Twice a year our church prepares and cooks Brunswick stew. The proceeds from the sale of the stew go to the Christian Women’s Fellowship where it is then spent on various church activities and community services. The preparation and cooking of the stew is an all-hands, labor intensive effort while at the same time providing fellowship and community outreach. Our Brunswick stew is a best seller and we always sell out. On average we make about 300 quarts for sale in the Spring and even more for the Fall Bazaar and lunch.

The actual preparation, cooking, canning, and sale of the stew is a two day effort. That does not count the time spent shopping for the needed ingredients, advertising, and planning. On the first day the chicken is cooked and then the meat is shredded from the chicken. At the same time, the onions, celery, and potatoes are prepared and diced. The other ingredients have already been purchased and readied.

The list of ingredients is as follows:

• Cooked, shredded chicken
• Cooked, diced potatoes
• Onions
• Celery
• Sweet Potatoes
• Crushed Tomatoes
• Corn
• Lima Beans
• Butter
• Worcester sauce
• Bullion cubes
• Assorted spices (secret)
• Chicken stock
• Bacon, bacon grease
• Water

Following a very specific order the various ingredients are added to two very large aluminum pots where the stew is cooked over propane burners, being stirred by a team of stirrers using large wooden stirring paddles. This is the most laborious part of the operation. The exact proportion of each ingredient is added in order and cooked to the head cooks specifications. It generally take 10 complete pots to make enough stew to fill the 300 quarts.

The finished stew is them measured into quart mason jars by another team. Sales and pickup of pre-orders takes place as soon as the first batch is complete. This usually takes from 6 am to Noon to complete, not counting final cleanup.

All in all it is a lot of work but well worth it. Everyone has a good time doing it and the proceeds all go to good causes. So tomorrow morning I will be at church at 6 am doing my part. I already helped with the chopping of the celery and potatoes earlier today. We are hoping for good weather for the outdoor cooking.

So if you ever want some really good, homemade Brunswick Stew, give us a call. All the stew for the Spring sale is sold but we will be taking order in the Fall. Our Church is

Park View Christian Church (DOC).

Everyone have a Blessed Day.