Snow Goose Meatballs with Onion and Mushroom Gravy

By Jeff Benda

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www.WildGameandFish.com

Serves 6
Inactive time: 30 minutes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Tender Snow goose meatballs are smothered in brown gravy with onions and mushrooms and served over creamy mashed potatoes. This is a great comfort food that’s freezer-friendly and can be made ahead of time for meal prep.

I hunt waterfowl eight months out of the year and am always on the hunt for more recipes that I know my family will love, and this one does the trick every time. I appreciate that I can make these goose meatballs ahead of time and freeze them for my wife to quickly heat up and feed our 8-year-old daughter when I am out of town on a hunting adventure.

I got these Snow geese while hunting the Light Goose Conservation Order near Mound City, Missouri in late February of this year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated there were over 400,000 snow geese at the nearby Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. The morning and evening hunts were magical, with the clear blue sky filled with birds that showered down on our pit blind surrounded by a giant spread of over 1,000 full body decoys.

Our group returned to the hunting lodge after every hunt and made quick work of cleaning birds thanks to the help of the Outdoor Edge Razor Bone and Outdoor Edge Game Shears I brought along. Most hunters only keep the goose breasts, but I always keep the legs and thighs so I can put them in a slow cooker for things like goose tacos or Goose Fettuccini Alfredo.

I used Snow goose for this recipe, but you can easily substitute Canada goose breasts or duck breasts.

Note: In order to transform the goose breasts and bacon into meatballs, you will need either a meat grinder or food processor.

Goose Meatball Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds Snow goose breasts (or Canada goose or duck breasts)
• 4 ounces bacon
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, Plain or Italian
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon ketchup
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Gravy Ingredients

• 8 ounces baby bella or white button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup cold water + 3 Tablespoons corn starch

Instructions

1. Chill the Snow goose breasts and bacon until the meat is almost freezing by sticking it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then cut both the goose breasts and bacon into chunks that will easily fit in your meat grinder. Grind the meat. If you don’t have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor, set on pulse.
2. Set olive oil aside and place ground goose meat and ground bacon along with the remaining meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined. Roll the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs and put them on a plate. This recipe makes about 20 meatballs. Now transfer them to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to help them stay together during cooking.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. While the meatballs are chilling in the refrigerator, cook the mushrooms. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, arrange the mushrooms in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the mushrooms with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Continue cooking, stirring the mushrooms until they begin to release liquid, about another 4 minutes. Transfer the cooked mushrooms to a plate and reserve for later.
5. In the same nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Brown 10 meatballs at a time for about 2 minutes on each side then transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat and cook the remaining meatballs.
6. Place the meatballs in the preheated oven to continue cooking while you make the gravy.
7. To the same nonstick skillet, add the butter and diced onion and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
8. Slowly pour the beef broth into the pan, then add the onion powder, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.
9. In a small bowl, whisk together the cold water and corn starch.
10. Slowly whisk in the corn starch mixture and decrease the heat to low.
11. When the meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees F, remove them from the oven and add them back to the skillet along with the mushrooms. Stir until the meatballs are coated with the gravy.
12. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve over mashed potatoes.