Wild Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
One pot — music to any cook’s ears!
We had a cold front come in this week. May weather in Tennessee is funny like that, so I wanted to make a dish that could warm us up while waiting for the sun to come back out. And what's better than a creamy, delicious soup served alongside crusty bread?
This dish doesn't call for any specific cut on the bird, so use whatever you'd like. I usually save one entire breast that I'll either boil and shred or roast and shred just for recipes like this one. I also will slow cook the legs and thighs, which dishes like are perfect for those cuts of meat.
I encourage every hunter out there to make sure that when harvesting an animal, to utilize every edible part. It's our way as hunters to honor God's creatures for providing meals for us.
Now let's make some soup!
This is hands down the best soup recipe I've ever made. The heavy cream makes it so smooth and silky, and the rustic vegetables, fresh herbs and big chunks of wild turkey add decadence to a dish that will surely blow your friends and family away. And, the best part? It's easy. And the second best part? Everything is cooked in one pot! Give yourself a night off from a sink full of dishes. You might not even have to wash the bowls because you'll want to eat every bit of soup right off of them!
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups of cooked, shredded wild turkey, preferably from the legs and thighs, but breasts will do just fine
- 1 cup of celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, about 2-3 stalks
- 1 cup of carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, about 2 carrots
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp freshly chopped thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of wild rice blend
- 1 quart of wild turkey stock (chicken stock will do just fine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup water
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the celery, onion and carrots and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and fresh thyme and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned. 2-3 minutes
- Slowly add in the wild rice, stock, water and bay leaf. Cook according to the directions on your wild rice blend. This will vary some, but it should be about 30 minutes until tender.
- Turn the heat to low, add the wild turkey, stir and let go for about 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Slowly add the cream and stir. Taste and add salt and pepper as you like. It’s gonna need quite a bit of salt…And that’s ok.
- Find and remove bay leaf. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve in bowls alongside some crusty bread!
Author's note:
Add wild roasted mushrooms to this, preferably seasonal, such as morels. Also, you can substitute whatever fresh herbs you have for the garnish.