If you have a ton of extra chicken lying around, there’s no better way to put it to use than by creating a delicious pot of chicken stew! It’s an especially useful way to use up pieces of the chicken that would otherwise be wasted, like the bone broth or thigh meat.
Here is my favorite chicken stew recipe. I know I promised this a while back, after sharing with you what going to a southern chicken stew is like… but I’ve had a hard time nailing down an actual recipe!
Southern chicken stew is traditionally from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and consists essentially of chicken with some cream and seasonings.
It is usually served in the fall or winter, once the weather starts to cool down here, and is often referred to as chicken mull.
I love southern chicken stew because it represents so much more to me than just a soup. It’s so easy to make and it’s also really cheap, so it’s often served as a comfort food.
It is typically served at large social gatherings along with things like grilled cheese sandwiches and coleslaw – it really symbolizes everything that my community means to me!
It seems that there isn’t exactly a recipe for this kind of chicken stew, everyone just kinda makes it his or her own way. But I can tell you that they all pretty much have the same ingredients:
Southern Style Chicken Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken (whole or cut up)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup milk or heavy cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp Texas Pete hot sauce
Instructions
- Boil the chicken in water until tender.
- Remove any bones, skin, and fat from the chicken.
- Add some milk and flour to thicken.
- Stir in salt and pepper, and Texas Pete, to taste.
- Mix in chicken broth, and bring back to boil.
- Simmer until ready to serve.
Tips for Making Chicken Stew
Thickening
When you’re making the recipe I described above, you may find that your broth becomes somewhat runny. Thickening it can help and it’s easy to do.
Flour will thicken your broth when added at the beginning, but you can also use cornstarch or flour later on in the process, too. Just make sure you combine it in a separate bowl as a roux and shake it well before adding it to the broth. This will prevent clumps from forming.
Freezing
Have too much chicken stew leftover? Not a problem! You can freeze it. All you need to remember is that flour will freeze better when used as a thickener than cornstarch will.
Cookware
You can make this recipe in a regular stockpot. However, you can also use a skillet (cutting down on the number of dishes you need to use, since the vegetables can be sautéed in there). For most, you can also use a crockpot.
I just recommend adding milk-based ingredients as well as canned vegetables last, about fifteen minutes before serving. This will prevent any clumping, disintegration, or separating of ingredients.
A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
I add instant mashed potatoes to mine to thick it up and it makes it really good!
I your Grandma knew what she was doing. This is a really good recipe. Only a true southerner knows this stew. It’s really good
This is my grandma’s recipe, its not exact and she adds more or less of everything depending on how much she’s making but this is the base line
1 2 to 3 lb chicken (whole, don’t use breast or boneless skinless, this is not a health recipe and it won’t taste right if you don’t use the whole bird)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter
2 quarts of milk
1 can of evaporated milk
At least 1 tablespoon flour
1 cup of chicken broth (from the boiled chicken)
Salt, pepper, texas pete to taste
Boil the chicken until tender, drain well (reserve at least one cup of the broth)
Remove the bones and skin from the chicken
Shread (or chop) the chicken
Add all ingredients (except the Pete) back to the pot and simmer at least 2 hours
Serve withh texas pete and saltine crackers
*as I said, this is mearly a base line, you can change it and add more or less of everything*
THANK YOU, Meagan!!! 🙂