Stop! Don’t throw away your goose legs. This hands-off recipe will blow you away if you can make the time to wait. (Photo By: Jack Hennessy)
So often and so so unfortunately, goose legs get tossed in the discard pile. Yes, they are not as easy to cook as breasts. They take time, a pinch of love, and a good deal of patience. But they can be incredible if you’re willing to set aside the hours to make it happen.
For this recipe, the process of smoking and cooking these legs is largely hands off. You smoke ‘em, then you let ‘em sit in a crock pot for several hours until the meat falls off the bone. The most difficult part of this recipe is cutting your vegetables, but you can bypass that step if you wish by buying pre-cut stir fry vegetables. The real star here is the super tender goose-leg meat.
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I rarely (if ever) pluck my goose legs. The skin and its fat turn to gelatin when slow cooked and I don’t prefer that texture. So consider taking a few extra minutes to pull those skinless legs from your birds. Yes, this recipe would work with any set of waterfowl legs—you just need more if pulling from ducks, for example.
In terms of smoking wood choice, choose what you like. I went with mesquite here and used my Camp Chef Woodwind pellet grill, but any smoker will work. Yes, you can even use a charcoal grill if you're careful—properly managing closure of vents—and put wet woodchips on coals (use a chimney starter not lighter fluid).
Yield: 4 servings Prep time: 2 hours Cook time: 10 hours
Any questions or comments, please reach out on Instagram @WildGameJack
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