View Full Version : Your goose is cooked
This is Garys tutorial from BB
Now the old saying goes that there is more than one way to skin a cat and this is true and not just or cats!
Birds can be skinned just a readily as mammals.
How?
Take one bird - http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked007.jpg
Remove the feathers from the area where the stomach joins the breast bone to expose the flesh.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked008.jpg
Using your knife slice this open carefully. Our aim it not to damage the meat or internal organs ect. Make a hole roughly big enough for you to get your fingers into and then manually tear open from there.
This done carefully nick the stomach lining and again pull open. This will allow you to reach inside and remove all the internally organs. Remove to reach up intot the chest and remove heart, lungs ect too.
Internal organs are of use to us - study these for feeding signs, use them as bait for traps and of course remember you can still eat most parts of these too in soups or stews.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked009.jpg
Now we move onto the outside of our beast. You will notice until now the skin has remained on - this is designed to protectt he meat from dirty and damage with the internals removed we can now take off the skin.
Firstly remove the head, wings at the elbow and legs at the knees (read appropriate words for mammals ect)
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked011.jpg
Now slice the skin from opening to throat (if you wish to keep it) or simply tear open (if not) Essentially removing the skin is like removing a jacket. But bear in mind some skins are harder to remove than others badgers and squirrels are really hard, deer you need to use a fist to need the flesh awat from the meat ect.
Once this is done you will be left with something like this,
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked012.jpg
Jointing and butchering is now down to you or you can opt to roast or boil whole. If jointing use your knife as little as possible and follow the white(ish) lines which denote where muscle and bone meets and you will be left with,
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v342/bearclaw/gooseiscooked014.jpg
One last thought, the killing of an animal shouldnt be a action taken lightly and the greatest of respect should always be paid to the dead creature with this in mind alway prepare you game cleanly and professionally.
I hope you have found this interesting, the basic technique above will work on most creatures however please use common sense if you come to practise this skill as I have deliberately not covered every aspect due to the fact the minor changes of technique are two numerous to mention here.
Final thought, always practice safety and cover any open cuts on your hands before butchery. Always clean your throughly before returning it to its sheath. Never risk cross contamination.[/QUOTE]
This sort of practical lesson on this forum is excellent for beginners like me thank you. lots moor lessons please. could you just tell me what the lore is for taking wild birds and the way they are despached.
could you just tell me what the lore is for taking wild birds and the way they are despached.
Right, this is quite complex but wild birds are covered under the wildlife and countryside act 1981. Game birds and poultry are covered under different acts.
The game birds are:Pheasant, Ptarmigan, partridge, grouse, moor game, black or heath game (and maybe a few more)
Poultry are:domestic fowl, geese, ducks, guinea fowl, pigeons, quail and turkey etc
Wild birds are everything else that is not domestic.
As to the law.... well.... All wild birds, nests and eggs are protected by law and it is thus an offence to kill them.... with certain exceptions
An authorised person (e.g. a landowner or occupier) may kill or take so called 'pest species' and destroy or take the nest or eggs of such a bird. This is permissible under the terms of general licenses issued by government departments.
A person charged with killing or attempting to kill a wild bird, other than one included on Schedule 1, shall not be guilty of an offence if he can show his action was necessary for the purpose of preserving public health or air safety, preventing spread of disease or preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber or fisheries (see licenses).
A person may take or kill (or injure in attempting to kill), a bird listed on Schedule 2, Part I outside the close season.
Anyone may remove and destroy addled eggs but they must not be kept or sold.
Authorised persons may take wild mallards' eggs for breeding, but the young birds must be released into the wild by 31 July. Wild mallard eggs and progeny cannot be sold. Wild eggs must not be taken later than 31 March in England and Wales, or 10 April in Scotland.
Anybody can use nets to take wild duck in a duck decoy which was in use prior to 1954.
Anybody can use a cage or net to take any game bird for breeding, but it remains unlawful to net any bird in flight or on the ground with a net not propelled by hand. An obvious example of this is bird-ringing for scientific purposes, which almost always requires the netting of birds in flight. This activity can therefore only be undertaken by a licensed person.
A person may take a wild bird if he can satisfy the court the bird had been injured other than by his own hand and that his sole purpose was to tend it and then release it when no longer disabled; or he may kill it if he can prove it was so seriously disabled as to be beyond recovery. Sick and injured birds listed on Schedule 4 should be registered with the Department of the Environment or passed to an approved keeper.
As for methods of taking the birds, well..... the law is quite strict and lists a whole host of methods that are illegal. These include gins, spring traps, leg pole traps, snares, nets, bird lime, electrical scaring devices and poisonous or doping substances; bows or crossbows, explosives (other than firearm ammunition), any gas or smoke, chemical wetting agent, artificial light, mirror or dazzling device, device for illuminating target or sighting device for night shooting, or shotgun with an internal diameter at muzzle more than 1 3/4 inches. Also some decoying methods are also prohibited.
Dispatch much been done quickly and as painlessly as possible as to not cause undue stress.
Hope that answers you question :biggthump
Ed
tenbears10
26-11-2004, 08:08
Just to add to Eds post. Those game birds have seasons when you may shoot them and in the closed season it is illegal to shoot something that may have been legal yesterday. Different birds overlap at the begining and end of the season so you may be shooting Partridges but have to leave Pheasants for another month. You need to be careful.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/gamebird.htm
Pigeons have no closed season IIRC. You will hear ducks refered to as wild as well as the domestic catagory Eds includes them in. Again they have an open and closed season (can't find them on that DEFRA site though)
Hope that helps
Bill
tenbears10
26-11-2004, 08:10
Sorry Tone and Gary forgot to say that is a great tutorial. I mush prefer skining to plucking, mush less mess and hassel but if you cook the meat correctly then just as tasty once it's cooked.
Bill
Buckshot
26-11-2004, 08:36
Nicely done tutorial - well done.
I rarely pluck any birds now, much prefer to skin. Easier, quicker and less messy. The last reason is particuarly important if doing the deed in the kitchen :wink:
Most 'pest' species don't have a season and can be taken all year round. Having said that, some people decide not to shoot pigeons during the breeding season because they think it cruel to the chicks left in the nest. :?: This is a personal choice, not law.
Strangely, Canada Geese as in the tutorial, can be either wildfowl and therefore subject to open/ closed seasons or a pest where no season applies. This depends on thier numbers. :shock: and just helps to add to the confusion...
Cheers
Mark
It seems absurd that a non native bird such as the pheasant which is reared in large numbers and then released for shooting should have any sort of season at all. Presumably if you kept them in pens you could kill one any time you liked so why the difference if it's loose? Is this just one of those legal fossils?
Realgar
Excellent post Tone.
Wish I'd had this post three Xmases (Xmasi?) ago when I was given a brace of pheasant. I'm still finding the odd feather even now...
[/QUOTE
Strangely, Canada Geese as in the tutorial, can be either wildfowl and therefore subject to open/ closed seasons or a pest where no season applies. This depends on thier numbers. :shock: and just helps to add to the confusion...
Just wondering where you got the information that Canada Geese can be included as a pest species as to my knowledge it is a Schedule 2, pt1 bird which has a closed season of 1st Feb-31 Aug or 21st Feb-31 Aug when below the high water mark. I haven't seen it listed in Sch2, pt2 which lists the 13 pest species
Cheers
Richie
Judging by the 'flotilla' that took 25 minutes to go down the Loddon when I was trying to fish last year, I would say they definitely rate the title of vermin!!!:soapbox:
Thanks for all the info but they don't make it easy in the uk to feed your self do they unless you want chemically treated crap from the supermarket:yikes:
Thanks for all the info but they don't make it easy in the uk to feed your self do they unless you want chemically treated crap from the supermarket:yikes:
It all dates back to the barons wanting to stop us peasants from bypassing the system! :wink:
Great pics! Excellent tutorial! I may have missed it if it was mentioned but don't forget you can save the feathers and down for insulation and for fletching on primitive arrows. Certain berries will make a nice ink and you can use a feather for writing. Assuming you have something to write on. :-) Here in the US, pokeweed berries were commonly used during the civil war for ink and there are many "letters home" from soldiers in the Smithsonian written in pokeweed ink.
Abbe Osram
26-11-2004, 17:35
thanks for the tutorial, great work mate!
//Abbe
:wave:
Moonraker
26-11-2004, 18:40
Great tutorial there, thanks :biggthump
I would prefer to pluck and keep the skin (and fatty layer) on for cooking, mainly from a culinary point of view and to get the most from the bird nutritionally/ food wise. The skin helps to baste the bird and prevent the meat drying out too much if roasted. For frying to a lesser degree and for boiling (safest way to cook to destroy bacteria but not sure about the tastiest :wink: ) skinning it is better. A goose is often a fatty bird and I usually pierce the skin and pour boiling water over to render off some of the excess before roasting. And the fat content held mostly in the outer layer under the skin is a great food source in itself. No better way with roast potatoes :o): . And the fat has a lot of potential energy as a food source for you too. It can also be rendered off and used for an oil lantern or proofing etc. On wild birds there would be less fat though.
Not so important in a survival situation but when you have time plucking quite therapeutic I find :-) and you separate the feathers from the skin and use them as Hoodoo suggests.
You can get 3l of fat out of a roast domestic goose, the fat from my smoked back end of goose ( never had space for anything but the front end in the 'fridge') is jealously guarded for my spuds. As for wild ones, I tend to casserole - some are tender enough to roast but some are shoe leather depending on the age of the bird - which is hard to guess if you've not prepared it yourself.
Round here Canada geese are considered a pest, a lot are shot over Ryton way and a I know many waters that ***** the eggs - you don't often see more than one familiy of goslings on a lake even though there are fifty or so adult geese all year round. Wonder where they're all coming in from?
Realgar
Yep in a true survival situation the skin would be invaluable for its fat content ect - and as such plucking would be the only real answer (in a true survival situation you would have the time too do it to) - but for general food prep where (as some have said) your only after the meat on a smaller bird maybe skinning is easier.
Also this is a generic method which can be used on any beast be it one that flies or walks ect.
Moonraker
28-11-2004, 02:42
Gary, you are quite right for smaller birds and situations whe quick is important. :biggthump
Which ever way, your tutorial was superb mate :-)
So come roll in the snow, and stuff a goose at the same time. Duck and other bird fat is a big art of the diet around here, and contrary to popular belief, is good for you and the Gascons live longer than most on this diet ! :o):
Y
a lot are shot over Ryton way and a I know many waters that ***** the eggs - you don't often see more than one familiy of goslings on a lake even though there are fifty or so adult geese all year round. Wonder where they're all coming in from?
Realgar
I don't believe it, your filtering software removed the work p*r*i*c*k.
You can scorch the feathers off instead - it stinks and you won't find the skin too pleasant to eat but it keeps the fat on the carcass for cooking.
Realgar
TheViking
28-11-2004, 14:39
It's a very nice tutorial, Gary! :D Is it possible to get one on rabbits/hares also? :roll:
I would like to see how that is done, as i've never tried it. :-)
We shall see little viking.
Scorching off the feathers is a good point - also in a 'survival situation' remember to boil the bones, feet ect to make your stock/soup - waste nothing.
Buckshot
28-11-2004, 15:17
[/QUOTE
Strangely, Canada Geese as in the tutorial, can be either wildfowl and therefore subject to open/ closed seasons or a pest where no season applies. This depends on thier numbers. :shock: and just helps to add to the confusion...
Just wondering where you got the information that Canada Geese can be included as a pest species as to my knowledge it is a Schedule 2, pt1 bird which has a closed season of 1st Feb-31 Aug or 21st Feb-31 Aug when below the high water mark. I haven't seen it listed in Sch2, pt2 which lists the 13 pest species
Cheers
Richie
I have no idea where it says it in law but I know/know of several people who control them out of season as part of pest control.
Cheers
Mark
It's a very nice tutorial, Gary! :D Is it possible to get one on rabbits/hares also? :roll:
I would like to see how that is done, as i've never tried it. :-)
I've got a hare coming at the weekend, it should be intact & furred so I could do some photos. I'm intending to tan the skin too.
Realgar
TheViking
29-11-2004, 13:50
I've got a hare coming at the weekend, it should be intact & furred so I could do some photos. I'm intending to tan the skin too.
Realgar
That would be very cool! :D
there you go little viking ask for a rabbit demo and by a hares breadth you might get one!!
there you go little viking ask for a rabbit demo and by a hares breadth you might get one!!:nono: :nono: :nono:
Goign back to the goose fat, an old country recipe for fighting the winter colds was to rub it onto your chest. My sister has tried it and it does seem to work too...:?:
Interesting!
Off topic slightly anyone read 'CLAN OF THE CAVEBEAR' or associated books? These are full of old remedies ect - really interesting stuff, and good storyline too.
Nexttime your sister wants some goose grease rubbed on her chest Martin ............ :wink:
Sorry - bad gary!
bambodoggy
30-11-2004, 13:06
I just looked through that Defra site and read this:
Legal status
The release into the wild of animal species which are not native to Great Britain, whatever their proposed use, is prohibited by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 14).
This section of the Act also prohibits the release of certain animals which are already established in the wild in Great Britain (click here for the list of species affected).
When you "click here", under the bird section it has:
Branta canadensis
Canadian goose
1981
So in theory, if you have caught a Canada goose, you'd either have to keep it for ever and ever and have a licence for it.....or.....mmmm roast goose!!!!
I know this to be the case also as I had squirrels in my loft a few years back and I was all for shooting the little critters with my air rifle but my girlfriend said I wasn't allowed (not legally...she just didn't want me to) and that we had to get the pest control in. When they came round my grlfriend (now my wife actually) asked them if they woud catch them humanely and then release them....the guy agreed that he'd catch them humanely but said he then had to kill them as he wasn't allowed to release non native animals or he'd be in trouble....
isnt there a difference between keeping them and releasing them in to the wild.. so you wouldnt need a liscense to keep them..
if they were grey squirils then good! :-)
bambodoggy
30-11-2004, 13:18
Not sure....I just told him to do what he liked with them so long as they were out of my loft.
I did read on that DEFRA site that you need a licence to keep Grey Squirrels, Minks and something else....the licence is free for the squirrels and mink but £160 odd quid for the something else... :o):
Hang on...I'll go find it... Got it....
Under the Destructive Imported Animals Act 1932 (as amended) certain non-native mammals may only be kept in captivity under the authority of a licence.
Section 8 of the Act permits the issue of special licences to keep:
mink (Mustela vison),
coypu (Myocaster coypus)and
grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis)
for exhibition, scientific research or other exceptional purposes. Guidance on applying for a licence is given below.
Please note that it is an offence under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) to release or allow to escape into the wild grey squirrels, mink and coypu without a licence (click here for details).
The something else was Coypu....whatever that may be!
bambodoggy
30-11-2004, 13:25
Just going back to Goose/fowl preperation.... I seem to have ideas about hanging up chickens, ducks, geese etc for a few days before they are prepared.... they might have had the throat slit to bleed them...or they might not. I really can't remember how/what/why this was done and to which animals....
anyone got any ideas?
http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/myoccoyp.htm
its a massive south american rodent.. i think would make better eating then the grey squirrel.. but lets keep them out anyway!
Burnt Ash
04-01-2005, 12:37
Just going back to Goose/fowl preperation.... I seem to have ideas about hanging up chickens, ducks, geese etc for a few days before they are prepared.... they might have had the throat slit to bleed them...or they might not. I really can't remember how/what/why this was done and to which animals....
anyone got any ideas?
All bird and mammal meat benefits from some degree of hanging. Fish is usually best eaten as fresh as possible, but I was told by the mother of our local fishmonger many years ago that sole should be left in the fridge for a couple of days. It improves the flavour and helps with skinning (I had caught an enormous Dover sole and she very kindly showed me exactly what needed doing to it. It was far too good a speciment to risk making a mess of and I wasn't very good with flat fish in those days).
Birds traditionally are not bled and are hung by the neck in Britain (in France, they hang them by one leg), un-gutted. Hares are traditionally paunched (except in very cold weather) and hung by the back legs, head down and the blood collected in a pot tied/wired to hang under the muzzle.
The length of time you hang things depends on ambient temperature prevailing and the degree of gaminess that you like/can tolerate. Personally, I wouldn't hang a grouse shot in August for more than few hours. A pheasant shot in January and hung in a cold outhouse can hang for a week or more. A fly-proof cool larder is an asset, but you can improvise with mosquito netting.
Deer are gralloched immediately they are shot. Our American friends place great emphasis on getting the carcass cooled down quickly. Even so, I like my venison hung in a cool environment for a week.
Burnt Ash