The sweetness of the brown sugar mixed with the kick of the cracked pepper brings this Smoked Goose Breast Pastrami to life as the flavors keep playing back and forth in your mouth. It only gets better if you serve it with Stone Ground Mustard on the side.
Hands down, we love this recipe about one million times more than we ever imagined. If you think “I’m not sure I like goose” this is one to try. You can order goose breasts from the butcher and try it out (and practice your curing methods at the same time) with minimal effort and time.
🍴 Why This Recipe Works
Easy – This is a great way to start trying to learn to cure meat. The cure only requires a few ingredients and it simply does its thing in the refrigerator for a couple of days before you do a quick smoke.
Quick to Prep – The preparation for this one is so fast that you will be able to make the brine and the rub in just a few minutes and get on to more grilling.
Huge Hit at Cookouts and Parties – We are always trying to share recipes that aren’t commonly seen out there, but still give you that A+ flavor to take to a cookout or when you are hosting game days. Slice this one up and serve with mustard or a Creamy Horseradish for a dish that will wow everyone.
🍽️ Ingredients
Goose Breast – Order goose breast straight from the butcher or simply cut off the breast meat from a full goose and use the other parts for different recipes.
Curing Salt – We used Pink Curing Salt, also known as Prague Salt #1 instead of the Mortons Tender Quick. Either one will work perfectly with this recipe, but we had the Pink Curing Salt on hand. One tablespoon of Pink Curing Salt is good for 5 POUNDS OF MEAT. We had just under one pound of goose breast and so we used ⅕ tbsp of the Pink Curing Salt.
Rub – After curing, a simple rub is used to create a crust on the goose. You probably already have all of these ingredients at home. The pepper is the strongest flavor, and the brown sugar provides an initial sweetness before the pepper kicks in!
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Create the dry cure by combining all the ingredients into a bowl and stir. Pour it into a gallon Ziploc bag.
Step Two: Wash off the goose breast and pat dry. Place the goose breasts into the Ziploc bag and toss to completely cover it with the cure. Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, turning over once per day.
Step Three: After the 3rd or 4th day, remove the goose breasts from the bag and rinse them off really well. We soake the goose in water for 15-30 minutes to help get any excess cure off of it.
Step Four: Make the rub by combining the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Rub all over the breast meat.
Step Five: Heat the grill up to 225 degrees with 1-2 pieces of your favorite fruit wood. We used Peach this time. Once the grill is heated up, place the breast meat on the grill plate and smoke until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. This took us about one hour for two half pound breasts.
Step Six: Remove and allow the smoked pastrami to rest before slicing. Slice it thin with a knife or use your electric slicer. We served it with Stone Ground Mustard. Hands down, this was even better the next day.
📝 Expert Tips
One of the biggest tips here is to make sure you use the right amount of curing salt for the one you chose. If you go with the Pink Curing Salt, remember that you need just one tablespoon for five pounds of meat. Cut it down to match how much meat you actually have. Don’t cheat or you will ruin your meat and have to throw it out.
Rinse the meat when it comes out of the cure. Soaking it is highly recommended to allow as much of the cure to be removed from the meat.
Make sure to flip the meat everyday to help evenly distribute the cure in the bag. This allows the meat to cure evenly.
This recipe tastes even better the second day after smoking!
If you don’t like the peppery taste, simply rub a bit off the pastrami.
FAQ
Morton’s Tenderizing Salt uses one tablespoon per one pound of meat. Notice the difference in the amount used vs the Pink Curing Salt we are using today. Morton’s was designed for home curing and if this is your very first time, use that in place of the Pink Curing salt. It’s great for beginners.
#1 is used to cure all meats that will be brined, cooked, grilled or smoked. #2 is used in meats that won’t be cooked like sausages, pepperoni or salami. The two salts are not interchangeable.
Related Recipes
Smoked Goose Breast Pastrami
Ingredients
Cure
- ⅕ tsp Pink Curing Salt Prague Salt #1
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp Black Pepper
- 2 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Thyme
Goose
- 2 Goose Breasts
Rub
- 3 tbsp Cracked Pepper
- 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Paprika
- ½ tsp Thyme
Instructions
- Remove the goose breast from the packaging, rinse and towel dry.
Cure the Goose Breast
- Add all of the ingredients from the cure together in a bowl and stir.
- Pour the mix into a gallon Ziploc bag. Place goose breasts in the bag and make sure to fully coat them. Seal up really well and remove as much air as possible from the bag.
- Place the bag on a plate in the refrigerator and turn it over once a day for three days. This will allow the mix to fully penetrate the meat and evenly cure it.
- After the third day, remove from the fridge and rinse it extremely well. After running under cool water for several minutes, let it soak in fresh water for 30 minutes to remove any lingering curing mixture.
Add the Dry Rub
- Create the rub by mixing together all of the ingredients in a bowl.
- Liberally coat the breast with the rub. Make sure to cover the entire thing.
Smoke it
- Set up the grill for indirect heat and bring the temperature to about 225 degrees. Ad in your favorite smoking wood. I used Peach for a nice and mild flavor.
- Allow the breast to smoke until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Remove the pastrami and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Use a meat slicer or a knife to slice these thin and serve! For an extra treat, dip the pieces in stone ground mustard or a creamy horseradish sauce.
Notes
- 1/5 teaspoon PER POUND OF MEAT for the Pink Curing Salt (also called Prague #1)
- Morton’s Tender Quick is one tablespoon PER POUND OF MEAT.
Nutrition
