on January 3, 2022
Prep time: PT30M
Cook time: PT240M
Total time: PT270M
Rating
4.91 stars (10 reviews)
Ingredients
3 pounds squirrel meat, cut into serving pieces ((see below for options))
1 large onion, (chopped)
2 quarts chicken broth
1 28- ounce can of crushed tomatoes
Salt
2 cups diced tomato ((optional))
1 pound potatoes, (cut into chunks)
1 pound frozen baby lima beans ((or fresh))
1 pound corn kernels, (fresh or frozen)
½ pound okra, (sliced (optional))
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup butter
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, (or to taste)
Tabasco or other hot sauce, (to taste)
Black pepper to taste
Categories
Appetizer
lunch
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Steps
Pour the broth along with another quart of water into a large, lidded pot such as a Dutch oven. Bring this to a boil, and add the onion and salt to taste. Add the squirrel or other meat and skim any foam that forms. Simmer gently until the meat is falling off the bone, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.
Fish out all the meats and remove the meat from the bones; this makes the stew a lot easier to eat. Discard the bones.
Add all the tomatoes and the potatoes and simmer 30 minutes.
Add the beans, corn and okra and simmer another 30 minutes.
Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined. Tinker with seasonings and serve. Cornbread is a nice accompaniment.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 264 kcal
Carbohydrates: 28 g
Protein: 22 g
Fat: 8 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 75 mg
Sodium: 385 mg
Sugar: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
Reviews
Sue Rutherford. on 2025-08-06 (4 stars): I had a ham bone left from Christmas. I boiled it down with a chicken thigh till it fell off the bone. Put my other vegetables in and ended up with a large pot of stew. Took me several hours to cook. You slow cook this to get the starch in the vegetables to thicken it up. It was delicious.
Sandbarunner on 2022-01-28 (5 stars): Another home run from Hank. Used wild boar front shoulders. Smoked until almost shreddable. Then into pot with broth to finish it off! My OH My! Perfect for cold raining day here in the Lowcountry! Going to be really cold tomorrow and I bet this stew will be even better then.
Ron on 2022-01-04 (5 stars): Great food history. Perfect timing as deer season is winding down and the squirrels had a great year in Central Maryland. We had the best acorn year in a long time.
Elizabeth on 2022-01-03 (5 stars): I saw this today and it brought back childhood memories of eating Brunswick Stew at Colonial Williamsburg. I still remember it was my first time seeing okra! And as my parent were the kind of people who didn’t believe in wasting food, you ate everything, including the okra which I love to this day. So I decided I had to try to make this and honestly I don’t know why I’ve never made Brunswick Stew. I have fresh home canned tomatoes, fresh frozen corn and fresh lima beans! I stared out my window watching the many fat squirrels enjoy the birdseed, and I wondered….. but alas I caved and headed to the store for stew beef. I know it calls for lighter meats but the beef was lovely. Sadly no okra- fresh or frozen which is maybe better as it always seems to turn slimy on me. I just enjoyed an amazing bowl along with homemade sourdough bread. I used cooked frozen bacon I keep on hand and chopped that up instead of fresh bacon or ham. It still gave a lovely flavor. This was a great way to enjoy all of the corn and lima beans I put up. A person can really only eat so much succotash. I followed the instructions very closely but basically halved the recipe. It is wonderful and I always love reading the history of your recipes. Someday I am going to try to to make the sauce from immature black walnuts that is like Worchestshire sauce. I will definitely make this again!!
Kathrine Elizabeth Hill on 2022-01-03 (5 stars): Love this stew!!! Great with deer neck!
Going to add sweet potatoes this round
Chris Baisey on 2022-01-03 (5 stars): Hank,
This is spot on. I make about thousand quarts a year. I use two different recipes, Depending on who I'm cooking for.
I'm a big fan of adding sweet potatoes. Gives a great flavor as they melt away.
If the stew gets a little to hot to the taste, adding honey brings it back around.
Thanks again Hank