Goose is a large bird belonging to the Anatidae family of birds. The female is simply referred to as a goose while the male is called a gander.
The domestic goose originated in ancient Egypt, China, and India. Today they’re common in Europe, where they arrived by migrating across the Atlantic.
Geese love to eat grass and grain.
What Is Goose Meat?
A young goose has tender meat and weighs anywhere between 12 and 14 pounds. If you buy goose meat, it can also come from a mature and spent breeder. Regardless, goose meat is flavorful and fatty, so it comes out best roasted. Although it is commonly referred to as ‘white meat,’ it has the color of dark meat. You may even find that it looks more similar to beef.
Is Goose Healthier Than Chicken or Duck?
Goose meat is richer in nutrients than chicken. It is also more flavorful than chicken and other poultry.
Is Goose Meat High in Cholesterol?
Goose meat contains 96 milligrams of cholesterol in 100 grams of meat.
Adults and people with some health issues, such as diabetes, should avoid cholesterol-rich foods.
Goose Meat Nutrition Facts
The next time you’re trying new meat, you may want to go with goose. This meat is packed with nutrients that are essential for your general health and well-being.
Some of these nutrients include:
Vitamins. Goose meat is a good source of vitamin A (retinol), which is good for the skin. It is also loaded with vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12.
Protein. Goose is an excellent source of protein, which helps you build lean muscle and maintain a healthy weight. If you are looking for a good beef alternative that will provide sufficient protein, then skinless goose meat has an impressive 22.8 grams of protein in every 100 grams.
Saturated fat. If you’ve had goose before, you may have noticed that the meat is fattier than chicken. For every 100 grams of goose meat, there are 2.79 grams of saturated fat. The leg and skin have higher amounts of fat, but the breast has less.
Amino acids. Goose meat is packed with important amino acids such as threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cystine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, arginine, histidine, and alanine. Amino acids are chemicals that help your body make proteins and thereby ensure that your whole body functions properly, and there are important amino acids found in goose meat such as glycine. Research conducted on rats found that supplementing them with glycine increased their lifespan by about 25%.
Minerals. There are two main types of minerals: macrominerals and trace minerals. Your body needs macrominerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulfur in large amounts. Trace minerals such as iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium are needed in very small amounts.
Some of the minerals that you can get from goose meat include:
- Calcium: Important for the development of healthy bones and teeth. It also helps muscles relax and contract. It is important in the normal functioning of nerves, blood clotting, blood pressure control, immune system health
- Iron: Makes up hemoglobin, a type of protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the other parts of your body.
- Magnesium: Needed for making protein and maintaining a healthy immune system
- Phosphorus: Important for healthy bones and teeth
- Potassium: Helps in proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction
- Sodium: Also helps in proper fluid balance and nerve transmission
- Zinc: Required for making protein and genetic material, helps in perceiving taste, wound healing, fetal development, and sexual maturation
- Copper: Essential for the metabolism of iron
- Manganese: Forms a part of many enzymes
How to Cook Goose
Goose meat is commonly eaten boiled or roasted, but you can make it any way you like. Marinate your goose in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Raw boneless meat will give you about 3 servings per pound once it’s cooked. USDA recommends cooking whole goose or pieces such as the breast, drumsticks, thighs, and wings until they reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F. If you’re cooking a whole goose, use a fork to prick the skin all over to ensure that the fat under the skin renders out.
Goose Fat Benefits
Goose fat is the fat that is rendered from a goose. It contains oleic acid, which is a fatty acid that helps to reduce cholesterol and prevent heart disease. It has a cream-to-yellow color. When hot, goose fat exists in a liquid form, but it is semi-solid at room temperature and appears thick and creamy. You can cook other food with it to add flavor. You may want to try goose-fat-roasted potatoes one day. Goose fat has a melting point of between 25°C and 37°C (or 77°F–99°F) and a smoke point of 190°C (or 375°F). When refrigerated, it will stay fresh for up to three months.
