How to Make the Best Smoked Goose Breast
When's the last time you had a good, smoked goose? Every once in a while, it's nice to try something new or live on the fancier side of things. After all, everybody deserves a treat now and then. When it comes to smoked meat, a goose is precisely the kind of treat we all need in our lives. I know I need a little something like that. So let's go over an easy goose recipe.
I've been thinking about Christmas preparation for a while now. Historically speaking, a goose was always the traditional Christmas dinner meat. You can see proof of that in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens; although, it was a traditional dish even long before Dickens wrote of it. Even before then, the goose or duck breast have been part of many traditional scenarios, such as feasts in the Middle Ages and even sacrifices to the gods before that.
With all that said, I've been thinking about preparing a large goose for Christmas this year, but I wanted to try it first before things got stressful in the rush of the holiday season. When all was said and done, I set out to find how to make the best, smoked goose breast: the right way. Prep time depends of what you already have, and the total time of cooking isn't too bad, so you can definitely do it even on a holiday. Keep reading to learn how to do it yourself!
Here's What You'll Need For This Smoked Goose Breast Recipe
Smoker
Obviously, the first thing you'll need is a smoker. Smoking goose breast would be difficult without it. There are tons of different options available on the market for a range of different prices; they typically cost several hundred dollars but can often reach prices of over $1,000. Although, since you're here, I assume you probably already have one! If you don't, you can always use a smoker box to get that smoky flavor.
Two goose breast halves
Once you have your smoker, you'll need to have the central star of this dish: two goose breast halves. This one is pretty straightforward. After all, we wouldn't need this recipe if we didn't have the goose! You can buy goose breasts from various sources. A lot of those sources can even be found online for convenient ordering if you can't find a vendor near you.
You’ll also need:
- One-half gallon of water
- One-half cup of salt or kosher salt
- One-third cup of brown sugar
- Two tablespoons of onion powder
- Two tablespoons of garlic powder
- One tablespoon of mustard powder
- Some green onions
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- An equal-parts combination of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder
- Wood
Next, you'll need the ingredients necessary for the brine. Brine is a saline solution that will help your meat absorb and retain more moisture. Without a brine, your meat could lose 30% of its initial weight as it dried out during the cooking process. The salt helps the meat retain the moisture absorbed from the brine. For our brine in this recipe, you'll need the following ingredients:
- One-half gallon of water
- One-half cup of salt or seas salt
- One-third cup of brown sugar
- Two tablespoons of onion powder
- Two tablespoons of garlic powder
- One tablespoon of mustard powder
- Some green onions
After the brine, you'll also need Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is often referred to as EVOO, and an equal-parts combination of salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder, which is also commonly referred to as SPOG.
Finally, you'll need your choice of wood for smoking. I suggest you use cherry wood mixed with hickory, oak, or pecan wood. Smoking with cherry wood provides a beautiful and vibrant mahogany color to the meat, and the mix helps to balance out the cherry wood. If you're not a fan of cherry wood or the mix, you can always use a different type that matches your personal preference. Make sure to check out The Most Delicious Smoke Flavors article to learn more! Birchwood is more difficult to find; however, it could provide a great, subtle flavor to your goose meat. Some other good wood choices for poultry meats are almond, hickory, maple, olive, orange, peach, or pear. Generally speaking, you'll want to use a lighter wood while smoking poultry.
How to Smoke that Goose Breast
Step One: Brine Your Meat
Brining can last for hours upon hours - even days, depending on the type of meat and how big it is. For these goose breasts, we'll be putting them in brine for about five hours to really let them soak in the flavors and prepare for maximum retainment of moisture. With that said, the first step is to make your goose brine for smoking and let the meat soak in it for five hours.
Mix together your brine ingredients: one-half gallon of water, one-half cup of salt, one-third cup brown sugar, two tablespoons of onion powder, two tablespoons of garlic powder, one tablespoon of mustard powder, and some green onions. After you've got the ingredients combines, let your goose breast halves soak in them for the allotted five hour time period and find something fun to do while you wait.
Step Two: Prepare the Goose Breasts for Smoking
After five hours of soaking in cold water has passed, take the goose breasts out, wash them, and pat them dry. Make sure that you only gently pat the meat dry, as pressing into the meat could remove moisture that should rather be kept inside. Instead, lightly touch the surface with a paper or cloth towel so that only the excess moisture on the outside is removed.
After your goose breasts have been washed and patted dry, you should apply your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and SPOG combination. You'll want to do this generously or to taste, depending on how you prefer your meat to be prepared.
Step Three: Smoking Goose Breast
Finally, we've made it to the main event. It's time to smoke your meat! Make sure your smoker has been preheated to 225 - 235 degrees and then put in your goose breast halves for four hours. Mind the wood chips choice as it'll add a smoky flavor to your dish. Your goose breasts will be done when they've hit an internal temperature of 150 - 155 degrees. Don’t forget to use a digital thermometer.
After you remove the goose breasts from the smoker, let them sit long enough for them to return to room temperature. Once they are back to room temperature, you can refrigerate them. They'll last in the refrigerator for approximately ten days or one year if they're sealed well and frozen.
Now Enjoy Your Smoked Goose Breast!
After nearly a whole day of work dedicated to a good couple of smoked goose breasts, you've got your final (and tasty) result. The cook time wasn't too long, and it's a worthwhile time spending. I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial, especially for those of you who plan on copying this when Christmas and the holiday season comes around. Add some vegetables, or maybe fruit, such as apples, a cup soy sauce to the table, make some sauce from the juniper berries, maybe some other signature dishes to complete the feast. This was a good trial run for me, and I know I'll be replicating this (in more significant quantities) for my family during the holidays. The smoked goose breast halves are definitely a favorite of mine from now on. You might feel more adventurous and even try cooking wild goose breasts, it's completely up to you! Smoking goose breast isn't all that difficult as long as you're confident and know the science behind it.
Let me know in the comments what you thought of this recipe! Do you have any thoughts? Did you do anything differently when you made it? How did your smoked goose breast turn out? Do you know any other awesome goose recipes? I hope you find this article a good goose breast recipe and If you did enjoy this recipe tutorial, feel free to share it with your friends and family so everybody can enjoy the specialty of a beautiful smoked goose breast. Stay tuned for more smoked meat tutorials in the future!
Smoked Goose Breast
Equipment
Ingredients
- Two goose breast halves
- 1/2 Gallon
Water - 1/2 Cup
Salt or kosher salt - 1/3 Cup
Brown sugar - 2 Tbsp Onion powder
- 2 Tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Mustard powder
- Some green onions
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- An equal-parts combination of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powde
For brine
- 1/2 Gallon Water
- 1/2 Cup Salt or seas salt
- 1/3 Cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp Onion powder
- 2 Tbsp Garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Mustard powder
- Some green onions
Instructions
- Brining can last for hours upon hours - even days, depending on the type of meat and how big it is.
- For these goose breasts, we'll be putting them in brine for about five hours to really let them soak in the flavors and prepare for maximum retainment of moisture.
- With that said, the first step is to make your brine and let the meat soak in it for five hours.
- Mix together your brine ingredients: one-half gallon of water, one-half cup of salt, one-third cup brown sugar, two tablespoons of onion powder, two tablespoons of garlic powder, one tablespoon of mustard powder, and some green onions.
- After you've got the ingredients combines, let your goose breast halves soak in them for the allotted five hour time period and find something fun to do while you wait.
- After five hours of soaking in cold water has passed, take the goose breasts out, wash them, and pat them dry.
- Make sure that you only gently pat the meat dry, as pressing into the meat could remove moisture that should rather be kept inside.
- Instead, lightly touch the surface with a paper or cloth towel so that only the excess moisture on the outside is removed.
- After your goose breasts have been washed and patted dry, you should apply your Extra Virgin Olive Oil and SPOG combination.
- It's time to smoke your meat! Make sure your smoker has been preheated to 225 - 235 degrees and then put in your goose breast halves for four hours.
- Mind the wood chips choice as it'll add a smoky flavor to your dish.
- Your goose breasts will be done when they've hit an internal temperature of 150 - 155 degrees.
- After you remove the goose breasts from the smoker, let them sit long enough for them to return to room temperature.
- Once they are back to room temperature, you can refrigerate them.
Nutrition
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