How to Field Dress Geese
If you correctly field dress geese, you will preserve their meat for use in the kitchen later. With just a few simple steps, you can field dress geese in only a few minutes.
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Instructions
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Keep the Birds Cool
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1
Avoid letting geese you have killed pile up together.
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2
Place each dead bird away from the others. This will help the birds stay cool and fresh.
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3
Use lengths of string to hang each bird separately inside your blind. This not only helps keep them cool, but it also keeps them out of your way as you continue hunting.
Field Dress the Geese
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4
Pluck out as many feathers as you can. Hold the goose by the feet in one hand and grab a fistful of feathers with your other hand. Yank downward quickly with your hand to pull out the feathers. You can remove the hard-to-pull pin feathers at home later.
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5
Cut each goose from the base of the neck to between the feet. Be careful not to cut too deep, in order to avoid cutting the interior organs. Cutting the gall bladder can cause bile to be released, which will taint the meat.
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6
Pull out any internal organs that will come free easily.
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7
Use your knife to carefully remove the remaining interior organs and tissue. Go slowly to avoid cutting yourself.
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8
Prevent spoilage by drying out the body cavity you have just cleaned. Use a dry cloth or paper towel to wipe down the inside of the bird's body cavity.
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9
Place a small stick in the goose's body cavity to hold it open. This will help air circulate inside the cavity to dry it out. This discourages bacteria.
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10
Place each cleaned goose in a cooler packed with ice just before you leave for home.
Continue Dressing the Geese at Home
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11
Run a propane torch lightly over the cleaned body of the goose. This will remove any leftover down and tiny feathers that survived plucking.
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12
Dip the bird a couple of times into a pot of heavily boiling water to loosen any resistant feathers or quills. Be sure not to submerge the bird long enough to cook it.
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Tips & Warnings
Always leave the head of each goose feathered and intact on the bird. Many states require this as a condition to your hunting license.
Feathering geese rather than skinning them helps them retain moisture when you cook them later.
