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With N.W.T. snow goose hunt approved, local chef shares his recipe

Environment Canada's announcement of a spring sport snow goose hunt in the Northwest Territories means there could soon be plenty of the bird on N.W.T. tables. We reached out to local chef Pierre LePage for his best recipe.

Chef Pierre LePage says there's plenty of ways to cook snow geese

David Thurton · CBC News ·
With a local spring snow goose hunt approved, more and more birds could find their way onto local dinner tables.

Snow goose could soon be coming to a dinner table near you.

Come May, Northwest Territories and Alberta hunters will have an extra season to hunt snow geese, after Environment Canada declared a spring sport hunt on Banks Island and the other Arctic islands from May 1 to June 30, and across other parts of the territory from May 1 to 28.

There are plenty of geese to hunt. Estimates put the population on Banks Island as high as one million. Environment Canada says the Western Arctic’s snow goose population is overabundant, which is why the decision was made to introduce a spring hunt.

Since there will soon be more opportunities to hunt — and eat — snow geese, we asked Yellowknife chef Pierre LePage to give us his best snow goose recipe for our readers to try at home. 

Smoked maple snow goose

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of sea salt
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 2 to 3 litres of water
  • 1/2 cup of maple syrup
  • Apple or alder wood chips
  • Whole snow goose

Preparation

  • Make a brine with the water, sugar and sea salt. Place the snow goose in the brine and make sure it is fully immersed or floating. Leave in fridge overnight.

Cooking

  • After a night of soaking, pat the goose dry and discard the brine. Pour maple syrup into a saucepan and reduce over a low heat for a couple of minutes, until it’s thick. Coat the dry snow goose with the maple syrup and then rub some sea salt on the body of the goose and inside the goose.
  • In the meantime, preheat your smoker to 225 degrees Celsius. Place the apple or alder wood chips inside. Once your smoker has reached the optimum temperature, place the goose inside and slow cook it for three and a half hours.
  • If you don’t have a smoker, you can use a coal BBQ and cook the goose at the same temperature. Just add the wood chips to the coals once they turn amber.
  • Occasionally baste the goose with maple syrup during the cook. Serve hot.

Do you have a favourite snow goose recipe? Share it with us in the comments below or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter.

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