I’ve lived in Alabama my entire life. My parents were born here, as were their parents, and their parents, and…well, you get the picture. To put it simply, I’m about as deeply rooted as a person can be. But it wasn’t until I was researching my home state for an article a few years ago that I came across North Alabama Chicken Stew for the first time. My mother’s side of the family is from a town in North Alabama, so I asked her about the dish. It turns out her grandmother made something slightly similar, but it wasn’t quite the same as the traditional version. Since Allrecipes didn’t have a recipe at the time, my mom and I looked at a bunch of recipes and patched together our own.
It’s not an exaggeration to say it was love at first taste. Once I started researching the history of the stew through old newspaper articles and Emily Blejwas’s phenomenal book The Story of Alabama in Fourteen Foods, my 23andMe results and my mother’s maiden name (Stephenson) suddenly made a lot more sense: It originated with the Scottish-Irish pioneers who settled in the region more than 200 years ago. As my boss said, this stew literally runs through my veins.
What Is Alabama Chicken Stew?
Traditional North Alabama chicken stew is a soul-warming combination of chicken, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and corn cooked slowly in a homemade stock. More modern versions include more vegetables—such as carrots and celery—and simple seasonings like bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
The long-simmered potatoes are what makes this dish truly unique: They almost melt into the broth, serving as a natural thickener.
