MS. MER'S CHICKEN MUDDLE

Chicken Muddle’s History

Origins: The origins of Chicken Muddle are traced back to the early residents of Greensville County, Va. in and around an area called Hicksford, which is modern day Washington Park in Emporia, Va.

This Native American dish was introduced to the early settlers of Emporia, in part, due to the relationship between natives and the cooks(slaves) of those early settlers.

A broken-down version of Chicken Muddle, Brunswick Stew, was
introduced to the general public via Governor Spotswood, in his effort to recreate the stew he had come across in April of 1716 while visiting an Indian fort in Brunswick County, which until 1781 included Greensville County and modern day Emporia.

Today’s Chicken Muddle

Historians describe Chicken Muddle as a much thicker and richer stew, that has a distinguished hickory flavor. Brunswick Stew is a latecomer easier made, much thinner, quick and easy.

Brunswick Stew owes its ascension to the public’s eye and its name to Governor Spotswood. When he and John Fontaine returned to Jamestown, after their visit to Fort Christiana in Brunswick County, the governor arranged for an Indian family near Jamestown to re-create the stew he described to them, and he aptly named it Brunswick Stew.

Chicken Muddle today is still a black pot recipe, who’s exact and detailed ingredients and methods, are in the hands of only a few capable family cooks’ in Emporia, Va.

This time-honored recipe has been passed down thru the centuries and closely held dear by the families that have been entrusted with its details, Chicken Muddle traditionally is reserved and used as fundraisers by the church, and is often referred to by the uninformed as “Church Stew”.