Goose Stew with Barley and Mushrooms
January 10, 2012 | Updated June 06, 2022
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I have a love-hate relationship with snow geese.
Here in Northern California, we are blanketed in snows every winter. Blizzards of them descend on the rice fields north of Sacramento, their grinds a white tornado of birds. Their barking din echoes in my ears long after I’ve left the marshes. They are everywhere.
So you would think that with a half-million wintering snow geese, plus another 200,000 Ross’ geese (the snow’s smaller cousin) it would be easy to shoot your fill here in the Central Valley. Nothing could be further from the truth. Snow geese are aloof. They travel the valley en masse, in flocks that can number in the hundreds.
Ever try calling a group of 300 snow geese down to your decoy spread? Unless you are a very good caller — and you have 2000Â decoys around you — it ain’t happenin’.
Most days we mere mortals just stare longingly at the lords of the air as they cruise over us 150 yards up. We are cats peering through a window, licking our chops at the doves just outside. So close. So far.
But sometimes the window opens. Strong winds force the geese to fly lower, where wind speeds are typically slower. In a really powerful wind, the white kings must return to earth. Where we are waiting for them.
Saturday morning came early, 2:30 a.m. to be exact. I had drawn the No. 23 pick at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, but our friend David had the No. 5 pick, which would practically give us free rein of choice places to hunt on the refuge. And it was windy, with gusts expected at 30 miles per hour or more.
David had done his research, and chose a blind where we were likely to intercept snow geese taking flight into the wind, and out of nearby “closed zones,” where hunting is prohibited.
“It’s going to be tough carrying back our 18 geese today,” David joked. I snorted. The idea of David, Holly and I each getting our limit of six snow geese was preposterous, even on a windy day. I tend to be a cup-half-empty guy in the field: I’ve seen the best-laid plans of mice and men fail time and time again, and so I’d rather be pleasantly surprised with modest success than crestfallen once high hopes crash.
Just before dawn, the ducks were flying everywhere. Even my hopes began to rise. But of course, they were flying just out of range. We were required to hunt from a stomped-down, mud island blind with little cover. It was clear the ducks knew danger lurked on that island. David managed to drop a teal, but soon after the ducks disappeared. We would see very few of them for the rest of the day.
But as expected, the snow geese were flying. Low. Holly shot one, but it sailed. This is one of the great frustrations of snow goose hunting. Geese in general are tough animals. I can’t count the number of times I’ve plucked a goose and found healed shotgun wounds on wings and bodies and legs. They don’t die easy. Holly dashed off to recover her goose.
While she was gone, another group of geese came toward us, barking all the way. They flew right over the blind, and David and I rose up and dropped two. Thank God. I jumped out of the blind, grabbed the geese and brought them back before another flock flew by. My goose was a Ross’ goose, a small species of snow goose that’s only slightly larger than a mallard.
Holly returned, gooseless. Her snow had indeed died, but it landed in a deep canal in the closed zone, where hunters are forbidden to enter. Maddening.
Equally maddening was the geese’s habit of coming right at us, closer… closer… and then side-slipping away to the left or right at the last minute. For every flock that flew right over us, ten side-slipped us. And even with the wind bringing the snows down from an unreachable 150 yards to a tantalizing 60 yards, 60 yards is an iffy shot at best. We needed them lower.
As the day wore on, from time to time the goose flights would stop altogether. Once the drought lasted two hours. Why we stayed is beyond me. The eternal hope of a hunter, I suppose. Maybe the next flock would make a mistake. Maybe it’ll be lower. Maybe we’d actually kill one. Maybe.
Perseverance paid off. Some geese did make mistakes, and I did manage to kill four snows on Sunday. But it took until sundown. We drove home, exhausted.
At the table, snow geese do not enjoy the reputation of their darker neighbors in our marshes, the white-fronted goose, a/k/a specklebelly. We call that bird the “ribeye in the sky” as they are usually fat and lovely. Not so the snow goose, whose other name is the unflattering “sky carp.”
Snow geese are primarily eaters of green things, not grain. Grass will keep you lean. Grain makes you fat. So snows are rarely pudgy. And their skin? It’s blue. Weird, I know. Looks unnerving plucked and roasted. But then again, I rarely bother with this anymore. Snow goose feathers are harder to pluck than any other waterfowl I know. So I skin most of them.
Once skinned, however, snow geese are fine fare. One great way to cook them is in this simple, Russian-inspired goose stew with barley, celery root and lots of mushrooms. It is a soul-satisfying, rib-sticking peasant dish. Just the thing to salve the frustration of 13 hours spent in the marsh, staring enviously at the lords of the air.
Goose Stew with Barley and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 8 goose legs, about 2-3 pounds
- 3 tablespoons duck fat, lard or butter
- 1 large onion, sliced, about 3 cups
- 1 pound yellowfoot chanterelles or other mushrooms
- 7 cups duck stock or beef stock
- 2 teaspoons marjoram
- 1 cup barley
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 celery root, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon sour cream per person
Instructions
- Heat the duck fat in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the goose legs well. Salt them as they cook. Remove the goose legs as they brown and set aside.
- Once the goose legs are all browned, add the onions and mushrooms and turn the heat to high. Stir to combine. Saute until the onion begins to brown, about 6-8 minutes. Add the marjoram and return the goose legs to the pot, then pour over the duck stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the goose legs are tender, anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours.
- When the goose legs are tender, remove them, let them cool a bit, and pull all the meat off the bone. Return it to the pot. Add the barley, carrots and celery root. Stir well and cook until the barley and celery root are cooked, about 30 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Serve garnished with dill and black pepper, and give everyone a dollop of sour cream on their bowls when you come to the table.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making this again with some Canada that I brought down at the end of last season. Kitchen is filled with the smell. We’re using marjoram from the garden this year.
Excellent. Cooked with duck. Husband went hunting today. Added 1 cup wild rice (precooked from day before). Used beef broth .
Loved the fresh dill and sour cream. Will make again.
Second time making this. Perfect success just by following the recipe. Wife crazy about it too so it’s winner in all ways…!
I don’t know whether I should commiserate with the hunting story or salute the dish… but I put an Egyptian goose into this recipe and scored big points with the wife today. I had prepared some duck stock while preparing mallards in November so that went in as well. Standard mushrooms and followed the recipe and all went smoothly. The goose needed 3hrs simmering and tastes beefier than the store-bought goose I had one Christmas but its good. Egyptian geese get a bad rap but this recipe is worth repeating 🙂
I made this recipient for the first time three years ago and make batches of it every year with duck breasts, pheasant and sometimes chicken. LOVE it. So do the kids.
Used carcass and leftover meat from Xmas goose, added a few duck carcasses. Exceptional flavor. My father insists that we continue raising geese exclusively for the purposes of this recipe.
I made this yesterday. Awesome. The whole pot was eaten in one sitting. Is there a similar version of this that can be made with venison?
Carol: Go ahead and use venison instead of goose legs. Should be fine!
I had forgotten that you used Snows for this recipe and hence had skinless legs. I used Canadas I had in the freezer with the skin still on. The stew was very greasy. Luckily I made it late last night to reheat today so I was able to skim the fat off the top before reheating for dinner. Turned out great. Delicious recipe! (As usual)
Just went on my first duck hunt and got a limit of diver ducks. Would you brine them before using them for this recipe? What about one of the schnitzel dishes? Trying to figure out if I can combat the fishiness early on.
Thanks
Dave Mather
David: Should be no fishiness if you skin them. Remove all the fat and you’ll be fine.
This looks so amazing. Definitely Russian, my husband is from Siberia and he loves barley and mushrooms
I smoke the breasts when they are fresh in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and they are great! Hopefully I can bag a few more and try your recipe.
Just made this and it turned out great! I altered the recipe slightly by using fresh baby portabella and shitakes. Not many mushrooms to scrounge in the forest right now where I live. I also used canada and a hodgepodge of duck legs instead of snows.
Thanks!
Seven of us just finished taking seventy two snows, blues, and ross South Texas style. Thanks for the tips. The other hunters seemed to think snows make great jerky. Have you ever tried this? How would you describe the taste so that I can make an educated guess of things to do? And around here, even though there are tons of specks, the cranes usually get the “ribeye of the sky” title. Anyway thanks again, great post.
Thanks for this timely post. We got a blue goose at Los Banos on Sunday I am trying to figure what to do with. You are right they don’t die easily. We shot this one but it didn’t look like it was hit. It ended up landing on the path back to the parking lot just before the closed area. When my son went back to the truck about an hour later he saw it in the tules and had to chase it as it ran down the path with a broken wing.
I’m going on a snow goose hunt in PA (I live in WV) in March. the daily limit on snows there is, like Chris in NY, 25 per guy per day. gonna need a lot of snow goose recipes (2 day hunt!), so keep ’em coming! I’ll probably make a lot of goose sausage.
Tyler and Christian: I’ve always wanted to do those hunts, but it is such a long way, and I worry about making the commitment to getting there only to have the geese pass before or after I get there. From what I hear, it’s an all-or-nothing hunt.
Chris: You have a 25 snow goose limit? Wow.
man that looks good. 🙂
As Tyler described in the Dakotas, Arkansas does the same thing: No plugs, no limits, and electronic calls permitted.
Excellent! Here in NY, where the daily limit is 25 snow geese, I have been looking to figure out some recipes before I call any guides.
Awesome book, by the way, looking forward to the next!
Well, if you’re hankering for a bit different shoot, head over to the Dakotas in a couple month for our spring conservation season. No limits on snows. Electronic calls are A-OK. Unplugged shotguns, the norm. People may call it hunting, but I call it what it is: population control to save the tundra. You get in the right area, at the right time, and burning through a case of shells in a day isn’t unheard of. Of course, there’s the ever-present mud to deal with, but usually a 1,000-plus flock of geese working a spread will make a man forget about such inconveniences…