Coot Jambalaya

Carl

Carl

Well-known member
Staff member
Made this the other day with coots we shot and it didn't last long on the dinner table. This version is not very spicy, put a bottle of Tabasco sauce on the table. Add some smoked Cajun sausage to give it a kick.
Anyone who says "yuck" as a reason to pass on coots either hasn't tried them or doesn't know how to cook. Buy a couple of boxes of cheap steel dove load #6s, shoot some coots and make some jambalaya:


Coot Jambalaya
Ingredients:
Coots:
  • 5 Coots, breast fillets and leg quarters

  • 1 carrot, diced

  • 1 stalk celery, chopped

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

  • ½ teaspoon oregano

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 3 cups of water


Jambalaya
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil, divided

  • 1/2 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 1 small green bell pepper, diced

  • 2 stalks celery, diced

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 1/4 cups uncooked white rice

  • 2 1/2 cups broth (from cooking coots)




Directions:
Prepare Coots:
Heat oil in a pot and sautee carrot, celery, onion & garlic. Add coots and brown slightly. Add water, pepper, bay leaves and oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour, or until coots are tender enough to shred with fork. Remove coots from stock, strain stock and set aside. Shred coot meat and set aside.
Prepare Jambalaya
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat.
Saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, and season with creole seasoning, black pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.
Stir in shredded coot meat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the rice and 2.5 cups of reserved stock.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. It should not be soupy. Let stand with the lid open for 10 minutes before serving. This will let it cool off and allow excess liquid to absorb a/o evaporate.
 
I am all over this recipe!!!! I've only seen a coot or two in the past several years, but I bet this would work with Buffies or mallards as well.

Damn!!! Now I'm hungry!

Mike in CT
In a marsh NOWHERE near your spot
 
Never shot at a coot let alone saw one, but I will try anything once. And this recipe sure makes me hungry for some.

Chad
 
Never shot at a coot let alone saw one,
Chad


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Well, I guess that makes the lowly coot a "bucket bird" for you!
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We have thousands of coots here and this year I planned on shooting one to see how it tastes. It looks like anytning in that recipie would be delicouse. I have yet to meet anybody who has actually eaten one but have heard from everybody that they are horrible????? In your sates I don't know if it counts towards your duck limit like mergansers do here, but in Oregon they are separate with a limit of 25/day. One day can make a lot of jambalaya.
 
Never shot at a coot let alone saw one, but I will try anything once. And this recipe sure makes me hungry for some.

Chad
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They're up here in north jersey! Maybe sometime soon you will have an opportunity.
 
We used to do an annual coot shoot on a very good duck lake near Ludington each fall. Keep the legs and thighs as well on these birds, since they comprise nearly the same volume of meat as their breasts-much more tender than most ducks, too!

Stir in uncooked rice and bake, or stir in pre-cooked rice and serve? The first method results in jambalaya. The second makes it a gumbo, particularly if you add file' powder or sauted okra in the stock base. I suspect that is why you added the underlined sentence, but thought I would add the clarification criteria. One of a pair of brothers I used to trap snapping turtles with is a chef in New Orleans. One of a handfull of lessons Carlos drummed into us. Now that I am married, I stay away from there, but still love making Cajun dishes. Way too much trouble to get into in that town, both gastronomic and other headings...!
 
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I did not see the gizzard in the recipe? One of the most important parts...

Regards,
Kristan
 
I generally play in the South and Coastal Zone. Typically only hunt up north with my Setter. Although, I am sure there have to be Coot around where I hunt, just haven't had the pleasure to meet any. I would love to see them run across the water with those big feet of theirs.
 
Neal, we can shoot 15/day. I've only done it once, that is a lot of coots to clean!
 
Never been a fan of gizzards, but I guess it would be fine if you can simmer them long enough to be tender!
 
Every year on pool 13 of the Mississippi many, many coots arriving in the middle of the night and literally cover the water around Spring Lake. Not one person in my duck camp shoots any....let alone would think about tasting one. Coot breasts and gizzards taste just fine. They just won't listen.

The gizzard is actually quite large. It is usually larger than a turkey's. Some refer to coots as a flying gizzard container. Cut into quarters and slow, simmered in barbecue sauce equals "good stuff".

They are kind of a fragile bird so a little finesse when cleaning makes a huge difference. The key to dressing out coots is to breast all the birds first...then go back and "retrieve" their gizzards. This keeps the fillets cleaner, fresher smelling and avoids the unpleasant odor of any "gut juices" (on you, the knife or the breast meat).

Getting use to the smell when dressing out a coot is often the biggest hurdle.
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I normally breast them then take the legs & thighs off. They are very easy to skin, so that helps.
The innards to have quite a peculiar smell, so I can see taking the meat off before going after the gizzards would be a good idea, thanks for the tip!
 
Use those gizzards to bait your jug lines. Talk about catch some big catfish. They like the guts even better.

I never had a Poules d'eau jambalaya; I bet it's good.

Ed.
 
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