A week ago we were in North Dakota for early Canadian Goose season. It was awesome – the weather was great, we got some good shooting, and had a great time together. One of our North Dakota traditions is that for at least one meal, we cook and enjoy whatever it is we were hunting for. After several years of oven-roasted ducks and geese, we decided to branch out and try some new recipes. We first made this one last year and it was a keeper! The barbecue sauce doctored up with pineapple, onion, and garlic creates a nice tangy almost sweet and sour-ish sauce and the slow cooked goose is super tender and just shreds with your fork.
First you need your dog to retrieve dinner for you.
Here’s what you need plus 4 goose breasts:
(If you don’t like or don’t have wild game – you could make this with chicken, pork or beef. Goose is actually a really dark meat the reminds me of roast beef when I eat it, so a cubed chuck roast would be great here!)
Plus green peppers. My uncle hates green peppers so we couldn’t add them this time, but I highly recommend it – we’ve made it before with green peppers and they add a lot to the flavor of the sauce.
The first thing you need to do is prepare the goose breast – I didn’t take pictures of this part. You’re going to soak it to pull some of the blood from the meat which will remove the gaminess. This process should start the night before you want to serve the goose. We used a large Ziploc bag. First you want to soak it in enough salt water to cover the goose. The water should be salty like the sea. After 6-8 hours drain, and soak the goose in water (no salt this time) overnight. In the morning, drain the water and add enough buttermilk to cover the goose. You want to soak it for at least 3 hours in the buttermilk mixture.
You want to slice the goose breast into thin strips:
Then get the sauce ready. Dice the onion and mince the garlic (and slice the green pepper if using). Add to a bowl along with the barbecue sauce, pineapples (plus about ½ of the juice from the can), and water chestnuts. Stir together.
Now you it’s time to layer everything together in the crock pot. I start by adding a small amount of sauce to the bottom. Then add half the goose followed by half of the sauce. Repeat the layers. Set your slow cooker for 8-9 hours on low.
Here’s what it looks like when it’s ready:
(if anyone can find a way to make slow cooker recipes like this look pretty in pictures, please let me know!)
We served it over brown jasmine rice.
Enjoy!
- 4 goose breasts
- buttermilk to cover goose breasts, 1-2 cups
- 2 bottles barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)
- 1 can pineapple tidbits + ½ the juice
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Start preparing the goose breasts the night before. Place the goose in a large Ziploc bag and cover with salt water. Soak for 6-8 hours then drain. Rinse then cover the goose with plain water overnight. Drain and cover with buttermilk. Soak for at least 3 hours.
- Slice the goose breasts.
- Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl to make the sauce.
- Layer ingredients in the slow cooker starting with a thin layer of sauce. Alternate half the goose and half the sauce, ending with the sauce.
- Cook on low for 8-9 hours.
- Serve over brown jasmine rice (or plain rice if you can’t find jasmine rice).
Source: Adapted from Crock Pot Duck Breasts on Mack’s Prairie Wings
dea says
I think the thing that would take this over the top is some local harvested wild rice. Great recipe though! Mom
Sherri Hemus says
Where does the buttermilk go?
Dana says
The buttermilk is used to soak the goose before cooking. You need just enough to cover the goose in a plastic bag. This will help tenderize the meat. See step 1 of the printable recipe. I prep goose or duck this way every time I made a slow cooker wild game meal.
Madeline Zelinski says
Do you put buttermilk in recipe or throw it out?
Dana says
Discard the buttermilk after it is done soaking.
Madeline Zelinski says
I would like to know also
John Ansell says
Hi, I’m a newbie to Canada goose recipes and this looks good and a change from the “flash in the pan, finish in the oven” type recipes I’ve tried so far. However I don’t have a slow cooker as I’m not a great lover of mushy type foods that I have tried when invited out to dine with friends that go for this method.
So I may try this in the oven in my old crock pot and see how it goes. I may use a sweet an sour type sauce as we don’t have much choice on the BBQ front in my local supermarkets here in the UK.
Dana says
I really like the idea of a sweet and sour sauce in this dish. Please let me know what you think. I know what you mean about mushy slow cooker food. The goose will be shredded when you finish it and a little bit soft, however, the other ingredients add some texture. You could also add some sliced water chestnuts, they stay crunchy even when used in the slow cooker.
Derrick says
How crucial is it to leave it soak in plain water after soaking in the salt water?
Dana says
You can skip the plain water soak. Since posting this we have developed other recipes and go right from salt water and a quick rinse to buttermilk.