Smoked Chicken and Paprika Brunswick Stew

Smoked Chicken and Paprika Brunswick Stew

Cooler weather is on its way to the High Country.  It is still warm enough to grill and eat on the deck, but I packed away my summer clothes tonight and have the hot tub cranked up and ready to go for the first really chilly night.  And we are slowly transitioning from “summer food” to “fall food”.  One of our fall favorites is this Smoked Chicken and Paprika Brunswick Stew.  It goes together quickly, makes great leftovers and gets a satisfying serving of vegetables into the boys.

Smoked Chicken and Paprika Brunswick Stew

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed Yukon gold potato
• 2 cups (1/2-inch) diced yellow onion
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup frozen baby lima beans
• 3/4 cup tomato sauce
•  2 cups chicken broth
• 3 bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
• 3 cups shredded smoked chicken
• 1 teaspoon sweet Spanish smoked paprika
• 2  teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until it renders some fat, then add the onions and cook until soft and just beginning to brown.
2. Add the potatoes, corn, lima beans, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a gentle boil.
3. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 30  minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Stir in the chicken, paprika, salt, red pepper and black pepper. Simmer for another15 minutes.
5. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Brunswick stew is a traditional southern dish, with both Georgia and Virginia laying claim to its origins.  The only time I recall eating it growing up in Mississippi, my Delta-based grandmother Mimi prepared it with squirrel meat.  I am thinking that that is the only time I’ve eaten squirrel.  Smoky paprika is clearly not a traditional ingredient, but I love the flavor that it adds.

This stew is based on one published a number of years ago in Cooking Light.  The biggest, and most important, difference between my version and Cooking Light’s is that I use smoked chicken. When whole chickens are on sale, weather permitting, I buy several and throw them on the smoker, then debone and freeze the meat. I’ve also moved the smoker box on to a corner of the grate and smoked the chicken on the gas grill.  With smoked chicken in the freezer, I typically have all the ingredients to throw this together on hand.  Corn bread muffins are the perfect side.