33 Ways to Cook a Wild Goose

When hunters return with their haul of wild geese, usually wet and cold, it’s time to make magic happen in the kitchen.

Hopefully, whoever shot the goose does the preparation, and presents the cook with a cleaned bird ready for the culinary wand waving, addition of secret potions, and final presentation of a grand dish.

Sometimes, however, the hunter is also the cook, and must do everything from start to finish – including removing the shot so guests don’t have a tooth-busting episode.

Unfortunately, people have had some badly cooked goose in the past, and object to the texture and taste, but that is simply because the cook didn’t prepare it correctly or the bird wasn’t well chosen – too skinny or an older tougher bird.

Wild goose is like venison and needs the addition of bacon for taste, and red wine to tenderize the meat in certain recipes.

Geese certainly require a slightly different preparation and cooking method to the average farm chicken to ensure the goose meat is tender and delicious. With less fat than a domesticated goose, and also containing twice as much iron, wild goose meat is a very healthy choice.

Here’s a roundup of recipes to pick and choose from, from the fairly basic hunter’s type stew, to soups over a campfire, to more elaborate dishes to impress friends and family with on special occasions.

Do THIS before you cook WILD GOOSE

Wild Goose Pie

This recipe uses wild goose and duck – a good way to transform that dark meat into a tantalisingly crispy pie filled with taste.

The creator of this recipe does warn you that it is rich and definitely for people who have spent the day doing manual labor or who have spent hours freezing their butts off in swamps and on river banks, waiting for the geese and ducks to present themselves as a good target.

Serve English style with a hot English mustard and pickles. Get the recipe here.

Game Bird Pie

If the hunter hasn’t managed to get enough wild geese then this recipe can use wild duck or pheasant – any game bird meat will do.

The vegetables are colorful, bulking out the recipe, and when topped with flaky pie crust, it makes for a perfect supper or a Sunday lunch that goes on for hours with good conversation and a couple of glasses of wine. Try this recipe.

Italian Potato Gnocchi with Slow Cooker Goose Sauce

The richness of the slow cooked goose sauce combined with the gentle taste of the potato gnocchi make for a warming meal – especially if the hunters returned chilled to the bone.

They will certainly appreciate what is done with the results of their efforts, and make them even more eager to go out on a wild goose shoot. Get the recipe.

Wild Goose with Giblet Stuffing

Sage, parsley, garlic, and lemon all add flavor to this roast goose. The stuffing is made from giblets, crumbled corn bread, apples and various herbs and spices, to ensure it remain moist. Get the recipe.

Goose Breasts with Orange Glaze

This is a fairly quick recipe – 40 minutes from start to finish. Garlic, lemon, orange zest, and soy sauce lend an exotic flavor to these wild goose breasts. Get the recipe.

Rosemary Mushroom Goose Breast

Red wine and rosemary add to the flavor of the goose in this recipe. Any venison or gamey meat benefits from the tenderizing qualities of red wine, and the mushrooms add a delicacy to the mix. Get the recipe.

Wild Canada Goose in Sweet Chili Sauce

Twenty-five minutes from start to finish is all it takes for these goose breasts that are fried, then cooked in a ready-made Thai Chili Sauce for a full bodied flavor. Get the recipe.

Goose or Duck Finger Steaks

The goose breast is cut into small pieces and then coated in a batter, after which it is left in the batter to marinate for 20 minutes before being deep fried in small batches. The goose steak fingers are then served with a seafood sauce. Get the recipe.

Goose Soup

This soup based on the Vietnamese pho, a soup consisting of a clear broth with noodles lends itself to using very finely cut wild goose breast. Get the recipe.

Hearty Goose Soup

The capsicums, elbow noodles, plenty of tomatoes, basil and garlic give this something of an Italian taste. Get the recipe.

Wild Goose Breasts with Orange Sauce

Within just 40 minutes you have a flavorsome dish with a hint of sweetness thanks to the orange zest, juice, soy sauce, garlic and brown sugar. This dish is sure to impress dinner guests. Get the recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Wild Goose Breasts

Marinated in red wine and rubbed with herbs, then presented as medallions wrapped in bacon, wild goose makes for a taste sensation. Get the recipe.

How to Roast a (Wild) Goose

The author has some really good tips on getting the perfect roast. And for those who are worried about eating wild goose meat, he has some reassurance, it’s not as tough as some people make out. Get the recipe.

How to Cook a Wild Goose

How To Cook A Wild Goose

If you prefer watching a video to reading a recipe, this one provides some useful tips on cooking your wild goose conveniently provided by a hunter friend or one you have shot yourself.

However, maybe don’t use the butter, but an oil that can take high heat like coconut or grapeseed, then add butter towards the end.

Roast Goose

This recipe calls for browning in a large skillet before placing in a roasting pan on a bed of vegetables, and the addition of a bottle of beer. Get the recipe.

Roast Wild Goose

There are a lot of recipes for roasting wild goose, but this one uses aluminum foil to keep the moisture in while roasting, and bacon and fruit to add to the flavor. Get the recipe.

Goose Stew with Barley and Mushrooms

The author of this post shares some information on plucking wild geese, and provides a true hunter’s recipe where substitution rules (if you don’t have this, use that).

This makes it easier for someone who can’t afford going to the supermarket to get special ingredients. Get the recipe.

Spicy Goose Stew

The jalapeno pepper adds the heat to this dish that uses wild goose breast and bacon among other ingredients. If you are not a fan of spicy food then simply leave out the jalapenos and you’ll have a tasty stew without the heat. Get the recipe.

Smoked Canada Goose Breast

Apple wood is used for smoking the fillets of breast on a Weber Kettle Grill, so there is no need for an expensive electric smoker. The author of this recipe suggests leaving the skin on to retain the moisture in the meat, while still getting the smoky taste. Get the recipe.

Goose Tenders

To get the meat really tender it is placed in a brining solution for a couple of hours then soaked in a vinaigrette overnight.

After this, they get a flour and seasoning coating and are shallow fried in a cast iron skillet. They are served with a dipping sauce as a snack or can be placed on a mixed salad for a lunch meal. Get the recipe.

Goose Stew

This recipe is designed for those who swear they won’t eat wild goose having had a previous bad experience with a poorly cooked one. They’ll be likely to change their minds after this experience where the meat is seasoned well and cooked to tender perfection. Get the recipe.

Wild Goose Stew

This rich goose stew uses the late season spoils from the hunters in a dish that is rich with bacon and cream as well as red wine, to impart tenderness to the goose meat. Get the recipe.

Savory Wild Goose Stew

Onion, garlic, tarragon, basil and a Greek seasoning mix add to the flavor of this hearty stew that incorporates carrots and potatoes. Get the recipe.

Goose Stew in the Slow Cooker

This is an easy one for a busy person – put in all the ingredients and let the slow cooker do the work. It can also be done in a Dutch oven over a slow fire, but might need a bit more attention than the slow cooker. You’ll need celery, carrots and a couple of cups of various tinned soups. Get the recipe.

Slow Cooker Barbeque Goose Sandwich

For goose a long slow cooking method will ensure the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. This is a fairly simple recipe – it just requires time, as the goose will be in the slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours.

Add to a sandwich with a favorite barbecue sauce, some fresh avocado pear or finely sliced cucumber, caramelized onions, and a little Parmesan cheese. Get the recipe.

German Style Goose Meatballs

The goose or duck meat is combined with onion, anchovies, breadcrumbs and eggs and ground together, then formed into small meatballs which are then slid into the simmering sour cream parsley, caper sauce to cook. Serve with mashed potatoes or a good bread. Get the recipe.

Speckle Belly Goose Breast

The speckle-belly goose, according to the creator of this recipe, is the filet mignon of the sky, and accordingly the recipe is one that requires the goose breast to be marinaded for at least three hours, then quickly seared on an open flame to seal the meat.

After this it is cut into thin strips and returned to the fire until the marinade used sizzles. It is advised that the strips be eaten immediately, however they are so tasty there shouldn’t be a problem with leftovers. Get the recipe.

Duck or Goose Italian Meatballs

A few pulses in the food processor should have the meat at the right consistency to form the meatballs which are cooked in a tomato onion sauce with herbs.

The recipe is a fairly simple one to prepare and should have whoever shot the goose feeling proud of what has been achieved with the results of the goose/duck shoot. Get the recipe.

Duck or Goose Sliders

Ground duck meat with bacon go into these neat little sliders – the fashionable mini-version of hamburgers.

Serve on little buns with Monterey Jack cheese and sweet pickled onions. As the author mentions, always make more than you think you need – these will just slide off the plate! Get the recipe.

Goose Sausage Patties

Cut the carbs, and serve these tasty goose patties with a salad instead of on buns. For the author of this recipe it was a happy mistake – she forgot to buy buns!

The goose breasts are ground up with sausage meat, spiced with fennel, ginger and garlic and set to fry. They can be served alongside your breakfast scrambled eggs or as a lunchtime or dinner meal. Get the recipe.

Goose stew with Barley and Celery Root

This stew is a hearty one combining the hearty filling quality of barley with the taste of celery root for a winter’s dish.

Goose legs are used for this one, so it’s a good way to use up what’s left if you have used the breast in other recipes. Do make sure to remove the bones though before serving. Get the recipe.

Dutch Oven Wild Goose or Duck

This recipe calls for a whole wild goose or two ducks to be prepared and placed in a Dutch oven to brown, after which the cavity is stuffed with apple, onion and potato, the other vegetables are added, then it’s slow cooked for 3 ½ to 4 hours until the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender. Get the recipe.

Wild Duck or Goose Casserole

This recipe requires the goose to be already cooked and deboned. It is then added to a baking dish with onion and butter and baked in a sauce that includes mushrooms. Get the recipe.

Wrap-Up

From quick meals of marinaded goose breast cooked to tender perfection, to more elaborate whole roast goose that will take a couple of hours of cooking time, goose on the menu will create some excitement around the dinner table, and save you on going out to buy expensive meat.

Hunters will have good stories to share around the table of the patience required to lure in the geese and the time it takes to get the right shot.