It’s getting colder outside, and I’m starting to crave that cold weather food. Stews and braises have happened already happened, but one thing that’s been gnawing at me was a good, solid casserole. Coming from the Midwest, I have casserole in my blood, and there’s nothing like the classic chicken wild rice casserole laced with chicken of the woods (or another meaty mushroom). I made sure to freeze some extra tender chickens just to make it this year.
- Poaching chicken thighs to make the stock for cooking the rice is an extra step that adds great depth.
- Green garlic makes a nice addition if you have some, but leeks, shallots, or a combination are just fine too.

The home version includes a crust of breadcrumbs and sunflower seeds.
Wild Wild Rice / Lake Rice

Wild wild rice. The real deal from the White Earth band of Ojibwe. Note the light color and how it isn’t shiny and black like paddy rice.

This is a great chicken of the woods recipe. In a perfect world you want tender nubbins like these.

This is a meal I can eat regularly. Just add a side of greens.

Restaurant version: fried shallots instead of breadcrumbs
Can you make this vegetarian?
Substituting other mushrooms for chicken of the woods
Of course you can use other mushrooms, but I really like the big meaty polypores here. Hen of the woods, or Ischnoderma resinosum would be my other top choices for wild mushroom substitutes, if I had to choose.
Easy Home Version
Wild Rice, Chicken of the Woods, and Chicken Casserole (Easy Home Version)
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup breadcrumbs or panko lightly toasted
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds lightly toasted
- Small handful of chopped parsley or similar optional
Wild Rice Casserole
- 2 cups of leftover chicken
- 8 ounces young, tender chicken of the woods mushrooms cut into 1 inch pieces, as you would chicken meat
- 2 cups chicken stock or equivalent like mushroom stock
- ¾ cup Chopped onion (1 medium-small onion) (green garlic makes a good substitute, and is what I actually used here)
- 2 large cloves Fresh garlic, finely chopped or pressed, etc
- 4 ounces lard or unsalted butter + more for drizzling over the top and sweating the mushrooms
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour or equivalent for the roux
- 1 cup heavy cream sour cream, or half and half
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or similar
- 4 cups cooked wild rice
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Crust
- Mix the panko and sunflower seeds with the parsley if using and reserve.
Casserole
- Mix the stock and cream. Cook pieces of chicken of the woods in some fat, adding the onions or other alliums after the mushrooms have wilted and the edges of the pan are starting to color.
- Season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent, then add the 4 oz of butter, melt, sprinkle over the flour and stir to make a roux. stir in the stock and cream in batches, stirring well after each one to prevent lumps and cook until thickened.
Assembly
- In a large mixing bowl (or the cooking pan) mix the wild rice, cooked chicken, thyme, stock and mushroom-allium mixture, taste and double check the seasoning, adjusting and tasting a few times to make sure the seasoning is dead-on, then put into a baking dish, like a 9x11 casserole size, or a 10 inch cast iron skillet.
Baking
- Top with the crumb-seed mixture, criss cross with melted lard or dot with butter and bake for 20-25 minutes at 450F, or until the crust is well browned and the mixture is hot.
Restaurant Version
Chicken Wild Rice Casserole with Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms (Restaurant Version)
Ingredients
Fried Shallots
- 3-4 large shallots
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
Wild Rice Casserole
- 1.5 lbs bone in chicken preferably legs and thighs
- 1/2 cup green garlic garlic scapes, or 1 small onion and 2 small minced cloves of garlic
- 6 oz unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme plus a few sprigs for the stock
- 1 cup parched wild rice
- 1 cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour or equivalent for the roux
- 3.5 cups water
Instructions
Cooking the chicken
- Put the chicken legs, a couple sprigs of thyme, the wine, and 3.5 cups of water in a pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low, cover the chicken with a round of parchment paper (optional, but holds in moisture) and simmer, well covered for 1 hour, or until the legs are tender.
Shallots
- Peel the shallots, then shave paper thin into rounds on a mandoline, toss with the ½ cup flour, tap off the excess, and spread in a single layer in a cast iron pan or baking sheet. Melt half the lard (or use oil) and drizzle over them.
- Bake the shallots at 325 for 30-45 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp, turning them over once or twice while baking, then remove to a paper towel to weep excess fat. Alternately (and much easier/faster) deep fry the dredged shallots at 300F for a minute or two until crisp and browned, then drain and reserve. You can also fry the shallots without flour, but I haven’t done that myself. (see note and link below).
Making the bechamel sauce
- Remove the chicken legs from the pot, strain the stock, pick the meat and cut into 2 inch pieces. Reserve the meat and stock separately. You should have about 4 cups of stock left, add a little extra water if you don’t.
- Bring 2 cups of the stock to a simmer with the wild rice, turn down the heat to low, and cook on the lowest possible setting for 15-20 minutes or until just tender and reserve. Keep the rice in the hot pan, covered, to allow it to continue cooking with steam. Mix the remaining 2 cups of stock with the cream.
Cooking the chicken mushrooms and assembling
- Meanwhile, cook the chicken of the woods in the remaining 4 oz of fat adding the onions or other alliums after the mushrooms have wilted and the edges of the pan are starting to color. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent. then sprinkle over the flour and mix in. Gradually stir in the cream-stock mixture in batches to avoid lumps and cook until thickened.
- Add the rice, thyme, and chicken meat, double check the seasoning and adjust as needed—it may take a few rounds of seasoning, mixing and tasting depending on how your stock was seasoned.
Baking and serving
- Spread the mixture into a baking dish, like a 9x11 casserole size, or a 10 inch cast iron skillet, cover and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350, or until hot throughout. Top with the fried shallots just before serving, flashing the pan in the oven for a few minutes to refresh the crispness and texture of the shallots if needed.
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