Foodies and Foragers: Try this Alaska version of French onion soup, with wild mushrooms and moose

By BRENDA JOSEPHSON

When the cold weather arrives and the days get shorter, soup season has officially begun.

On chilly days, there is nothing more pleasing than wrapping your hands around a warm bowl of soup. The aroma of the broth and the taste of tender pieces of meat bring a savory delight to the senses. Each mouthful helps relieve the cold, spreading a soothing warmth throughout the body.

Making soup is also an excellent way to use ingredients that are available in our freezers and cellars.

Hinterland Steak, Wild Mushroom, and Onion Soup is a regional take on the classic French onion soup. Using ingredients and seasonings commonly kept on hand, the recipe transforms traditional onion soup by adding succulent game meat and the earthy flavor of wild mushrooms gathered from Alaskan forests. This recipe allows for easy substitutions in the supporting cast of proteins and fungus, as the caramelized onions are the star of the dish, creating a sweet, delectable depth that perfectly complements other ingredients.

One of the essential ingredients in this soup, as well as most soups, is broth. Any type of stock or broth will work, but bone broth from moose, deer, or caribou provides a distinctly regional flavor.

Salvaging bones from game, including the neck, marrow, and knuckle bones, is an excellent source of flavor and nutrients for soups and stews. You can freeze the bones during meat processing to use them for broth later. When making the bone broth, start by roasting the meaty bones in an oven to develop the flavor.

Traditional methods for making bone broth involve simmering bones with scraps of celery, carrots, and onions in a stockpot for 12 to 24 hours. However, a modern way to expedite the process is to use an instant pot, which only requires 2 to 4 hours of cooking.

To make the bone broth shelf-stable, you can pressure-can it in jars or freeze it for later use. Having a ready supply of bone broth on hand makes soup preparation effortless.

Although the recipe below calls for game meat, foraged mushrooms, and bone broth, you can also enjoy this hearty dish by substituting store-bought ingredients. Don’t let the lengthy cooking time intimidate you. Most of it involves passively waiting for the onions to caramelize to perfection in the oven, and it is well worth the wait.

Hinterland Steak, Wild Mushroom, and Onion Soup

Ingredients:

1 to 1 ½ pounds of moose meat (substitute deer, caribou, or beef)

1 ¼ ounces of dried King Bolete mushrooms (substitute 6 ounces of fresh mushrooms)

1 ½ ounces of red wine (substitute white wine or brandy or omit altogether)

3 large yellow onions

6 cups of bone broth (substitute stock, or bouillon of your choice)

7 tablespoons of butter (4 tablespoons and 3 tablespoons as listed below) 

2 tablespoons avocado oil

1 teaspoon of salt (more or less to taste, as listed below)

1 teaspoon of pepper (more or less to taste, as listed below)

½ teaspoon garlic powder (more or less to taste)

For garnish if desired: 

Thin slices of sourdough bread (substitute bread of your choice)

Shredded provolone cheese (substitute gruyere, Swiss, mozzarella, etc.) 

Makes about 3 quarts (approximately twelve 1-cup servings)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 3 hours

Preparation: 

• Preheat oven to 400°F. 
• If using dehydrated mushrooms, rehydrate in a bowl with hot water. Allow the mushrooms to soak while the onions are in the oven, stirring from time to time.
• Remove the skin from the onions and cut them in half. Cut the half-cut onions down the middle, then cut it into slices. 
• Melt 4 tablespoons of butter into an oven-safe pan and add the onions. 

• Add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the onions and stir until the butter has coated them and the salt has been mixed evenly. 
• Place the onions in the oven for 1 hour in a covered oven-safe dish that is 3 ½ quarts or larger.

• After an hour in the oven, the onions will start to sweat. Remove the onions from the oven and stir well, being sure to scrape the bottom and the sides. 
• Place the cover on the onions and return to the oven for an additional hour.

• Remove the onions from the oven after the second hour and stir well, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan to incorporate the fond (brown food particles adhered to the pan) from the caramelization back into the onions. 
•  Replace the cover on the onions and put into the oven for an additional 30 minutes. 
•  Prepare the meat, taking care to remove the gristle and sinew. Cut the meat into bite-sized ½ to ¾ inch pieces. 
• Season the meat with ½ teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Heat a sauté pan on high heat and add approximately 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. When the oil is hot, sear the meat over high heat until it browns. Then turn off the heat and set aside.
• Drain the mushrooms and pat dry. Then cut into large, bite-sized pieces.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of butter on medium high-heat in a sauté pan. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté stirring frequently until the mushrooms caramelize to a golden-brown color.
•  Add the wine to the mushrooms and stir until the alcohol evaporates. Then remove from the heat. 

• Remove the onions after the last 30 timed in the oven. Stir the onions, scraping the sides and bottom of the pan and mixing the caramelized fond back into the onions.

• Place the onions on the stovetop burner over medium-high heat. Stir the onions continuously until they are a rich brown color. This will take around ten minutes, maybe less. If the onions begin browning too quickly, lower the heat to medium and add ¼ cup of water to deglaze the pan. Do not let the onions burn.

• Add 2 cups of broth to the pan after the onions have caramelized to a deep brown color, stirring the sides and bottom to mix the fond into the onions and broth.
• Add the steak and mushrooms to the onions.
• Add the remaining 4 cups of broth and bring the soup to a boil, then turn it down to a simmer.
• Cover and simmer for 10 to 20 minutes.
• After simmering, taste the soup and adjust seasonings by adding additional salt, pepper, or garlic powder as desired. If too much moisture evaporates during the simmering process, add some water, being careful not to over-dilute the soup.
• Simmer for a few more minutes to fully incorporate the seasonings.

• The soup is filling enough to serve as a stand-alone meal. If you want to make your soup more of a dining experience, consider garnishing it like a classic French onion soup, but with an Alaskan twist.

• For garnish: 
• Use a thin slice of sourdough bread cut into a round to fit inside an oven-safe bowl. Toast the bread lightly in a toaster or the oven, being sure to turn it over to toast on both sides. 
• Place the soup in the oven-safe bowl. Place the toast round on top of the soup, then cover with shredded cheese. 
• Place the bowl under a broiler for one to three minutes until the cheese melts and starts to brown on top. Alternatively, you can place the bowl in the oven at 400°F to receive the same results in several minutes.
• Be careful when serving to avoid burns.
• Enjoy!

Brenda Josephson is a Haines resident. She is an accounting and tax professional, real estate agent, professionally trained chef, and advocate for good governance. She spends her time fishing, foraging, and savoring Alaska’s abundance of natural and wild foods with her family. 

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