| HIST |
He was the first to make McKagen’s Stew (Red Chicken Stew). Jennie (Mellette) Capper knew George, her cousin, in her early years. He lived in the old Singleton House by Green Swamp off of Lewis Road, Sumter, South Carolina. He lived there with Uncle Buddy (Wesley Barden Singleton) and Aunt Delia (Adelia Holiday) for a number of years. He started making it for members of a club house near Second Mill, off of Liberty Street, by the Elks Club. The stew soon became very popular because many people were making it. That’ when the name McKagen’s Stew was changed and became known as Red Chicken Stew.
Recipe for McKagen Red Chicken Stew
1 hen (boil until done) set aside to cool, then remove meat from the bones and cut it up,
be sure to save the chicken broth
while chicken is cooling hard boil 4 to 5 eggs
cut up 2 large onions
cut up 4 large pototes
and then add the potatoes and onions along with the eggs
to the chicken broth you have saved
When the onions, pototoes and eggs are done cooking
then add 1 large bottle of ketchup
add 2 teaspoons of Worchestershire Sause
add about 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper, black pepper and salt to taste.
To thicken you can add some flour with water.
You can add butter if you like.
When the stew is ready, add the cut up chicken
and simmer for about 30 minutes.
This is best served over rice so don’t forget to make it while you are making the stew.
McKagen's Stew
'Red Chicken' hatched in Sumter
KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
When combined, eggs, ketchup and a pot of boiled chicken (along with a few other ingredients) create this yummy Red Chicken Stew, which is seen here on a bed of rice.
Posted Wednesday, March 25, 2015 6:00 am
BY SUSAN OSTEEN
SDOSTEEN@ME.COM
It is widely known Sumter is the Gamecock City. A lesser-known fact is that a regional treat, Red Chicken Stew, was invented right here in Sumter County.
I always assumed Red Chicken Stew was a Southern dish. Upon further research into cookbooks and recipe forums, I found it is, in fact, distinctly South Carolinian. Wander past the state line and our much-beloved stew morphs into bog or cacciatore or coq au vin. Slow-simmered chicken by any name is delicious, but you can't call it red chicken without including ketchup, eggs and rice.
If you look in the many local cookbooks produced by schools, churches or leagues, you encounter several versions of the recipe. Take a seat at any lunch counter, home-style restaurant or cafe in Sumter, and it's likely Red Chicken Stew is the Soup de Jour. Walk into your neighbor's kitchen and you might just find a pot of the delicious stew bubbling and ready to go over rice.
Sumterites have been cooking up pots of red comfort for nearly 100 years, but few know the stew's beginnings or its inventor, George Phillip McKagen Jr. (b.1874-d.1933).
McKagen was the son of George Phillip McKagen Sr., Confederate Army veteran and Sumter County deputy sheriff, and Emile Cecile Singleton. According to family genealogical records, he lived in the old Singleton house by Green Swamp just off Lewis Road. McKagen began making the stew to serve to patrons at Sunset Lake Pavilion. This popular 1920s recreational spot was located at Second Mill off Liberty Street, near the present-day site of the Elk's Lodge. It's not difficult to imagine the inspiration behind the dish; a little bit of chicken feeds a crowd, and if more people show up you can always add a few more eggs to the pot.
McKagen's stew was a hit, and soon other people began making it. Eventually, over the years, it became known as Red Chicken Stew.
Jackie Hughes, Singleton family historian, learned the history of McKagen's stew from her aunt, Virginia (Jennie) Mellette Capper, a cousin of McKagen. Aunt Jennie made the stew all the time and passed the story and original McKagen recipe on to Hughes.
"I don't think this story has been told lately," Hughes said. "All the people who knew about it are probably dead. We are talking about something that happened nearly 100 years ago."
When asked if she feels a sense of pride when she sees Red Chicken Stew on a menu she said, "Not necessarily. But my aunt did."
Hughes was kind enough to share the original recipe, passed down through the Singleton family. It makes enough to feed a large family, and if unexpected guests arrive simply make more rice and add an extra chopped egg or two. It's a taste of history that continues to delight, and you can assure your family and friends they are enjoying an original Sumter dish.
McKAGEN’S (RED CHICKEN) STEW
1 hen
4-5 eggs
2 large onions, diced
4 large potatoes, diced
1 bottle ketchup
Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. each red and black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. flour mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
1/2 a stick of butter
2 cups rice (6 cups cooked)
Cover the hen with water and boil till done. Set aside to cool. Remove
meat from the bones and cut it up. Be sure to save the chicken
broth.
While chicken is cooling, hard boil 4 to 5 eggs. Slice or chop eggs.
Add the potatoes and onions along with the eggs to the chicken
broth. Cook until tender, approximately 30 minutes.
Add 1 large bottle of ketchup.
Add 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire Sauce
Add red pepper, black pepper and salt to taste.
To thicken, add flour with water.
Add butter (optional).
When the stew is ready, add the cut-up chicken and simmer for
about 30 minutes.
This is best served over rice, so don’t forget to make it while you
are making the stew.
Email Susan Doherty Osteen at sdosteen@me.com. [2, 3] |
1874 - 1933 (~ 59 years)
