Our Family’s Chicken Stew Recipe
Its that good. Its so good that it actually bothers me to think that some of you might only look at the photos, read the tutorial, and never make it. Its so good that if I could, I would seriously arrange a time and place for all of us to meet up under a tent somewhere in the middle of the country just to serve you this chicken stew. Its just……..its…..well folks, its just so good!
My mother got this recipe out of a 1974 issue of Good Housekeeping. There was a photograph of a little old lady next to the title and Mama said “She just looked like her food would be really good”. Since then, I cannot even begin to tell you how often we make it. Everyone in my family makes this and loves it. My in laws are coming in from Georgia this weekend for the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler’s Convention as they do every year and this stew is always a request for their first meal. Tonight I’m serving it with Dixie Cornbread.
This stew refrigerates well, freezes well, and can easily feed a crowd simply by adding more potatoes. I always try to make a double batch and my family happily eats it whenever they need a quick meal all week long!
Once you make this a time or two, you’ll have no more need of the recipe. It will be ingrained on your heart, your taste buds, and your stomach.
Cook chicken until done in water. Remove chicken from broth and discard skin. Separate meat from bones and shred meat. Dip off as much fat from the broth as possible. Simmer potatoes in 1 cup of broth in covered saucepan until done, do not drain. Mash potatoes slightly, keeping them lumpy. Add corn, onions, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper to broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken and simmer slowly with lid off for at least 45 minutes. Right before serving, stir in butter and let it melt. Best if made a day ahead and reheated to serve.
*This has been our family’s favorite stew since my mother got the recipe in 1974. No one has to use the recipe anymore because we have all made it so much.
Be sure you subscribe to Southern Plate via email at the top right hand of this page in order to recieve the first installment of weekly printer friendly Southern Plate recipes! If you are already an email subscriber, you’re good to go!
*I’ve added a “Freezes Well” category to Southern Plate, beginning with this stew. I’m going to go back this weekend and add all of my dishes that freeze well to that category for your convenience!
Thank you for reading Southern Plate! I better get back to my company!
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 3 2008. Filed under Chicken, FEATURED Southern Favorites!, Freezes Well, Main Course, Soups and Stews, Southern Classics.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
Hi Christy!
I am new to your website. I saw the link on Southern Savers, and had to check it out. I made your chicken stew yesterday, and I do believe it is THE best stew or soup I have ever had! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I look forward to trying some more of your recipes. You should compile these in a cookbook…I would buy one!
Thanks again…
Just had my first bowl…totally awesome!! This recipe made a kajillion servings.. we will be freezing some for more rainy days.. thanks!
Christy, I love the “freezes well” category! I’ve never been a “make ahead & freeze” kinda gal but I’ve always thought it would be so great to have homemade meals already prepared in our freezer! In fact, I’ve been on myself to go back to your post where you spent a day preparing and freezing food so I can try that as well! This stew DOES look yummy! Maybe this will be my first “freezer meal”… or maybe the chili… or maybe … oh so many recipes here I want to try!! LOL
Hello
I just wanted to say this recipe makes the best chicken stew ,I have eaten. I looked for months to find a recipe that I liked. I eat stew lots more often now, thanks to you.
I made this for my family when they came visit and everyone really enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing!
I am cooking this right now and it smells great. We will be eating this for supper the next couple of nights. Thought I would make it in advance. I added butterbeans,extra tomatoes and extra corn. Hope it turns out alright.
“Simmer potatoes in 1 cup of broth in covered saucepan until done, do not drain. Mash potatoes slightly, keeping them lumpy. Add corn, onions, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper to broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken and simmer slowly with lid off for at least 45 minutes.”
I’m confused….do I cook the potatoes in 1 cup of broth? Or, like in the photos, do I take out 1 cup of potatoes and mash them? What about the potatoes in the last step that are added with the chicken? I’m assuming that leaving in the potatoes too long would make them too soft.
Hey Daphne!
Looks like I need to modify this post, huh? lol I posted Mama’s original recipe and then did it how I do, which is a lot more streamlined.
Cook your potatoes like I did and then take out a cup of them and mash them. This adds body to the stew. You can also skip this step and add a few tablespoons of instant potato flakes to get the same result.
don’t worry about cooking the potatoes too long, they hold up really well. I’ve cooked them for hours at a time before!
sorry to confuse you. Two generations were at play in this recipe!
Thank you!
Gratefully,
Christy
Thanks so much I’ll be making it this weekend.
I added the 2 tsp of pepper your mama suggested but mine came out mighty spicy and I am not sure if I did something wrong somewhere? Or maybe its supposed to have a little kick to it? I love your website, I check yours and mommy’s kitchen everyday! wonderful blogs from wonderful ladies!
Hi, Do you need to drain the corn or add the liquid? Thanks, Sara
This was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!!!! My husband is already asking when I’m going to make it again.
I’m looking forward to trying this one. It really looks delicious!
Another great looking recipe, will be trying this one soon! I saw in another post about your cookbook coming out, now I can’t find it. Can someone please tell me when I can get this? I’m SO excited
Vicky
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times or more since first finding it here and my family loves it. The only change I make is rather than using two cups of frozen corn, I use succatash – a corn / lima bean mix. Best recipe on Southern Plate!
Thanks Christy and good luck with your cookbook – I plan to buy one for myself and a couple of extras to share as gifts! I was born and raised in Selma and now live in Montgomery. Your stories are are spot on for sharing the Southern life experience. I love reading about the South when it is told right. Best wishes! Kathy
Best stew recipie I have come across, just tried it and my four year old daughter said “DELICIOUS, please make it every week Mama”!!!! So thank you!
This is a great meal for everyone in the family. I have not found one that is better then this. Its even better as leftovers in my opinion. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey! I will be making this tonight. I have been making something similar to this for years but it included dumplings. It is yummy. Have you ever tried cooking mushrooms in with this stew? I really like mushrooms. Do you think it will work?
Good job on the tutorial!
I made this today 3/8/10 and it is great – my whole family loves it! It is a little time-consuming, so make sure you have several hours for all the steps, but it’s easy. It also makes a huge pot-full! I added some thyme/garlic powder and poultry seasoning for a little more flavor, as my husband doesn’t like anything the least bit bland tasting! I served it with jalapeno/cheese cornbread. Yum!!
[...] Our Family’s Chicken Turkey Stew [...]
[...] Chili – as is – 2 meals [...]
Almost sounds like the start of what we call Brunswick Stew but without the pork, beef and lima beans, which suits me just fine to leave out!!! Sound delish!!!
I just made this to have for dinner tonight. It is AWESOME!!! I know that my husband (who is super picky) will love it. It has been raining here all day and this is the perfect meal for a rainy night. And I love that it is so easy. Make sure that you have a BIG pot. I underestimated and had to move up to a bigger pot. This is perfect if you have to feed a large crowd.
Having found the SP website recently, I have started my bacon grease collection and will be making Christy’s cornbread to go with the stew tonight. Yummy!
I have made a similar stew for years but call it my Brunswick stew–I took several recipes and extracted from several. The original Brunswick stew called for squirrel or some sort of wild game but I have to draw the line there The only difference is that when I cook the whole chicken I add lots of seasonings, i.e., greek seasoning, seasoned salt, celery salt, lots of black pepper (whatever seasonings you like) as well as chicken boullion; this flavors the broth and the chicken. I also use creamed corn (either two cans or one or two tubes of the frozen creamed corn–this helps thicken it), lots of frozen baby butter beans; it has been a hit with everyone who has tried it. I usually put it in the crockpot and let it simmer overnight on low. As does yours, mine freezes extremely well.
Christy is this suppose to be 4 cups of tomatoes and 2 cups of corn ? Or is it cans? And do you drain the corn? Can’t wait to try this it looks so good. Also can’t wait to get your new cookbook. Have a great night !!!!
I was just wondering the same thing, Donna! I also wanted to know if we decided to use frozen corn, how much should we use -and- how big should the chicken be (fryer / hen / young bird)?
The recipe sounds really, really delicious and I am anxious to try it.
Thank you!!!
This is one of those great recipes where you can use as much or as little as you like in terms of corn, and the fryer can be any size, too! I often buy the 32 ounce bag of corn and dump the whole thing in – I’m a corn lover! My chicken is usually between 3 and 5 pounds.
Hope this helps. I can pretty much promise you’ll love this stew!
Gratefully,
Christy
Thanks Christy
Thanks so much, Christy. I’ll be making your recipe for my family this weekend. I’m sure we’ll just love it. Yay!!!
P.S.
I’m going to go ahead and use 4 cans of 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes ’cause I’m pretty sure that’s what you meant by “4c.”
-Rebeca-
I have made this exact recipe for years. When we have fellowship at church in the winter months I take a big pot of it and it is always gone!!! I love your site and loved your crockpot chicken and dressing!!!! I have never been good at making the dressing but that was so easy! Thanks for your good “ol timey recipes and new ones too.
Barbara
i made this soup just now, and it is wonderfulllllllll….. i put alot of chicken in mine,,,, im pregnant and been craving a good chicken stew recipe , thats ALOT….. I LOVE IT ….
I like this. I will try it tonight
It’s 100 degrees here, but this looked so yummy that I had to try it…was delicious!!! I added a few carrots and served with cornbread. Thank you for giving me inspiration to try some new recipes! I’m planning on trying the pizza rolls this weekend!
I’m a beginner.. what does the T beside the ingredients stand for?
Linda it stands for tablespoon. I must tell you this is a great recipe, I just bought my chicken and potatoes for this yesterday.
I have a couple of questions I’m trying this tonight, I’m new to cooking so excuse me. I was wondering do I cook the chicken in the 7 cups of water? Also what does the 4c tomatoes stand for? And last is it 3 Tablespoons of butter and sugar?
Hey Linda, you are right on the money! Cook it in the water. The “c” stands for cups and it is 3 T of butter and sugar.
You are a better cook than you thought already!
aw Thanks so much for helping I’m cooking it right now and I’m so super nervous I’ve never even gotten as far as cooking a chicken! Thank God that part is done! I’m cooking the potatoes in the broth all of it.. did I mess up? I did a whole onion and for some reason I think it may be too much onion? Last question this part got me “Add corn, onions, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper to broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken and simmer slowly with lid off for at least 45 minutes” I’m cooking the onions with the potatoes because that’s what the top said but here it’s different..
It’s fine. You can toss all of this in at once and it’ll still be fine. You done good girl!
Hey Christy, this stew was a winner once again. So good that my mother-in-law asked for the recipe! And I found it can be stretched with just a little more water or veggies, so there’s more to share.
Love your blog, and congratulations on the new cookbook! Please come back to Birmingham when you do book signings.