Cooking wild goose requires adequate knowledge because, unlike a turkey or chicken, a goose can quickly become overcooked. Typically, goose and ducks have a similar cooking pattern, considering that they are both red meat birds (classified as white meat but are red) and both are served medium-rare for the best flavor.
So you have shot a wild Goose on your last hunting trip, skinned it, and now you’re ready to prepare and cook it. Now how do you get your goose to be perfectly cooked? This article will show you how to first roast your goose, then complete the cooking of the breast in a pan. That way, you get the nice flavor from roasting, crispy goose skin, and perfectly cooked breast meat.
How To Cook Wild Goose
Nutrition of Wild Goose
Name
Wild goose
Scientific Name
Anserini
Origin
Typically found in North America, Asia, and Europe.
Calories
427 Kcal/cup
Significant Nutrients
- Tryptophan (105.68%)
- Isoleucine (99.04%)
- Threonine (89.32%)
- Total Fat (87.69%)
- Lysine (83.22%)
Health Benefits: Bone health, muscle health, healthy hair and skin, transfer oxygen, healthy hair, and skin.
Recipes And Methods To Cook Wild Goose
Roast
Prep Time: 35 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 5 mins
Ingredients
• 1 8lbs goose
• Lemon juice
• 1/2 onion (peeled and chopped)
• 1 garlic head
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbs flour
• 2 cups gravy
• 1/2 cup Madeira wine
• tsp dried thyme
• Root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips) peeled and chopped into chunks.
Procedure
Step 1: Defrost the goose and bring it to room temperature
Before you begin to cook the goose, you must first bring it to room temperature. After removing it from the refrigerator, leave the goose in its plastic bag and place it in a pan to contain the leaks from the plastic bag.
Step 2: Remove the neck, wingtips, and giblets
To remove the neck, a sharp boning or knife can be used to gently cut across the side of the neck.
Step 3: Remove the excess fat
Before roasting the goose, you need to remove the excess fat from the body cavity and the goose’s belly. Goose fat is a flavorful part of the duck, and it is a healthier substitute for butter or lard.
Step 4: Prick the goose’s skin
To properly crisp up the goose, you need to get rid of the fat beneath the skin. The best way to do this is to use a clean needle and gently prick the goose’s skin all over. The trick is to ensure that you’re not piercing the meat, just the skin, to give the fat an escape route.
Step 5: Season the goose
Before seasoning, the goose, preheat the oven to about 325°F.
To season, rub a cut of half lemon all over the goose. To coat the entire goose, you can use both sides of the lemon; after rubbing the goose with the lemon, put them in the goose cavity.
Liberally sprinkle salt all over the goose. Sprinkle enough salt to help the skin crisp us and to make it more flavorful.
Cut off the top of the garlic head and place it inside the goose.
In a roasting pan, place the goose, breast side up, and pop into the oven.
Step 6: Prepare the gravy
To make the gravy, chop the giblets, neck, and wing and brown them in some goose fat. Sprinkle some salt and add in chopped onions.
When the onions start to brown, sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Cook the giblets and neck over medium heat, occasionally stir until it releases a nutty smell, which would take between 5-10 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add in the Madeira wine.
Allow this boil frantic for a couple of minutes, add the stock and stir again to combine. Add dried thyme and turn down the heat to a simmer.
Step 7: Add root vegetables
After 20 minutes, take out the roasting pan and add any root vegetables of your choice. You can toss a mix of potatoes, carrots, turnips in some rendered fat.
Add salt before putting them in the roasting pan and back into the oven.
Step 8: Carve out the duck breasts
After 40 minutes of cooking the duck, check the temperature of the duck breasts.
If the temperature is somewhere between 130 and 140 degrees, remove the goose, gently carve out the breast, and then return the remaining duck into the oven.
Step 9: Pan sear the breasts
Heat a large sauté pan, and add some goose fat. Pat the duck, breasts dry and place them skin side down in the pan to sear the skin. On an excellent searing, you can press them down a bit. After about 3-4 minutes, the color should be rich brown.
Step 10: Carve off the wings and legs
Carve off the wings and legs and sear the skin for a crispy effect.
Step 11: Make Stock From The Carcass
Save the bones from the carcass of your goose to make stock. Just like chicken, you can cook down the bones of the goose to obtain goose stock.
Bottom Line
Wild Goose hunting makes for a fun trip, this game bird is very healthy with excellent nutritional value. In this article, a simple recipe has been given to help you make the juiciest, delicious and crispy goose.
You can enjoy the meat with any side of your choice or as is. The steps are straightforward, and you will likely find all the ingredients in your pantry, except for an alive Goose you’ll have to hunt that down yourself in the great outdoors!
