We had a fun year hunting early goose this year up in North Dakota. Over the summer we made our own A-frame blinds where you can sit up on comfy chairs while hunting geese, it was fun anticipating how it would go and customizing the blinds to how we like to hunt and the number of people we hunt with. The only problem was that the day we used them, the field that was filled the previous couple days with geese only got a flyover by 3 while we were hunting. It was a good thing we had done well hunting out of our traditional layout blinds the day before so we were still able to enjoy our traditional goose meal at camp!
Since it’s opening weekend for the regular waterfowl season, I thought it would be a great time to post our new favorite wild game meal – slow cooker mango goose served as a rice bowl.
One of the biggest but most fun challenges I have is coming up with new and tasty ways to cook goose. We try to enjoy at least one meal where we feast on the bounty of whatever we are hunting but you get tired of the same old, same old. This year, I busted out the slow cooker which is a great tool when you’re hunting because the meal is ready (or mostly ready) when you get back to camp. I cooked the goose with fresh mangos and peaches get a nice fruity flavor. Served up with cilantro lime rice and a bunch of other goodies, including a fresh mango and peach salsa – these rice bowls even had my mom reaching for more goose. And if you know my mom, you know how much that says!
For this recipe, I’ll teach you how to prepare the goose and share what we served it with in the rice bowls.
Here’s what you need for the goose:
Of course you also need some goose breasts, we used the meat from 2 geese. When I took this picture the goose breasts were in the fridge soaking in a salt water brine to remove the irony, gamey taste that wild game can have.
Start by adding a couple cups of cold water to a Ziploc bag along with a tablespoon or so of salt (I didn’t measure) and agitating the bag until it dissolves. This should be nice and salty like the sea. Add the goose breasts and allow to brine overnight.
Line your slow cooker with a slow cooker bag – a must at hunting camp where dishes are high on no one’s priority list.
Rinse the marinated goose in cool water and add to the slow cooker.
Cut the peaches into slices and roughly dice the mango. The fruit is for cooking not eating, so it doesn’t need to be too even. Add the fruit to the slow cooker.
Pour some lemon-lime soda on top of the peaches and mangoes. I wanted the citric acid in the soda to help me tenderize the goose while it cooked.
I used a can and a half of soda and you can see the soda is just to the bottom of the fruit, covering the goose.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours. I forgot to take a picture of the mixture when it was done, but it basically looked the same except with the peaches and mangoes taking on a bit more of a stewed appearance.
Remove the goose from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks.
Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon leaving the cooking liquid in the slow cooker.
Return goose to the slow cooker and stir to mix in the cooking liquid.
It’s now ready to eat and enjoy.
I served this as a rice bowl with:
- cilantro-lime rice
- fresh mango-peach salsa (one day, I’ll post the recipe but a store bought version would work too)
- fresh corn mixed with cilantro and lime
- cheese
- shredded lettuce
- sour cream
- chipotle sour cream
- black beans
- avocado
We pretty much let everyone add whatever they wanted, mix together and enjoy!
The goose on its own, was tender and juicy and had a mild fruity flavor from being cooked with the peaches and mango. It didn’t taste gamey at all.
My dad and uncle enjoyed the leftovers after we left as open faced sandwiches with a little goose, bacon and cheese. Put under a broiler or into a toaster oven it’s a tasty lunch. Dad was amazed at how tender and juicy the goose was reheated.
The verdict on this goose is that it’s broadly acceptable to even those who don’t profess to love wild game and versatile enough to serve many ways, rice bowls and sandwiches both worked great, and I bet tacos would be good too!
- 4 goose breasts (from 2 geese)
- Kosher salt
- 1 mango, roughly diced
- 3 peaches, peeled and sliced
- 1-1/2 cans (18 oz.) lemon lime soda
- Mix salt with about 2 cups of water in a large Ziploc bag. Add goose and allow to brine overnight in the fridge. Rinse goose under cool water.
- Line a slow cooker with a slow cooker bag. Add the goose, peaches, mango, and pour soda over the top.
- Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
- Remove goose from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks.
- Remove fruit from slow cooker with a slotted spoon and discard, leaving the cooking liquid in slow cooker.
- Return goose to slow cooker and stir in with cooking liquid.
- To make rice bowls serve with: Cilantro-lime rice, black beans, fresh peach and mango salsa, fresh corn mixed with cilantro and lime juice, cheese, avocado, chipotle sour cream or plain sour cream, and lettuce.
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