Old Timber Outdoors
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Canada goose legs and thighs

Red Wine Braised Goose Legs over Polenta

Canada goose legs browned and braised in red wine until they fall apart, spooned over soft polenta.

Serves
4
Hands-on
50 min
Total
4 hr
Skill
Confident cook

Stove and oven · Dinner

Ingredients

  • 3 lbCanada goose legs and thighs, 4 legs with thighs, bone-in
  • 2 tbspFlour
  • 1Onions, diced
  • 2Carrots, diced
  • 4 clovesGarlic, smashed
  • 1½ cupsRed wine
  • 1 cupPolenta or pasta, coarse cornmeal
  • 2 tbspButter
  • 2½ tspSalt, divided
  • ½ tspBlack pepper, ground
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups water, for the polenta
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar, to finish

You'll need

Dutch oven, Oven, Stovetop; instant-read thermometer if you have one.

Contains

Gluten, Dairy.

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 300°F. Pat the goose legs dry, season them with 1½ tsp of the salt and the pepper, then dust lightly with the flour.
  2. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers and brown the legs well on both sides, in batches if they crowd, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set them aside.
  3. Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion and carrot 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until the paste darkens, about 2 minutes.
  4. Pour in the wine, scrape up the browned bits, and boil until reduced by about half, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, thyme and bay leaf, and return the legs skin side up. The liquid should come most of the way up the legs.
  5. Cover and braise in the oven 2½ to 3 hours, until the meat is fork-tender and pulls easily from the bone. Old geese can take longer; if the meat is still tight, keep going and check every 30 minutes.
  6. In the last 35 minutes, bring the water and remaining 1 tsp salt to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in the polenta in a thin stream and cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick and soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in the butter.
  7. Lift out the legs and rest them 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, spoon the fat off the sauce, and simmer the sauce on the stove until it coats a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and taste for salt. Serve the legs and sauce over the polenta.

When it's done: fork-tender

Game bird legs, thighs and other hard-working pieces are done when the meat slides off the bone or pulls apart with a fork. They pass the federal 165°F for poultry long before they turn tender, so keep cooking until they do; if the meat is still tight, it needs more time, not more heat.

If it goes wrong

Still tough
Goose legs are hard-working muscle. Keep braising and check every 30 minutes.
Polenta lumpy
Whisk the cornmeal in slowly and keep stirring for the first few minutes.
Sauce greasy
Spoon the fat off the top after the legs come out.
Sauce sharp or winey
The wine was not reduced first. Simmer the sauce a few minutes longer and finish with a small knob of butter.

Leftovers. Refrigerate within 2 hours, legs in their sauce. Reheat leftovers to 165°F.