Geese!

I'm very lucky to have a friend who happens to run North America's favorite duck and goose hatchery. Metzer Farms is family owned and operated here in California. They have a huge selection of ducks and geese. I have a tendency to get my wonderful mom live animals for her Mother's day gifts so I decided this year to get her.... GEESE! 

Geese are ordered online - or by texting your friend Marc - and then arrive in the mail the next day thanks to our friends at the US Postal Service. So these little stud muffins arrived on Thursday. 

Hello world!

There were a hit from the moment I opened the box. They are packed with some hay bedding, a gel nutrition thing and a heating pad. They arrived healthy and active. 

My kiddo enjoying one gosling on the grass.

The kiddo found them pretty entertaining right away. The biggest surprise to me has been how incredibly friendly they are. You can set them down and pick them back up - not like most chicks.

Preschoolers enjoying the geese

Since they were healthy and so darn friendly we took them on a field trip to preschool. The kids were, of course, thrilled to see geese. They all got to pet them and many held them. 

Introduction to water and salad greens

These are Sebastopol Geese which will grow up to be pure white and have beautiful curly feathers. I've always wanted one and now I kinda get one, just at my Mom's (the hubs is not a fan of Geese).

On Saturday we decided to let them experience the water. It was a big hit. Note that goslings shouldn't have too much time in the water until they are bigger and the start producing the oil that protects their feathers and keeps them warm (so says the internet anyway).

Swimming geese

So Sunday we got out the kiddie pool and let them do some more swimming. They don't swim for long but sure have a blast doing it. 

Geese are not wildly different than chicks to raise. They eat the same food for the most part but seem to need some added greens. They don't need to be as hot as chicks. But they do need a deeper waterer so that they can get their whole bill in the waterer. And that waterer gets crazy messy. 

Another cool benefit of geese (and ducks) is that (I'm guessing since they don't have to be as warm) you can order them in just pairs and have them shipped. So if you just want a pair of one particular breed, you can order them. 

These beauties will be heading to my Mom's house on Tuesday so we are enjoying a few more days of fun with them. 

So if you are ever in the market for ducks or geese check out Metzer Farms. They have a ton of great videos about raising them too. There may even be some added *cough* health benefits to eating duck eggs. But you have to watch the videos to learn more. :)

Duck Sliders

As you know, that handsome man of mine is a (duck) hunter.  So, when we had one of his hunting partners over for dinner he had to make something with duck.  Enter sliders ... here is how he made them.

 Defrost  2 pounds of ground beef and 1 package of duck breasts. 

Rinse and dry the duck breasts.

 Slice. 

 Just to be safe feel each slice for shot.  He didn't find any but it is better to be safe.

 Grind the duck breasts. 

 Add the ground beef. 

 

Mix.

Add a top secret mix of spices. 

 Form into patties. 

 

Grill.  

 

We sliced potato dinner rolls for the buns.  

 Cracker cut cheese is the perfect size for sliders. 

 Toppings - tomato slices, avocado, onion, and lettuce. 

 Assemble and enjoy.

They were amazing!!  Perfect size and SO GOOD!

Hunk of Meat Monday: Roast Duck

Duck season started a few weekends ago, which means two things; 1) Michael will be gone every weekend until duck season is over and 2) Our freezer will be full of ducks in no time.  Since we still have a few ducks from last year I thought I would experiment and roast a duck. So, here goes. 

I read online that ducks need to be cooked slow and low . . . but I also read that they need to be cooked fast and high. I decided to go with slow and slow (since I read that advice first and it was in the oven when I read the other advice - lol).  Ducks are very fatty, so you need to pierce the skin all over the bird so the fat will run off.  Honestly, this was the most difficult part of the whole process - I had to sharpen my knife then I sliced slits all over the bird. 

Then just salt and pepper. 

Put it on a roasting pan (you want the fat to drip off).

I cooked it at 350 for 3 hours.  After each hour take it out and poke holes where the fat is not dripping off. 

And it is done!

Michael sliced it up for us.

I was really worried that the duck was going to be gross or I was going to mess it up, so I made some heavy sides to go with it - rice, garlic mashed potatoes, and sourdough bread. 

We had my mom over for dinner and the duck WAS GOOD!  I was so impressed!!  It was pretty easy to make (the cutting was the hardest part and that wasn't hard at all), but takes a long time - I had to leave work right after the kids left so I could start dinner.  It was good too - Michael and mom liked it too!

How do you cook duck?