Goose Meat

[Goose Smith]

I love it, my wife and kids love it. I’m on a mission to share it with as many friends and family as possible! I think it’s better than chicken, turkey, and even beef (yeah, hard to say at first but I really think so). And geese range on pasture with zero feed unless there’s ice/snow covering the ground so they are more affordable for me
raise.

Anyone else have a taste for goose? So far we like to take the breasts and use them like steak or slice thin for sandwiches. The legs, wings, and thighs we like in stews like stroganoff.

I have not roasted a whole goose yet and liked it as much. The skin was not crispy enough. does anyone have a trick or tip to get that crispy skin?

Here’s some goose breast from a Brown Chinese gander taken at 22 weeks.

 

[Molpet]

I seen on a cooking show to take a fork and put holes in the skin before cooking...so some of the fat drains out during cooking

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Yum! That looks delicious, and I can't believe you don't really have to feed them much except in the winter. I've heard it tastes "gamey". Do you think so? I don't mind a little gaminess but I could see how it could get overpowering if something is very gamey.

Also, I've heard they are tough to de-feather. Don't you have to use wax or something?

 

[Goose Smith]

As for “gamey” my only point of reference is venison. Domestic goose is not close to that gamey and to me it’s very much close to beef. I fed some to family once telling them it was sirloin steak and they were convinced it was haha

They do require some extra know how as far as plucking goes. I had to fumble my way through for a bit. They’re big and need to be agitated in the scalder so that the water reaches the root of the feathers/skin. They also do better with a longer scald than say a chicken, I like a minute and a half or two minutes in at 160-165F. I have tried wax dipping as well and it makes for a beautiful table bird but the price people ask for the duck wax is INSANE. I imagine any wax would do and you’d just make sure you got it all off before sealing for freezer anyway.

I imagine the only reason they’re not more popular as meat birds is their attitude, noise level, and seasonal breeding/laying which aren’t conducive to factory farming.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

As for “gamey” my only point of reference is venison. Domestic goose is not close to that gamey and to me it’s very much close to beef. I fed some to family once telling them it was sirloin steak and they were convinced it was haha

They do require some extra know how as far as plucking goes. I had to fumble my way through for a bit. They’re big and need to be agitated in the scalder so that the water reaches the root of the feathers/skin. They also do better with a longer scald than say a chicken, I like a minute and a half or two minutes in at 160-165F. I have tried wax dipping as well and it makes for a beautiful table bird but the price people ask for the duck wax is INSANE. I imagine any wax would do and you’d just make sure you got it all off before sealing for freezer anyway.

I imagine the only reason they’re not more popular as meat birds is their attitude, noise level, and seasonal breeding/laying which aren’t conducive to factory farming.

Oh if it's not gamier than venison, then that's not bad at all. I like venison a lot.

And yeah, if it's too tedious, I'd maybe just skin the goose if I got them and wasn't able to pluck. I'm a long ways from being able to move to a property where I can do that, but I'm always trying to gather ideas for what animals I want to raise. So thank you for planting this idea in my head.

 

[Goose Smith]

Oh if it's not gamier than venison, then that's not bad at all. I like venison a lot.

And yeah, if it's too tedious, I'd maybe just skin the goose if I got them and wasn't able to pluck. I'm a long ways from being able to move to a property where I can do that, but I'm always trying to gather ideas for what animals I want to raise. So thank you for planting this idea in my head.

You are welcome! The goose is underrated in my opinion. If you can range a small-medium flock then they’ll sustain themselves quite well if your climate doesn’t have too harsh a winter to cover the grass for months and months on end. If it does then you’ll have to give them bay or wheat straw or flock raiser type food during those periods. For my family and I we think a flock of about 45-50 goslings would get us to where once a year we could do a goose harvest and have goose as a meal once per week

 

[gooseapplefarms]

I also raise geese for meat. I have a new orchard I started 3 years ago, and the geese free range there and elsewhere in on my property. My wife cannot eat beef as it makes her sick, so we eat a lot of duck and geese.

As far as crispy skin, I find most recipes online are just straight up lies, or they must have some definition of 'crispy' that is nonsensical. I've had some success with getting pekin duck skin crispy. First, you want to run compressed air under the skin to separate the skin and fat from the meat. You can also use your fingers/hand to do this, but air is easiest. This is much easier after plucking and before eviscerating. Once it's been processed, put it in the fridge the night before you wish to cook it uncovered on a baking sheet with a rack. This will help it dry out. The next day, early in the day, scald it with a mixture of water, honey/sugar, and spices (you can find recipes that cover this step adequately). This will tighten the skin back up. You then want to dry it for 3-4 hours in front of a fan. Prick the skin all over. Then roast at 350F for about 75 minutes.
It's a fine balance between rendering out not enough fat (won't be crispy, will be chewy) and too much (will be like leather, also not crispy). If done perfectly, the skin will be crispy like the skin on a roasted chicken thigh.

My favorite goose recipe I've tried so far is Gordon Ramsay's Christmas Goose:

The video quality here doesn't do it justice, but the breast comes out pink like a perfectly cooked prime rib. Sliced very thinly like he does, it's tender, but a bit chewy compared to actual prime rib, but the flavor is exquisite. I don't recall if we did the honey basting step or not, but we definitely cut into the legs as recommended.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My husband makes jerky out of the geese. Must be good as people request some. Geese can be grown solely on pasture which makes them very economical to raise.

 

[Isadora]

Pricking the skin thoroughly is essential to getting a more crispy skin. I've done whole roasted goose for Christmas and get crispy skin each time.

 

[Goose Smith]

I also raise geese for meat. I have a new orchard I started 3 years ago, and the geese free range there and elsewhere in on my property. My wife cannot eat beef as it makes her sick, so we eat a lot of duck and geese.

As far as crispy skin, I find most recipes online are just straight up lies, or they must have some definition of 'crispy' that is nonsensical. I've had some success with getting pekin duck skin crispy. First, you want to run compressed air under the skin to separate the skin and fat from the meat. You can also use your fingers/hand to do this, but air is easiest. This is much easier after plucking and before eviscerating. Once it's been processed, put it in the fridge the night before you wish to cook it uncovered on a baking sheet with a rack. This will help it dry out. The next day, early in the day, scald it with a mixture of water, honey/sugar, and spices (you can find recipes that cover this step adequately). This will tighten the skin back up. You then want to dry it for 3-4 hours in front of a fan. Prick the skin all over. Then roast at 350F for about 75 minutes.
It's a fine balance between rendering out not enough fat (won't be crispy, will be chewy) and too much (will be like leather, also not crispy). If done perfectly, the skin will be crispy like the skin on a roasted chicken thigh.

My favorite goose recipe I've tried so far is Gordon Ramsay's Christmas Goose:

The video quality here doesn't do it justice, but the breast comes out pink like a perfectly cooked prime rib. Sliced very thinly like he does, it's tender, but a bit chewy compared to actual prime rib, but the flavor is exquisite. I don't recall if we did the honey basting step or not, but we definitely cut into the legs as recommended.

The orchard grazed by geese sounds like it would be wonderful! Do you protect the bark on the trees or do they tend to stay busy with grass? I have not tried the compressed air method but will give that a go! Thank you