Ingredients:
Pheasant & stock ingredients:
- 1-2 Pheasants (about 4-5 lbs total)
- 3-4 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 3-4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
- 2-3 onions quartered
- 1 head of garlic (use whole cloves)
- 25+ cilantro stems
- 2-4 teaspoons salt
- 2-4 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
- 1-2 teaspoons chipotle seasoning
Finishing the soup ingredients:
- 2-3 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 large white onion, chopped
- 1-2 teaspoons ground chipotle
- 4-6 garlic cloves
- 2-3 Tablespoons chipotles in adobo
- 1-2 Serrano peppers (seeded to your spice level)
- 1-2 Tablespoons of adobo sauce
- 1 Cup instant brown rice
- 1 can (15-19oz) black beans, rinsed
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
Home Made Tortillas:
- 20 (7-8 inch) corn tortillas
- 6 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- Salt
Serve soup with:
- 2 large avocados
- 2-3 limes cut into wedges
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
Preparation
Stock:
Add all ingredients to large stock pot. Add enough cold water to cover pheasants. Bring all stock ingredients to a boil and skim off any foam.
Reduce heat and gently simmer, uncovered, skimming foam occasionally. Cook for 2-3 hours.
Remove pheasant meat and set aside for cooling.
The stock now needs to be filtered so that you have a relatively clear broth. Pour the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or another clean pot. I have used a strainer lined with multiple layers of cheese cloth. If you have the time you can use lots of coffee filters and get a very clear broth.
Set aside 1 – 1 ½ cups of the broth.
Return the remainder of the broth to a clean pot set the burner to low to keep broth warm.
Finish the soup:
Toast the spices (except salt) in a dry small skillet (not nonstick) over medium-low heat, shaking skillet occasionally, until spices are fragrant and a shade darker, about 2 minutes.
Transfer spices to a blender along with onion, garlic, chipotles, adobo sauce, Serrano peppers, salt, and reserved stock/broth.
Blend until mixture is smooth and spices are ground, about 2 minutes. (Use caution when blending hot liquids)
Add purée to the stock/broth along with rice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, covered.
While the soup simmers, discard skin (if you didn’t use skinned birds), and bones from pheasant and cut or shred meat into bite-sized pieces.
When rice is tender, add pheasant and beans to soup and simmer, uncovered, until meat is just heated through, about 5 minutes.
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste.
Tortillas:
Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Stack tortillas and cut into ¼ – ½ inch thick strips, then toss with oil. Spread strips 1 layer deep on 2 large baking sheets and season with salt.
Bake, stirring frequently and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tortillas are a deep golden color and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve:
Serve with lime wedges, chopped cilantro, cubed skinless avocados, and tortilla strips.
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