Author Topic: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!  (Read 5325 times)

Ben

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I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« on: February 16, 2020, 09:01:05 AM »
Cooking this guy up today. It's my first Specklebelly, and they claim it's the "ribeye of the sky". I'm going to do it roasted turkey style and she how she goes. The poop indicated feeding on corn and wheat, so I'm hoping for some good meat. My hunting buddy cooked one of his up the other day though, and said it was a little tough.

I've got another one in the freezer I'm saving for when my dad comes up, so depending, I might cook that one another way. Season ends today, and whenever it stops raining, I'm going to head to my blind and see if I can get another one for the freezer. My hunting buddy said this was an incredibly slow year for them here, and they only showed up a few days ago, so I might have to settle for the two for cooking experiments.

"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

charby

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2020, 09:35:06 AM »
If it's like Canada goose, medium rare to medium will give it a more steak like flavor. Cook it too long and it becomes tough due to no fat in the meat.

Nice speck, we hardly every get them in Iowa, legal to shoot but a very random migrant.
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Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2020, 09:57:02 AM »
If it's like Canada goose, medium rare to medium will give it a more steak like flavor. Cook it too long and it becomes tough due to no fat in the meat.

Nice speck, we hardly every get them in Iowa, legal to shoot but a very random migrant.

Yeah, I saw that warning when reviewing cooking methods. On the next one, I might try something else.  I saw a couple of youtube videos on wild geese where they carved up the bird beforehand and cooked parts separately.

The Snow Goose season runs through March 16th, and last year in March my fields were white with them. I might try getting one or two of them. I hear they aren't the best eating, but maybe I'll just breast them. Apparently US and Canada Wildlife Services extended the season on them and encourage killing them to reduce numbers.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

charby

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2020, 10:17:49 AM »
I'm always too busy to snow goose hunt, plus I don't have the decoys or callers. I have friends that go, the usually bone the bird out, then take the meat to a locker and have sticks or summer sausage made from it.

My favorite thing to do with Canada goose is deep fried breaded goose nuggets. Medium rare they taste like a chicken fried steak.
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griz

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2020, 10:27:45 AM »
I've never heard of deep fried breaded goose nuggets.  Now I wish it was an option at Chikfila.
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charby

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2020, 10:35:43 AM »
I've never heard of deep fried breaded goose nuggets.  Now I wish it was an option at Chikfila.

That's because the goose is Lucifer's chicken.
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Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2020, 10:44:23 AM »
I'm always too busy to snow goose hunt, plus I don't have the decoys or callers. I have friends that go, the usually bone the bird out, then take the meat to a locker and have sticks or summer sausage made from it.

My favorite thing to do with Canada goose is deep fried breaded goose nuggets. Medium rare they taste like a chicken fried steak.

Yeah,  I don't have the time to place 100 *expletive deleted*ing decoys either. After today, electronic calls are allowed, but I'm kinda planning on an ambush hunt at whichever of my fields they decide to take over this year.

Most people here seem to hunt them just to shoot a ton of them. Hardly anyone hunts Canadians either, even though there are decent numbers. They all seem to just want to hunt specks.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

BobR

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2020, 10:44:47 AM »
I thought Sandhill Cranes were the "ribeye of the sky".


bob

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2020, 10:49:04 AM »
Sounds like goose meat might be something that the instant pot pressure cooker would work well with.

I have a whole chicken recipe I'm going to try.
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charby

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2020, 10:54:05 AM »
Yeah,  I don't have the time to place 100 *expletive deleted*ing decoys either. After today, electronic calls are allowed, but I'm kinda planning on an ambush hunt at whichever of my fields they decide to take over this year.

Most people here seem to hunt them just to shoot a ton of them. Hardly anyone hunts Canadians either, even though there are decent numbers. They all seem to just want to hunt specks.

I think you are missing a zero on your decoy numbers.  =D

Cans and snows eat grass as their primary diet, I know Cans eat fallen grain in harvested fields, not sure about snows. I have no clue what specks eat, maybe they just taste better than Cans and that is why people hunt them more where you live.
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Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2020, 10:54:27 AM »
I thought Sandhill Cranes were the "ribeye of the sky".


bob

According to the literature that came with my speck call, manufactured by the bearded bros in Louisiana, it's specks.  :laugh:

But gazoogling seems to indicate you are correct. They also seem to call them "fillets of the sky". I just looked at the Idaho DFG site, and apparently you have to draw to hunt them here. There's a bunch of sandhill crane preserves or whatever in the area, so I'm guessing it's a pretty restricted hunt. I've seen tundra swans flying over my place, but not any cranes as of yet.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2020, 10:55:01 AM »
I think you are missing a zero on your decoy numbers.  =D

True.  :laugh:
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

BobR

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2020, 11:05:33 AM »
According to the literature that came with my speck call, manufactured by the bearded bros in Louisiana, it's specks.  :laugh:

But gazoogling seems to indicate you are correct. They also seem to call them "fillets of the sky". I just looked at the Idaho DFG site, and apparently you have to draw to hunt them here. There's a bunch of sandhill crane preserves or whatever in the area, so I'm guessing it's a pretty restricted hunt. I've seen tundra swans flying over my place, but not any cranes as of yet.

Montana has a Sandhill hunt, and you are close enough now to make it a short trip.

bob

charby

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2020, 11:06:13 AM »
I thought Sandhill Cranes were the "ribeye of the sky".


bob

I've heard both species called that. Same with canvasback duck.
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Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2020, 11:52:42 AM »
Montana has a Sandhill hunt, and you are close enough now to make it a short trip.

bob

It's been a year, and I'm still working my head around what the mountain West calls "a short trip".  :laugh:
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

BobR

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2020, 01:11:20 PM »
It's been a year, and I'm still working my head around what the mountain West calls "a short trip".  :laugh:

You are just about at the limit for a drive to meet for lunch, Grangeville would be the spot between us, a little over 3 hours each. That is a short trip to meet for lunch. ;)

bob

Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #16 on: February 16, 2020, 01:27:16 PM »
You are just about at the limit for a drive to meet for lunch, Grangeville would be the spot between us, a little over 3 hours each. That is a short trip to meet for lunch. ;)

bob

Well if you have the free time, we should do it sometime maybe after March when the weather is clear, and I can start getting accustomed to these "short lunch trips".  :laugh:
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

sumpnz

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2020, 01:56:58 AM »
You are plucking them, not skinning them, right?

Waterfowl (except diver ducks) should be plucked and the breasts cooked medium rare.  Keeping the skin on retains the fat which is key to the flavor and keeping it moist.  Often the legs need a braise or confit to be tender enough to be edible.

Ben

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #18 on: February 17, 2020, 08:02:48 AM »
You are plucking them, not skinning them, right?

Waterfowl (except diver ducks) should be plucked and the breasts cooked medium rare.  Keeping the skin on retains the fat which is key to the flavor and keeping it moist.  Often the legs need a braise or confit to be tender enough to be edible.

Yup, plucked him and did the newspaper singe. He turned out pretty darn good. I mean, the meat didn't melt in my mouth, fillet style, but it wasn't really tough, either. I would put it at top sirloin consistency. I injected a ton of butter into him before he went into the oven.

I've been reading up on snow goose cooking methods, and have seen the recommendation that you pluck or skin depending on the color of the skin. Pluck a small section, and if the skin looks blue, skin. Otherwise, pluck. Though I have read they can be difficult to pluck. The speck was fairly easy to pluck.
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BobR

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #19 on: February 17, 2020, 10:13:04 AM »
If you get enough geese you can always try one of these:

https://honest-food.net/smoked-goose-breast-recipe/

Works well, makes a good appetizer, easy to oversmoke though so be careful with the amount of smoke you make.

I never had enough breasts to try this one but it looks good.

https://www.realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/cured-and-smoked-goose-breast

You can get the curing salt from Amazon, easier than running all over town to find it.

bob

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Re: I'LL COOK YOUR GOOSE IN A MINUTE!
« Reply #20 on: April 22, 2020, 11:18:39 PM »
That's because the goose is Lucifer's chicken.

"It's good, though..."