Wild Goose Stew?

BreezyCooking

BreezyCooking

Banned
Some time ago a friend gifted me with the breast & legs of a wild Canada Goose. While I've roasted domestic geese many many times before, I've never cooked a wild bird & have spent a lot of time researching recipes & methods. Finally found an interesting-looking recipe that sounds perfect for the dismal rainy weather we're currently having, so am defrosting the bird parts & will probably make this either today or tomorrow.

Here's my question: While the original recipe calls for oven-roasting/baking, I'd like to try this in my crockpot, but not being a crockpot diva, am not sure how to adapt it. Incredients besides the cubed goose meat are quartered fresh carrots, chopped celery, frozen pearl onions, frozen whole green beans, fresh sliced button mushrooms, halved baby red potatoes, Burgundy wine, dry onion soup mix, chopped fresh Tarragon, Cavendars Greek seasoning, & bay leaves. Oven cooking time is 2 hours at 375 degrees; then an additional hour at 275 degrees.

Can anyone tell me how I might adapt that to a crockpot, as well as when during the process I'd add everything, particularly the frozen veggies? I've done a lot of "Googling", & the few crockpot recipes for wild goose have quite large variations in timing - everything from 8 hours to overnight.

Thanks in advance for any advice!!

(I'll post a link to this thread over on the "Slow Cooking" forum as well.)
 
This sounds terrific, BC. I've never cook goose before but here are my experiences with frozen veg in the crock pot. I generally don't add them until the last hour or so. You can add them in the beginning, but they get much mushier. I prefer them to be a little firmer. The mushrooms - it depends upon what you want from the finished product. I often add sliced ones at the beginning for the flavor they impart. But they are quite soft and not as pretty by the time it's done. I will usually add some more during the last hour or 2 for their appearance on the plate.

Of course, you will usually put your carrots and potatoes in the cooker first, and they act as a bed to keep the meats from "boiling" in the liquids.

I would use the Low setting and start checking it for doneness at around 7 hours.
 
Thanks!!

Here's another question that I forgot to ask above. The recipe calls for "water to cover". I think that's an AWFUL lot of liquid for crockpot cooking, since everything I've ever cooked in one always ends up producing a LOT of liquid (more than I usually expect or want - lol!). Any ideas on this?

The addition of Burgundy wine is gleaned from a different recipe & calls for a cup or so. I just really like the flavor of Burgundy wine with goose, so plan to sneak that in. But again - the wine plus all that water sounds like an awful lot of fluid, especially since this is supposed to be a stew, not soup - lol!
 
BreezyCooking said:
Here's another question that I forgot to ask above. The recipe calls for "water to cover". I think that's an AWFUL lot of liquid for crockpot cooking, since everything I've ever cooked in one always ends up producing a LOT of liquid (more than I usually expect or want - lol!). Any ideas on this?
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I would not add any water - just the wine. (I often add a dash of Worcestershire too.) That was the problem I had when I first started using a slow cooker - gauging the liquids. Since most of the liquid and fat from the meat and veg stays there, you end up with way more than you think.
 
Breezy, here's what I have done with geese I've brought home from hunts:
Skin the goose.
Preheat oven to 275
Lightly coat the goose with olive oil and season with poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.
Place in a oven roasting bag and cook about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Meat sould be pulling away from the bones.
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Pick the carcass clean placing the meat into a crock pot.
Add to the meat 1 package of Knorr Hunter's Sauce and follow the directions using sour cream.
At this point you can also add some sauteed oinios and mushrooms.
Cook on low 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
Serve with wild rice mix or noodles. It is very much like stroganoff.
 
I'm not sure how pre-roasting would work this time around since I don't have a whole goose, just the skinless breast halves, which are already off the bone, & the other 2 skinless pieces (legs & thighs?), which don't appear terribly meaty.

But thanks for the recipe - I've saved it since the gifter of this has informed me that I'll be given more of these birds if I like this one. Apparently they're the product of a local farmer who, because they seriously damage his crops, has a year-round open-season hunting permit for them.
 
hi breezy. welcome to the dark side.

the problem with putting fowl with a lot of liquid in a crock pot is that the skin gets "ooky" unless you brown it well first. even then, it's still comes out somewhat of a turn off to those who will only tolerate the crispy skin from roasting or frying.
also, some seasonings tend to get lost when cooked a long time in a slow cooker.

i would heavily season and broil the parts to get them well browned first. accordingly, reduce the amount of seasoning added to the rest of the recipe later. this will also reduce some of the fat which, in a crock pot, there is usually no loss and things could end up getting greasy.

f-mom's right about adding frozen veggies. the frozen onions should be ok, but i would try to get fresh green beans if possible, or add frozen when there's about an hour or so left.

i would leave the mushrooms on the chunkier side (or whole if they're small) rather than sliced so they won't break up as much.

make a bed of most of the onions, carrots, potatoes, and celery, sprinkle with 1/2 of the herbs and seasonings, then place the goose parts on top. place the mushrooms and reserved veggies around/over the parts, then add the rest of the seasonings and herbs. pour in the cup or two of wine, then adjust the level of liquid so that it's no more than half way up the side of the meat and veg.. the vegetables will release their liquid raising the level as it cooks. you can always add a little water later if it's not enough.

finally, cook on high for 3 hours, check to see how it's going, then cook for another hour or two as needed.

hth.
 
I would echo Fishers Mom and say just the wine. you can always add a little more liquid if it needs it.
 
Thanks guys!

Bucky - these are wild goose parts, & as most hunters I've come across do, they're already skinless, so no worries there. As far as pre-cooking goes, the recipe advises to cube the meat - just as you'd do for a beef or lamb stew - dredge in seasoned flour, & skillet-brown first, so I'm thinking that's the route I'll be taking.

I'll definitely be making this tomorrow, so still have time for any further advice suggestions :smile:.

Since the cubed goose will only be browned, not really "pre-cooked", before it goes into the crockpot, anyone have any comments re: Fisher's Mom's suggestion that I cook the goose/potatoes/carrots/celery on low for 6 hours, add the frozen veggies & mushrooms, & check for doneness after another hour? My biggest fear is not that I'll have to cook it longer, but rather that I'll cook it too long & it will turn to mush. Especially since I understand that you're really not supposed to open the crockpot during the cooking time (is that true?).
 
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