Wild Goose Chase

Original posting date: January 7, 2007

My coworker's boyfriend is an avid hunter and was filling up their fridge with all his game, so she pressed upon me a few frozen goose breasts which I promptly stuck in my freezer and ignored for a few months. Lately, I've been talking to another coworker who also loves to hunt and he gave me some ideas for how to cook the goose. I tried his recipe tonight.

A few days preceding the cooking, I soaked the goose in water and put it in the fridge, changing the water out once or twice a day. Yesterday, I washed the goose off, patted it dry, and marinated it in a simple mix of olive oil, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Tonight, I washed the marinade off, patted it dry, and once again drizzled with olive oil and a bit of salt. Then I grilled it on an electric grill at high heat for about 20 minutes. About halfway through, I realized the breast was too fat so I butterflied the meat and placed both halves back onto the grill. The goose turned out to be medium to medium rare with a deep pink center. I served the goose cut into 1/2 inch strips with a mushroom garlic sauce, roasted balsamic carrots, and homemade beer biscuits (no milk, had to use beer).

As far as wild game goes, I suppose this tasted pretty good. The goose had the texture of steak but slightly chewier and very rich, with a mild liver taste. It tasted better with the sauce to mask the liver flavor (although if you are a liver fan, you probably wouldn't want to do this). The biscuits didn't rise very well and ended up tasting like large chewy oyster crackers. The carrots were probably the best part of the meal so I'm posting the recipe below. Enjoy - goose optional.

Balsamic Roasted Carrots

2 carrots per person
olive oil
salt and pepper
thyme (optional)
balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Peel and slice the carrots on the diagonal into 1 inch sections.
3. Toss the carrots in a shallow roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil and seasonings, minus the balsamic.
4. Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring once or twice, until fork tender.
5. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, mix well, and return to the oven for a few minutes.