09/06/2026
🍲 Before Kansas was a state, it was Kaáⁿze country. The Kaw people farmed the bottomlands of the Kansas River, dried ribbons of pumpkin on summer racks until they were leathery and sweet, and hunted the prairie chickens that boomed across the tallgrass every spring. This stew is that whole larder in one pot.
🌽 The dried pumpkin is the quiet star. Drying concentrates it into something almost meaty, so it drinks up the broth and holds its shape instead of collapsing the way fresh squash does. Toasted sunflower seed goes in at the very end and turns a thin pot liquor into something silky, with no flour anywhere near it.
Serves 6. About 2 hours 15 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
2 lb (900 g) bone-in prairie chicken or pheasant pieces, or bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp (15 ml) rendered fat or a mild neutral oil
2 tsp (12 g) fine salt, divided
2 cups (60 g) dried pumpkin rings, broken into pieces, or 3 cups (450 g) fresh pumpkin in 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups (225 g) corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/3 cup (45 g) raw hulled sunflower seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
2 tbsp (4 g) fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 2 tsp dried sage
9 cups (2.1 L) water
INSTRUCTIONS
1. If you are using dried pumpkin, cover it with 3 cups (700 ml) warm water and let it sit 30 minutes until it turns pliable. Keep that soaking water, because most of the sweetness has gone into it. Meanwhile pat the bird dry and season it all over with 1 teaspoon of the salt.
2. Warm the fat in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the pieces in a single uncrowded layer, about 4 minutes a side, working in two batches if you need to. A crowded pot steams instead of browning, and the browned bits on the bottom are the backbone of the broth.
3. Pour in the 9 cups of water and bring it to a boil, then drop the heat until the surface is barely moving, around 200F (93C), with the lid set ajar. Skim the grey foam off in the first 10 minutes. Simmer 45 minutes for pheasant or prairie chicken, 35 minutes for chicken thighs.
4. Lift the meat out, let it cool 10 minutes, then pull it from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Wild birds are lean and cook faster than you expect, so check that the thickest piece reads at least 165F (74C) on a thermometer before you pull it. Return the meat to the pot.
5. Add the pumpkin along with its soaking water, then the corn and the sage. Simmer uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until a piece of pumpkin gives easily under a spoon.
6. Stir in the ground sunflower seed and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and simmer 10 minutes more to thicken. Serve hot, at 165F (74C) or above. Cool any leftovers and refrigerate within 2 hours, keep up to 3 days, and reheat to a full simmer.
Ladle it into deep bowls with the meat pulled loose through the broth, and set flatbread alongside for whatever is left in the bottom. The Kaw were removed from this valley in 1873 and sent south to Indian Territory. The state kept the name after the people were made to go.
