Wild Duck Jerky or Goose Jerky
February 29, 2012 | Updated June 22, 2020
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Who doesn’t love jerky? I mean, really. It is a staple in the duck blind, and goose or duck jerky is a perfect use for “off” ducks like spoonies, fishy divers or snow geese. Once the fat is removed, there’s no fishy flavor.
But there is jerky and there is jerky. Some people run their meat through the grinder and use a “jerky gun.” This is fine, but it is not traditional jerky, which is always whole cuts of meat. Thickness is up to you.
Really thick slices need long drying times and result in a very hard product. If you’ve ever heard of biltong in Africa, that’s what this is. I ate lots of biltong when I was in Zimbabwe and South Africa in the 1990s, and I’ve developed a taste for thick jerky. But you can cut yours thin if you’d like.
This recipe makes a jerky that is dry enough to store at room temperature — although the fridge is best for really long storage — but pliable enough to keep it meaty.
What follows are my flavorings: As long as you keep the ratio of meat to water to Worcestershire sauce to salt the same, you can vary the other flavors. You need enough salt to draw out moisture and help with preservation, and the Worcestershire sauce adds both extra salt and vinegar, which is also a good preservative.
I designed this recipe for a dehydrator, but if you don’t have one, set your oven to “warm” and put the meat on a wire rack set above a rimmed cookie sheet; the sheet catches any drippings. I also leave the oven door ajar for air circulation.
The porcini powder in this recipe is made by grinding dried porcini in a coffee grinder. You can buy dried porcini in most supermarkets. Or you can skip it.
As for the meat, while it is a duck jerky recipe, it will also work with any skinless goose breast, or with venison, elk, antelope, goat, lamb or beef.
Goose or Duck Jerky
Ingredients
- 3 pounds skinless, de-fatted duck or goose breast
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Instacure No. 1 (optional)
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon porcini powder (optional)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
Instructions
- Slice the duck breasts into roughly 1/4 inch thick strips. Mix remaining ingredients well in a large bowl. Put the meat into the marinade and massage it all around to coat evenly. Pour everything into a seal-able plastic bag or container and set in the fridge. Marinate for at least 24 and up to 72 hours -- the longer it is in the mix, the saltier the meat will get, but the more flavorful it will be. During the marinating process, massage the meat around in the bag to keep all the pieces in contact with the marinade.
- Remove the duck from the bag and pat dry with paper towels. Either follow your dehydrator's instructions for making jerky (I dehydrate mine at 140°F), or lay the strips on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. Set the rack in an oven set on Warm until the meat is dried out, but still pliable, about 6 to 8 hours. Store either in the fridge indefinitely, or at room temperature for up to 1 month.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve spent hours reading recipes online and have decided to try this one. My question is: I like jerky with a little kick. Pepper jerky is my favorite. Should I use this recipe as is or add more pepper. If its add more,… Red or black? Thanks Hank!
Tom: I’d add more cayenne. It’s in the recipe already, so more won’t hurt the balance.
Got some snow geese yesterday, and looking forward to trying this recipe with them this week!
Bryan: I don’t brine meat for jerky. No need, as the marinade for jerky is very salty. Does the same job.
Do you Brine out the blood first or use it straight from breasting?
Could you use turkey with this recipe?
Cindy – Out of curiosity is the 150 Celcius or Fahrenheit? It’s a Canada/US thing. Thanks for your help. Looking forward to trying this with a snow goose.
My husband and I hunt Canada geese and have tried every which way to cook them but never truly cared for the taste of them. That is until I made jerky yesterday! Our plan was to make it in the oven since we don’t have a dehydrator and then freeze it for the rifle hunt. Hah – there was nothing left to freeze! Absolutely declicous and not that difficult to do (except for the slicing of the meat). I can’t wait to go out and get more geese. We varied the recipe slightly (teriyaki sauce instead of water) but I have never been good at following a recipe exactly. It took roughly 5 1/2 hours in the oven at 150. I’ve got more in the oven right now! Thanks for the recipe and the suggestion to use an oven. I would never have thought of that on my own.
You most certainly can. I usually freeze my duck and goose and don’t thaw it fully which makes slicing it into strips a 100 times easier!
I’d also like to add that I am a trained cook, and have a lot of experience in canning and preserving and such. I promise I’m not daft. 🙂
I know it sounds gross, but can you dehydrate/make jerky out of previously frozen duck? I have sooooo much duck because hunters always give me bags of it in hunting season, and unless I make stew I don’t really eat it. But I freeze it all in case some incredible recipe comes up :). I’m very new to dehydrating. Do you put the meat in raw (after marinade?) Help me Obi Wan.
Tried this with some teal. My son thought the texture was too soft. Some of the pieces were really thin and he liked those betterbut still not great. I had it in the oven for 6.5 hours. It seemed pretty dried out to me but was soft. Any thoughts as to what I did wrong?
Betsy: Yes, it does. I dehydrate at 140 degrees in my dehydrator, which makes a WORLD of difference to the taste and texture.
Hank- Does the use of Instacure negate the need to heat fully before dehydrating? Last year I tried following the USDA guidelines (heat to 160, then dehydrate), and was not happy with the product. Cooked, and then dehydrated, I guess. Anyway, I’m excited to try a new batch, and use my mushroom powder, sulphur shelf. We’ll see…
Patrick: I am not a fan of dried chanterelles. I think drying them kills their flavor. But yes, other dried mushrooms would work fine. Black trumpets would be a great mushroom to use, for example.
Have you ever tried any other mushrooms dried and powdered other than porcini? I have some dried chanterelle ??? Your thoughts? Thanks…
I have goose in the marinade right now. Really looking forward to seeing how this shakes out!
I just found your blog through foodgawker. I love your concept and I look forward to more recipes. Hopefully I will have a chance to make this duck jerky!
Thanks!
You don’t use too much of it, but any idea why there is sugar in jerky? Often the commercial varieties taste more like candy than meat.
love your book and this looks great!
Mmmmm. I LOVE jerky. It’s hard to come by in Sweden and when you find it, it’s crazy expensive. I’ll forward this link to my hunter brother in the hopes that I can coax him to make some and mail it to me!