New Year's Day - Stew!

Angela and her friend Steph decided we'd do something different for New Year's: make a Brunswick Stew at Steph's house.



First the girls cut up the beef and pork, while I was outside setting up the cooker. This big cast-iron kettle (also known as a "Number Ten Washpot") is nearly 100 years old, and originally belonged to Angela's great-grandfather. It's 20 inches across and 18 inches deep.

The stew recipe came from Angela's daddy, who is said to have spent 10 years perfecting it.



First the beef and pork go into the big stewpot, while the chicken is boiling in a separate stock pot.




This picture is one of my favorites... but then, I'm a pyro from way back.


Then the onions and potatoes go in. As the potatoes cook, Angela breaks them up with a pair of tongs.



After the chicken has been boiled, we pulled it off the bones (and removed the skin) and put it in the stewpot. Then we added corn, baby lima beans, and tomatoes.



See, I did more than just take pictures:


Starting to look like stew:


When the paddle stands up by itself, the stew is ready to serve!


I, personally, am from Louisiana. I never tasted Brunswick Stew until I came to North Carolina in 1999. So my opinion of this stew isn't really relevant. (But for the record, let me say that I really love it!) There were a number of people at the party who were born in North Carolina, and they all said that this is the best they've ever tasted. I guess over the years Angela's daddy got his recipe perfected.

Before we made this batch of stew, Angela believed that the pot has a 10-gallon capacity. It does have a big "10" stamped on the side. But it holds more than 10 gallons. We had about 12 adults at dinner, and after we all ate as much as we could hold, we packed another 42 quarts of stew for the freezer. Someday I'm going to measure how many gallons of water it takes to fill it. 

Just to keep my Mama from rolling over in her grave, let me mention that we also had some cabbage and blackeye peas, too. So I won't have to be poor and friendless in 2010.

Stephanie, like me, is originally from Baton Rouge. As we were setting up the pot, she said, "I bet we could make a great jambalaya in this thing." We talked about that some more after dinner, and Angela mentioned she has a birthday coming up next month. So we'll be making jambalaya for Angela's birthday! Stay tuned...