Savory Stews Heat Up Fall Menus

Broth may seem boring and soups skimpy when you think about the glory that is a well-made stew – a thick, hearty and warming dish that contains an array of ingredients and typically a good-sized serving of protein all in one bowl.

Plus, stews come in a variety of traditional and nontraditional recipes. Stews can be beef-based concoctions, like what you’d expect to see on a harvest table or hunting lodge. Stews can be vegetarian, blending beans or tasty black-eyed peas into a rich dish. Even gumbos are considered stews, adding rice as a key component. 

Chef Jeremy Grandon of J-Bird Smoked Meats in Keego Harbor talks about stew and his signature gumbo just like the recipe eats – he starts slowly, warms up to the subject and then delights in describing the qualities within stews that he loves not only to make as a chef but to eat when he’s craving a warm fall meal. 

Grandon knows his broths, soups and stews well. He has been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years now, going from a degree from the Culinary Institute of American in New York, then as a chef at Tribute in Farmington Hills and as owner of Jeremy Restaurant & Bar. 

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At J-Bird Smoked Meats, Grandon makes his gumbo a bit Southern, staying true to the restaurant’s barbecue specialties. He adds rice but also garlic, onion, celery, green peppers and tomatoes for the base and, to be honest, for the veggie content. There’s also a hint of sassafras root.  

But the key ingredients are the proteins. It includes bourbon-smoked chicken and sausage, all made in house. There’s also a large portion of shrimp inside the thick, gravy-like stew that all together “creates one hearty, full, satisfying flavor,” Grandon said. 

“It’s good for fall because it’s spicy and has a lot going on,” Grandon said. “We made a good, straightforward gumbo that’s very filling and traditional. But’s it’s good as an entrée as well if you want because it’s meaty.”

Here are a few other local stews from Metro Detroit restaurants that will keep you warm and conquer your appetite as well. 

Detroit Vegan Soul

The Okra Stew Bowl at Detroit Vegan Soul seems like it has been stewed all day and all night – it’s that tender. The dish includes fresh okra, tomato, onion, rice and black-eyed peas within its savory bowl of goodness.