Recipe: Sparky’s Grilled Goose

The key to great goose is in the processing and the cooking. Pluck the breasts and legs. Plucking—as opposed to breasting—leaves a layer of fat, which considerably flavors and moistens the meat. Goose legs are marbled with fat, making them the most succulent meat. The best time to pluck is in the field while the birds are still warm. The feathers of warm birds are much easier to pull than those of cold birds.

I highly recommend cooking geese the day you shoot them or the day after. If using frozen birds, thaw slowly and brine them. Grill hot and fast until the meat is medium-rare at most.

Ingredients

• 2-4 geese, dressed, plucked and split into halves
• 1/4-1/2 cup vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons salt
• Steak rub
• Lemon pepper
• Garlic powder
• Meat tenderizer
• Olive oil, Italian dressing, soy sauce or red wine
• Chatellier’s Rare Game Sauce or barbeque sauce

Directions

• Tenderize goose halves with fork or tenderizing hammer, and soak in cold water with vinegar and salt for 1-4 hours. Rinse thoroughly with cold water; drain and pat meat dry.

• Rub all sides of meat with liberal amount of remaining dry ingredients. Then lightly rub with olive oil, Italian dressing, soy sauce or red wine, or a combination of these.

• Place halves in tightly sealed plastic bag and refrigerate for 2-24 hours to allow seasonings to soak into meat. Flip bag occasionally to ensure consistent flavoring.

•Remove halves from refrigerator an hour before grilling and allow them to warm to room temperature. Preheat grill to high.

• Sear halves on hot grill for 1 minute per side.

• Baste with Chatellier’s Rare Game Sauce or barbeque sauce, then lower heat to medium and grill 4 minutes per side, basting again upon flipping. I prefer cooking over an open grill, but cold outside temperatures will slow the process and may require cooking 5-6 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook.

• Cut meat against the grain and serve with rye bread or crackers, or as a meal with wild rice and a salad.