This is a post especially for the hunters, or those who end up with the booty from their hunting buddies but have no suitable recipe. You are not going to find Canada goose in your local supermarket, but I know there are lots of people who acquire it, and once you have it, it is worth doing something really special with it. I have cooked Canada goose before, and know that it is very dark and lean, strong enough that it can stand a good amount of slow cooking and a generous amount of seasoning.
I was given two birds, all cleaned and cut into nice neat pieces, so I had only two sets of legs and breasts to contend with. I wanted a dish that was easy to serve, wouldn’t have to be consumed all at one meal, and did not require any last minute fussing. If you have one bird, you can make half the recipe. In that case you could cook it in a loaf tin instead of a pie dish, but either way is good.
I used two slow cookers. I’m not sure what temperature they cook at, but I had it at the low setting and the juice was bubbling gently. If you use a Dutch oven pot in your oven, I would begin with a setting of 200 degrees and check that the meat is hot enough to be cooking thoroughly.
Don’t be alarmed by the addition of anchovies. When cooked with meats, the anchovies just dissolve and add a lot flavour – not fishy though. There is no salt in this recipe, but if you choose not to use the anchovies, you will need to add salt. If you don’t have angostura bitters, you could use Worcestershire sauce in its place.
Canada Goose Pie
Ingredients
3 rashers of bacon
legs and breasts from 2 Canada geese
1 large carrot cut into thick slices
1 large onion or equivalent, cut into bit sized pieces
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1 Tbsp fresh rubbed sage
1 tin anchovies
2 tsp angostura bitters
1 tsp ground pepper
3 Tbsp flour (I used Jerusalem artichoke, but any sauce thickening agent can be used)
pastry for a deep 9″ pie (or equivalent)
1 beaten egg for brushing on the surface
Method
Fry the bacon until it is cooked and has rendered most of the fat. Remove and set aside.
Fry the goose pieces in the bacon fat until browned on all sides.
Put the goose, vegetables and chopped bacon pieces into a slow cooker (I had to use two cookers for this amount).
Deglaze the pan in which the goose was cooked with the wine. Add the water, sage, anchovies, angostura bitters and pepper and pour this mixture over the goose. Cook for about 7-10 hours at a low setting, making sure there is always some liquid in the pot. When done, drain the liquid into a bowl, remove the meat, break it up with two forks as you would with pulled meat and discard the bones. Thicken the liquid with the flour, but no need to heat it as it will cook in the pie.
Fill the pie crust with the works, brush the surface with 1 egg and make cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape.
Bake at 425 F for ten minutes, lower the heat to 350 F and cook for another 50 minutes.
Serve it hot with mashed potatoes, and serve leftovers at room temperature or reheated. When cooled, the pie resembles a terrine and is excellent with pickles and salad.
Happy Fiesta Friday!
November 7, 2014 at 2:33 pm
GORGEOUS! I am drooling over here . . . but thank you so much for this post because I have to make 2 pork pies today to bring to the market tomorrow and I wasn’t feeling too motivated this morning! That pie you made just looks fantastic!!!! And who ever heard of a goose pie (not me!)
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November 7, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Thanks Sue. I can see why you like making pies – it really does allow for some creativity, and some surprises. Have you ever used angostura bitters in your savoury recipes? It is my new favourite ingredient for experiments.
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November 7, 2014 at 5:44 pm
no but the flavor is right up our alley, will give a try soon! Right now making a fresh (tart as heck!) cranberry pie
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November 7, 2014 at 4:30 pm
I love the education you provide me, Hilda…all of the “new to me” recipes you share. I would never have imagined goose meat would be so dark, and the pie looks wonderful! I don’t think we have a goose hunting season here in Michigan. I know there is a set season for duck hunting, though I don’t ever remember my dad hunting goose. Delicious seasonings and flavors in your pie. Thanks for bringing it along to the Fiesta Friday celebration!
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November 7, 2014 at 4:34 pm
Thanks Nancy for stopping by and commenting. We do have a surplus of geese just now, and they are considered in some places a bit of a nuisance. Luckily the ones hunted around here have a clean diet and environment, and therefore are really very good to eat.
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November 7, 2014 at 4:59 pm
You never fail to surprise !! Always something new and interesting 🙂 Pie looks so good and ingredients are totally new to me. Thanks for sharing ! Happy FF.
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November 7, 2014 at 7:11 pm
Hi Hilda: I love the Canada goose recipe. I can imagine that this could be a very popular item. If it gained in popularity and became fashionable in culinary circles it could go a long way in culling the herd! Good cuisine and a good cause!
Carole
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 14:31:30 +0000 To: robinson2006@sympatico.ca
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November 7, 2014 at 7:15 pm
So nice to hear from you. Yes, wouldn’t that be wonderful if we could actually find a source for these birds, other than by chance from some hunters. And if we could make it popular among the culinary circles. I’m afraid too many of them go to waste because cooks are at a loss as to what to do with them.
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November 7, 2014 at 7:11 pm
Wow what a great recipe. You kind of evoke images of the country. I really do like savory pies, which I rarely eat. This is amazing.
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November 7, 2014 at 7:16 pm
Thanks, Amanda. I was hoping to share some of the photos the hunters took so you could get an idea of the landscape around here, but will post some if I ever receive them.
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November 7, 2014 at 7:21 pm
Nice! I can’t wait to see them.
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November 7, 2014 at 7:17 pm
I’m curious to learn more about you use Jerusalem artichoke as a thickener 🙂
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November 7, 2014 at 7:29 pm
Good question, since it is not a standard sort of thickener. First I dry the sliced Jerusalem artichokes, then I grind them into a fine flour using my spice or coffee grinder. It has a strong flavour, so I use it sparingly, but in something like my goose pie, it is not noticeable. And when used with other vegetables, it just adds some nice flavour as long as you don’t overdo it.
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November 7, 2014 at 8:41 pm
I used to get really excited when the Canada geese arrived at Strangford Lough, just outside Belfast – to imagine they had travelled all the way from Canada to spend their winters with us … and now you tell me I could have eaten them? Not sure whether to feel appalled or cheated … I think the pie made all the difference. Loving it!
Ginger 😉
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November 7, 2014 at 9:03 pm
Thanks, Ginger. Sometimes we have to separate the image of the animal with the food source. Not always easy, but we have huge flocks flying by a few feet overhead making the greatest racket, and it always makes me hungry. I didn’t know they made it all the way over to your corner of the world though.
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November 7, 2014 at 9:07 pm
The BBC followed a couple of Brent geese a few years ago on their trip across – it was breathtaking!
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November 7, 2014 at 9:11 pm
I’ll have to look that up. Sounds interesting.
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November 7, 2014 at 8:53 pm
Wow, what an unusual and appetizing dish you’ve brought today Hilda. Thanks, and welcome to Fiesta Friday. I’d never have thought that the meat was as dark as it shows. You learn something new everyday eh! The pie will go down a treat for today’s fiesta, thanks for adding something quite different to the feast. Happy weekend!
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November 7, 2014 at 9:04 pm
Thanks, Loretta. You too!
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November 7, 2014 at 9:30 pm
This looks really yummy, I’ve never had canada goose before but I do like to roast with goose fat (not quite the same haha). I bet I would love this though!
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November 8, 2014 at 1:18 am
Oh Hilda, not sure I can get excited by this post. Those geese are migratory and I don’t think we can hunt them in PA. Interesting though, as always.
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November 8, 2014 at 3:44 am
I don’t think I’ve ever had goose. I would imagine it tastes a lot like a duck? Which is very good, especially roasted. One of these days, I’ll have to try goose.
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November 8, 2014 at 7:59 am
Hi Hilda! Well as always, you provide me with something I have never heard of! Of course, i have heard of the geese, but I didn’t know that they could be hunted. I guess that i am so used to cohabiting with them in the parks and neighbourhoods where I live, that I never imagined them in a pie! I know that your recipe is delicious!
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November 8, 2014 at 9:18 am
Wow Hilda!! Another extraordinary dish that is literally making my mouth water! I have never cooked goose, though they are available here. Having geese in a pie sounds so exotic and luxurious 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
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November 8, 2014 at 5:32 pm
I have never cooked a goose, even though we had a ton of them on our pond every year. You are allowed to hunt them in Michigan (limits and time of the year required) but we never did. By the way your crust is beautiful 🙂
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November 9, 2014 at 11:49 pm
This sounds utterly delicious! What a lovely combination of flavours and all in a pie! You make me so hungry and it is bed time! 🙂
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November 15, 2014 at 5:51 am
Thanks Petra. I too get hungry reading all these blogs late at night – too late to cook and way too late to eat!
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November 10, 2014 at 12:43 pm
I have tried eating a duck, but goose, never. That must be so good, Hilda. 🙂
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November 15, 2014 at 5:50 am
It was good. And kind of special because we don’t get that meat all year long – it is a real autumn treat.
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November 15, 2014 at 4:00 am
Yum!
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