If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say “I don’t like goose. It’s greasy” I wouldn’t be writing my own Blog posts. I can never figure out why people say that. Although the skin has some fat, goose breast is one of the leanest meats on the planet. After hearing that response, I usually ask them if they like bacon. They always say yes. Isn’t that greasy?
I will admit that Canadian Goose is not the most appealing and delicious meat on the planet. It isn’t marbled to perfection like a ribeye. However, since I’m a waterfowl hunter, I needed to find a way to prepare this meat in a way that I enjoyed. And let me tell you, I figured it out!
Cleaning the Goose
Before you can ever think about cleaning a bird, you must have the skill to successfully hunt them. At the end of this article, I will put some links to other articles that I have written with hunting tips.
I know what you’re thinking. I know these birds seem very easy to kill in the summertime when they won’t leave the parking lot at work, but trust me when I say, they aren’t easy to kill during the winter when there migrating. This is when they can be taken legally!
Assuming you have killed at least one goose, let’s move on to cleaning.
Pluck or Skin the Goose
For ducks, I like to pluck the feathers away from the breast and leave the skin on when I remove the breasts. It is extremely delicious when cooked correctly and turns out crispy and golden.
However, for Geese, I like to skin them without plucking and have just the breast meat.
Removing the Breast
- Locate the bottom of the breastbone near the belly of the bird.
- Insert your knife with the sharp side facing up.
- Cut the skin to the top of the breastbone – A Filet Knife works well for this.
- Start skinning toward the wing on each side until both breasts are exposed. This will be like opening a button-up shirt.
- Cut along the bone located in the center of the bird until you get to the rib cage. Cut along the rib cage until the full breast is removed. Repeat this for the other side.
- Rinse blood and feathers from the breasts before bringing them inside.
- I like to remove the legs and thighs and use them for other recipes. I will discuss that in another article. Don’t be wasteful.
Soak the Breast
One reason the Goose meat can be unappealing is the amount of blood these birds have in the breast meat. This is a large and powerful muscle that requires a lot of blood to function.
To remove the blood, you will need to soak the meat in cold water for a few days in the refrigerator. Change the water each morning and evening.
Some would recommend adding salt to the water to help remove the blood. However, I do not like to do this with goose meat. For some reason, goose takes in salt like crazy and the saltiness can be overpowering. Add salt during the cooking process to the outside of the meat.
Trim the Breast
This is one of the key parts of the process that will make the final product taste good. You will want to remove ALL fat, sinew, silver skin, and anything else that is not pure meat.
It also helps to cut off the thin point of the breast to make it more even in thickness. This will help the breast cook more consistently and won’t dry out the thinner portions. When you remove the point, keep it with the legs and thighs which will be used for other recipes. I will write another article for those.
You want to end up with a nice square steak of pure red goose meat. At this point, it’s ready to cook.
Cooking the Goose Breast
This needs to be done very simply. As I said before, goose meat is very lean. We don’t want to do anything special or cook for long periods. This will dry it out, which is what most people do.
- Heat a skillet to Medium and melt some butter. Cast Iron works well for this. I like to do this on my flat-top griddle outside.
- Chop a whole onion and add to the hot butter in the skillet.
- Sautee the onion until slightly browned
- Turn heat up to Medium High
- Clear the onions to the side or make a hole in the center and throw in another pad of butter. 1-2 TBSP.
- Apply Salt and Pepper to the goose breast.
- Place the goose breast into the sizzling butter.
- Sear all sides and edges of the breast.
- Let the breast cook for 2-3 minutes on each side after searing.
- Grab the breast and onions with a wide spatula and plate.
- Set the plate aside at Room Temperature for at least 10 minutes. This is the other important part of the process. Cutting the breast too soon will cause it to lose fluids and dry out.
- After resting, slice the breast into thin slices and serve with the onions if you like.
If cooked properly, the breast should be pink in the middle. In my opinion, lean meat needs to be eaten at Medium to Medium Rare or it is no good.
I hope you enjoy this Recipe. Get that breast out of the freezer from this year’s waterfowl season and have fun presenting yourself as a seasoned chef. You could even tell your guests your serving Filet Mignon!
For other Wild Game cooking ideas, check out the rest of my Blog here.
Click here for my favorite Sauce to pair with it.
Good Luck
