Wondering, "Can you eat coot?" or "Are coots good to eat?" The answer is yes, and this Coot and Corn Chowder recipe for Mud Hens proves it!
Packed with tender American Coot breast meat, this thick, creamy chowder is a comforting dish that will surprise your taste buds.
Coot And Corn Chowder Recipe
Our 9-year-old daughter has adventurous eating habits. She eats minced garlic by the spoonful and enjoys venison heart ceviche with her dad. So, when it was time for her to try a hearty chowder with mud hen meat (that's coot), she was all in.
On crisp fall days here in North Dakota, nothing hits the spot like a warm, filling chowder. This coot recipe combines bacon, coot, corn, and potatoes, creating a dish that’s as delicious as it sounds!
The American Coot (Fulica Americana)
The American Coot, also known as the mud hen, can be found in nearly every slough in North Dakota. It looks like a black duck with a white beak but isn’t a duck at all. Unlike ducks, coots have large greenish talons, which can be tricky to handle. My advice? Be sure the bird is dead before picking it up
Are Coots Good To Eat?
For years, I was told to avoid shooting the “black duck with a white beak.” “They taste awful!” and “They’re inedible!” were common warnings. But after 20 years of being taunted by this bird, I finally had to ask, “Can you eat coot?” Turns out, coots are delicious when cooked right!
Cajun cooks in Louisiana, where they call it pouldeau (literally “water hen”), have been preparing coot for ages. Why is it acceptable for Cajuns to eat coot but not Midwesterners? I had to find out!
Coot Hunting Season
North Dakota has an official coot hunting season, with a generous daily limit of 15 birds. Why not take advantage of it? If Cajuns can make coot delicious, surely we can too!
What Does A Coot Eat?
Like mallard ducks, American Coots are omnivores. They prefer eating plants but also enjoy insects, tadpoles, fish, worms, snails, crayfish, and freshwater shrimp. While some might say that coots taste like mud, I think that’s a misconception. Their diet doesn't ruin the meat; it just needs the right preparation.
How To Cook Coot
If you cook coot with the skin on, your house will smell unpleasant - unless you enjoy that pumpkin spice candle smell! Because you are going to have to light one of those scented candles to try and get the smell out of your house. Instead, I recommend skinning the coot and soaking the breasts in a brine.
Brining helps the mud hen meat absorb seasoning, making it juicy and flavorful. While brining, the salt migrates into the center of the meat, ensuring even seasoning. Be careful not to over-brine. With small cuts like coot breasts, brining for just 1-2 hours ensures tender, flavorful meat.
Chowder vs Soup
This recipe is technically a coot chowder, but you could also call it coot soup. What’s the difference? Chowder is usually thicker, chunkier, and creamier than soup. While soup tends to be lighter, chowder features larger morsels of ingredients like seafood and potatoes. And don’t forget the heavy cream – that’s what makes chowder extra rich!
Substitutions and Variations
This recipe makes a thick chowder. If you prefer a thinner consistency, simply add more broth to taste. This chowder is flexible – feel free to adjust based on your preferences.
How To Make This Mud Hen Chowder
1. Add bacon to a 6-quart Dutch oven or similar size pot over medium-high heat. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until crispy. Take the bacon out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
2. Add the chopped coot breast to the Dutch oven with the bacon grease and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the coot from the pot and transfer to the same plate with the cooked bacon.
3. Add the onion and celery to the same Dutch oven with the bacon grease and sauté for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the flour and garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.
5. Add the chicken broth and whisk together to ensure the flour has dissolved and everything is scraped up from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
6. Add the diced potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add in the coot meat, corn, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and ¾ of the bacon (Save the rest for garnishing the bowls when ready to serve). Continue to cook over medium high heat until the potatoes are done, about 15 more minutes. Stir every few minutes. The chowder will get thicker the longer you cook it.
8. Season the chowder with salt & pepper as needed. Garnish with the remaining bacon and chopped green onions.
Duck Recipes
If you are looking for more great ways to use some of that waterfowl in your freezer, be sure and check out some of our favorite duck recipes:
Come Duck Hunting in North Dakota
If you are headed our way for North Dakota waterfowl season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.
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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE
If you make this Coot and Corn Chowder Recipe, tag @wildgameandfish so I can share it on my Instagram stories.
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Coot and Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
- 6 coot breasts, cut into small pieces
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 4 celery sticks, chopped
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and diced
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 2 green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Add bacon to a 6-quart Dutch oven or similar size pot over medium-high heat. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until crispy. Take the bacon out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
- Add the chopped coot to the Dutch oven with the bacon grease and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the coot from the pot and transfer to the same plate with the cooked bacon.
- Add the onion and celery to the Dutch oven with the bacon grease and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the chicken broth and whisk together to ensure the flour has dissolved and everything is scraped up from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the coot meat, corn, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and ¾ of the bacon (Save the rest for garnishing the bowls when ready to serve). Continue to cook over medium high heat until the potatoes are done, about 15 more minutes. Stir every few minutes. The chowder will get thicker the longer you cook it.
- Season the chowder with salt & pepper as needed. Garnish with the remaining bacon and chopped green onions.
Cherylynn Fausel says
This recipe sounds great (wonderful description/story too, Jeff!) and makes me want to try coot. I, too, heard they are awful to eat, maybe that is why there are so many in the water-filled ditches and ponds in ND! Now just have to get me a coot... and not an 'old coot' as we used to call my dad! LOL
Jeff Benda says
Thanks for the comment Cheryl! Maybe I can take you coot hunting sometime!