I have never had Goose in my life. Let alone ever cooked or dressed one. Is there anyone out here who can give me some insight into how to dress and prepare Goose and what would be a good and simple recipe for someone who knows nothing about Goose?

Right now I am visiting in north eastern North Carolina and have the chance to "obtain" some geese. But before I avail myself of that priviledge I would like to know more.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

GetMeRexKramer


I have never had Goose in my life. Let alone ever cooked or dressed one. Is there anyone out here who can give me some insight into how to dress and prepare Goose and what would be a good and simple recipe for someone who knows nothing about Goose?

Right now I am visiting in north eastern North Carolina and have the chance to "obtain" some geese. But before I avail myself of that priviledge I would like to know more.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

From your use of the quote marks around the word obtain one might get the impression that you are referring to illegally acquiring geese. If you are referring to wild geese then you'd better have a hunting license and a federal waterfowl stamp, and you'd bettwe be using steel shot and acquiring those geese within the legal hunting seasons. Oh, and it's a violation of federal and state laws to buy wild geese, dead or alive.

Many times almost had MY goose cooked, never cooked one myself, that said I suppose you want to roast/ cook it to an internal of 185, maybe stuff it with apples, sausage, onions, bread stuffing, baste with  recipe via google. Good luck!

I would roast it the same way as duck. Prick it all over the fatty parts and roast it in a rack and turn it a 1/4 every 20 minutes or so to allow the fat to drain. This will insure a goose with less fat and very crisp skin.
It's Julia Child's recipe and it will roast beautifully that way.

Julia Child has a non-traditional method for fatty waterfowl.  She'd steam them first in a large pot to render out quite a bit of fat and keep them in moist heat, then finish them off in the oven to crisp up the skin.  She suggested this especially for farm raised duck and goose, which are MUCH fattier than their wild cousins.

I've tried this method twice with duck and it really does the trick on rendering out that fat while keeping the meat moist.

Whatever you do, save that goose grease.  It is liquid gold.  Both my Mom and Grandma use to keep a tupperware in the fridge for sauteing saurkraut with it.  It adds an excellent flavor to a skillet of fried potatos too.

I'd go with wartoad's method (Julia's) as first step, then roast covered(almost braised) then uncovered for browning and crisping. Go heavy on earthy and mellow seasoning from the start. Do not overcook! Cover with foil tightly and let rest for about half an hour or longer. Cut and serve covered with a sassy sauce such as a hunters with scallions, garlic onion and lots of rosemary and red dry wine. Roasted potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions and broccoli. Irish coffee or maybe a rootbeer float for the finisher. You are preparing a delicious and rare hearty meal!! Treat it as such and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

I have cooked both wild and domestic geese and my step-daughter and I cooked one this past Christmas eve. Geese, especially the farm-raised ones, are MUCH fattier than ducks.
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It’s amazing how much grease one bird can generate.
Pull off as much fat from the neck and butt cavities as you can to save for rendering later. Rinse goose thoroughly with water and then for the last rinse, pour some wine (dry red for wild ones; dry white for domestic) in the cavity and swish it around. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper.
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I don’t stuff the bird but I do put a quartered tart apple, orange and onion stuck with two cloves in the cavity. Put on a rack in a pan with sides at least 2 or 3 " high since the fat will accumulate quickly and you don’t want it spilling over into the oven. Most recipes say to prick the skin but I like to leave it intact so the fat drifts out the sides and the skin stays smooth.
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Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for one hour and then remove accumulated fat with a turkey baster. This is what we call brown fat, rather than the white fat you’ll get from cooking down the raw fat collected at the beginning. Now you can start basting the goose with whatever you’d like – goose or chicken broth, wine, orange juice, etc. I also baste the inside of the cavity. Leave the lid off and tent with foil. Remove fat every hour.
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Continue roasting for about 25 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature is 170 degrees. Let stand 15 or 20 minutes before carving.
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Those are the basics for the way we make roast geese. We usually make a sauce or gravy to serve with it but that’s up to you.

Can't help wondering who was so gutless as to secretly downgrade me for speaking the truth.

You are not allowed to speak the truth.   It is a new rule   You can only use the star system.

Michael Hoffman


Can't help wondering who was so gutless as to secretly downgrade me for speaking the truth.

Who cares???   Not me. 

Thanks to all that have offered their expertise on this subject.

So that there is some clarity here. The place that I work is having a problem with too many geese swarming around the work area. Here in NC, from what I understand if a particular species is causing problems for a workplace then under controlled situations you can take certain actions. Like if a species is overrunning an area, etc. This is what I have been told, I am no expert.

My thinking on this was that if they took steps to try and hunt the birds then I would take what I felt I could reasonably process and keep it from being a loss.

But then again I may not involve myself since I don't know the law and my superiors are going to do what they feel is best for their interests and not worry about what happens to the employees.

Like I stated earlier, I have no working knowledge of geese and only really know how to process wild turkeys and deer from my days on the farm.

I did not mean to imply anything nefarious, just trying to educate myself.

Thanks again for all the useful information. The recipes sound good. I haven't heard Julia Child's name in ages. I used to watch Jeff Smith ages ago. I always preferred his technique in the kitchen. He always made everything look so easy and fun.

If only he had kept it in the kitchen, you know?

susanll

Michael Hoffman


Can't help wondering who was so gutless as to secretly downgrade me for speaking the truth.

Who cares???   Not me.

Of course not.

GetMeRexKramer


Thanks to all that have offered their expertise on this subject.

So that there is some clarity here. The place that I work is having a problem with too many geese swarming around the work area. Here in NC, from what I understand if a particular species is causing problems for a workplace then under controlled situations you can take certain actions. Like if a species is overrunning an area, etc. This is what I have been told, I am no expert.

My thinking on this was that if they took steps to try and hunt the birds then I would take what I felt I could reasonably process and keep it from being a loss.

But then again I may not involve myself since I don't know the law and my superiors are going to do what they feel is best for their interests and not worry about what happens to the employees.

I did not mean to imply anything nefarious, just trying to educate myself.

Under certain circumstances, and with permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nuisance wild geese can be killed. Unless I had access to the permitting, and the legal expertise to know exactly what was permitted,  I wouldn't go near a goose killed this way for fear of ending up in the cooler.

I had goose one time when I was visiting family in Munich back in 75.  After roasting, they cut it into sections and turned it skin side down and filled it with a giblet stuffing.
It was a fresh goose from an uncles farm.  I didnt have much chance to develope a taste for it but Id pass if offred it again.
britt

That giblet stuffing sounds awfully good. I would like to know the recipe for the giblet stuffing.

Over the years, I have slaughtered and eaten geese from my farm, usually for Christamas. I have not done it in years. It is a lot of work, and most of us like turkey better. When our flock was wiped out by a coyote, I did not replace them, mostly because of the mess they made. (my brother in laws late grandmother called the stuff "goose cigarettes").  I now have 2 geese (domestic) that  "wandered" onto my brothers property. After enough "goose cigarette" deposits on his front porch, they ended up at my house. I don't plan to eat them.
 
Geese can handle the cold very well, both because of the down, and that thick layer of fat. After the fat melts away, a big goose serves about as many people as a medium size chicken. I've had (legal) Canada (wild) Geese, and IMO, they are very gamy and even worse to eat than domestic geese. Plucking is a nightmare. If you want to try a goose, they are often sold frozen in big supermarkets, and I think that it would be a better way for a virgin to try goose.

Slight side track from geese -

I had a farm neighbor down the road growing up that raised swans.  For all the romantic stereotyping swans get, reality could not be farther from the truth.  Those SOBs are not to be messd with.  Territorial, defensive, agressive, stronger than hell. He used them in leue of guard dogs.   (A swan giving you a beat down with it's wing leaves bruises and can even break your forearm) As kids we learned rapidly that unless we had feed in our hands and those swans knew it was dinner time, we gave them a good bearth.

It's a fine line between respect and fear.  We had a little of both for those swans.  We also got a few swans to roast up from the neighbor too.  I remember them being a bit on the chewy side, but lots of dark meat.

tmiles


 I've had (legal) Canada (wild) Geese, and IMO, they are very gamy and even worse to eat than domestic geese. Plucking is a nightmare.

Interesting. I don't happen to care much for the taste of domestic geese, preferring Canadas, and other wild geese. As to plucking, try immersing a goose in warm water containing melted paraffin wax, or, you could always get a mechanical plucker, although with one of those you end up having to singe the stuff that's left. The wax method, though does the best job, as far as I'm concerned.

WarToad:

I am more familiar with Swans than I care to admit. I was staying at a campground 5 or 6 years ago north of Mobile, AL and the owner had a lake and swans. They are extremely obnoxious birds. Aggressive is an understatement. I saw a man who was being "approached" by a swan. The swan had its neck stretched out all the way and was heading straight at the man. He reached out, grabbed the swan by the neck and swirled it around a few times. It was funny to watch. When he let the bird go the swan kept coming at him. It would not be deterred. That was all I needed to see to convince me that swans are anything but romantic. I tend to see Swans more of a threat than snakes and that is saying something for me.

On geese:

With all this information on geese, it gives me quite a bit to mull over and think about. I prefer Turkey myself. But considering the fact that I don't know how I will like goose, I would be better off buying one already prepped in the store and prepare it and see what I think before engaging in a process that may be more than I am willing to do for something I may end up not liking.

Definitely plenty of information to think about.

All the meat on a goose is dark meat, unlike Turkey which is white and dark.  A goose has a deeper flavor, fatty and rich.  I like turkey better.

Id be very leery of eating one of those geese you have overrunning your workplace.  Even if you do it legally Id be worried about it.  Since they quit migrating they live their entire lives in an urban setting.  Most of the time in and around the run off ponds that are popping up everwhere.
Due to not knwing what they eat, the level of contamination in most of the ponds and massive overcrowding, I dont think it would be a healthy meal.
Im in the Dayton area.  All the office parks, small ponds, etc are over run with the filthy creatures.  I think they are a health hazzard if you happen to walk near a pond and see all the droppings.

Brittneal

What bothers me is this area is 75% swamp land and personally I don't know how people can actually build expensive houses around a swamp area. The smell alone is overpowering. With that taken into consideration and the fact that the birds reside in this type of area I would have to agree.

In a case like this I hate to see animals exterminated and just left when it could be used as food. But then again you have to take other things into consideration. Something that I had not given much thought to honestly, until now. Thanks for the reminder.

Michael Hoffman

tmiles


 I've had (legal) Canada (wild) Geese, and IMO, they are very gamy and even worse to eat than domestic geese. Plucking is a nightmare.

Interesting. I don't happen to care much for the taste of domestic geese, preferring Canadas, and other wild geese. As to plucking, try immersing a goose in warm water containing melted paraffin wax, or, you could always get a mechanical plucker, although with one of those you end up having to singe the stuff that's left. The wax method, though does the best job, as far as I'm concerned.

Wax does a good job but it ruins the down. I used to save my down and sell it. I expect that all the down comes from China, now

As for the wild geese, IMO, we should kill a lot of them, especially around and on airports. An open season, for legal, trained hunters would be great (the training would be so that hunters kill the "stay here" birds, not the ones that migrate. The hunters would also be background checked so they don't shoot at the airplanes when "hunting" on airport property)

tmiles

Michael Hoffman

tmiles


 I've had (legal) Canada (wild) Geese, and IMO, they are very gamy and even worse to eat than domestic geese. Plucking is a nightmare.

Interesting. I don't happen to care much for the taste of domestic geese, preferring Canadas, and other wild geese. As to plucking, try immersing a goose in warm water containing melted paraffin wax, or, you could always get a mechanical plucker, although with one of those you end up having to singe the stuff that's left. The wax method, though does the best job, as far as I'm concerned.

Wax does a good job but it ruins the down. I used to save my down and sell it. I expect that all the down comes from China, now

I'm sure it would ruin the down. I never thought about that.

Why would you want to dress the goose? And wear ddo you buy Goose Clothing?   Seems kind of cruel to go to the trouble of dressing it up all fancy just before it meets its demise in a pot or oven....yes, very cruel indeed its almost enough to make one think of going vegan or some such thing

Just last weekend, I was discussing the wild Canadian geese with some members of the Bergen County Historical Society (who are building a museum right next to a wetlands area). In any case, the geese eat from highly polluted bodies of water. Same problem as the fish; their meat has all kinds of nasty chemicals inside.

In my neck of the woods, Northwestern Illinois, most of the geese are shot in the Mississippi River area and are considered to taste terrible.  I know a lot of hunters to shoot geese then feed them to their dogs.  I know that sounds wasteful, but supposedly, these geese taste just horrid. 

Geese are kind of a pest if they come to your area.  They drop every 8 minutes.  You know the old phrase, "like **** through a goose" did not come about for no reason.  Farmers around here get mad when geese come around.  They'll eat the buds off fresh soybean plants and ruin an acre or more of crop. 

I was told by many people locally that if I wanted to cook a goose, buy a domestic one off the farm. 

Early American Goose

 
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Jonathan Levy for NPR

 

 


Early Americans ate goose, as they had in England. This version is adapted from Hearthside Cooking: Virginia Plantation Cuisine (Howell Press Inc. 1986) by Nancy Carter Crump. The book is used as a guide for demonstrators at historic sites that feature open-hearth cooking. The recipe is delicious.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 goose, 10 to 12 pounds
2 teaspoons salt
2 large onions
2 cups tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled and chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 to 2/3 cup minced, fresh sage leaves*
1 1/4 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons softened butter
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Rinse goose thoroughly with clean water, pat dry and rub outside and cavity of goose with salt. Prick all over with skewer or other sharp tool, taking care not to pierce the meat.
Peel, quarter and parboil onions for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Finely chop onion and combine with apple, egg, sage, pepper and butter. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Stuff mixture into cavity of goose. Sew cavity together with kitchen string and skewers.
Put prepared goose on rack in deep roasting pan and roast 2 to 3 hours, depending on size of bird, usually about 20 minutes per pound. Siphon off fat occasionally. If goose looks too brown, cover with aluminum foil for a time. Skin should be crispy and dark brown, but not black. Goose is done when legs move easily and juices run clear and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees.
*The sage is a strong flavor so use to taste.