Grilled Goose Breast
My father, Scott Livie, always liked to keep it simple when it came to preparing goose. Occasionally he would smoke it, but our go-to meal was rare, grilled goose breast, served with wild rice and a g...
In 2014, my father’s fellow sportsman and bon vivant Todd Wright wrote a book, in part, to document their annual hunting trip to Saskatchewan, Prairie Birds: Hunt, Cook, Celebrate. Inside, he recounted his very favorite hunting stories—and detailed his tried-and-true recipes. With Todd’s permission, I’ll share this favorite that still takes me back to my Eastern Shore girlhood with just one bite.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 8 Serving(s)
- 2 cups dry great northern beans or navy beans
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 26-ounce can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crush as you add to the pot
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs parsley, chopped
- 2 medium cooking onions, diced
- 12 peppercorns, smashed
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 pound good kielbasa in 1-inch chunks
- 1 smoked pork hock
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups duck or chicken stock
- 8 portion-sized pieces of goose
Preparation
Soak the beans overnight. Preheat the oven to 300°. Drain the beans then add them to a large earthenware pot. Add the next 9 ingredients, stir.
Nestle the pork hocks down in the middle of the pot and surround with submerged chunks of kielbasa. Add the white wine and stock to cover. Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 6.5 hours.
When 1 hour is remaining in the cooking time, quickly saute the goose chunks for color only and then submerge in the cassoulet. Check at the same time that the beans are not starting to dry out. If so, add a little more stock. When done, remove the skin, bones and fat from the pork hock. Serve with crusty bread and a robust red wine.
Related Stories & Recipes
Friendship, Communion, Food: Waterfowl at the Chesapeake Winter Table
In this essay, Kate Livie remembers winters on the Eastern Shore with her father, and the waterfowl that connected them.
