Pheasant Soup

Making your own pheasant soup from scratch is a great way to make your game birds go further.

This post takes you step by step to make your own pheasant stock and make the most of every scrap of meat to make a delicious soup.

With added onions, carrots and celery, this soup make a great meal or an elegant starter for a dinner party.

Enjoy!

Jump to:

• ❤️ Why you will love this recipe
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• 🥗 Serve with
• 📖 Variations
• 🍣Storage
• 🍱 Prepare in Advance
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Poultry and game birds are something we eat regularly at home, but I do like to make the most out of everything I buy.

Whether it's making stock from a roast chicken to use in dishes later on, such as turkey and ham pie or a humble gravy, or picking off every single scrap of meat to use in a stir fry or soup, I don't like to waste food. And, with high prices, it makes sense to get your monies worth.

With this recipe you can make the stock from scratch and then make the soup, or you can use shop bought stock and just make the soup from any leftover meat.

There are plenty of hints and tips and the technique is the same for any bird you want to use instead.

❤️ Why you will love this recipe

• Easy to vary the ingredients.
• Use the same technique for making stock from any bird.
• No food waste!
• Great soup for a meal or an elegant starter for a dinner party.

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🥘 Ingredients

For the stock

• Pheasant - 2 pheasant carcasses, raw or leftover from roasting. I often just roast a pheasant and put the carcass in the freezer, with any leftover meat picked off and frozen separately, until I have more time. Sometime I just need the pheasant breasts and have the raw carcass and legs left. The legs can be quite tough and sinewy. The best way to cook them in a roasting dish covered in foil. Roast at 160 C / 310 F / 140 FAN / Gas 2.5  for about an hour until tender.
• Celery - classic flavour in stock.
• Onion - brown onion.
• Carrots - any type of carrot.
• Bay leaves - fried bay leaves, not fresh, as the flavour is too strong.
• Seasoning - whole peppercorns and cooking or kosher salt.

For the soup

• Pheasant - leftover meat with bones and skin removed, as the skin becomes slimy. Shred the meat with your fingers as it looks more appealing than chopped meat. Take care with the legs, as there are some fine sharp bones. Don't forget the 'oysters'. These are on the middle of the back of the pheasant.
• Carrots - any carrots, as they will be chopped.
• Onion - brown onion.
• Leeks - for extra flavour.
• Celery - for texture and flavour.
• Flour - plain or all purpose flour to thicken the soup.
• Butter - salted or unsalted.
• Oil - vegetable or olive oil.
• Stock - freshly made as above, chicken stock made from concentrate or bought ready made.
• Seasoning - flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post.

🍽 Equipment

• chopping board
• sharp knife
• 5 litre stock pot, dutch oven or saucepan with lid - (9 pints)
• colander
• large bowl or jug
• wooden spoon

🔪 Instructions

Prepare the vegetables for the stock.

Scrub the carrots, but there is no need to peel them as they will be discarded.

Cut the carrots into chunks. I prefer to cut them lengthways in half and then in quarters.

Peel and quarter the onions and roughly chop the celery.

Put the vegetables, pheasant carcasses, salt, peppercorns and bay leaves into a stock pot.

Bring the mix to a simmer and cook for about 3 hours.

Strain the stock into a large bowl with a colander. Discard the bones and vegetables.

While the stock is simmering prepare the vegetables for the pheasant soup.

Peel the onion and carrot and chop into small dice for quick cooking.

Wash the leek and celery and remove the ends. Cut the leek into quarters lengthways and slice and finely chop the celery.

Wash the stock pot ready to make the soup.

Put the oil and butter in the pot over a medium heat and add the chopped vegetables.

Cook for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until the vegetables are softened.

Add the flour and stir for a minute until absorbed.

Gradually add the stock and stir as it comes to a simmer and thickens.

Add the cooked and shredded pheasant meat to warm through for 5 minutes.

Check the seasoning and serve.

🥗 Serve with

Serve the soup with some crusty bread or why not try making some traditional Kentish Huffkins?

Try making the stock and soup after you have made these whole bird recipes.

• Spatchcock Duck
• Roast Pigeon
• Roast Partridge

📖 Variations

• Poultry and game - use 1 duck or chicken carcass, 2 partridge or 4 pigeon. Make turkey stock in the same way, however, you will find that you may need to break down the carcass with poultry shears to get it in the pot.
• Vegetables - add sliced mushrooms, frozen peas or sweetcorn, or green beans for a change.
• Make it a meal - add cooked rice, pearl barley or lentils to make this a filling meal.

🍣Storage

• Refrigerator - the stock and soup can be cooled, covered and kept for up to 4 days.
• Freezer - pour the stock or soup into strong bags or containers, leaving a 2 centimetre or 1 inch gap, as the liquid will expand as it freezes. Store the stock for up to 4 months and the soup for 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
• Reheat - use in gravies, pies or casseroles as required.

🍱 Prepare in Advance

• Prepare the stock in advance. Leave to cool to room temperature then cover and refrigerate until required. Skim off any solid fat with a spoon before using.
• Make the soup in advance, if making the stock on the same day. Cool, cover and keep in the fridge until required. Add the meat while warming the soup through over a medium heat.

More soup recipes

• Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Cream of Onion Soup
• Celery and Leek Soup
• Tomato and Courgette Soup
• Spicy Pumpkin Soup
• Tarragon and Mushroom Soup
• French Onion Soup with a Gruyère Crouton
• Slow Cooker Oxtail Soup
• Shellfish Bisque
• London Particular Soup
• Pea and Mint Soup

📋 Recipe

More duck and game bird recipes

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

Do you have a question or did you make the recipe?

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