I am so excited to share this fabulous Crockpot Creamy Pheasant Wild Rice Soup with you! But first, I must tell you why I’m using pheasant in this recipe.
This weekend I did something I’ve never done before – I went pheasant hunting at the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club just south of the Twin Cities with the hubby (“Teacher Man”), my sister and brother-in-law. I’m not a stranger to hunting, but aside from clay pigeon shoots once or twice a year, I haven’t actually hunted anything since I was a kid, when my brother and I would take the BB gun into our grove on the farm and see what kind of trouble we could find. On Saturday, I dug out my polka dot mud boots (yes, that’s right!), borrowed some blaze orange and off we went.
My sister and brother-in-law’s dog, Avery, led the charge. Avery is a beautiful German Shorthair pup who’s gone through extensive hunting training, so this was the role he was born to play. If he could talk, I would imagine it would be a very fast, very enthusiastic “This is my favorite thing! This my favorite thing! Let’s find birds! Let’s find birds!”
And we did find birds.
Since it was a game farm, the birds were released on a 40-acre stretch of land for us and we spent the next 3 hours or so tracking them. And, I am proud, to say, I shot my very first pheasant – a hen (which we are allowed to shoot on a game farm).
We snagged 11 additional birds as well. All in all, a hunting adventure that rocked – plenty of fresh air and exercise; we didn’t have to be too quiet, at least most of the time (my sister and I would’ve had a hard time not talking!); and it was a great way to teach our 8-year-old Joe, who walked along with us, about gun and hunting safety.
Today, I cooked up a couple of pheasants in the crockpot, in a Crockpot Creamy Pheasant Wild Rice Soup that was quite amazing. Seriously! It may be the best way we’ve cooked up pheasant ever. So amazing that I have to share the recipe with you – which I adapted from a chicken version on ThriftyDecorChick.blogspot.com. This recipe would be fantastic with chicken, turkey or pheasant.
Crockpot Creamy Pheasant Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 whole pheasants meat deboned and cubed
- 1 package Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups half-and-half
Instructions
- Mix the broth, water, carrots, celery, mushrooms, pheasant, rice (including the seasoning packet) and Lawry’s salt (1 teaspoon or to taste) in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- At the end of the cooking time, mix the salt, pepper and flour in a small bowl. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to the melted butter to form a roux (fancy word for thickening agent).
- Then, while still on the heat, whisk in the half and half, a little at a time, into the roux until mixed completely and smooth. It will be thick and look a little like smooth mashed potatoes
- Stir this mixture into the soup in the crockpot, then let it cook on low for 15 more minutes.
- Serve hot in bowls with some crusty bread on the side.
31 Comments on Hunting in Polka Dot Boots (and Crockpot Pheasant Wild Rice Soup)
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Did you brown the meat first?
Hi Linda,
I did not brown the meat first – I am sure you could, but I just put the raw pheasant right into the crockpot and it turned out delicious! Thanks for reading!
Lara
Made your soup tonight and everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again! A great way to use up those pheasants in the freezer! We used just one pheasant and it was plenty. We did parboil it first in order to debone it. Cooked it the full 8 hours and the soup got very thick so added more chicken broth. Also added a chopped onion. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wonderful! So glad you liked the recipe – and I love your suggestions. Will definitely add chopped onion the next go around and it makes total sense to parboil the pheasant ahead of time to make it easier to debone. Thanks for suggesting that!
WOW!!!! I’m a suburban, non-hunting mom with a hunk of frozen pheasant in my freezer from a friend. I came across your recipe on pinterest and were are about to sit down to a unique and DELICIOUS meal!!!!! I’m so excited!! We cooked it a tad long because we were at work and had to add a few cups of chicken broth to thin it out but it is WONDERFUL! Thanks for the fabulous recipe! I’ll do it with chicken next time!
Cori – That’s so fantastic to hear! Funny story – I actually made this recipe last night, as well, with chicken and my family devoured it. So glad you all enjoyed it – it’s a keeper for my family for sure and hopefully for yours as well. Thanks for finding my blog and trying the recipe!
I just made this but I used 3 pheasants and no seasoned salt to keep the sodium low, and ended up adding 2 more cups of broth, next time I make it I might wait an hour to add the rice, mine became a little soggy, but overall really good and easy recipe!
Sarah – Thanks for the feedback! Definitely great suggestions – glad you liked it!
I am adding this to my recipe box! The husband brings home pheasant from time to time and it always ends up dry tasting. So does dove, which I think might work too? Love the new look of the blog!
Thank you for linking this post up to the Country Fair Blog Party! What a great addition to our Fall theme this month.
Laurie – Country Link
Thanks, Laurie – and I agree, I would think using dove would also work. 🙂 Love your Country Fair Blog Party – a great way to check out different bloggers!
Lara
Hey wanted to let you know that I picked you as one of my favorites for the October Country Fair Blog Party! I’m asking my readers to leave comments voting for their favorite post, so feel free to hop on over or send your followers over to vote. Thanks for linking up!
http://unchartedrhoade.blogspot.com/2014/10/county-fair-blog-party-new-host-october.html
Awesome – thanks so much! I will definitely share. 🙂
This is a great recipe!! We loved it. Will make it with chicken next time!! The only thing I would change is waiting until and hour before it’s done to add the rice. Still so yummy. Thanks for sharing .
Katie – I am so glad it was a success! It’s awesome with chicken (or turkey), definitely, as well! 🙂 – Lara
I made this recipe last year and going to make it again this year. This recipe is so good. And I am sharing it with others to enjoy. Thanks for sharing.
Katie,
That’s so terrific to hear! My family and I love this recipe too and it goes on regular rotation at our house this time of year. Thanks for stopping by!
Lara
This recipe is AMAZING!! I had my husband do the tough part of cleaning and cutting up the pheasant but the rest is really so easy and the soup is delicious. Thank you for posting!!
Hi Gina, I am soooo glad you enjoyed it! I agree – I love this recipe so much. 🙂 And also agree that the toughest part is cutting up the pheasant – ha! Happy Holidays!
Lara
Can I cook on high for 2 hours in crock, then put in fridge, then finish it off for 2 more hours the next day?
Hi Linda,
I am quite sure you could do that!
Lara
How many adult servings does the recipe make?
Thank you!
I don’t know for sure but it makes a sizeable amount so I would guesstimate 6-8 adult servings for sure. 🙂
Lara
Can you freeze any leftovers and eat again?
You absolutely can do that! Just freeze in an airtight container or double freezer ziplock bags!
What size is the Uncle Ben’s rice package?
You can use the regular 6 oz. package of Uncle Ben’s wild rice blend. Hope this helps – let me know how it turns out!
Lara
My husband just went to this same place this weekend for the first time and loved it! Now I have pheasant meat! We smoked 2 and chunked up the meat and I am going to make this 🙂 Since it is already cooked, when should I add it?
Oh how fun!! 🙂 You can follow the directions as is – just cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-5 hours to make sure everything is heated through. Enjoy!!
We had some left over leg/thigh pieces after making pheasant Marsala for a game dinner and this was delicious! Just added a cup of whole grain rice instead of the wild rice and added some fresh thyme and 2 shallots! A keeper!
Great additions and substitutions – I’m going to add some fresh thyme and the shallots next time, too!
Lara