Goose sausage is a unique and delicious addition to any meal, but it’s also a sustainable option for utilizing the meat from your wild game hunting trips.

Three goose sausage on a cast pan. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

What Types of Geese to Use

While all geese are technically edible, some are better suited for sausage making than others.

Canada Geese: This is one of the most popular types of geese used for making sausage due to its meaty and flavorful meat.
Snow Geese: Another popular option, snow goose meat is lean and has a slightly gamey taste, which can add depth to your sausage.
Greylag Geese: This breed of goose is known for its large size and meaty texture, making it an excellent choice for sausage making.
Domestic Geese: If you don’t have access to wild goose meat, the domestic goose is a readily available alternative that can be used to make delicious sausage.

What you Need

Goose meat: Use breasts or thigh meat. Clean it well. Remove any bird shot, skin, fat, or connective tissue before grinding.
Pork: Use pork shoulder or pork butt. Grind it with your larger diameter hole.
Salt: Coarse kosher salt or sea salt
Fennel seed: Use whole seed, not ground fennel, for added texture.
Sugar: granulated sugar is fine.
Red Pepper Flakes: Adjust the quantity you use for your family’s tastes.
Coriander: Ground coriander is fine.
Black Pepper: Use freshly ground for the best flavor.
Caraway seed: Use whole seed for the best results.

ingredients for goose sausage. See details in recipe below. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Optional spices and flavorings

Garlic powder, granulated garlic, or minced cloves of garlic
Onion powder
Paprika
Oregano
Red wine vinegar
Asiago cheese
Parmesan cheese
Brown sugar

How to make it

Thoroughly clean the meat and carefully inspect it for birdshot pellets. Keep it very cold. Grind the meat. Mix 70% goose and 30% pork.

Water and ice in a measuring cup. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Mix ice and water and measure the quantity with the ice.

Spices mixed with water and ice. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Add spices and mix well.

Water and ice added to the meat. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Add the water mixture to the cold meat.

Meat mixed up with spices. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Mix it together thoroughly but gently. Don’t overwork it, or it will become tough.

Return the meat mixture to the fridge and let it rest for at least 12 hours, up to 36 hours.

To Case Sausage

Natural casings soaking in ice water. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Soak casings in ice water to remove some of the salt that they are packed in. Rinse under very cold water well.

Casings loaded onto the sausage tube. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Feed casing over the sausage stuffer attachment of your grinder.

Meat loaded into the hopper of the meat grinder. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

Twist the end of the casing. Load ground meat in the hopper. Fill the casings pretty full.

Slow down feeding meat into the hopper, then twist the casing to make small, individual sausages. Continues until all of the meat is done.

Important Tips for Your Success

Carefully remove any bird shot from the breasts.
Freeze grinder attachments before starting so that they are cold.
Meat must be kept very cold! Always keep the meat in the fridge in between steps.
Grind pork with a smaller diameter cutting blade hole than the goose. This will ensure even cooking.
Use a ratio of 30% pork to 70% goose for the best flavor.
Use a pork shoulder or a pork butt instead of pork fat. It will be healthier and will provide better flavor.
The amount of crushed red pepper flakes will determine how mild or hot the sausage is. For hot Italian venison sausage, use about 3 tablespoons. For mild Italian venison sausage, reduce the pepper flakes to 1 to 2 tablespoons.
You can either make Italian sausage links with a sausage stuffer attachment for your meat grinder or just keep the meat bulk unstuffed for patties.
If you don’t have fresh goose, you can make this recipe with just pork butt or pork shoulder.

Overhead shot of goose sausage in a cast iron pan. — Photo Credit: Binky’s Culinary Carnival.

How to Store It

Sausage can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 days. For longer storage, vacuum pack, if possible, and store in the freezer.

If vacuum-packed, the meat will have the best flavor if consumed within 3-4 months.

If you don’t have a vacuum packer, store it in freezer bags, removing as much excess air as you can, for 1-2 months.

How to use it

Pasta dishes: Like this meaty Pasta sauce or spaghetti alla carbonara.
Casseroles: Like this White lasagna or baked ziti.
Sandwiches: Make sausage hoagies or subs. Grill your sausage in the summer for that BBQ flavor.
Pan-fried: Use a heavy bottom skillet with a splash of olive oil to brown the sausage before enjoying it. Sausage topped with peppers and onions is a traditional US favorite.
Meatballs: Sausage meatballs are a great variation of traditional ground beef meatballs and are so flavorful.
Charcuterie boards: Slice and serve cooked goose sausage on a charcuterie board with cheese, crackers, and other meats for a flavorful appetizer.
Pizza: Use sliced goose sausage as a pizza topping, along with your favorite cheese and vegetables.
Breakfast: Goose sausage is a delicious addition to breakfast dishes such as omelets, scrambled eggs, and sandwiches.