WOLFF'S WILD GOOSE RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 to 4 wild geese soy sauce

white distilled vinegar worcestershire sauce

baking soda celery salt

dry white wine black pepper

1 lb. fresh mushrooms flour

3 to 4 white onions

2 to 4 small turnips

Instructions:

Soak geese for at least one hour, preferably overnight, in a mixture of 1/3 white distilled vinegar and 2/3 water. After soaking geese, soak them again for a short time in a mixture of baking soda and water (enough baking soda so that the water appears cloudy). The vinegar reduces the gamey flavor of the geese and the baking soda neutralizes the vinegar.

In a large, heavy roasting pan (which needs to have a lid that covers it tightly), pour in a mixture of 3 cups of dry white wine and 3 cups of water. Mix 10-12 heaping tablespoons of flour into the liquid in the pan (trying to remove as many lumps as possible). Add to the pan 1 lb. of sliced fresh mushrooms and 1-1/2 onions, coarsely sliced. Season liberally with soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, celery salt and black pepper and mix in well. This mixture, along with the goose drippings, will ultimately be the gravy for the goose.

Place the geese on a rack above the gravy mixture and place inside the cavity of each goose 1/2 of a peeled white onion and a small turnip (1/2 of a large turnip can be used if small turnips cannot be found). Season the geese liberally just as the gravy mixture was seasoned.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Cover the geese with a lid that fits the roasting pan tightly, and place the geese in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, baste the geese with the gravy mixture, reduce the heat to 285° and cook the geese for an additional 4-1/2 hours (a total of 5 hours cooking time), basting the geese every 30 minutes to 1 hour.

After the geese have been cooked for a total of 5 hours, remove them and carve them as you would a small turkey or roasting chicken. The breast meat should almost fall away from the bone. Remove the rack from the roasting pan and stir the gravy. If desired, the gravy can be thickened with sifted flour, but care should be taken to avoid lumps. Serve with wild rice or dressing, so that all of the gravy can be best utilized. The onions and turnips used to stuff the geese can also be eaten, if desired.

This recipe can be used for wild duck by reducing the total cooking time by 1 hour.