German Pheasant Soup
The complex flavors will remind you of your favorite German foods - smoky bacon and crushed caraway seeds with sweetness from the cabbage, carrots, and onion. A splash of white wine vinegar just before serving hints at the familiar tang of sauerkraut.
Serves: 8-10 as a main dish
Time: 2 hours
Preparation Note: The measurements here are all by weight
8-10 cups Pheasant Stock or chicken stock
Breasts from 6 – 6 ½ lb. birds and bone-in breasts (about 2 lb. boneless meat)
8 oz. lean bacon lardons plus 6 slices of thick smoky bacon
12 oz. button mushrooms, diced ¼”
8 oz. carrots, julienne cut
6 oz. yellow onions, cut into ¼” slices
1 ib. green cabbage, finely sliced
¼ tsp. celery seed
¾ tsp. caraway seeds, crushed
1-2 tsp. Kosker salt, or to taste
1 ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar, or to taste
¼ c. chopped flat leaf parsley
Spaetzle (recipe below)*
* Can be substituted with medium egg noodles, cooked
If you’re making your own pheasant stock, this recipe can be prepared over two days, making the stock on day one, and assembling the soup on day two.
Put the cold stock in a large stock pot, add the uncooked bacon slices and boneless breasts to the cold stock and gradually bring to a bare simmer over medium heat; gently poach the breasts (no boiling!) until the internal temperature of the meat is 160°, about 20-30 minutes. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Remove poached breasts to a bowl and cover to prevent them from drying out. When meat is cool enough to handle, slice thinly and return to covered bowl for later. Remove bacon slices and discard.
While breasts poach, in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat, fry bacon until very crisp. Remove and set aside. In same skillet using the bacon fat, sweat the onions and mushrooms over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated from the vegetables, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add cabbage and carrots to the simmering stock and cook until cabbage becomes tender, about 30 minutes. While soup simmers make the spaetzle and set aside (or cook medium egg noodles in boiling water and drain). Add onion / mushroom mixture, celery seed, caraway seed, salt, pepper, sliced breast meat, cooked bacon lardons, and vinegar and bring to a simmer. Cook 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Just before serving stir in the spaetzle and parsley. Taste to adjust seasoning, adding salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed.
Spaetzle
Serves: 6
Time: 30 minutes
¾ c. cold whole milk
3 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 c. all-purpose flour
Combine milk, eggs, salt and nutmeg in processor; blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add flour and blend until batter is just smooth, about 30 seconds (batter will be very thick and sticky). Put batter into a pastry bag fitted with a ¼” round decorating tip. Let rest 15 minutes while waiting for the water to boil.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Working in 3 batches, hold the pastry bag above the boiling water and squeeze batter into pot, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up the streams of batter. Stir gently to prevent sticking. Simmer briefly (1 minute) until spaetzle float to surface, then continue cooking 1 minute longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spaetzle to a colander. (Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Toss lightly with a little soft butter and refrigerate; if making a few hours ahead, let stand at room temperature.)