• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FORAGER | CHEF

Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

  • Home
  • About
  • Wild Mushrooms
    • Mushroom Archive
    • Posts by Species
      • Other Mushrooms
        • Lobster Mushrooms
        • Huitlacoche
        • Shrimp of the Woods
        • Truffles
        • Morels
        • Shaggy Mane
        • Hericium
        • Puffball
      • Polypores
        • Hen of the Woods
        • Dryad Saddle
        • Chicken of The Woods
        • Cauliflowers
        • Ischnoderma
        • Beefsteak
      • Chanterelles
        • Black Trumpet
        • Hedgehogs
        • Yellowfeet
      • Gilled
        • Matsutake
        • Honey Mushrooms
        • Russula / Lactarius
          • Candy Caps
          • Saffron Milkcap
          • Indigo Milkcap
      • Boletes
        • Porcini
        • Leccinum
        • Slippery Jacks
    • Recipes
      • Fresh
      • Dried
      • Preserves
    • The Basics
  • Plants
    • Plant Archive
    • Leafy Green Recipes
      • Leafy Green Plant Varieties
    • Ramps and Onions
    • Wild Herbs and Spices
      • Spruce and Conifers
      • Pollen
      • Prickly Ash
      • Bergamot / Wild Oregano
      • Spicebush
      • Golpar / Cow Parsnip
      • Wild Carraway
    • Wild Fruit
      • Wild Plums
      • Highbush Cranberry
      • Wild Grapes
      • Rowanberries
      • Wild Cherries
      • Aronia
      • Nannyberry
      • Wild Blueberries
    • From The Garden
    • Nuts, Roots, Tubers and Grains
    • Stalks and Shoots
  • Meat
    • Four-Legged Animals
      • Venison
      • Small Game
    • Poultry
    • Fish/Seafood
    • Offal and Organ Meat Recipes
    • Charcuterie
  • Recipes
    • Pickles, Preserves, Etc
    • Fermentation
    • Condiments
    • Appetizers
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Side Dishes
    • Entrees
    • Baking
    • Sweets
  • Video
    • Field, Forest Feast (The Wild Harvest)
    • Foraging Videos
    • Lamb and Goat Series
    • YouTube Tutorials
  • Press
    • Podcasts / Interviews
  • Work
    • Public Speaking
    • Charity and Private Dinners
    • Forays / Classes / Demos

Black Trumpet-Peacock Dumplings With and Amaranth

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Peacock dumplings with black trumpet mushrooms, sweet corn and amaranthWhen I was butchering my peacock, I knew that working with the thighs and legs would probably be the easy part. The bird was over four years old so the breasts, even with the skin on would be temper mental and challenging to cook well. Poultry meat from an older bird is going to be more firm, that’s for sure, but the breasts especially are tricky because they’re so lean, even making them into confit can be tricky.

I used a special trick I keep around for pheasant meat, or any lean meat really called forcemeat. A forcemeat is basically meat that’s been mixed with egg, cream, breadcumbs, or a combination of all of them. There’s a bunch of different techniques for making them, as well as it’s cousin mousseline, which I usually describe as being more fluffy and light, where I generally describe forcemeat as being more dense like meatloaf.

Long story short, adding breadcrumbs, egg and cream to the meat is a way of supplementing the amount of fat that the lean meat naturally lacks, giving you a finished product that’s tender, juicy, and not at all dry.

Once you’ve made the forcemeat, there’s all sorts of things you can do with it depending on where you want to go. I needed something to eat with the broth the peacock carcass was going to produce, and spoonfuls of forcemeat make a great dumpling so that’s where I went, along with a some black trumpet mushrooms used to flavor the broth and add color/interest to the dumplings themselves. My favorite part is the wild greens and the sweet corn in the dish, which I added since it was the same things we found in the crop of the bird when we were cleaning it. You know the old saying: what grows together, goes together.

Peacock dumplings with black trumpet mushrooms, sweet corn and amaranth

Peacock dumplings with black trumpet mushrooms, sweet corn and amaranth
Print Recipe
No ratings yet

Black Trumpet-Peacock Dumplings in Broth, With Sweet Corn and Amaranth

Peacock dumplings made from the breast, in peacock broth infused with black trumpets, served with the ingredients we found in the crop after we butchered it: corn and wild greens.
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time30 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Amaranth, Peacock, Peacock dumpling, Peafowl
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces peacock breast meat
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or more to taste
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 3 grams dried black trumpet mushrooms roughly 1/4 cup
  • Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 qt homemade peacock stock

Instructions

  • Re-hydrate the dried black trumpet mushrooms in the stock for 15 -20 minutes then agitate the mushrooms to remove any grit, remove them, then strain the juice and reserve separately. Finely chop the mushrooms and reserve.
  • Chill the bowl of the food processor in the freezer for 20 minutes. Pulse the breast meat in the food processor until finely ground, then add then egg whites and puree until smooth. Drizzle in the heavy cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl to incorporate the cream, then remove and combine with the chopped mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, the nutmeg, breadcrumbs and fresh thyme.
  • Remove the dumpling mixture to a mixing bowl, cover and allow to chill in the fridge and firm up for 20 minutes or so. Double check the seasoning by cooking a tablespoon sized piece of the dumpling mixture in a saute pan, taste for salt and any other flavors you've added, then adjust if needed.
  • To cook the dumplings, bring a wide pot of lightly salted water to a simmer, then using two spoons, make roughly tablespoon sized dumplings in the shape of eggs and drop into the simmering water a few at a time and cook for 5 minutes, then remove to a lightly oiled sheet tray or baking dish and reserve. Repeat the process until all of the dumpling batter is used. Chill the dumplings until ready to use, they can easily be made the day before and re-heated.
  • To plate the dish, gently reheat the mushroom infused stock with the dumplings in it until they're hot throughout. Add the sweet corn and greens and cook until the greens are just wilted. Season the stock to taste with salt, double check the seasoning and adjust if needed, then divide the dumplings evenly between warmed bowls, top with the greens, sweet corn and broth and serve immediately.

Notes

Serves 2-4 as a light entree or first course (roughly 10-12 dumplings)

 

 

More 

The Forager’s Guide to Black Trumpet Mushrooms

Related

Previous Post: « Squash and Pumpkin Shoots
Next Post: Peacock Neck Sausage »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

James Beard Award Winner

beard award

Subscribe (It’s free)

Forager Chef

Forager Chef

Footer

Instagram

foragerchef

FORAGER | CHEF®
🍄🌱🍖
Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
James Beard Award ‘22
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
streaming on @tastemade

Alan Bergo
Sometimes I forget we have good traditions in Amer Sometimes I forget we have good traditions in America too. Case in point: bourbon. 

TIL about American traditions, and the role of the white oak in aging. Tasted some of that sweet nectar too. 

The rye finished in rum barrels smells like pure maple syrup 🤤. @angelsenvy

#bourbon #whiskeyrow #angelsenvy #whiteoak
Summer veg PSA: One of the edible plant parts I co Summer veg PSA: One of the edible plant parts I cover in my book you might not know are squash and pumpkin shoots. 

Tender and delicious, these are eaten around the world. The US is still coming around, but I see them occasionally at farmers markets. 

I like to give them a dip in boiling water to wilt them quick, then toss them with some fat or stir-fry them quick. The little curly-cues make them look like fairy tale veggies to me. 

#squashshoots #cucurbitaceae #eatmoreplants #kehoecarboncookware
Shaved cattail rhizomes with smoked trout, chickwe Shaved cattail rhizomes with smoked trout, chickweed, lemon, hickory nut oil and tarragon from the @wild.fed shoot. 

I spent a couple days trying to cook the rhizomes, and it works, but raw is my favorite prep. 

I add some smoked trout both for the salty pop and because it’s fun to mix aquatic edibles. Runner bean flowers for a splash of color. 

#cattails #foraging #chickweed #runnerbeans #saladsofinstagram
Long, fun day snatching crayfish out of the water Long, fun day snatching crayfish out of the water by hand with Sam Thayer and @danielvitalis for @wild.fed 

Daniel and Sam were the apex predators, but I got a few. 

Without a net catching crayfish by hand is definitely a wax-on wax-off sort of skill. Clears your mind. 

They’re going into gumbo with porcini, sausage and milkweed pods today. 

#crayfish #ninjareflexes #waxonwaxoff #normalthings #onset🎥🎬
Working all day on preps for cattail lateral rhizo Working all day on preps for cattail lateral rhizomes and blueberries for this weeks shoot with @wildfed 

Been a few years since I worked with these. Thankfully Sam Thayer dropped a couple off for me to work with. They’re tender, crisp and delicious. 

Sam mentioned their mild flavor and texture could be because they don’t have to worry about predators eating them, since they grow in the muck of cattail marshes. 

I think they could use a pet name. Pond tusk? Swamp spears? Help me out here. 😂

Nature makes the coolest things. 

#itcamefromthepond #cattail #rhizomes #foraging #typhalatifolia
I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so much we filmed it instead of the original dish I’d planned. 

Cooked natural wild rice (not the black shiny stuff) is great hot, cold, sweet or savory. It’s a perfect, filling lunch for a long day of berry picking. 

I make them with whatever I have on hand. Mushrooms will fade into the background a little here, so I use a bunch of them, along with lots of herbs and hickory nut oil + dill flowers. 

I’m eating the leftovers today back up in the barrens (hopefully) getting some more bluebs for another shoot this week w @wild.fed 

#wilwilwice #wildrice #chanterelles #campfood #castironcooking
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Privacy

  • Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

 I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchases help keep this website free and help with the many costs involved with this site as it has continued to grow over the years. 

Copyright © 2022 ·