Just takin' a picture of a Wild Goose Sandwich

So, I was excited by the thought of the current throw down of game birds, but fate is against me. Rather than defrost from the freezer, I tried to hunt Saturdays snow storm for some worthy ducks.. but we only ended up with some buffleheads. Then I remembered I had smoked a bunch of goose breasts during the throw down time frame.... but they are already vacuum sealed and frozen and no pictures. Then I remembered I shredded the confit goose legs... but they weren't smoked or grilled, so not within the rules. Soooo... in anticipation of eventually entering a throw down, I decided to practice a little photography.

Thus I give you shredded Canada Goose legs Num Pang (ie, like from the Num Pang cook book). The legs were confit with thyme, salt and garlic. I took some of the shredded meat and sautéed with a little "Juke Joint all purpose dry rub". Put on a toasted roll with garlic-chili mayo, cucumber and pickled carrots. Serve with chips and homebrew.




Thanks for looking, and any food photography tips are greatly appreciated hoto:

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I don't know what the deal with goose is. I've had really nasty goose (not my cook) and I've had really, really good goose.

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Yeah, geese can be like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're going to get. Depending on where they've been passing through and what they've been eating, they can vary quite a bit. Early this year I got one that was very mild and pleasant. Just seared it and served it and it was great. The ones that went into this sandwich I shot out of a salt marsh and they certainly had an air of gameyness. I soaked them in water for two days (with frequent changes) and then for a day in milk. That really seemed to tame them. The meat tasted great (kind of like a strong beef).

IMO wild goose has an assertive flavor and you can't force it to be something its not by using recipes for domestic poultry, nor can you try to 'cover' the flavor by using competing strong flavors because you end up with fighting strong flavors. Simple is definitely better. One of the breasts from this goose I just pan roasted (med rare) and served with a fig & port wine reduction and my wife and normally picky kids loved it. Anyway that's my 2 cents for what it's worth