Orange-Honey Bourbon Roast Goose Recipe

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“Sky carp,” I’ve heard them called. True shame. I even had a local hunter in Kansas offer me his limit of Canada goose one morning because “they aren’t good for anything but jerky.” My mother-in-law won’t touch them because they land on “poo ponds.” (I’m also not allowed to cook them in her kitchen anymore, either.) All that kind of talk breaks my heart, like listening to a crowd talk bad about a best friend.

But I’m going to throw down the gauntlet: Canada goose may be the most underrated bird in terms of flavor. If crane is “the ribeye of the sky,” Canada goose is the roast beef of the sky, because if cooked correctly, that is exactly what it should taste like, with a hint of waterfowl, obviously.

Don’t serve a degree past medium-rare as flavor diminishes exponentially every degree beyond 140. Pluck your waterfowl, too, for reasons mentioned in the sidebar. Lastly, watch out for shot. Even when cooked perfectly, Canada goose is still tougher than most birds and hard chewing can lead to chipping or breaking a tooth if you bite into steel shot, which is nowhere as soft as lead shot, friends.

Why You Should Give a Pluck

Simply put: Skin, and its fat, is the bacon of waterfowl. Why is bacon so good? Because it cooks in its own fat. The same applies to waterfowl, except the waterfowl version is better for you with its unsaturated fats. Fat from a skin-on bird is the reason I always cook waterfowl in a skillet – I don’t want to lose that rendered, delicious, healthy fat to a fire should I grill over a grate. When rendered, waterfowl fat is liquid gold. You can jar and save in the fridge or freeze and later use for baking or to fry potatoes. So at the very least, take 5 extra minutes to pluck the breasts before breasting out. Want to get ambitious? Pluck the whole bird, especially ducks, which you can roast whole.

Yield: 2-4 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• Two Canada goose breasts, preferably skin on

Brine Ingredients:

• 1 gallon cold water
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 bulb fresh garlic, smashed
• 8 ounces fresh ginger, smashed

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Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup burbon
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• Zest from half an orange
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 14 ounces orange marmalade

Directions for Brine: