Category Archives: Snow Goose Recipes

Snow Goose Hors D’Ouevres

Ingredients: 2-3 snow goose breasts 1 cup orange juice ½ cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup honey 1 tbsp. garlic 1 tbsp. cracked black pepper

Directions: 1. Make an orange juice-balsamic vinegar marinade by combining the juice, vinegar, honey garlic, and pepper.

2. Marinate the breast halves. (I don’t know how long exactly. We brought the geese in at noon and ate them at 7:30, so I guess somewhere between 1 and 7 1/2 hours.)

3. Heat canola oil in a skillet. They grow canola around Coronation, but that’s not why Tim uses it. He specifies canola oil because you can heat it to very high temperatures without the oil starting to smoke and scorch.

4. Sear the breasts quickly in very hot oil. They should be blood-rare inside. If they are so rare you are slightly afraid to eat them, they’re perfect.

5. Slice thin.

6. Serve with a dipping sauce. Tim used a local favorite, Sawmill Sesame Steak Sauce, but he said another steak sauce or mango chipotle salsa or apple chutney would work very well, too.

Duck or Goose Prosciutto

Duck or goose prosciutto is an old Italian tradition that originated in the country’s Jewish community, for whom regular prosciutto was forbidden. The process was designed for domestic ducks and geese, and by all means use this recipe for those critters if you’d like.

But air-cured wild goose breasts (most wild duck breasts will be too small to really do this recipe justice), are something special. Slice it as thin as you can on the diagonal and serve it with melon, figs, good cheese, on top of a fried egg, with bruschetta — you get the point.

I will give you two recipes: One for a “sweet” cure, the other for a spicy one. This is what I do when I want to make Italian-style goose prosciutto: You can mess around with the spices as you wish, but until you do this a few times, don’t change the amount of salt and sugar.

The sweet cure needs watching as it dries — it is more prone to mold than the spicy variety. Remember that white, powdery mold is OK, white fuzzy is not harmful but should be wiped off, green fuzzy needs to be wiped off the moment you spot it, and black mold is bad: I toss the breast if I get the black stuff. When sketchy mold does appear, I wipe it off every other day with a paper towel soaked in red wine vinegar.

How long to cure? From 2-6 weeks, depending on the size of the breasts and the amount of fat and the temperature and the humidity. Suffice to say you need to watch it every other day or so.

Once the goose prosciutto is cured, you can eat it straight away or wrap it and store it in the fridge. It also freezes well for a year or more.

SWEET GOOSE PROSCIUTTO

Makes 2 slabs of cured goose breast.

Prep Time: 30 days

  • 1 goose breast or domestic duck breast, both halves (skin on)
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt or pickling salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
  • 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

SPICY GOOSE PROSCIUTTO

Makes 2 slabs of cured goose breast.

Prep Time: 30 days

  • 1 goose breast or domestic duck breast, both halves (skin on)
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt or pickling salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon mild paprika
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 tablespoon dried, crumbled oregano
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  1. First a note on the meat. When you breast out the bird, leave as much skin and fat on it as possible; you’ll get these “tails” of skin on both the tail and neck end of the bird if you do, and this is what you want: They will come in handy later. If you haven’t already, peel off the “tender” on the meat side of the breast. Deep-fry in batter and enjoy!
  2. Mix all the spices together in a large bowl. Coat the goose or duck breasts in the mixture well. Massage it into the meat, and make sure every bit of it has cure on it. Pour any extra cure into a non-reactive container just about large enough to hold the goose breasts. I use Tupperware. Place the goose breasts on top and cover.
  3. Cure in the fridge for 1-3 days. The longer you cure, the saltier the prosciutto will be. The saltier it will be, the longer it will keep — but the thinner you will need to shave it when you eat it. A Ross’s goose or an Aleutian or Cackler needs only a day; 36 hours at the most. I give domestic ducks, snow geese or whitefront geese two days. A big Canada or a domestic will need three or even four days.
  4. Flip the breast once a day to ensure even contact with the extra cure.
  5. When it’s done, rinse off the cure and dry the breasts thoroughly. A lot of people will tell you to rinse off every smidge of cure, but I don’t like this — I like the few remaining bits here or there. But you need to get most of it off, and it is imperative that you dry the goose breasts off after rinsing. Let the breasts dry on a rack, skin side down, for an hour or two.
  6. Now it’s time to hang them. You will need a humid place (60-80 percent humidity) that is between 40-65 degrees to hang your goose prosciutto. I keep my curing fridge at 70 percent humidity and 55 degrees. Poke a hole in one of the skin “tails” and either run an “S” hook through it or some string. Hang on a rack so it does not touch anything else for a few weeks.

 

Scottie’s Snow Goose and Wild Rice Soup

Here’s the recipe:

In a caste iron skillet, place:

  • Six strips bacon, cut into small pieces.
  • Cook until crisp, set aside, and leave two tablespoons bacon grease in pan.

In skillet, add:

  • Two cups snow goose breasts or thighs or both, cubed.
  • Season with salt and pepper and sauté until cooked. Set aside pieces on paper towel.

In same pan, sauté:

  • One cup fresh mushrooms until cooked.

In separate sauce pot, add:

  • One and a half cups snow goose stock (use chicken stock as substitute), ½ cup each diced onion and carrot, and two cloves minced garlic.

Cook until tender, then add:

  • One can (10 3/4 ounces) of cream of potato soup. (Note: Doheny also likes to add cubed day-old baked potatoes to the recipe).

Stir mixture, then add:

  • Two cups half and half, bacon, snow goose meat, mushrooms and one cup cooked wild rice (more if you like), and pepper to taste.

Simmer for about 45 minutes, remove from heat, and serve with shredded Swiss cheese and minced fresh parsley.

Snow Goose Done Four Ways

 

Before heading out to our annual spring snow goose hunt this year, I was on the phone with a buddy telling him about the upcoming hunt. I described to him how I was going to cook the snows four different ways, to which he replied: “Four ways? I didn’t know there was one good way to cook a snow goose!”

I wasn’t rattled, because like most snow goose-haters, he’d never actually eaten one done right. We used the following four recipes on our recent trip and everyone agreed it was the best snow goose—in fact, the best waterfowl—they’d ever eaten.

The first step in making the following recipes is taking off the breast meat, the tenderloin strips and the leg/thigh pieces. These three kinds of meat have very different qualities and really need to be cooked separately to maximize their tastiness—trust me on this one.

Goose Chili

Goose breast meat can be tough and dry, especially on older birds. This recipe is a creative and easy way of making a pile of goose breasts taste great quickly. This is something you can do around hunting camp during the middle of the day.

Place in a large pot and cover with water:

  • 20 goose breasts

Stir in:

  • 2 packages of dry onion soup mix

Bring the water to a rolling boil, then turn down and cook for about two hours.

When the meat pulls apart easily, drain the liquid and let the meat cool while you chop up and sauté:

  • 2 bell peppers
  • 2 large onions
  • 10 cloves of garlic

Crumble the meat and combine with the veggies. Pour in:

  • 2 jars spaghetti sauce
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 1 can brown beans in sauce

Start adding:

  • chili powder
  • hot sauce
  • seasoning salt to taste

When you’re satisfied with the seasoning, put the top on and let it cook till supper. Longer the better and like all stews, soups and gumbos, it’s better the next day.

As it cooks, you may need to add liquid to keep the moisture level right. I prefer tomato juice or beer. Of course, if the shooting is done for the day, you’ll probably want to mix the tomato juice and beer and sample it first to make sure you’re not putting low quality beverages into your chili.

Tastes-Like-Ribs Barbequed Goose Legs

I think the legs and thighs are the best part of any waterfowl. The meat is juicy and tender and worth taking the time to remove. Remember, when your friends are taking the legs/thighs off the birds, you’ve got to pull the skin far enough back to get the whole “flap” of meat on either side of the thigh.

This is so easy and so good, you’ve just got to try it. It makes sense to do this recipe in concert with the goose chili because you also need to start the goose leg recipe by boiling the meat for a couple hours.

Start by boiling in a large pot of water:

  • 20 goose legs and thighs, attached

Stir in:

  • 2 packages of dry onion soup mix

Watch the meat closely as it boils because you don’t want the meat actually falling off the bones or they’ll fall apart on the barbeque. Once the meat is done simply pop them on the grill and slather lots of good barbeque sauce on them.

I promise that you cannot make enough of these. Leftovers, though uncommon, are great for in-the-field snacks the next day. Pop them in a Ziploc and put them in your blind bag for next morning’s hunt. You’ll be a hero.

Goose ‘Carpaccio’

This is one of the easiest and tastiest little appetizers you can do while the guys are busy cleaning your gun because you are nice enough to cook for them.

Simply take a few goose breasts and sprinkle liberal amounts of your favorite seasonings on them. If you have a special dry rub concoction that will do nicely. Otherwise, hit both sides of each breast with heaps of black pepper, garlic powder and salt or Cajun shake. Be creative and liberal about it.

Cook them inside if you don’t care about smoking up the place, or outside on the barbeque if you want to avoid the smoke alarm going off. Sear the meat quickly on high heat until the outside is dark but not burnt.

Now, simply slice it thin and serve hot. It is critical you serve it hot. You can pop the meat into the oven to cook it a little more if you desire, but please don’t. A nice extra is to provide soy sauce and even wasabi for dipping to put a sushi spin on this one, or you can do the Carpaccio spin and drizzle a little olive oil and lemon juice on the sliced meat with more seasonings.

Goose Fingers

You kept the tenderloins separate for good reason. You wouldn’t put your deer tenderloins in a chili would you?

Simply dust these strips in flour and fry. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce. Sweet chili or plum and hot mustard is a terrific combination.

Nebraska Snow Geese Recipe

Pan-Seared Snow Goose with Wasabi Sweet and Sour Sauce

1. Rub skinned snow goose breasts with oil, salt and pepper and place in a hot skillet with sliced onions and peppers.

2. Brown on one side and then flip over.

3. Add to pan:

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon apricot preserves
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh or pickled ginger
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon prepared wasabi paste (Japanese horseradish)

4. Remove snow geese when rare to medium rare.

5. Stir in diced mango.

6. Arrange snow goose breasts on black plate with rice.

7. Spoon sauce over breasts and garnish with cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

 

Snow Goose in Port Wine Sauce

Each Fall, the snow goose makes its way from Siberia down to California’s Sacramento valley, and we were often lucky enough to shoot a few. Unlike other geese, the snow goose is a very lean bird, with very little fat around the breast and legs, hence not a very good candidate for roasting. Furthermore, the feathers are extremely difficult to pluck, an additional hindrance to anyone wanting to roast the goose in conventional style. We typically skinned the goose, and then separated the breast and upper legs from the bone. To cook this very lean and dry meat, we had to add a sauce. For many years, we used a dry red wine for snow goose stew, but then, quite by accident, we discovered that a heavy port wine made an even better sauce. This may be the tastiest of all the wild game dishes that we prepare.

Breasts and thighs of 3 snow geese, boned and cut into 1 1’2″ to 2″ cubes
1/2 cup, olive oil
1/2 cup, all purpose flour
2 cups, whole small boiling onions, peeled
2 cups, small (about 2″ to 3″) carrots, but not peeled
12 small red potatoes, washed, but not peeled, and halved
6 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup, port wine
1/2 cup, dry red wine
1 cup, dried porcini mushrooms, soaked and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon, dried thyme
1 teaspoon, dried tarragon
1 teaspoon, salt
1 teaspoon, black pepper, medium grind
2 tablespoons, all purpose flour, thoroughly dissolved in 1/2 cup cold water

  • Cut goose meat into cubes, and dry thoroughly.
  • Dredge goose meat in flour, and add to large skillet in sizzling hot olive oil.
  • Brown quickly on all sides, then reduce flame and cook for about 5 minutes more.
  • Remove goose meat with slotted spoon, and set aside.
  • Add onions, carrots, potatoes, and garlic.
  • Cook over medium flame until onion skins are translucent.
  • Mix port and dry red wine, then begin adding wine, a little bit at a time, de-glazing the skillet as you go.
  • Add mushrooms, spices, and salt and pepper. When the wine has cooked down by about about 1/2, add the goose meat back to the pot, reduce to low flame, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes.
  • Occasionally, give the skillet a vigorous shake to ensure that the meat is well-coated.
  • When meat is done, remove all ingredients to deep sided serving platter.
  • Add flour and water mixture to pan, durn up heat, and mix vigourously until a thick, deep brown gravy emerges.
  • Pour over goose on serving platter.

    Recipe serves 8.

    Note: We sometimes chopped the meat and vegetables a little more finely, and served the goose stew over slices of toasted French bread, as an appetizer. Don’t allow guests to eat too much, as they could easily become too full for the main course!

Sweet Sesame Duck or Goose Jerky

No special equipment required! Here’s a way to use up some of the inventory in the freeze, save money on store-bought jerky and, best of all, it tastes great.

  • 1 ½ cups DU Red Plum Toasted Sesame Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons DU Manitoba Wild Game Seasoning
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • Plastic Wrap
  • Baking rack
  • Small Foil Ball (aluminum foil formed to 3 inch ball)
  • Skinless goose or Duck breasts

Slice goose breasts to desired strips width and length. Mix together DU Red Plum Toasted Sesame Sauce and soy sauce. Add sliced duck to bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 6 – 12 hours. Remove cover, pat dry and arrange on baking rack.

Sprinkle DU Manitoba Wild Game Seasoning over meat (be sure to have paper towel underneath to catch excess, then throw away.) Place in 175 degree preheated oven, crack oven door open by placing small foil ball in door. Meat will take 5 – 7 hours to dry completely. Refrigerate for seven to 10 days, or freeze in airtight, vacuum sealed container for up to one year.

Pan-Seared Snow Goose Breasts, Peppers and Onions

4 servings

  • 4 boneless snow goose breast halves, skin removed
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Slice goose breasts thinly across the “grain” of the meat. Combine half of the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and hot pepper sauce in a glass bowl. Add sliced goose, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic. Cook until onions are medium brown. Remove goose from marinade. Drain well and discard marinade. Add goose and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until just cooked, but not past medium-rare. Stir in tomato and season to taste with salt, pepper and additional hot sauce. Serve over a bed of Cajun rice.