Getting your wild goose from field to table can be challenging—but trust us, it’s worth the work!

For your best roasted whole wild goose, pluck the bird, including the wings to the first joint. Singe hair and leftover down off the bird with a propane torch. Pick out pinfeathers left in the skin by hand or with tweezers. Draw the innards out of the bird, ensuring you get the trachea running along the neck and the lungs in the back ribs. You can use this recipe with a skinned bird, but know that it won’t have the same flavour.

Make sure the bird is wrapped tightly in foil, and place in a foil pan or shallow roaster. If you let it cook for the allotted time, you won’t even need a knife to carve up this deliciously tender bird.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole goose, skin on (Canada, specklebelly or snow)
• 2 medium apples, cored and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ½ cup butter, softened
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275°F.
2. Mix apple, onion, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, marjoram, salt and pepper in bowl. Stuff the goose’s cavity with the mixture until it’s full. Cut more apple and onion if necessary. Tie or pin the skin on the cavity closed to keep in moisture.
3. Rub the outside of the bird with butter, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Wrap the goose in aluminum foil, place in a shallow pan, and roast in oven for 8 hours. You shouldn’t need a knife to carve the goose when it’s ready—the meat will fall off the bones when you unwrap the foil.
5. Serve with the apple and onions from the bird’s cavity.

Tip: With smaller geese, like lesser Canadas, snows, or Specklebellies, you can get away with reducing cooking time. For the big honkers, cook the entire 8 hours to ensure they fall apart when done.