Brunswick Stew and Chopped Bar-B-Que
Does your family have any yearly traditions that you enjoy, or don’t enjoy, at this time of year? Here in North Carolina it is Brunswick Stew and chopped Bar-B-Que for us the first week of December. My daughter’s in-laws and a couple of their friends are the cooks with several weeks of advance preparation. Chickens and pork roasts are cooked, de-boned, shredded and frozen; sweet corn from their garden is cut from the cob, bagged and saved for the stew; and butter beans from their garden frozen and saved. On the big day potatoes and onions are cooked and mashed ready to add to stew. Hot pepper flakes, salt, and pepper added. It has to be a lot of tiring work, but I have only been on the clean-up crew! Mr. Blalock’s mother and her neighbor used to make the stew, along with the older kids’ help. She was a great cook.
The men cooked the pork for the bar-b-que and then chopped it. We had Jamie’s husband, Jeff’s, homemade vinegar-based sauce. Their youngest daughter helped them all morning, even taking a few pictures for me.
I love all the Winter traditions here in North Carolina!
