2 boneless duck breasts * flatten with meat mallot 1/8 to 1/4-inch thickness
Flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
Fine, dry breadcrumbs (do not use Panko for this one)
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter or margarine

Dredge duck in flour and then dip in egg. Dredge in breadcrumbs. Salt and pepper to taste.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck and fry until golden brown, turning once.

Serve with a nice gravy of your choice.

*You may want to brine for a few hours (or overnight) before hand. If so, mix 1/2 cup hot water with 1/8 cup coarse salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir to dissolve. Pour into a large bowl add 2 cups cold water. Rinse and add the breasts. Cover, refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight. Make sure to rinse and pat dry before cooking or they will be too salty.

My hunter was only able to bring me home a 2 1/2 pound goose to try this recipe on, so that is what I used. That is the nature of hunting and fishing. You can’t be too picky about what you get, just happy he/she didn’t come home empty handed!

This recipe is okay. I am not a big fan of wild goose, but this does make the meat taste good, even though it remains fairly tough. If you are looking for a way to cook it to make it tender, this is not it. A larger bird would have been more rare than the smaller one I cooked, so the breast meat might have been a little more tender, but the back and legs certainly would not be.

I have included this here in case you’ve seen the same recipe elsewhere and were wondering how it might turn out.

Upside-Down Roast Goose Recipe

The goose is cooked upside-down with vegetables and herbs in a savory broth, and then turned upright during the end of cooking.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

    * 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
    * 1 cup carrots, shredded
    * 1 cup celery, diced
    * 1 cup onion, finely chopped
    * 1 medium apple, cored, peeled and chopped
    * 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
    * 1 cup veal (or low-salt chicken) stock
    * 1/2 cup dry white wine
    * 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
    * 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
    * 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried thyme
    * 4 bay leaves
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 teaspoon cracked pepper
    * 1 whole wild goose, about 7 to 10 pounds

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan (or in a dutch oven) over medium-low heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions, apple, and garlic. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the stock, wine, parsley, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium-low, simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.

Pour the vegetables and liquid into a large roasting pan fitted with a lid unless you used a dutch oven, in which case you can just add the bird now. Turn the bird breast-side down and nestle into the vegetables and liquid. Spoon some of the liquid and vegetables over the goose and add more water (or wine if you like) to submerse the bird half-way. Cover and roast about 1-1/4 hours. Turn the bird over, facing up, and cook another 15 minutes, uncovered or until a meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F when inserted next to the leg bone.

Remove and let the bird sit for about 10 minutes before carving. Spoon some of the juice and vegetables over each portion of sliced meat.

After eating what we wanted for our evening meal, I put the goose back in the pot and continued to simmer it over med-low heat for several more hours. This made it much more tender, though it does dry the meat out. There is enough vegetables and liquid to pour over the meat though to moisten it up.

Salmon with Spiced Pumpkin
(serves 4)
Preparation Time  15 minutes
Cooking Time   20 minutes

Ingredients
        1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
        2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
        2 celery stalks, trimmed, thinly sliced
        1/3 cup blanched whole almonds (or any nut you have)
        1 tsp ground cumin
        1 tsp sweet paprika
        1.5 - 2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/4” pieces
        15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
        4 - 6 ounce pieces salmon or ocean trout fillet, skinned
        1/3 cup fresh or 1 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
        Lemon wedges, to serve

Method
    1.    Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, celery and almonds. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to soften. Add spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.
    2.    Add pumpkin to pan. Stir to coat, then add tomatoes and 1/2 cup water or chicken stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. It may take up to 25 minutes, you want it just tender, not mushy.
    3.    Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add salmon. Season to taste, then cook for 4-5 minutes, turning once, or until pale golden and cooked to your liking. (I barely cook the salmon, then place it on top of the simmering pumpkin, put on the lid, remove the pan from the burner and let sit for 7 - 8 minutes to finish cooking.)
    4.    Divide pumpkin mixture among plates. Sprinkle with parsley then top with salmon. Serve with lemon wedges.

Moroccan Duck Stew    6 Servings

2 Tbs. olive oil
6 duck breasts* that have been pounded** and cut in half or thirds
2 medium red onions, sliced
1 large green pepper, cut into 1” pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp. curry powder
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Condensed Tomato Soup
1/3 cup golden raisins (or regular)
1 can (about 15 oz) chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Heat oil in 5-qt. sauce pot over medium high heat. Add duck and brown on both sides. Do not over cook. Remove duck from sauce pot to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, pepper and garlic and cook 5 minutes or until tender-crisp. Add cinnamon and curry and cook and stir 1 min. Stir in soup and heat to a boil. Return duck to sauce pot. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 15 min.

Stir in raisins and chickpeas. Cook 10 minutes. Duck should still be pink in the middle. If you want more well done continue to cook another 5 minutes.

Stir in almonds and serve.

This is not a spicy dish, just very tasty. Great over cous cous, rice or pasta.

**Put the boned, skinned breasts in a plastic bag. I usually do them 2 at a time. Use a flat meat mallet to pound the breasts pretty flat. Don’t worry if the meat breaks up a bit on the edges. It will pull back together as you cook it. The purpose of this is to tenderize the meat.

*I usually brine overnight by putting in a large bowl with 1/4 cup coarse salt and 1/8 cup sugar, then enough water to cover duck and fill bowl. Cover.
IMPORTANT: Rinse before using or the meat will be too salty.

 Baked Sturgeon   4 to 6 servings

About Sturgeon: it is a boneless, mild, white meated fish. It doesn’t flake well.
If over-cooked it is VERY tough. It can be rather bland, so spices and flavorings are important. Following is an easy, tasty way to prepare it.

foil
Sturgeon filet - 2 pounds, about 2 inches thick
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter - melted - brush on fish
sprinkle on onion powder and garlic powder - 1/2 tsp each or to taste
1/2 large onion (whole small onion) finely minced - pack on top of fish
1/2 lemon (cut up other half to squeeze on after baking) - squeeze over onion
salt and pepper to taste over onions
top with dried dill - about 1/2 tsp.
1/4 cup water (outside foil)

Take a double layer of foil (or 1 layer heavy duty) about 6 to 8 inches longer than the piece of fish and lay in a shallow baking dish. Place the fish on the foil and fold the ends and sides up to make a “pan” a few inches all around larger than the piece of fish. Melt the butter and brush on the fish. Sprinkle with onion and garlic powders. Pat as much of the minced onions on top as you can. Sprinkle with the lemon juice then salt and pepper and dill.
Pour the water outside the foil “pan” into the baking pan. (Helps keep it moist)
At this point you can let it sit for up to 30 minutes to let it come to room temperature

Bake at 375 degrees for 22- 26 minutes - DO NOT OVERCOOK. How cold the fish is when it goes into the oven helps determine how long to cook it. I use a quick register thermometer to check for doneness. If it registers 130 degrees it’s done enough. Remove from oven, cover with a piece of foil and let sit 5 minutes. It will continue to cook a bit more.

When you serve it up, spoon some of the butter and onions that ended up in the bottom of the foil, over the fish.

Citrus Salsa Salmon

4    4 to 5 oz salmon fillets - 3/4 to 1 inch thick (skin on or off)
    salt and black pepper
1/3    cup red jalapeno jelly
3    medium oranges, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1    medium grapefruit sections, chopped
1    cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular tomatoes chopped)

1.    In medium bowl combine chopped fruit and halved tomatoes.
2.    In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the jelly. You can add a tablespoon         of water to help it melt.
3.    Heat broiler. Place the salmon on unheated rack of a broiler pan.  Lightly         sprinkle salmon with the salt and pepper. Brush 2 tablespoons of the melted     jelly on the salmon, add the rest of the jelly to the salsa mix with a little salt     and pepper.
4.    Broil 4 inches from heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes when         tested with a fork. (When in doubt I cook for shortest time since fish             continues cooking after removed from heat). Be carefully jelly doesn’t burn     too much.
5.    Remove from the oven and let sit with foil over top for about 5 minutes.

Serve with the salsa on top.

Serves 4   

From Better Homes and Garden - March 2009

    Fold under thin ends      Can coat differently for taste       Ready for the oven


Salmon fillets - 4 oz to 6 oz; 1” to 1 1/2” thick - with or without skin
Mayonnaise or Fat Free Ranch Dressing
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Dried Dill
Paprika (optional)
2 Tablespoons water

A half hour before baking, spray Pam on large enough baking pan for fish to fit in without touching.
Rinse fish, pat dry and put in the baking dish skin side down (unless skinned).
Spread a coating of mayonnaise or fat free dressing on the fish. You can do both in the same pan. My husband likes the mayonnaise, but I prefer the fat free ranch, so I do half of the fillets his way and half my way.
Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder and dill on liberally. Dust with paprika if you like.
Pour the water in the pan around the fish.
Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
DO NOT OVERCOOK
Remove from the oven and cover with a piece of foil just layed on top and let sit to finish cooking for 5 minutes.

NOTE: To keep the thin ends of a fillet from over cooking, you can overlap two pieces to get close to the overall thickness of the rest of the fillet.

Spicy Elk Stew
Serves 10 - 12

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons cumin
3 pounds elk stew meat (I use up all the tough bits and pieces)
3 tablespoons olive oil - split in half
3 cups salsa
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon honey
5 cups sweet potato -- peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (2 - 3 medium)
1 - 11 oz can whole kernel corn
1 - 15 oz can black beans - drained and rinced

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, chili powder and cumin.
Rinse the elk and pat dry. Lay the stew meat on a cutting board. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over it. Cover with a gallon size plastic bag cut down each side to form a large rectangle. (This keeps the flour from going everywhere as you pound). Pound in the flour seasoning mix. Turn elk over and pound in remaining flour mixture.

Heat half the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook half the elk in oil about 5 minutes, turning several times, until brown on all sides. Remove. Heat rest of oil, add the rest of the elk and brown for about 5 minutes. Remove. Drain any oil left out of pan. Don’t worry about any browned flour/spice mix stuck to the bottom. Put the salsa, water and honey in the pot. Then add the browned elk, sweet potatoes, corn and beans.  Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cover and bake 1 hour or until beef is tender.

Serve with warm, low carb tortillas.

NOTE:  You can control the “heat” by how spicy the salsa is. Also you can cut down the amount of chili powder, but I wouldn’t cut it by more than half. It’s not that hot and adds  lot of flavor.

ALSO:  If you think your elk is real tough, you can add a little Adolf’s tenderizer to the flour mix. I would suggest 1/2 - 1 teaspoon. Don’t over do it. You don’t want the meat to be  mushy or the stew to be too salty (tenderizer is salty). The tomato in the salsa will help break the meat down. Especially if you make this a day ahead.

My husband and I love this. It sounds odd, but the tomato really compliments the salmon and keeps it very moist and flavorful. This recipe is a fast, grab from the pantry style, but it would not be difficult to replace with your homemade sauce, fresh mushrooms, fresh vegetables and cheeses, for a more natural, organic meal.

Salmon Spaghetti
Combine in a microwave safe bowl
1/2 - 25.5 oz bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup of water
1 - 4.5 oz bottle of sliced mushrooms - drained
1 tablespoon of dried onion flakes
1/2 tablespoon dried garlic flakes
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (Kraft container type)
Heat in the microwave until warm enough to eat, but NOT steaming hot.

Put on pasta water and bring to a boil

Preheat Oven to 375

Spoon a thin layer of warm sauce on bottom of a 7” x 10” dish
Place 4 skinless salmon filets (4 to 6 oz - 1” to 1 1/2” thick) on top of the sauce.
Put the thicker pieces outside edges, and in a single layer.
Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the fish, and level out.
Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes - NO longer (unless you forgot to heat the sauce - then 18 to 20 minutes)
Remove from oven and lay foil over top until ready to serve.

While salmon is baking, cook
1/2 Box Dreamfields Spaghetti (or any Brand)
with 1 tablespoon of salt added to the boiling water.

Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain.  Dress with:
3 to 4 tablespoons lite butter (or regular butter or margarine)
3 to 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (Kraft box type is fine)
Stir in the hot pasta water so spaghetti doesn’t stick together. It also helps the butter and cheese coat the pasta.

Serve by heaping some pasta on a plate, then place a piece of salmon on top, spoon some sauce over. Optional - Top with additional parmesan cheese - grated or shredded.

Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of the pan by tracing around the lid.
Combine carrots, leeks, lemon slices, dill, powders, bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, salt or boullion, and wine in a 12" pan. Add enough water so the liquid reaches a depth of 1 1/2 inches. About 6 cups.

Bring to a boil; lower to medium, cook for 5 - 10 minutes; reduce heat to barely simmering. Add salmon, cover with the parchment paper. Put the lid on over that. Remove from heat and let sit in hot liquid 8 minutes and cook until flesh is firm but still moist and red in the center. Transfer the fish to a plate and spread on the butter (use lite butter if you want, but do not skip this step or the fish won’t be as good and moist); cover with plastic wrap. Let sit 5 minutes.
Serve with Lemon-Caper Herb Sauce.

LEMON CAPER HERB SAUCE
1/2 cup sour cream
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon (or a tad less)
2 tbsp (or more) capers, drained, coarsely chopped ***
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped parsley (or 1 Tbsp dried)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped tarragon (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
 
In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

***The capers make it salty. If you are making this sauce in the morning or the day before, use less capers. It gets saltier as it sits. You can also rinse the capers before using to reduce saltiness.

Bacon Wrapped Marinated Sturgeon 

1 pound sturgeon sliced into pieces about 3/4” thick
1/2 pound bacon *

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic minced or smashed
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 Tbs. lemon juice

Place fish pieces in a plastic bag. Pour in the marinade. Seal and mix well.
Place in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Remove fish from bag and let marinade drain off, but do not rinse. The flesh will have darkened from the soy sauce, so don’t be alarmed.
Wrap each piece in bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Fry in a very hot pan until the bacon gets cooked *, turning often.
Remove from pan to paper towel lined plate.

*The bacon will just barely be cooked, in order to not overcook the fish. If you want crisper bacon, place the bacon on a baking sheet and cook in the oven at 400 degrees until it is partly done, but is still flexible enough to easily wrap around the fish. This also removes some of the bacon fat, but does add an extra step and an extra pan to wash!

Bacon Wrapped Fingers                               In the Pan