Instant Pot Alabama Camp Stew—shredded pork and chicken in a tomato bbq sauce with potato chunks, lima beans and corn. Super tasty and made easy with your Instant Pot.
Related: Slow Cooker Alabama Camp Stew
Instant Pot Alabama Camp Stew
Welcome to 2020! I’m so excited about a new project I’ll be including on 365 Days this year. Each week I will post a recipe inspired by a state. That way by the end of the year all 50 states will be covered and have a recipe to go with them.
Where are you from and do you have a specific dish that you think represents your state? Please chime in on my facebook post and let me know! Or you can leave me a comment on this blog post. I can’t wait to hear of all your awesome ideas!
Today’s state is Alabama and as I searched the internet for Alabama ideas there was plenty of good southern food but the one I settled on was camp stew. Camp stew is also called Brunswick Stew. And there are a lot of versions of it! I printed off three different recipes and combined them a bit to make it my own.
My version has pork and chicken (some versions have beef), potatoes, tomatoes, worcestershire, lima beans, onions, tabasco and corn (which is optional). From what I’ve read camp stew can be made easily over a campfire. Well, if you don’t have a campfire and you want to make it at home in your Instant Pot I’ve got you covered.
I was quite proud of my version of Alabama camp stew. It tasted amazing and my whole family loved it! We served ours with cornbread, which is a must! I love this recipe for cornbread in the oven. If you have camp stew leftovers it does freeze nicely for another meal in a few weeks.
You might also like…
Slow Cooker Recipes from all 50 States
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Alabama Camp Stew I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?
The 365 Days of Slow and Pressure Cooking website has 3-4 new Instant Pot recipes a week! If you sign up for my emails (fill out the form below) you’ll receive an email each time something new is on the site. You can also join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group which is run by my husband Greg and myself. If you’re a visual learner consider subscribing to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.
Instant Pot Alabama Camp Stew
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
Shredded pork and chicken in a tomato bbq sauce with potato chunks, lima beans and corn. Super tasty and made easy with your Instant Pot.
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 pound pork butt, shoulder, picnic roast or carnitas meat
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
- 1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
- 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce or 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp tabasco sauce
- 1 cup frozen corn or 1 can drained corn (optional)
Instructions
- Pour the broth into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Cut off excess fat of the pork. Cut the pork into 1 ½ inch filets. Pat a paper towel over the pork to absorb any moisture. Then rub the ½ tsp kosher salt and pepper over the pork. Place the pork in the Instant Pot. Pour the liquid smoke over the meat.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 20 minutes. When the time is up perform a quick release. Remove the lid.
- Dump in onions. Place chicken evenly over the top of the pork. Layer the potatoes, lima beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and salt over the top.
- Cover the Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes. When the time is up wait for the pot to sit for 15 more minutes (L0:15) and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Use tongs to place the meat on a tray or large cutting board. Shred the meat and return it to the pot.
- Stir in the worcestershire, red pepper, tabasco, and corn (if desired).
- Taste test and then salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop into bowls and serve with cornbread.
Notes
This recipe can be gluten free. Use gluten free worcestershire sauce and beef broth.
If you have leftover pulled pork (or canned pulled pork) you can skip the first three steps. Add the pulled pork into the bottom of the pot with some broth and then layer the other ingredients as stated in step 4.
- Category: Pork
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Do you think chipotle peppers would work in this? If so how many would you suggest? My head says the smokey zip would be good.
I would chop up 2! I bet it will be great!
This recipe is AWESOME! We make these all the time. I’ve only ever done tHem in tHe Crock-Pot and they so so delish!
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★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Chris!
Old Alabama boy here and I am anxious to try this much easier version of this staple. When I was a boy we made camp stew over an open fire outside in a huge black iron pot. I had the job of stirring the mixture with a boat paddle to prevent burning. We used most of your ingredients with pork and chicken being the only meats. And it was always camp stew. Brunswick stew was some version hijacked by those yankees. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to hear from an “old Alabama boy”! Thanks for your comment 😊
You brought back a fond memory from my childhood as I remember the boat paddle being used to stir the camp stew being made in giant cast iron pots cooked over an open flame. It was cooked by veterans who would take turns cooking it around the clock for about 3 days .They first would slow cook the Chicken ,Pork and Beef adding BBQ sauce as they cooked .The smokey flavor added the taste of the Camp Stew you just can’t get cooking any other way .They sold Pork plates and Chicken plates and Camp stew .The Pork plates were out of this world .The camp stew was awesome. Those guys put they’re heart and soul into cooking these meals ready for every 4 th of July .The big cast iron pots being stirred with a boat paddle was something I looked forward to every year .I haven’t had any good Camp Stew since I left Montgomery.
Ahhh, such a great memory! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Karen,
This recipe looks wonderful, and I will try it.
But, first, do you have a recipe for Pozole? I think it is a stew with pork, hominy, cabbage and other good stuff.
Thank you for all the wonderful Instant Pot recipes.
Hi Nancy, that is actually one thing I haven’t tried yet! Do you have a “normal” recipe for it that I could look at?
Thank you, Dear Karen,
No, I do not have a recipe. There is a brand new New Mexico Restaurant in town, and that is where I discovered Pozole. At your convenience. There are so many of your recipes I want to try, I am in no hurry.
I am from Alabama and there are a few problems with this recipe. First, no chicken or liquid smoke. Pork or beef is fine and use tomato not bbq sauce. Corn is the staple so not optional. Otherwise, it is great but I haven’t made this in my Instant Pot yet and I will def post after I do that.
★★★★
Thanks for sharing your alabama tips! Will have to try your ideas next time 🙂
I can’t wait to to see what you choose for FL and my home state of Illinois! For Illinois I would love to see Chicago pizza casserole of some sort. Oh how I miss Cjhicago pizza!
Yum! That sounds good. The only issue is I have to make it in the Instant Pot.
I would like to try it. But I dont eat pork. Any suggestions for a replacement?
You could use a beef chuck roast! That would be great!
Sounds like Brunswick Stew!
Yep! Another name for it is camp stew 🙂
Item 1 should read ‘pour’ instead of ‘pork’. 🙂
lol Bryan! Thanks I’ve corrected it.
This sounds delicious!!
Wonder how it would taste with edamame?
I too am not a lima bean fan.
I didn’t think I was a lima bean fan but they were so tasty in this recipe! But edamame is a good idea too! I would try it!
KAREN I HAVE ENJOYED SO MANY OF YOUR RECIPES! IS THERE A GOOD BEAN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE LIMA BEANS? I JUST DO NOT LOVE THEM
You can use another type of bean if you’d like. Perhaps frozen black eyed peas?
Just made this with frozen black eyed peas and it was fantastic!
I had trouble with the cooking, though. Once it came to pressure, the timer went off immediately instead of doing the 15 minutes. The valve was set to sealing and there was plenty of liquid, so I wasn’t sure what happened. The chicken had already cooked, but my potatoes hadn’t. Next time, I guess I will dice the potatoes smaller in case it happens again. But I will definitely be making it again! I saved the hot sauce and red pepper flakes for the grown-ups’ bowls, and the 1- and 4-year-olds ate up happily, too.
★★★★★
How strange! I’m not sure what went wrong. I’m glad it still tasted good. Let me know what happens the next time you make it.