These hearty, filling soup recipes are easy to prepare in advance and the recipes can be doubled (or more!) and frozen for later. Try them for those cold early-season days.
Wild turkey soup
I always keep the carcass from my wild turkey and make a roasted wild turkey broth (recipes on pg. 38, Nov.-Dec. 2021 issue). This soup is a classic my grandmother and mother would make after every Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ingredients:
Makes 4-6 servings
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2L wild turkey broth
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 tbsp chicken seasoning
- 3 cups turkey meat, cooked/shredded
- 1 cup dry macaroni noodles
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Heat oil in a large pot on medium high. Add chopped celery, onion, carrots, and garlic and sauté for about eight minutes.
2. Pour the turkey stock into the pot and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Add the bouillon cubes, chicken seasoning, turkey meat, and macaroni noodles.
4. Return to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, add to your Thermos and hit the ice!
Black bear gumbo
This spicy Creole classic is a great way to use up bear sausage. This recipe has a lot of ingredients and takes some time to prepare but is well worth it.
Ingredients:
Makes 6-10 servings
- 1/4 cup bear fat
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, finely chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 pound bear sausage, sliced into coins
- 1.5 L water
- 3 cubes beef bouillon
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 796 mL
- 1 can tomato sauce, 796 mL
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 tbsp Cajun spice
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups medium raw shrimp
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 cup frozen chopped okra, optional
Directions
1. Melt bear fat in a large, heavy pot. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook until the roux just starts to color. Add white wine.
2. Add onion, carrot, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and bear sausage and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add water and beef bouillon cubes and stir until cubes dissolve.
4. Mix in diced tomato and tomato sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add hot sauce, Cajun spice, dried thyme, shrimp, maple syrup, and okra (if desired). Cook for another five minutes. Enjoy!
Bouillabaisse
This traditional French soup is a great way to use up any random white-fleshed fish in your freezer! Perch, crappie, walleye…anything goes!
Ingredients:
Makes 6-8 servings
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large can diced tomato
- 2 large white potatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 2L fish or seafood broth
- 2 lb white fish fillets; diced perch, walleye, whitefish, crappie etc.
- 2 cans whole baby clams, 142g each
- 1 lb baby shrimp
- Salt & pepper, to taste
For crostinis
- 1 baguette, slice on an angle into 1/4 inch pieces
- Olive oil
- Salt & pepper
Directions
1. In a large pot, heat olive oil and cook the onions and garlic for five minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant.
2. Add tomatoes and potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add parsley, bay leaves, saffron, and seafood broth, cook for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Mix in the fish, clams and shrimp, simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat over to 275 ̊F. Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
6. Serve. Use crostinis to soak up the delicious bouillabaisse broth.
Andrew Rochon is OOD’s food editor. You can follow more of his culinary adventures on Instagram: @wilderness_chef
Originally published in the April 2022 issue of Ontario OUT of DOORS magazine.
