Brined Wild Goose Stroganoff

We have been experimenting with different recipes for our wild geese in the freezer. Our past go-to goose recipes have been far too labor intensive which meant we didn’t cook them as often as we should. This year we have been branching out and trying lots of new recipes and ways of cooking goose. Brining was always something other wild game lovers had told us we had to try. For some reason, it just seemed like another labor intensive step in the process and why bother? Well were we wrong! Brining wild goose is so easy and my God does it make a HUGE difference in the flavor and texture of the meat. Semi-tough goose becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender and the salt water removes a lot of the blood and thus the more intense iron or “game” flavor.

Back in January, we visited friends down in Maryland and was lucky enough to be there at the same time as the town’s annual wild game supper. It was one of the best suppers I’ve been to and had a wider variety of game than most of the ones in New England that I have eaten at. Up here we tend to get a lot of venison or turkey, sometimes some bear or moose, but pretty basic meat and meat dishes like stews or cooked with seasonings. The supper down in Havre de Grace, MD had a huge spread that was homecooked food by some of the local’s best cooks. Just some of the dishes we had included Asian venison dumplings, goose spicy won-tons, squirrel chili, corned venison and cabbage, duck and noodle soup, and one of the best dishes we tasted, goose stroganoff.

Photo of the wild game supper down in Maryland. You can see their goose stroganoff right at the very front!

The stroganoff was very rich in flavor with a deep almost beef-like meat texture and then a zingy cream sauce and noodles that held up to the hearty dish. We asked them how they cooked it and was told that they brined the goose meat first and then followed a regular stroganoff recipe and used egg noodles.

It was one of the first things on the list to try to recreate when we got back home that week! I still say that lady had something special secret ingredient in her recipe, but we like ours almost as much. The brining does make a big difference in the meat texture and taste. Without it, I think the goose would be too overpowering for a simple recipe like this. For those that might not like the wild game taste or be crazy about goose, this is a lovely creamy recipe that will have you asking for seconds.

You will need:

1 goose breast brined *to brine goose or any meat, add 1/4 cup of salt to a covered container that is large enough to submerge the meat completely. Add a little hot water and stir to help the salt dissolve then fill with cold water and the meat. Place covered in refrigerator overnight.

1 package of sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups beef broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package egg noodles

Prepare egg noodles according to package directions and set aside, drained.

In a medium saucepan, saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Add flour and broth, slowly. Heat, stirring constantly until broth thickens. Add in sour cream and cream cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside or if you can do both at once, using a hot pan, cook goose meat on each side for 1-2 minutes or until rare/medium rare.

Add the mushroom and cream sauce to your noodles. Remove meat from heat and add to noodles and mix everything together well.

Serve hot.