Alabama Camp Stew?

Does anyone have an authentic recipe for Alabama camp stew, specifically the style served around Montgomery, Prattville, and Wetumpka?

It's heaven in a bowl, yet I haven't found anything on the web that resembles it.

camp-version..
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/camping/00/rec0014.html
home version
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotgroundbeef/r/bl85c2.htm
britt

Up here in Yankee territory we call that stuff "Slumgullion".
Sounds like a dish that the Privateers may have enjoyed after a long voyage.
Chow Jim
edited to add, You won't find that dish on a menu anytime soon.

This?:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=989&SearchTerms=swamp,gravy

Adj, I have become quite popular due to Swamp Gravey.
At our club during special sporting events we either grill or bring something in. Well I've been doing the swamp gravey for a few years.
1st year I made about 4 gals, now I'm up to roughly 12gals.
The guy's love it along with a tray of cornbread or biscuits. And it's easy for me just drag it in plop it on the table Done.
Chow Jim

Thank you very much for your responses.

Brittneal's camp version is fairly close; I'd say about 80% there. If I study that a while, I may be able to come up with it.

That swamp gravy sure sounds interesting, though. I wasn't familiar with it.

By the way, you can get camp stew in a few restaurants around Montgomery, but I'm about four hours away. Not easy to get there when I'm in the mood for camp stew!

MellowRoast,I'm so glad that I saw this thread...Camp stew is a little different from Brunswick Stew ,but not by much...Dothan , Alabama is 112 miles southeast from the Montgomery area...Here is our version of Camp Stew that is always served at "Earth Roasting Barbeques " , which is what we call a real old fashioned Southern pit barbeque "Pig Roast "...In fact , a group of my husbands collegues are having an Earth Roastin' with a whole hog this coming May 3rd...Here is the Camp Stew that the men make for this feast ! :

"SOUTHEAST ALABAMA EARTH ROASTIN' BBQ CAMP STEW "

5 chickens ( each 2 and a half pound average )
5 pounds beef chuck
5 pounds pork butt
Salt and Black Pepper To taste
1 gallon canned tomatoes
1 gallon english peas ( english peas are what we call green peas )
1 gallon butterbeans ( lima beans )
1 gallon whole kernel corn
10 pounds of potatoes , peeled and cubed
10 pounds onions , chopped
1 ( ten ounce ) bottle Worcestershire sauce
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes To Taste
Tabasco Sauce To Taste
1 gallon of catsup

Cook all the meat until it falls off the bones . Remove the bones,skin and fat.Skim as much fat as possible from the surface of the broth. Combine the meats and all the other ingredients except the Tabasco and catsup. Cook 6 to 8 hours over very low heat , stirring frequently. In the last hour of cooking, add the Tabasco and catsup . Simmer another hour and get ready to eat !

Serves 75 to 80 at a big Earth Roastin'

I have a question for you Southerners.

I have made Brunswick Stew before and have several recipes for it. I had never heard of Camp Stew until this thread and when iqdiva posted a recipe for Camp Stew it looks pretty much like what I call Brunswick Stew except the quantity of ingredients varies which I understand would with most stew recipes.

So here is my question (or questions). What is the difference between the two or are they basically the same thing but called different names in different regions of the South?

One more thing… Has anyone ever seen Hamburger Helper Camp Stew?

NebGuy,Camp Stew is very close to Brunswick Stew...I think the difference lies in the inclusion of the english peas and butterbeans in the Camp Stew....I love both of them though...
As for the " 2008 Hamburger Helper Debacle " ... Please exhibit good taste and never mention that unpleasentness ever again.......LOL...
As I mentioned to our RF friend Ancient Mariner, I have never in my life , nor never hope to ever experience anything like THAT again in one hundred lifetimes... To say that it was sheer insanity run amok would be an understatement for the ages ! LOL...

Every time we make brisket, pulled pork, beer can chicken, anything on the smoker or grill, we cook extra to to freeze and save to make this kind of stew later on. In fact, we made some last night.

Wow, is it good. Easy, too.

Our ingredients change frequently, depending on what we have on hand, but try to include:

A couple different meats, usually pork, chicken, or brisket
Potatoes
Onions
Bell pepper
Celery
Corn
Tomatoes (canned, diced, with juice)
Lima beans
Barbecue sauce
Ketchup
Worcestershire
Hot sauce
Lemon juice or cider vinegar, for a little extra zip
Salt and pepper

Thank you, Iqdiva!

I believe the main difference is I've not seen the peas or the limas in the "Prattville" version I'm accustomed to. (I may have to add the limas, though.)

Now to scale it down to a much smaller serving! Brittneal's camp version is so close, too. Stlouisguy's, also. By the way, hello to everyone at Ritenour Jr. High School.

You're so welcome friend MellowRoast...I was so happy to share this very traditional gathering recipe with you !
Don't forget to make up a pan of cornbread to eat with it !

Yes, without cornbread, it just wouldn't be camp stew!

Dearfolk,
So Camp Stew didn't originate in Camp Hill, Alabama?!?!?!?
If anyone finds this on a restaurant menu, please let me know. I'd really like to try it. THIS sounds most Roadfoodable.
Aritonally Eclectically (It Just Might Be There; You Never Know!), Ort. Carlton in Athens, Georgia (NOT Athens, Alabama!).

Our Boyscouts make stew like this a lot.They just call it stew...but never looked much like regular stew to me...now I know, I'll just call it camp stew!!!!

Camp stew and Brunwick stew are so regionally influenced, you never know what you're gonna get until it's right in front of you.

Take American goulash, for example. A local restaurant serves "American Chop Suey" and calls it goulash. Three miles down the same road, another restaurant serves it, but they called it "spicy beef & macaroni".

My parents served a dish with the same ingredients, called it goulash, but it was a soup.

If you visit a Hungarian family, you'll get something totally different.

I guess that's what makes food so interesting. We're trying like heck to figure out what the other person is talking about!

Roll on by Fat Boys and get yourself a big bowl of Camp Stew
 
http://www.fatboysbarbqueranch.com/

NebGuy

One more thing… Has anyone ever seen Hamburger Helper Camp Stew?

No, and I don't want to either! That HH stuff is Nasty!

scrumptiouschef

Roll on by Fat Boys and get yourself a big bowl of Camp Stew
http://www.fatboysbarbqueranch.com/

Since Fat Boy's is in Prattville, AL -I'd guess it's the real deal! Anyone been there?

In Tuscaloosa, they've been eating a lot of crow in their Alabama Stew recently!
Auburn 28  Alabama 27

I wouldn't mention that at Christie's Corner Cafe.

Foodbme

scrumptiouschef

Roll on by Fat Boys and get yourself a big bowl of Camp Stew
http://www.fatboysbarbqueranch.com/

Since Fat Boy's is in Prattville, AL -I'd guess it's the real deal! Anyone been there?

A friend in Prattville tells me the barbecue is "very good," but no word on the camp stew.

Mellow Roast, I believe I have the recipe for you! I grew up in Montgomery and I know what you are looking for. All these other recipes have peas and other ingredients not found in Alabama camp stew.

Here's my quick and easy recipe for when I can't get to my favorite "Que Stew" restaurant. Just made a pot today for a rainy Labor day weekend.

Camp Stew

2 cans Castleberry BBQ pork
2 large cans white chicken breast
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans cream corn
1 large can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 TBS worcestershire sauce (more if you like)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp hot sauce (more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a large pot and simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours. Top with some additional chopped BBQ pork from your favorite restaurant and serve with hot cornbread.
 

atoothaker:  Thank you very much!  I can't get Castleberry products here, but perhaps I can substitute something else.  The owner of a local food truck was from Prattville and served up spectaular camp stew but sadly went out of business.  I wish I'd asked for the recipe.  
 
I enjoyed living in Montgomery from 77-79 and haven't forgotten some of those local delicacies.  

I've had trouble finding Castleberry's lately too. Do you have Publix in your area? I found Patterson's Brand Smokehouse Barbeque Pork in cans there. Hope that helps. I've got my stew going now and cornbread in the oven! Can't wait! 

We do have 3 Publix stores, but not really close to me.  However, I'm sure there's something I can substitute.  By the way, I really miss Walt's Family Breakfast Shop and Martin's Restaurant.

Grew up eating Martin's fried chicken and their fabulous pies! Did you ever try Chris' Hotdogs downtown? Wow, I could go for a hot dog and a chocolate milk.

Yes, but not until 2007!  And I loved it.  I can't imagine why I didn't know about it when I lived there. No one told me!  Another place I never knew about and still haven't visited is Hamburger King.  I hear it's great.
 
I lived in Birmingham from 79-85 and miss several places there, too.  Especially Milo's Hamburgers.  I crave the sauce, even though I can get the tea here.

By they way, I've tried to duplicate Milo's sauce for years with no luck.  And I'd love to know how to make Chris' sauce, too.  They sell it for $35 a gallon. Yikes! 

Everytime I eat a Milo burger, I try to figure out the sauce. It's a total mystery! You can buy Chris' sauce in a styrofoam cup for a couple of dollars, but you could never or want to duplicate at home the years of grease and grime that makes a Chris' hotdog what it is :) I love Chris' but can't think too deeply about what I'm consuming!