Hunting and Cooking Wild Geese with a Quick and Easy Recipe - Creamy Goose Sausage Shells

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Canada Goose are sometimes referred to as “sky pandas” - cute. They have also been called flying rats - still cute?

• Snow & Canada Goose – What are they and where and when can we hunt them?
• Why Should People Hunt Canada and Snow Geese?
• Make wild goose taste great.
• Creamy Goose Sausage Shells – Quick and Easy Recipe!

Snow & Canada Goose - What are they and where and when can we hunt them?

You know who the iconic Canada Goose is, and are probably familiar with Snow geese as well. They pass through Canada in Spring and Fall.

Canada's are brown with a light, cream coloured underside and a long, black neck. They have dark beaks and white cheeks. Male Canada Goose can weigh up to 6 ½ kgs and females can weigh up to 5 ½ kgs.

Snow geese are often smaller, with males reaching up to 3 1⁄2 kgs and females up to 3kgs. To no surprise, Snow geese are white with black tipped wings.  

Flocks of Snow and Canada Goose settle into Ontario by the thousands around early April, and leave by late May. They make their way further North with a few Canada Goose staying behind. 

The Canada Goose that decide to stick around for the summer can be found in cities, farm fields with ample natural water supply, marinas and beaches.

 

In the fall, these geese will return and settle into the fields, beaches, wetlands and swamps - typically beginning in early October. Before the weather gets too cold in early November, the flocks will migrate South.

We see many more geese in fall than in spring.

Snows can be found foraging in flocks of over 1000. Both Canada and Snow Goose graze on grass, clover and cash crops like corn, winter wheat and soya bean. 

Both species of wild geese mate for life, but contrary to popular belief, they will find another mate if their lover dies. 

Snow and Canada Goose are two species of wild goose commonly seen and hunted in Canada and the United States. Hunters love hunting geese. It’s exciting, action packed and it can be a social event. Goose hunting is also an incredible way to harvest your own meat. 

In the United States, these geese are hunted in states like Texas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Michigan and others.

In Canada, geese are hunted almost everywhere, but Saskatchewan is said to be the place for a Canada Goose hunt. Ontario hunters seem to fill their freezers quickly as well.

When hunting wild geese in parts of Canada, just like any other species - there are of course regulations and restrictions that must be followed. There are specific dates, times, harvest limits and licensing that must be observed.

 You must have your Migratory Bird Hunting Permit along with a Canadian Waterfowl Habitat Conservation Stamp - and follow whatever hunting and firearm rules and requirements hunters must abide by in your jurisdiction. 

Non-toxic shotgun shot shells must be used instead of a popular, heavier shot like lead. Lead poisoning or contamination is something that conservationists like hunters work to prevent.

Some Wildlife Management Units or WMUs are able to hunt Snow geese from March to May. These measures are in place to address the over abundance of the species that destroy the farmer’s newly planted crops and contaminate natural water sources. 

In the fall, Canada Goose and Snows can be hunted in many parts of Canada from September until December, with an early Canada Goose season running from September 1st until September 15th.

Specific dates for goose hunting season will vary slightly from year to year.

With Snow and Canada Goose, there are no possession limits currently, meaning no limits as to how many you can have “in your freezer” at a time.

There are daily bag limits. Snows will have a higher daily bag or harvest limit than Canada Goose. The daily bag limits take into consideration population density.

You should always consult your most local and Federal hunting laws and regulations. Bag limits, season opening and closing dates and regulations can and do change constantly.

Hunting and firearm stores generally have your province’s most current hunting and fishing regulations books available! It’s highly recommended to keep this information handy.

Why Should People Hunt Canada and Snow Geese?

Wild game meat is healthy and tastes great, and farmers would appreciate a few less geese destroying their fields and it's a fun hunt. Population control is beneficial for the animals themselves and their habitats as well.

Hunters are Canada's main conservationists.

More and more people want to know exactly what is in their food and where it comes from. Hunting allows that. 

Other than the fact that wild goose is absolutely delicious, nutritious and offers an action packed hunt - it’s also necessary for conservation and farmer’s crop and field protection and preservation.

Like most animals, they too must be controlled for protection, disease control, preservation and the health and safety of everyone in the areas they land in.

I truly believe geese are beautiful, fascinating and intelligent creatures. These geese catch onto hunter’s setups and hunting patterns quickly. They have incredible eyesight and they also mate for life 🖤. 

Unfortunately, they’ve become a nuisance for both rural and urban communities. Good thing they taste good?  

In urban areas, the Canada Goose will attack humans and pets, crowd roadways, beaches and golf courses.

(Canadians know how territorial a Canada Goose parent can be!)

These geese will also leave toxic feces everywhere, sometimes causing beaches to be shut down. 

The damage wild geese cause on the farm can be detrimental and impacts everyone - including people in the city. Remember, farmers feed the world.

Multiple studies have been conducted showing that a flock of geese can reduce the overall crop yield by nearly 30%. As mentioned, geese can come in flocks of over 1000. That’s a lot of grazing.  Crop yield goes down, end price goes up.

The feces from the large flocks seen in the spring and the fall contaminate livestock pastures and their water sources as well. 

Wild geese are big, and that means they offer a bountiful harvest for a hunter’s table and freezer.

They’re fairly quick and easy to process - like everything, perfect practice makes good skills. Subscribe if you wish to see my goose-processing tutorial this fall.

As mentioned earlier, wild goose like Canada and Snow tastes like slightly gamey beef, but trust me - if you prepare it properly - it is so dang good.

You can use wild goose meat as if it’s beef so that even people that aren’t accustomed to that wild game taste will enjoy it.

Wild game is one of the healthiest meats humans can consume. Game meat is low in fat and high in nutrients and fatty acids.

Goose is packed with iron, protein and vitamin B-6. It has over 20 grams of protein per 3 oz of meat, as per a study done by the US Department of Agriculture).

Other than the meat that feeds you and your family, there is also bones, fats and feathers.

Bones can be boiled down into a goose stock or broth. Goose fat can be rendered (boiled down) for cooking oils and ointments, a little goes a long way.  

The down from the geese you harvest can even be collected and used as a warm, cozy and resilient stuffing or filler for homemade clothing and bedding, while feathers are sometimes kept for art or a more “bang for your buck” stuffing. 

Wild goose hunting benefits everyone! 

Make wild goose taste great.

There are ways you must process your goose before storing, methods you must follow to prepare it before cooking and of course ways to cook it to make it taste delicious.

It’s not hard, it just has to be done right.

The breast meat in wild goose is easiest to cook with and easiest to remove from your harvest. The thighs can be good too, but you have to be mindful of what you use them for.

Some people just don’t like goose meat, but they love to hunt geese or have a family member that enjoys goose hunting.

Wild goose, like other game meat, will be tough and very gamey if not prepared properly. Wild goose is definitely on the higher end of the “gamey and tough” spectrum if not prepared with care.

Older geese will have less tender meat than younger, but that is common with the majority of meats we eat. We can't really tell the age when they're 40 yards high.  

Wild game like goose meat should be brined in salt water to extract blood before preparing, processing or storing. This will drastically reduce that gamey flavour.

You can brine the goose breast and thigh meat for up to 72 hours. Fill a clean, preferably stainless steel, bowl with the meat and cover with cold, moderately salted water. Keep this bowl in the fridge. This water should be changed out every 8 to 12 hours. It will become less “bloody” with time.

When roasting, smoking, BBQing, baking or frying whole or sliced goose breast like a steak, you really have to marinate the meat. Marinating the meat infuses the flavours we want and tenderizes the meat so it's enjoyable to eat. 

To marinate your goose meat, rub the meat well with olive oil, salt, pepper and a splash or lemon or lime juice. Add the meat and salty, peppery, oily, citrus juices into a Ziplock bag. At this point you can add whichever other seasoning or sauces you would like.

Seal the bag with as little air as possible and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, but preferably you can marinate anywhere from 12 - 24 hours if time permits. Rotate the bag at least twice during this time so that all of the meat gets saturated.

There’s a misconception that wild goose is fatty. It’s not. Wild goose meat is lean. When making things like sausage or pepperettes you have to add fat to your mixture or your end product will be dry and inedible. 

You should add about enough pure fat (pure pork fat is cheap if you ask your local butcher) so that your mixture is at least 20% fat. That means 1 pound of fat for every 4 pounds of raw meat, (at least). 

You can easily make goose sausage with a meat grinder and sausage attachment. Subscribe if you would like to read my goose sausage post this coming fall.

Pasta dishes are always a favourite when it comes to cooking with goose meat. This Creamy Goose Sausage Shells recipe is quick and easy and a tried and true winner. Check it out below and let me know what you think.

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Creamy Goose Sausage Shells - Quick and Easy Recipe!

Delicious Canada or Snow Goose sausage and spinach with a creamy, garlicky tomato-based sauce over hardy shell noodles. This wild game recipe is quick, easy and delicious.

• 6 goose sausages - uncased 

Italian style goose sausage is a good choice for this dish, but any kind will work, including ground and seasoned goose breast.

* Side note: Italian Goose Sausage tutorial incoming this fall 2023.

You can uncase the sausage by finding or slicing a hole at one end and pushing the meat out of the casing. 

The sausages should of course be thawed for this recipe and broken up well. You can use a hamburger chopper or potato masher for this.

• 4 cups pasta shells - uncooked

Salt your water well - the water should taste like the ocean. If you’ve never tasted the ocean, it’s salty.

Cook your pasta according to the package. Don’t overcook it, mushy pasta is gross.

Remember, you’re going to need to keep ½ a cup of this pasta water for the sauce once your noodles are done cooking. Adding pasta water to sauce allows everything to hold together nicely. 

You can realistically use any sort of pasta you would like, but shells hold the meat and sauce well in this recipe.

• 1 cup frozen spinach - thawed

You can use fresh spinach as well, but frozen is what I typically have on hand.

It’s important that the spinach is thawed and drained of excess water. Frozen, watery spinach will result in a runny sauce.

If you’re using fresh spinach, it may require a bit more cooking time - so keep that in mind when adding it into pasta sauce.

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large cloves of fresh garlic (or more if you’re a garlic lover)
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp oregano
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you’re a spice fan)
• 800ml crushed tomatoes
• ⅓ cup cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
• ½ cup pasta water

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.

You don’t want your pan to be too hot to the point that the oil burns and creates an awful taste that will spread throughout your food.

Dice your fresh garlic and add to it to the hot olive oil along with your parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes.

Sauté for a minute or so until fragrant.

You can use fresh or dry spices and herbs and adjust to your personal flavor preferences.

Once the garlic and spices are warm and smelling amazing, add your crushed tomato, cream, salt, pepper and sugar.

The sugar will reduce the acidity of the crushed tomato, making a perfect balance.

Whisk in the flour carefully. Flour helps the sauce thicken.

Heat your pasta sauce and simmer on low stirring often.

In a large pot or wok, brown your uncased sausage. (again, to uncase sausage, simply find an opening at the end and push the sausage through the casing).

I use this Lodge Cast Iron Wok. I am obsessed with it.

Once the sausage is browned, remove any excess oil or liquid. This is important to ensure your pasta isn’t greasy and runny.

Add the creamy tomato sauce and spinach to the wok or pot with cooked sausage. Mix well.

While the sauce and sausage are simmering, boil a large pot of salted water. You want the water to taste like the ocean.

Add uncooked pasta to water and cook according to the package. I put my pasta shells in boiling water for 7 minutes.

When the pasta is finished cooking - take ½ of a cup of the pasta water and add the water to the sausage and sauce and mix well.

Drain water from cooked noodles. Add noodles to sausage and sauce combination.

Mix well again and ENJOY!