Go Back
–+ servings
Thinly shaved goose pastrami on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper next to a knife.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
No ratings yet

Smoked Canada Goose Pastrami

Smoky, slightly spicy smoked pastrami made from skinless goose breasts.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Curing Time5 days
Total Time5 days 1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: canada goose recipe, goose pastrami
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 81kcal
Author: Alan Bergo
Cost: 5

Equipment

  • 1 Smoker I use a Traeger
  • 1 Vacuum sealer
  • 1 Quart vacuum bag
  • 1 Electric meat slicer
  • 1 Boning knife or a sharp paring knife
  • 1 Pie plate or other vessel for crusting the breasts

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lbs Canada goose breast skinless, from one whole goose

Cure

  • 4 oz brown sugar
  • 2 oz kosher salt
  • 10 grams pink curing salt / instacure no 1
  • ½ teaspoon allspice and nutmeg fresh ground or grated, mixed

Coriander-Black Pepper Coating

  • ⅓ cup black peppercorns
  • ⅓ cup whole coriander seed

Instructions

Cure

  • Combine the ingredients for the cure in a bowl, then store in a labeled container.

Pluck the goose (optional)

  • Pluck the feathers from above the breast if you have a whole bird.
  • Make an incision along the breastbone and peel back the skin to reveal the breasts. Remove the breasts with a sharp boning knife.
  • Inspect the breasts for shot holes, feathers, blood, and foreign matter.
  • Weigh the breasts and put in a vacuum bag. For each pound of meat, weigh out 1 oz of the cure. Two goose breasts weighed 1.5 lbs for me, so I added 1.5 oz of cure.
  • Vacuum seal the meat with the cure, then refrigerate for 5-7 days, massaging the bag occasionally to form a natural brine.

Pepper and Coriander Crust

  • Coarsely crack the peppercorns and coriander separately, then combine. For the best texture, crack them by hand with a mortar and pestle. Alternately, pulse the peppercorns in a food processor 4-5 times, sift through a colander and repeat. Coriander can be simply be pulsed in a food processor. Combine the pepper and coriander.
  • Remove the goose from the bag, lay on a paper towel (don't pat dry) then crust completely on all sides in the pepper and coriander. For the most perfect crust, vacuum seal the meat with the spices and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Smoking

  • Prepare a smoker and heat to 225 F. Smoke the goose breasts until they reach 145-150 F, about 70-90 minutes depending on size.
  • Remove the pastrami to cool, then vacuum seal, label, date, and reserve until needed.
  • To serve, shave the pastrami as thin as possible. This is best done with a meat slicer. It can be used any way you'd use beef pastrami.

Video

Notes

Alternate Method: Pastrami Brine (Makes enough to cure 3 lbs) 
Ingredients
  • 1.5 quarts water 
  • 1.5 quarts ice water
  • ¾ cup (195 g) Kosher salt 
  • 1 oz pink curing salt 
  • 3 tablespoons pickling spice 
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar or maple syrup 
  • 1 large yellow onion, sliced 
  • 2 dried bay leaves 
  • 1 bulb garlic, halved horizontally 
Method 
Lightly toast the pickling spices. Bring all ingredients except the ice water to a boil in a covered pot and cool, adding the ice water. Immerse the goose breasts in the brine in a container and refrigerate, weighing them down to keep them under the brine. Remove from the brine after 5-7 days and proceed with crusting and smoking as above. 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 2oz | Calories: 81kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 859mg | Potassium: 194mg | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 2mg