Smoked Goose Jerky
If you've ever had the opportunity to eat goose, chances are, you don't want to try it again. I've been in the same boat for years, but after getting a little creative with two goose breasts, I'm looking forward to cooking goose again. Read on to learn all about my favorite way to make smoked goose.
Growing up I spent a lot of time goose hunting with my Dad. It was always so much fun to bring home a few geese after a successful day in the field. Do you know what wasn't fun? Eating the geese.
We ate a ton of geese growing up, and - sorry Mom and Dad - they were never that good.
Mom was recently in town for the weekend, and I asked her to bring up some goose meat. I was determined to cook some goose on my Traeger that everyone would love. I'm still in disbelief, but I can tell you that this smoked goose recipe, is the best goose I've ever had.
In this post, I'll share with you the steps I took to make the most delicious smoked goose I've ever had.
How to Brine Goose Breasts
The first step to preparing smoked goose is creating the brine. Goose meat is very lean. The brine helps add some flavor and keeps the goose breasts from drying out while they are being cooked.
This smoked goose brine is simple. In a small brining bucket combine the following ingredients:
- 4 cups of water
- 2 cups freshly brewed coffee
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
I like this brine because the hot coffee dissolves the salt and sugar. My goose breasts were frozen, and by adding them to the brine everything was immediately chilled. If you're working with meat that isn't frozen you'll want to get the brine cold before adding the meat.
Add the whole goose breasts to the brine, and place in your refrigerator. Let them brine for 8-12 hours (overnight works great)
Smoking Goose Breasts
When you're ready to smoke the goose breasts, remove the breasts from the brine. Rinse each of them off under cold water, and then pat dry.
Set up your smoker to smoke at 180 degrees. Mesquite or oak pellets wood works well for this smoked goose recipe. When the smoker is up to temp, place each goose breast directly on the grill grates. Let them smoke for 3 hours.
After 3 hours remove the goose breasts from the smoker, and let them come down to room temp. Once they are at room temp throw them in a ziplock and place them in the freezer.
Slicing the Goose Breasts for Smoked Goose
After about an hour the goose breasts will be nice and chilled, and ready to be sliced. I chill the breasts to make it easier to slice the breasts as thin as possible. Make sure you slice against the grain!
If you have a meat slicer... now is definitely the time to use it.
Smoked Goose Breast Marinade
After slicing all of the goose breasts we will add them to a marinade. In a large bowl combine the following ingredients:
- ½ cup of soy sauce
- Tbsp garlic powder
- Tbsp onion powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- Tbsp sriracha
Put all of the goose slices into the bowl with the marinade. Make sure all of the slices are evenly coated. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge for one hour.
Time to Smoke the Goose - Again!
After an hour in the fridge, it's time to put the slices of goose back in the smoker. Set the temp at 250 and place each of the slices on the grate of the grill.
After 30 minutes check on the progress and flip each of the pieces. Forty-five minutes later, and the goose will be done.
It's not quite bacon, but damn it's good 🙂
Now You Know The Secrets to Make Delicious Smoked Goose
Thanks for taking the time to learn how to make smoked goose jerky. In this post, we talked about all of the steps it takes.
If you love hunting geese and are looking for a new way to cook your goose - I'm fairly confident you are - you have to try this recipe.
Do you have another way to smoke goose that you love? Let me know what you'd do differently in the comments below. If you've had success cooking goose I want to hear about it!
Smoked Goose Bacon
Ingredients
Smoked Goose Brine
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups freshly brewed coffee
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
Smoked Goose Marinade
- ½ cup of soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp sriracha
Instructions
- The first step to making smoked goose is creating your brine. Goose meat is very lean. The brine helps add some flavor and keeps the goose breasts from drying out while they are being cooked. In your brining bucket combine all of the brine ingredients and add your goose breasts. This brine can accommodate up to 6 breasts.
- Leave your goose breasts in the brine for at least 12 hours.
- After 12 hours remove the goose breasts from the brine and rinse off each of the breasts and then pat them dry.
- Set your Traeger up for smoke and then put the breasts on a grill rack and into the smoker. After 3 hours remove the goose breasts from the smoker, and let them come down to room temp. Once they are at room temp throw them in a ziplock and place them in the freezer.
- After about an hour the goose breasts will be nice and chilled, and ready to be sliced. I chill the breasts to make it easier for me to slice them as thin as possible. Make sure you slice against the grain!
- After slicing all of the goose breasts into thin slices against the grain, it's time to prepare the marinade. In a large bowl combine the marinade ingredients.
- Put all of the goose slices into the bowl with the marinade and make sure all of the slices are evenly coated. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place it in the fridge for one hour.
- After an hour in the fridge, it is time to put the slices of goose back on your smoker. Set the temp at 250 and place each of the slices on the grate of the grill.
- After 30 minutes check on the progress and flip each of the pieces. Forty-five minutes later, and the goose should be done.
Notes
Nutrition
My son and some friends came home with 8 Canada geese. My wife found this recipe and we gave it a try. This was without a doubt some of the best tasting smoked meat we have made. While sharing with our family and friends, most had no idea it was goose meat and all really liked the taste. Our initial samples were quickly consumed. I would definitely recommend you give this recipe a try in your smoker!
I love hearing this. So glad you like the recipe!
Is there an internal temp you are shooting for in the first step when you smoke it?
Is this something you just eat warm or is it to be stored in the fridge and eaten like jerky?
I like it warm when it's done or out of the fridge. It's better in my opinion chilled.
Best goose I’ve ever had! Can’t wait to make more. Can this be stored at room temperature after it’s done?
You know Clay, I'm not sure. I think to be safe I'd keep it chilled until you're ready to consume.
How much goose do you use? Got 6 geese yesterday and each breast is about a pound so have 12 pounds total. Just wondering how much brine to make.
Did your question ever get answered?
Sorry I had initially missed this. I normally do this with a few breasts and there is plenty of space. There isn't an exact amount that it's good for but I don't think it will cover 12 lbs, you should be able to multiply to scale up a little bit. I think doubling the recipe should get you close to what you need but you might have to experiment a little bit.
is the final cook time 30 min plus 45 min or 45 total? thanks
Delicious recipe!
How much goose does the brine do.?
Loved this recipe, used it on my first goose today! One think we did was cover the slices in a sweet teriyaki sauce on the smoker first, and then after the flip to balance out the salt. Only did that on half and both turned out great. Just something to try
I made this a while back and absolutely loved it!! As advised I stored it in the fridge.
Fresh off the smoker it was gobbled up quickly but I kept some for later. It became extremely salty as it sat. Is there a way to reduce this in the brine by cutting the kosher salt or in the marinade by using less or low sodium soy?
I have never been able to make ducks or geese taste good until now. It’s awsome!
Got this recipe in the smoker right now. My favorite thing to make with goose is summer sausage. I use a jalapeno summer sausage kit from Cabelas. Hope this is good, it's the last of my goose! Good thing the season is just around the corner!