Alright, so I decided to tackle a goose in the crockpot the other day. Haven’t done one in ages, and usually, it’s an oven thing, right? But I figured, why not give the slow cooker a shot.
Getting Started
First thing, getting the bird ready. I’d read somewhere about dry-brining helping keep it moist and maybe crisping the skin. Sounded good to me. So, I mixed up a good amount of salt, threw in some black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and yeah, a bit of baking powder like one suggestion mentioned – supposed to help the skin.
I rubbed this mix all over the goose, inside and out. Really worked it into the skin. Then I stuck it in a big container and left it in the fridge overnight. Let that brine do its thing.
The Fat Situation
Next morning, I took the goose out. Now, everyone knows goose is fatty. Super fatty. I remembered reading about pricking the skin all over to help that fat render out. So, I grabbed a fork and just poked tiny holes everywhere on the skin, trying not to hit the meat underneath. Took a little while, actually.
Some folks talk about blanching it in boiling water first, but honestly, that seemed like a lot of fuss, especially when it was going into the crockpot anyway. I decided to skip that part. Figured the slow cooking would handle the fat rendering just fine.
Into the Pot
Getting the goose into my big crockpot was… interesting. It just about fit. Had to kind of angle it in there. Didn’t add any liquid at first, thinking the goose would produce plenty of its own. Put the lid on, set it to low.
I planned for maybe 6-7 hours on low. The smell started filling the house after a couple of hours, pretty rich.
Around the 4-hour mark, I checked on it. Wow, the amount of fat that had rendered out was incredible. Seriously, the bottom third of the goose was swimming in liquid gold. I decided to carefully ladle some of that out. Saved it, of course – goose fat is amazing for roasting potatoes.
Finishing Up
After about 6 and a half hours on low, the meat looked super tender. Like, falling off the bone tender. Getting it out of the crockpot in one piece was the next challenge. Managed it, just barely.
Now, the skin wasn’t crispy. Not at all. Slow cookers just don’t do crispy skin. So, I carefully moved the goose onto a baking sheet. Cranked up the oven broiler really high.
Slid the goose under the broiler for maybe 5-10 minutes. Had to watch it like a hawk, turning the pan so it browned evenly. It did crisp up nicely, though! That baking powder in the brine might have helped there after all.
The Result
So, how was it?
- Meat: Incredibly moist and tender. Seriously, melt-in-your-mouth stuff. The dry brine definitely seemed to work.
- Skin: Got pretty crispy under the broiler. Not as perfect as a full oven roast, maybe, but way better than straight from the crockpot.
- Effort: Mostly hands-off during the cooking, which was nice. The prep took some time, and the broiler finish needed attention. Dealing with all that rendered fat was also part of the process.
Overall, pretty successful experiment. The crockpot really delivered on moist meat. Just gotta remember that final oven blast is key if you want any crispiness on that skin. Definitely needed to drain that fat partway through, too. Glad I saved it!
