Famous Alabama Camp Stew
This recipe is as old as the hills and is often known as Brunswick stew outside of my stomping grounds. Hearty and delicious this stew will fill you up and keep you and your family grinnin’ like a possum eating a sweet tater.
Famous Alabama Camp Stew
If you happen to live anywhere near Alabama and go to the grocery store to get the ingredients for this, chances are the cashier will ask “You making camp stew?”.
Mama remembers having Camp Stew as a child, around campfires, at family gatherings, and even in the school lunchroom. The name came from it being so easy to make while camping since it can be made entirely out of canned goods.
Many Variations of This Stew…
Some people add potatoes, some leave out the onion and opt only for canned goods, and others add Worcestershire or hot sauce. Add more corn, less corn, lima beans instead of butter beans, etc. This is easily modified so go with your favorites. I would try to keep the meat the same, though, because a lot of the flavor comes from the sauce in that.
However, I have seen other brands of this meat and they work just fine as well – we tend to stick with Castlebury’s but don’t let another brand be a deal breaker. Either way you go, this is one of the most delicious flavorful stews to ever touch a spoon and my friend Jyl has a firm policy in her family that she always doubles the recipe because folks can’t help but come back for seconds, thirds, and often fourths. The recipe below will serve about 6 people.
Make it how you like but I suggest trying it this way first, because you’ll likely be hooked from the get go and the first bite will tell you exactly why this stew is so famous.
Ingredients You’ll need for this Alabama Camp or Brunswick Stew Recipe Are:
- Canned Pork in BBQ sauce and Canned Beef in BBQ sauce Or 2 cans of one or the other
- Canned Chicken in water or Rotisserie works too.
- Diced tomatoes
- Butter beans or lima beans
- Canned corn
- Onion
How To Make Alabama Camp Stew also known as Brunswick Stew
Note: Peel and dice your onion. Open all your cans and don’t drain them. Toss it all in there, liquid and all. No salt or pepper is needed unless you just really want to add it but I’d suggest tasting it first.
Put all of this in a pot over medium heat and stir often until it comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring from time to time, for about an hour.
*If you are cooking this over a fire, just stoke the fire, put ingredients in the pot, stir it a lot, and try your best not to let the bottom scorch. Eat it when you get tired of messing with it. 🙂
Enjoy your delicious camp stew!
If you are making my Bags To Dishes meals, this is a great addition! Simply leave out the onion and the entire recipe is shelf stable.
Ingredients
- 3-14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 14 ounce can whole kernel corn
- 14 ounce can butter beans baby limas, or limas
- 1 onion chopped
- 2-10 ounce cans beef bbq in sauce I use Castlebury's
- 10 or 12 ounce can chicken
Instructions
- Dump all contents into a medium sized stockpot, including liquid in all of the cans.
- Place over medium heat, stirring often, and bring just to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, stirring from time to time, for 30 minutes to an hour.
Nutrition
You may also enjoy these stew recipes:
Lentil Stew Budget Friendly & Delicious
Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!)
Chicken Stew Recipe 30 Minutes To Your Table
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.
Does anyone know if Winn-Dixie sells the Castleberry’s bbq pork and beef in the can? Thanks!
We don’t have Winn Dixie’s in my area anymore but I find it at Walmart and Dollar General has their brand of it that’s quite good.
I live in Iowa and we don’t have canned BBQ anything available. Do you think it would work to use something like Lloyds? http://www.hormelfoods.com/Brands/BrandWall/Lloyds-Barbeque-Products
I think it would be a wonderful substitute!
I have used someting like this with the shredded beef. It was delicious!
I only have an iPad. The last two weeks your web page has a lot of pop ups. Plus I can not print them any more. It prints blank pages.
The print function hasn’t changed. When you click on the “print” button on the recipe card at the bottom it pops up in it’s own window with just the recipe card so make sure you are doing it that way for the best results. There is one pop up from me to subscribe to my newsletter if you’d like but it should only show up every 45 days unless you don’t have cookies enabled, which I think they are automatically enabled on iPads. As far as the ads, you should be able to scroll past them. I wish I had unlimited funds to pay all of the site’s bills without them but that would be a serious lottery win 🙂
You need to change the name of this recipe to taste like Alabama Camp Stew. That is nowhere near correct. I’m from Alabama & to start with you need a whole pork roast, a whole beef roast & a whole chicken & thats just the beginning. You need a huge witches cauldron to even cook it in over a wood fire. This recipe is a disgrace to Alabama camp stew.
Hey Leslie, sounds to me like you are the perfect person to be in charge of stirring that cauldron.
Have a great day 🙂
What a brilliant comeback, Christy!
Yes Linda Vincent
Great comeback!
LOL, I love you.
Your comeback to Leslie on the Alabama Camp Stew was hilarious! I was laughing out loud. Loved it and you too. Just read it today, Sept 28, 2018.
Your reply Christy, well, it just made my day.
LOL…When I looked at the picture of this stew, had to smile..yep Burnswick Stew. Only thing missing was the chicken. I will be making this for sure, with a cast iron fryer (skillet), full of homemade corn bread. I am not from Alabama but looks like what we south Ga. girls make.
I am a Georgia Gal. I have made this recipe many times. You can substitute the can’s of meat for a pound of BBQ Beef (or) Pork from a BBQ Restaurant or Grocery Store. I also wouldn’t add BBQ Sauce with this. Just follow the rest of the recipe. You could also use rotisserie Chicken. It is always
good. Thanks Christy I have 2 of your cookbook’s and Love them. I enjoyed seeing you on QVC.
Thank you for following Christ! I am a saved Christian, also!
Thank you so much Linda!! Have a blessed day!!
Thank you, Christy, for this recipe! A local restaurant makes this as Brunswick Stew but would not share the recipe. Now I have it! We had the stew for supper tonight, and it was wonderful. I couldn’t find Castleberry beef or pork BBQ but used Patterson brand and Sweet Sue chicken. I am cooking my way through your Southern Plate cookbook, and your sweet-and-sour green beans and Mexican cornbread are big hits at our house!
You are so welcome!! I am glad you liked it and am thrilled to hear you are enjoying some of my other recipes!!