I've surfed the Internet a little. I would like to smoke it......if I actually get one next month. Mostly they talk about removing the two breast halves and grilling them. Some say you have to pound the breast with a hammer to make it tender. Some have the most God-awful, complicated, marinade recipes; then say how simple their preparation was.

Some suggest I should just "share" it with a friend or drop it off in a Salvation Army bin, or a US Postal Service drop box. How do you do a goose?

The best recipe I have heard about is:
Clean the goose
Throw it in a pot of boiling water
Add an old boot
When done, throw away the goose and eat the boot.
The only other recipe I have tried is cutting the breast into strips and wrapping them in bacon and grilling them.
That wasn't half bad.

Don't forget that a lot of people spend big bucks + brave the outdoor conditions just to hunt them. To paraphrase Robert Ruark, "You've got to be crazy to be a goose hunter".

Back in the day (mid-80s) when times were hard and I was trying to keep my hand in the onshore drilling business, my barber offered to give me free haircuts in exchange for wild game. Depending on the season, I would bring him dove, quail, wild turkey, etc. One time I brought him two wild geese. He was so upset after cooking them that he threatened to end the deal if I ever brought him another goose.

Right now I am leaning towards this recipe. https://blog.thermoworks.com/p...ked-christmas-goose/ My thought is to remove the skin before smoking. (I don't like the idea of plucking the bird.) But, will that make the end product too dry?

If you're talking about Canada Goose, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. Speaking from experience eating geese that I've shot in Oklahoma, they are grass (winter wheat) fed and relatively neutral tasting - my wife says they are a "neutral dark meat" - so we've eaten the breasts in a variety of ways. Generally with spices or sauce to add flavor - roasted with bacon, cut into strips and sauteed for fajitas (with packaged seasoning), or, after roasting, chopped and eaten with Head Country barbecue sauce.

were it I who had these birds - I would bone as much meat of them as I could , and then grind it . That way you can add whatever flavours you want and make bbq patties , or meatloaf or whatever.
Some critturs just arent suited to any other treatment - except maybe salami or sausage

We'll be hunting Canada geese and snow geese. (Interesting about the "neutral tasting" comment.)

I wonder if I put the boned breast halves in a spicy Italian dressing marinade overnight, then let them sit a while with a chicken-type dry rub covering them whether that might get some flavors working. Or, maybe inject some flavors into the breast halves.

Taste is different but chews like beef. I'll vote for the breasted chunks wrapped in bacon and grilled.
We don't see as many geese as in past years, more's the pity.

Brest the birds skin on, make sure and brine them overnight, wash the brine off pat dry, let them come to room temp in a baggie, add lowery's garlic salt, and pepper to taste now add good olive oil to cover outside of birds. Get your grill as hot as possible, iv'e got a Tec that gets to 800 degrees, put the birds on and cook medium rare,mallards I put skin down to begin and cook 2 min, flip, 2 flip, 2 flip total of 8 mins. Geese depending on size 3,3,3,3 total of 12 mins.I keep the lid closed on grill.

As God is my witness, if I leave the skin on, I'm leaving the damn feathers on. Do I use one clothespin or two clothespins on my nose?

I used to shoot a lot of snows, canadas and specks and we ate an awful lot of geese. If I wanted to leave the skin on, I took them to the picker, but that got expensive. So I breasted most of them with a filet knife. Once you have the two fillets, you can do pretty much anything you would do with a venison tenderloin. Just don't overcook.

We cut them in lengthwise slices, marinated and did goose fajitas, just like you would beef fajitas, with all the fixings.

Or you could cut into chunks, insert jalapeno, onion, and wrap in bacon and grill, like you would a dove. If you do that and have little ones, grill a few legs wrapped in bacon of course. They are tough as hell, but will keep the tricycle motors busy while you are setting up the rest of the meal.


You can pound the fillet flat and cook like a chicken fried steak. Serve with cream gravy. You really won't be able to tell the difference.

When I took them to the picker and had a whole goose with skins, what I liked to do was smoke them in the smoker for a while -- not too long or until done by any means, just to get some flavor -- and then put them in a big stock pot to boil. When done, remove the carcasses and strip the meat. Set aside. Put the bones back into the stock pot and boil until you have a dark stock. Strain out the bones and cook your vegetables in it. Then you make a roux ... Goose gumbo. My favorite. And don't forget the okra. Not the same without okra. If you want to make that more interesting, use poblano and serrano peppers instead of bell peppers.

And don't forget the gizzards. Not that hard to clean, but there's an art to it. Slice along the line at the edge all around, but not too deep. Then remove the sack of grit and lay it out flat. Cut in strips, dredge in flour and deep fry.

You're in for some fun and good eating. Don't let anyone tell you different.

Hi,
I have skinned Canada geese,
Marinated it creamy Italian then wrapped it in bacon then gave it a little bit of smoke on a hot grill. All who ate it enjoyed it.
Ds

Skinning definitely. I always thought to pluck a duck or goose rather a folly for a creature that was born to repel water. We used to raise Muscovy ducks + there was an old black woman over in Taylor that would clean them for half the take. I thought that was a pretty good deal for everyone.

If just wanting simple use an Italian dressing as a marinade. If just using the breast grill them until medium rare. You can make cut the breast in strips and wrap with bacon and jalapeño. The main thing is to not overcook treat it like beef.

I smoked them in a rotisserie style smoker under briskets that constantly dripped on them... served cold with pickles, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, avacadoes, asparagus..whatever vegetables you have for finger food.. and crisp garlic toast...

Grind the breast and leg meat and mix it with stuffing and spices to get a good mix.

Pluck and clean the neck and separate the neck, skin the neck like a sock and stuff the mince meat and stuffing into the neck. Cook it in a water bath (simmer it). Then pull it out and finish in a 350 F oven until the desired internal temperature is done.

Seen it done on a British cooking show, and it looked amazing.

You lost me at, "Pluck and clean the neck.....". Not just "No", but "Hell, No". For one thing, what do the Brits know about cooking food? All their food tastes like it was cooked in dishwater.

In terms of ethnic food, British Food is on my list right below Cat Food.

Best use I heard of for Canadas was either jerky or using them for the meat set in cream cheese inside bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers.
Younger brother loves waterfowl, and swears by citrus-based marinades.

Hunted Canada Geese in Saskatchewan for many years. Don't remember exactly but used to bring back whatever the legal number every year. Breasted with a wing attached.
We usually ate the drumsticks and thighs in Canada. Layer of onions, carrots, and celery in a roaster. Legs laid on top. Salt and pepper. Broth added. Cover roaster Put them in the oven at about 300 at noon and eat a seven or eight Delicious.
I usually made sausage with the ones that I brought back. Just plain breakfast sausage. Grind the goose and mix with ground pork shoulder, salt, spices. There are mixes available. Sometimes I would use cheap pork sausage (the mostly fat kind) instead of shoulder.
I've also used it in meatballs.
Goose can be good.

You got a point there Ken, the Brits are notorious for boiling everything, including their bread.

quote:

Breasted with a wing attached.

I haven't made up my mind yet, but am leaning towards that approach. Not sure whether I'll eat the breast or the wing..................or just the sack I'll bring them back home in.

I don't get the dislike of goose... as far as Canadian geese...

I usually pluck and roast one or two a year, but try and make sure its a young of year (the old ones taste fine, they just are much tougher)...

Basically I take the goose, and use a sage type dressing and roast it, while basting it with whatever fatty liquid you like (I've used Italian dressing, goose fat (pan drippings), or bacon drippings) and use the neck, liver, and gizzard to make giblet gravy.

Just make sure you take it out a bit early, rest it to final temp and DON'T OVERCOOK it.

I freely admit that plucking the things is a major PITA, but I guess if I kill it, I can put a little effort into making it good to eat.

The sausage, jerky, and various uses of breast alone are also good, and, frankly, a lot less work.

One interesting use I've tried is take a breast and cut it into 2" "steaks". Wrap the edge with a slice of thick bacon. Cover with used coffee grounds and cook rare on a grill... eats a lot like tenderloin of beef.

Specks are as good as canadas, but snows are usually too tough and a bit stronger tasting to me- they are ground or jerky. As with any game, if they are eating something that is disagreeable, like fish, they are not edible (at least to me).

I will say if you cook waterfowl too much they get to the point where the texture and taste compares unfavorably with boot leather.

Got word the sand hills have moved further south. It will be pheasant & goose on the hunt.

1- Filet the breast halves off.
2- Brine in salt water over night.
3- Cut into smallish cubes and fry, only until browned, on high heat with some butter. Stir occasionally.
4- Cover with beef gravy and allow to simmer for 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally.
5- Serve over a bed of rice and have a nice citrus type leaf salad to go with it.
6- Ignore my grammar and punctuation!

THAT'S good!

Zeke

Boil the living shit out of it- then feed in to your dog. He will think it’s a chew toy

jdollar, I'm going to tell the geese what you said.

That’s OK. I enjoy shooting them- eating them, not so much!

Goose sausage with fennel and bacon.

I guess that’s one way to tenderise them.

No offence intended. Why do you shoot geese if you don't eat them and what do you do with the ones you shoot? Thank you.

I can always find someone with stronger jaw muscles than me and no taste buds. They make good Christmas gifts to people I don’t like that much.....

Mine is resting in the freezer. At some point it is going to be eaten. So far no one in my family has volunteered to help me. I may have to disguise it as a Chilean Sea Bass.

jdollar, that reminds me of Lewis Caroll's poem in Alices adventures. "Father William". "Father William you're old + your teeth are like suet, yet I saw you eat the goose bones + all, pray tell me how did you do it?" "When I was a youth I took to the law + argued each case with my wife, + the remarkable strength it has given my jaw has lasted me all of my life."

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Mine is resting in the freezer. At some point it is going to be eaten. So far no one in my family has volunteered to help me. I may have to disguise it as a Chilean Sea Bass.

Chunk the breast, wrap it in bacon, and grill it. Just don't blab where you got the chunks, they'll sell out quick.

I once swapped an elk roast for a Canada goose, a good trade at the time...

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
I can always find someone with stronger jaw muscles than me and no taste buds. They make good Christmas gifts to people I don’t like that much.....

Don't understand why folks don't like them. Gumbo, on the grill, chicken fried or fajitas, are all good.

I've eaten goose shot in Delaware and Maryland. Definitely NOT on my list of preferred meats..

I think the only way you can actually enjoy a goose is to eat it AFTER a 3 or 4 week hunger strike..

I grind the breasts, add spices and make jerky.

How about Chicken fried goose steaks? Serve with white gravy and biscuits