#SoupSaturdaySwappers ~ Georgia Style Brunswick Stew

Welcome to the October 2017 Soup Saturday Swappers event, hosted by Ashley from Cheese Curd in Paradise and led by Wendy of A Day in the Life on Farm! Today we're sharing regional soups, or soups from our states. Although I am from Washington state and most all my family still lives there, I've been in Georgia since 2003 and this is my home now, so it was easy to decide on a Georgia themed soup, which really took me straight to Brunswick Stew. There's nothing else that really comes straight to my mind when I think of a regional soup that incorporates this area of the South - not that there aren't plenty of other good options, but this is the one I wanted to go with. Depending on who you talk to you'll hear a lot of arguments about what does / does not belong in this soup. Traditionally it should incorporate a nice chunk of shredded pork as well, but I opted to leave it just chicken this time to use what I had already on hand - it could certainly use the other protein as well though. Next time!

This soup is very, very thick - you could thin with additional broth if desired. It's chock full of vegetables and has a tangy BBQ flavor and a touch of heat - which you can play with depending on how much black pepper and hot sauce you choose to add to yours. We love this southern classic. It's rib stickin' food for a fall day!

Georgia Style Brunswick Stew adapted from Genius Kitchen

Ingredients
8 cups water
1 onion (sliced in half, skin on)
2 carrots (whole, unpeeled)
4 stalks celery
2 large bone in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Worcestershire
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
12-oz mixed frozen vegetables
10-oz frozen baby lima beans
2 cups diced potatoes, skin on
12-oz can yellow corn, undrained
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
hot sauce, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Combine first 5 ingredients (water through chicken) in a large soup pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool.
2. Strain broth and discard vegetables, return broth to pot. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken (discarding all skin and bones) back into the broth and add all remaining ingredients except hot sauce. 
3. Return to a low simmer and cook 1 hour, or until desired thickness is reached. (If needed thin with chicken or veggie broth.) Taste and adjust seasonings as desired; add hot sauce to taste.

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