Some of you may remember the "Family Recipes" thread I made a long time ago where I posted a large batch Brunswick stew recipe. I decided to do the math convert it to a quantity suitable for slow-cookers. Other HLPers on the Discord expressed interest in a new "What's Cooking?" thread, so I thought I'd make the first post. Without further ado, here's
T-Rog's Crock Pot Brunswick Stew (for a 3.5qt slow cooker) (all quantities are approximate)
- 0.875 lbs of stew beef
- 0.904 lbs of chicken (a mixture of dark and white meat is preferred)
- 9.248 oz of green lima beans
- 0.4375 lbs of onions
- 28 oz of crushed tomatoes
- 12 oz of corn
- 66 g of butter
- 1 tbsp of liquid smoke
- 29.2 g of white sugar
- 1.458 lbs of potatoes
- salt, black pepper, red pepper, and chili seasoning to taste
My process, which needs serious refinement:Chop and cook the chicken via boiling. Use chicken broth or chicken boullion to make broth. Keep the broth. Store chicken.
4:53 PM -- Chop onion and add to slow cooker. Pour some of the chicken broth into the crock pot. Set crock pot to high.
5:10 PM -- Stir crock pot. Add lima beans. Cook 50 minutes.
6:00 PM -- Stir crock pot. Chop potatoes into irregular bite size pieces and add them to the crock pot.
6:50 PM -- Stir pot. Add chicken to crock pot and begin boiling beef.
Skim foam off of the surface of the pot beef is being boiled in. Once the beef is cooked, add it to the crock pot as well. Stir pot.
Add liquid smoke. Stir pot. Leave uncovered and go to a classical music concert.
9:50 PM -- Stir pot. Add tomatoes.
10:30 PM -- Stir pot. Add corn and butter. Scream because the pot is nearly overflowing and your lid won't fit anymore. Leave uncovered and reduce.
02:00 AM -- put lid on and set crock pot to low. Substitute sugar for local honey and add it to the pot. Sleep.
09:50 AM -- Stir pot. Almost ready. Realize stew is too thick and add water. Add salt, pepper, red pepper, and chili seasoning. Stir pot.
11:18 AM -- Say "**** it, it's done," even though the beef hasn't cooked apart like it's supposed to. Stir pot. Taste.
Find out your stew tastes scorched and cry like a *****.
Bonus picture, courtesy of my girlfriend.Afterword (My plan for next time based on what I've learned):Trying to replicate my parents' and grandparents' cooking process in a slow cooker instead of in a cauldron over a wood fire was probably a mistake.
I think I should have cooked the the beef and chicken by themselves in a mixture of beef and chicken broth the crock pot the night before. This should give the chicken and beef more time to tenderize and fall apart. The next morning, add the onions and lima beans at the same time. Cook for four hours on low. Stir. Add potatoes and crushed tomatoes. Don't use San Marzano tomatoes this time. Cook for four hours on low. Add corn, butter, sugar, and seasonings. Stir and cook on low for one hour.
I'd love for you all to try and make this recipe, but don't **** it up like I did. It'd be great if anyone could give me some tips or a general guideline for what I should do instead next time.