Smoked Goose Breast

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Slices of German smoked goose breast on a board
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

While I was writing my duck cookbook, I reached out to a few purveyors so I could get my hands on some quality domestic geese. One of them, the Schiltz Goose Farm in South Dakota, sent me some smoked goose. I told them I didn’t really need any pre-made products, but they insisted. “Just try it,” Jim Schiltz told me. “I think you will really like it.”

Boy did I ever. It was roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head good. There was a creamy layer of smoky fat on top, then perfectly cooked, perfectly pink meat. Sliced thin, the fat melted on your tongue. It was insanely good, and I wanted more. But Schiltz holds his recipe for smoked goose close, so I was going to have to reverse engineer the recipe. A tall order.

I was at a loss until I read a throwaway line in an old book on German food, The Cooking of Germany by Time-Life Books. It is a very difficult to find book these days, but it is worth every penny if you are really into German cuisine. In its pages is a reference to something called spickgans, a style of smoked goose breast from Pomerania, on Germany’s Baltic coast.

Spickgans is, apparently, a point of pride in this region’s cookery. It is a domestic goose breast, cured and smoked over a combination of juniper boughs, beech, alder or oak, and peat moss. Like a lot of regional specialties, each household’s version is slightly different.

Interestingly, this style of smoked goose has always been a cut above regular smoked goose.

A menu from New York City’s Metropole Hotel and Golden Rod Rathskeller from November 1900 shows both Pomeranian smoked goose, selling for $0.70, and regular smoked goose, selling for only $0.20 an order. Adjusted for inflation, that means an order of Pomeranian smoked goose would set you back a hefty $18.62 today. In 1906 over at Stauch’s on Coney Island, you could get an order of Pomeranian smoked goose with asparagus and hollandaise sauce for the equivalent of $18.50 in today’s dollars.

A contemporary book written by Elizabeth van Arnim, “Elizabeth and Her Garden,” contains an amusing reference to how revered spickgans was in Germany:

“A man must be made comfortable before he will make love to you and though it is true that if you offered him a choice between Spickgans and kisses he would say he would take both yet he would invariably begin with the Spickgans and allow the kisses to wait.”

Clearly this is no ordinary cold cut. But was this the origin of Jim Schiltz’s smoked goose? At that point, I didn’t care. I just had to make spickgans.

Fortunately, I had one more domestic goose on hand, this one sent to me by my friend Ariane Daguin, doyen of D’Artagnan Fine Foods. I broke the bird down and used the legs to make prosciuttina d’oca, an Italian cured goose preparation. That left me with some badass goose breasts. Whoever supplies Ariane with her geese knows what the hell they’re doing. Look at the marbling in the meat of this bird:

Showing the marbling on a domestic smoked goose breast
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Pretty amazing stuff, considering that waterfowl are not known to accumulate intramuscular fat they way beef does. Reading further about spickgans, I learned that one of the keys to this smoked goose is to truss the breast or stuff it into sausage netting. This keeps the meat compact and results in an almost salami-like cylinder of goosey goodness that is far easier to slice than a typical smoked goose breast. A brilliant idea that I am sorta angry at myself for not having thought of it earlier.

A trussed goose breast ready for smoking
Photo by Hank Shaw

So I cured my goose, stuffed it into the netting and smoked it over alder wood for seven hours. It smelled wonderful. I sliced into it and was immediately taken back to that smoked goose that Jim Schiltz had sent me: The seasonings were a little different, but the smokiness of the meat as well as that melt-in-your-mouth texture were identical.

If you have a smoker, I urge you to try this. If not, this might be reason enough to buy one. Of all the charcuterie recipes I have on this site, this is right up there at the top. It is relevatory. I promise.

To make this correctly, you will need to do a few things you might not normally do:

  • You need to truss your goose breast or stuff it into sausage netting, which you can buy online. While not absolutely necessary, it does change the end result in a subtle way.
  • You will definitely need to use nitrites (Instacure No. 1) for safety and to get that pink color.
  • The safety factor comes in with another thing you need to do to make this recipe — you need to start the goose in a cold smoker and bring the heat up to temperature very slowly. This is easy to do in a Bradley smoker, and it can be done in a Camp Chef smoke vault or in many other smokers. It is, however, very hard to do with a classic smoker; the kind where you start a fire near the meat.

Flavorwise, you are getting a lot of character from juniper berries, black pepper and Scotch. What’s with the Scotch? Well, unless you have some means of smoking over peat, the best way to get a little of that peaty flavor into the meat is to soak it overnight in a peaty Scotch. I used Laphroaig. Can you skip this step? Sure, but if you a) like to drink peaty Scotch and b) have it around, by all means use it.

German smoked goose breast recipe
5 from 11 votes

German Smoked Goose Breast

I made this with domestic goose breast, but there is no reason you can't do it with skin-on breasts of Canada or whitefront geese. You could also use a big, domestic Moulard duck breast, too. Don't try it with skinny or small birds. You need the curing salt No. 1 for this recipe; you can buy it online. 
Course: Cured Meat
Cuisine: German
Servings: 8
Author: Hank Shaw
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients 

  • Skin-on breasts from 1 large goose, about 2 pounds
  • 44 grams of kosher salt, about 4 tablespoons
  • 3 grams of Instacure No. 1, about 1/2 teaspoon
  • 25 grams sugar, about 2 tablespoons
  • 4 grams crushed juniper, about 1 tablespoon
  • 10 grams freshly ground black pepper, about 1 tablespoon
  • 1/2 cup peaty Scotch whisky (optional)

Instructions 

  • If you are using the Scotch, put the goose breasts in a bowl and coat them with the whisky. Put them into a closed container just about large enough to hold them and refrigerate overnight.
  • The next day, mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Drain the goose breasts, or just pat them dry if you have not done the Scotch soak. Massage the spice mixture into the meat, making sure every bit of the goose is covered. Put the goose breasts into a closed container that just barely fits the meat. Pour in any excess salt/spice mixture, cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Every day during the curing process, turn the goose breasts over so they are evenly coated.
  • When the meat has cured, it will be dark red and slightly firm to the touch throughout. Rinse it off briefly under cold running water and pat it dry. Let the meat sit out in a cool place for 2 to 4 hours, preferably with some sort of breeze or fan on it. Or you can leave it to dry in the fridge uncovered overnight.
  • Truss the meat as you would a roast, or stuff it into sausage netting. If you do the netting, wear an apron, as you will need to manhandle the goose breast into the netting. Take your time and do it little by little. Tie off the ends of the string or netting, leaving enough at the end with the most fat -- this should be the thick end of the breast -- to hang. You want the fattiest part of the goose breast at the top, so the fat can drip down and keep the meat moist.
  • Hang the breasts in an unheated smoker and smoke over beech, alder, oak or cherry wood. Apple is a good substitute, too. Start the smoke cold and gradually bring the temperature up. Your goal is to have the thickest part of the goose breast reach 140°F to 150°F by the end of cooking. Move the goose breasts out of the smoker and allow to return to room temperature before refrigerating.
  • The smoked goose will last 10 days in the fridge, or a year if well sealed and frozen.

Notes

If you are using the Scotch, put the goose breasts in a bowl and coat them with the whisky. Put them into a closed container just about large enough to hold them and refrigerate overnight. The next day, mix all the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Drain the goose breasts, or just pat them dry if you have not done the Scotch soak. Massage the spice mixture into the meat, making sure every bit of the goose is covered. Put the goose breasts into a closed container that just barely fits the meat. Pour in any excess salt/spice mixture, cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days. Every day during the curing process, turn the goose breasts over so they are evenly coated. When the meat has cured, it will be dark red and slightly firm to the touch throughout. Rinse it off briefly under cold running water and pat it dry. Let the meat sit out in a cool place for 2 to 4 hours, preferably with some sort of breeze or fan on it. Or you can leave it to dry in the fridge uncovered overnight. Truss the meat as you would a roast, or stuff it into sausage netting. If you do the netting, wear an apron, as you will need to manhandle the goose breast into the netting. Take your time and do it little by little. Tie off the ends of the string or netting, leaving enough at the end with the most fat -- this should be the thick end of the breast -- to hang. You want the fattiest part of the goose breast at the top, so the fat can drip down and keep the meat moist. Hang the breasts in a cold smoker and smoke over beech, alder, oak or cherry wood. Apple is a good substitute, too. Start the smoke cold and gradually bring the temperature up. Your goal is to have the thickest part of the goose breast reach 140°F to 150°F by the end of cooking. Move the goose breasts out of the smoker and allow to return to room temperature before refrigerating. The smoked goose will last 10 days in the fridge, or a year if well sealed and frozen.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 2197mg | Potassium: 321mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 67IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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68 Comments

  1. Awesome recipe! Tried it with one of the Canadas I got on closing day. It’s been cold, so they had a nice layer of fat. Rather than use Scotch, I actually put a small piece of Irish peat into the bottom of the smoker with my cherry wood chunks. Gave it a very nice peaty overtone…would definitely use sparingly, though, since I could see it getting overwhelming quickly.

  2. Hank – I have been dying to try this recipe. I have a bunch of fat Canada goose breasts from this season in the freezer. Just purchased an electric smoker/roaster. This is a very cheap model but I think it will work. It has two hoppers for wood chips and then you select he temperature, which ranges from 150 to 350. I am a little unclear from your recipe what I need to shoot for with cooking temps and times. What do you suggest?

  3. I loves my bourbon but just can’t get into scotch, and I’ve tried….

    I have some Glenmorangie in the very back of the liquor cabinet that I’ll gladly use for this recipe, but is that “peaty” enough? If not, can Hank or anyone else recommend a scotch that’s both peaty & cheap? This recipe is all I’m gonna use it for, I’ll never drink it, so I’d like to keep it low price.

  4. Thanks so much, Hank. Three more weeks left in the season…I just hope I get a few fat ones. Brats and this smoking recipe will be my new goose ventures this season. By the way I was given Hunt, Gather, Cook for Christmas. Amazing stuff. Thanks!

  5. C Moisei: Yep. You can skip nitrite with hot smoking, but not with cold smoking. It’s a botulism issue.

  6. Tanner: It won’t work if your goose is skinny. If you can feel the keelbone through the feathers, it’s skinny. If you feel some cushioning around the keelbone, the goose is fat enough to pluck. You only need about 1/8 to 1/4 inch layer for it to be good.

    As for getting it, pluck! If you are not used to plucking, it’s not that hard, especially if you are only plucking the breast and skinning the rest of the bird (the legs are great in stews and braises).

    Here’s how I dry pluck a bird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfWnkFj27M

  7. Hank,

    As someone else has mentioned…would this really work with Canada Geese? I’ve got a few from this season, one actually hanging and aging right now. There just isnt much fat on these birds. How would you remove the breast and keep the skin on? I’d REALLY like to try this. Any info much appreciated!

    Tanner

  8. I’ve eaten commercial versions of this here in Germany – it is traditional for breakfast on Christmas morning – but the thought of making it myself sounds like a real adventure! I got curious and checked out some OL German sites and came up with a few useful looking tricks that you might be interested in. They are in German but the essentials are these: (1) Use whole breasts, spread the meat side with the curing mixture – then the real trick– fold the two breast-halves together and sew them closed so that absolutely no meat is showing out. (2) Vacuum-pack the curing breasts so that they really soak in the juice that they build. The other thing I read on most sites is that they are cold-smoked for – get this – a week! usually over beechwood with some juniper. So you can see the photos of the above-described tricks, here are the links. If you want any more of it translated let me know.
    (1) https://oldeurope.blogger.de/stories/987669/
    (2)https://www.grillsportverein.de/forum/raeuchern-und-wursten/gaensebrust-2010-2011-a-135812.html

    Happy eating and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
    Marsha

  9. For those of you planning to try this on Canadas, I doubt very much that you would ever find the cover of fat that is on Hank’s goose breast. The goose that came from must have been on a pretty rich grain diet, and never flew an inch in its life. I was lucky enough to try Hank’s last week, and it was beyond delicious. I loved it.

  10. Looks and sounds amazing. I’m always looking for something new to try in my smoker. “A day without the smoker going is a day lost” is what i say. Can’t wait to try this. I’m thinking eggs benny would be phenomenal.

  11. Hank: Wow! If this works on CT Canada geese, your name will be enshrined with Louis Pasteur, Jonas Salk and Marie Curie.

    Can’t wait to try it, thanks.

  12. I agree about the Shiltz smoked goose… we used it for a movie and not only did it taste amazing but it looked great right out of the box.

    Looking forward to trying the homemade recipe… and your new duck book

    Happy New Year!

  13. Hank that looks really good thanks for posting the recipe.
    Here is a little trick I use to get the netting on different cuts of meat.
    [img]https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VtOdtGF47LE/UIqd4WDOIZI/AAAAAAAADuo/Rc1DbsSEayE/s720/DSC_0048.JPG[/img]

    Don’t know if the image codes work here if not just copy and paste the link and the picture will show up.

  14. Thanks for posting this. Perfect timing. I just bagged a giant honker on a duck hunt this morning-it will be perfect for this recipe.

  15. Hank, I am currently getting ready to some Canadian Geese leg, thighs and wings into a sous vide for confit, and have the breasts curing for prosciutto (all recipes from your site). Now I read this and I wish that I would have split the breasts…one for prosciutto and one for smoking.

    Would wild geese be okay for this method or would them be too lean?

    I’ll have to send the hubs out to get another one I think.