This Duck Soup Recipe is a delicious meal using duck legs and duck wings, along with potatoes and sweet potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, and red bell pepper. It’s all simmered in a rich seasoned chicken broth until tender. It’s one of our all-time favorite soup and stew recipes (along with this Goose Stew).
The vast majority of the cooking time involved in making this duck soup is the two hours of braising the duck legs and duck wings in a Dutch oven until tender. But once that's done the rest of the soup comes together easily.
I love serving this dish to my wife and 9-year-old daughter because it's full of lean duck meat and healthy carbs and veggies. It's a great meal during these cold fall North Dakota days with some crackers or crusty French bread to soak up anything left in the bowl. It’s true soup season perfection!
Duck Hunting in the North Dakota Prairie Pothole Region (The Duck Factory)
The Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota is the core of what was once the largest expanse of grassland in the world. The Great Plains of North America. The "pothole" name comes from the geological phenomenon that was created about 10,000 years ago. When the glaciers from the last ice age receded, they left behind millions of shallow depressions that are now wetlands. These are called prairie potholes. These potholes are full of plant and aquatic life. They help support the millions of ducks and geese that pass through here each spring. They nest in the grasslands. This is why it's such a popular place for out-of-state waterfowl hunters to visit each year. Another great reason why I call North Dakota home!
Duck Soup is Perfect for Meal Planning
Duck soups and goose soups, like a chicken soup, are truly the ultimate comfort food from my Duck Gumbo to a belly warming Czech Garlic Soup. This easy duck soup recipe could be considered more of a duck stew, but I add plenty of chicken broth to stretch out the number of servings so the girls and I have plenty for leftovers throughout the week. Just this morning, I sent a container of this hearty soup with our daughter for her school lunch, and another container so my wife could enjoy a bowl while working at her desk over lunch.
Recipes Using Duck Legs and Goose Legs
Far too often, waterfowl hunters only harvest the duck breasts and goose breasts and leave the rest of the bird in the field. But there is still plenty of great meat you can harvest when you take the time to use a pair of game shears to take the duck leg quarters and wings.
The legs have quite a bit of sinew and connective tissue, so the key is to braise them low and slow like I do here in a Dutch oven. Braising tenderizes the meat by slowly breaking down the connective tissues.
It's also important to cook the legs and remove the meat from the bones before you assemble the rest of the soup. When I first started experimenting with duck and goose soups and stews, I learned this the hard way. My wife was never impressed with having to pick through her soup bowl to remove the small, sharp bones.
How to Cook Duck Legs
First, season the duck legs and duck wings with good kosher salt. Then you are going to coat them in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and paprika before browning them well in a Dutch oven. Then, braise them in plenty of liquid. I used chicken broth but you could also use beef broth. I do my braising in the oven, but you could easily do it on the stovetop as well, simmering the duck slowly beneath a lid.
1. Season duck legs and duck wings with kosher salt and let them sit for 15 minutes to an hour at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Put two cups of flour and 1 teaspoon each of salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon black pepper in a one-gallon Ziploc bag. Add half the duck and toss them around to coat.
3. Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons of canola oil. Shake excess flour off the duck legs and wings and slide them into the hot oil in one layer, then turn the heat down to medium. When the legs and wings begin to brown, after about 2 minutes, turn them over to brown the other side, an additional 2 minutes. Remove the duck legs and wings to a platter and repeat process with remaining legs and wings, adding another 2 Tablespoons of oil if necessary.
4. Return all the duck legs and wings to the Dutch oven along with 4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups water, and 1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place in the preheated 300 degrees F oven and cook until duck meat is very tender and falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
5. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, lift the legs and wings out and put them aside on a large platter. Pour the liquid contents of the Dutch oven into a bowl and set aside.
How to Make Duck Soup
1. Place the same Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium high heat. Cook onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for about 3 minutes or until onion is slightly softened. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and sweet potatoes, and reserved chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
3. Shred meat off of the duck legs and wings with your hands or with tongs or two forks. Discard the bones.
4. Remove lid from Dutch oven and stir in ¼ teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika along with the shredded duck meat, red bell pepper, and heavy whipping cream. Simmer an additional 10 minutes uncovered.
5. Season with more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve in soup bowls with some crackers or crusty French bread.
More Duck Recipes
Here on the website, you'll find plenty of great recipes using duck legs and goose legs from Greek Nachos to Quesadillas to Tacos to Fettuccine Alfredo.
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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Best Duck Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- skinless leg quarters and wings from 3 or 4 ducks
- kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 Tablespoons
- 1 ¼ teaspoons onion powder, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoons garlic powder, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- canola oil
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 1 ½ cups sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Go duck hunting.
DUCK LEGS
- Season duck legs and wings with kosher salt and let them sit for 15 minutes to an hour at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Put two cups of flour and 1 teaspoon each of salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika and ¼ teaspoon black pepper in a one-gallon Ziploc bag. Add half the duck legs and wings and toss them around to coat.
- Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons of canola oil. Shake excess flour off the duck legs and wings and slide them into the hot oil in one layer, then turn the heat down to medium. When the legs and wings begin to brown, after about 2 minutes, turn them over to brown the other side, an additional 2 minutes. Remove the duck legs and wings to a platter and repeat process with remaining legs and wings, adding another 2 Tablespoons of oil if necessary.
- Return all the duck legs and wings to the Dutch oven along with 4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups water, and 1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and place in the preheated 300 degrees F oven and cook until duck meat is very tender and falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
- Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, lift the legs and wings out and put them aside on a large platter. Pour the liquid contents of the Dutch oven into a bowl and set aside.
DUCK SOUP
- Place the same Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium high heat. Cook onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for about 3 minutes or until onion is slightly softened. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes.
- Add potatoes and sweet potatoes, and reserved chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
- Shred meat off of the duck legs and wings with your hands or with tongs or two forks. Discard the bones.
- Remove lid from Dutch oven and stir in ¼ teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika along with the shredded duck meat, red bell pepper, and heavy whipping cream. Simmer an additional 10 minutes uncovered.
- Season with more salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve in soup bowls with some crackers or crusty French bread.
Rod OClair says
I like tender duck meat. Not an onion person but a little can be eaten around. Celery is a good substitute.
KA says
Started at Duck Soup as I had already made broth from Holidays and frozen. Added Pink Pepper Berries and my palate was in perfection!