Stuffed Mushrooms with Duck Heart Recipe
This easy-to-make Stuffed Mushrooms with Duck Heart Recipe uses bell pepper, onion, spinach, panko breadcrumbs, and asiago cheese. Enjoy these duck heart delights as an appetizer or serve them as a nutritious and filling main course."You’re depriving yourself,” writes Steven Rinella, “if you’re not retaining giblets from your waterfowl and upland birds.” The MeatEater Fish and Game CookbookTHE DUCK HUNTI look forward to North Dakota duck opener more than any other day of the year. It's like Christmas morning…but with guns! All of the guys that introduced me to hunting 21 years ago have either moved away or hung up their waders for good. I continue to press on, never missing an opening day. Not for weddings or baptisms or funerals. I've never missed it.I'm extremely grateful that my hunting buddy Jason has decided to host duck opener for the last few years and keep the tradition going. This year I joined him and his dad David in the prairie pothole region of North Dakota on an extremely wet and warm weekend.The prairie pothole name comes from a geological phenomenon that left its mark beginning 10,000 years ago. When the glaciers from the last ice age receded, they left behind millions of shallow depressions that are now wetlands, known as prairie potholes. The potholes are rich in plant and aquatic life, and support globally significant populations of breeding waterfowl here in North Dakota.We field hunted on Saturday morning and shot a few mallards and pintails and a Canada goose. When it started to downpour, we switched gears, threw on our waders, and went road hunting for blue-winged teal.I keep hearing that hunting ducks down South is becoming an exercise in futility. But that's not the case here in North Dakota. We aren't called the "duck factory" for nothing. On Sunday afternoon, I drove home with a two-day limit of ducks plus my bonus teal for a grand total of 16 birds. Not a bad opening weekend!NORTH DAKOTA DUCK HUNTING FORECASTWith cyclical weather patterns here in North Dakota, some years are drier than others. That was definitely the case in 2021 – a miserable year for hunting ducks. But since then, it's been wet at just the right times to produce some of the best conditions for waterfowl hunting. The North American Central Flyway goes right through here. It is one of the busiest routes for birds of all feathers heading between northern Canada and the Gulf Coast or beyond. Every spring and fall, waterfowl come by the millions.If you haven't tried waterfowl hunting in North Dakota yet, I highly recommend you come for a visit. If you do, I hope you'll try my Goose Pastrami recipe for those goose breasts. But be sure and keep those legs and thighs from your birds and use them to make my Fettuccini Alfredo with Goose, or everybody's favorite French Dip Sandwich with goose (or duck legs)!DUCK HEART AND GOOSE HEARTThis Stuffed Mushrooms with Duck Heart Recipe is a delicious and simple way to cook the hearts of any waterfowl or upland game you might be hunting at the moment. I've got plenty of duck heart and goose heart at my disposable right now after a great early goose season, and a phenomenal regular season opening weekend.No matter what bird your heart belongs to, be sure to trim off the thin white ring of fat you'll find at the top. After that, you can choose to leave the hearts whole, or cut them in half or quarters. I prefer to cut tiny blue winged teal hearts in half. When it comes to a giant goose heart, you'll want to cut them into 1/4-inch bite size slices.We're going to sauté the duck hearts in a hot skillet for only a minute, leaving them extremely tender and slightly pink. These are great and safe to nibble on at this stage, but for this Duck Heart Stuffed Mushrooms recipe the hearts will have time to cook even longer in the oven.PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMThe porous structure of a portobello mushroom allows them to absorb pretty much anything they come in contact with. Because these fabulous fungi feature caps that are on the bigger side, they have more surface area to easily stuff and absorb all that amazing flavor coming its way. I love stuffed mushrooms! So when I was staring at a dozen duck hearts I harvested from the North Dakota Waterfowl Opening Weekend, I just had to create this stuffed mushrooms recipe. One of the things I love most about portobello mushrooms is their “meaty” factor. They come in various sizes but try and find ones that are on the larger size so they will be optimal for stuffing. CLEANING PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMSBefore starting, go ahead and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. To get the portobello mushrooms primed for stuffing, start by wiping the top surfaces with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt. Then flip them over, pull out the stem (if there is one). I don't mind eating the interior gills, but if you want to remove them grab a soup spoon from your kitchen drawer. Use this spoon to scrape away the interior gills and discard. Place the mushrooms open side up on the baking sheet and coat the outer sides and edges of the mushrooms with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Then place in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.While the portobellos are creating a wonderful smell in your kitchen, you can prepare the filling. Pull out a skillet, place it on the stovetop, and get it nice and hot over medium high heat. Add the marinated duck hearts, diced onion, and bell pepper and sauté for 1 minute. Then transfer the mixture to a medium size bowl and add the remaining ingredients for the filling.STUFFE THE PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS AND SERVEWhen the portobello mushrooms are out of the oven, pull the sheet pan from the oven and scoop in some filling into each portobello. Return the pan to the oven and cook another 15 minutes. They are fairly light, so a single serving consists of two mushrooms – unless, of course, you were lucky enough to find extra-large ones. STORING LEFTOVER MUSHROOMSI haven't ended up with leftover stuffed mushrooms since I married my beautiful fungi-loving bride back in 2010. But I do remember making these when I was single, and they will save well in a covered container in the fridge and can be heated back up in the oven.SERVE THESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS AT YOUR NEXT PARTY!Give this Stuffed Mushrooms with Duck Heart Recipe a go at your next tailgate party or holiday party. If nothing else, it will definitely start an interesting conversation that will give you an excuse to tell the hunting story that goes along with the dish.MORE DUCK RECIPES AND GOOSE RECIPESIf you are looking for more great ways to use the giblets from your waterfowl and upland birds, check out my recipes for Chopped Goose Liver and Fried Gizzards. Or see all my Goose and Duck Recipes here.If you would like to come hunt ducks here in North Dakota, check out the North Dakota Game and Fish Department webpage on duck hunting. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #wildgameandfishDid you enjoy this Stuffed Mushrooms with Duck Heart Recipe? Be sure to leave a rating RIGHT HERE!
Ingredients
- 12-18 duck hearts
- 1 tablespoon liquid aminos or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
- 7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 large portobello mushrooms
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup Italian-style panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup asiago or parmesan cheese
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Instructions
- Place the duck hearts on a cutting board and trim off and discard the thin white ring of fat you'll find at the top of each one. Transfer the trimmed duck hearts to a medium mixing bowl.
- To the mixing bowl, add the liquid aminos, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir well to combine and marinate the duck hearts in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Meanwhile, clean the portobello mushrooms by wiping the top surfaces with a damp paper towel to remove any dirt. Then flip them over, pull out the stem (if there is one). I don't mind eating the interior gills, but if you want to remove them grab a soup spoon from your kitchen drawer. Use this spoon to scrape away the interior gills and discard. Place the mushrooms open side up on the parchment-lined baking sheet and coat the outer sides and edges of the mushrooms with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil per mushroom. Place them in the preheated oven to bake for 10 minutes.
- While the mushrooms are baking in the oven, cook the duck hearts. Place a skillet over medium-high heat, add the marinated duck hearts, diced onion, and diced red bell pepper and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then transfer the duck heart mixture to a medium size bowl and add all the remaining ingredients for the filling, including the remaining 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well to combine.
- When the mushrooms are done cooking in the oven for 10 minutes, remove them from the oven and stuff each one with the filling. Return the stuffed mushrooms to the oven and bake another 15 minutes.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
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