As hunters, we always try to prepare our harvest as best as possible. No matter what you prefer to do with your waterfowl, you must try this pastrami recipe.

You’re probably thinking there are already a ton of recipes out there for goose pastrami, and you would be correct. The spices you use are only half the recipe, the process you use is the other half, and this is how I do it.

The first thing I do is clean the meat I’m using. For this particular batch, I used 12 Canada Goose breasts and six duck breasts to try out with duck. After washing each breast, I did my best to find any leftover shot in the meat. If you have ever taken a bite of wild game and found a pellet with your teeth, you will understand why I do this.

Next, I set the meat off to the side while I prepare the brine ingredients:

1 ½ Cup Pink Himalayan salt
6 Tsp Ground coriander
6 Tsp Dried thyme
6 Tbl Granulated garlic
3/4 Cup Ground black pepper
6 Tsp Onion powder
3/4 Cup Brown sugar

I make sure to put a good layer of brine all over the surface of the meat. After it’s completely covered, I put it into bags and vacuum seal it. I put my packages into the refrigerator for three days, and now the waiting game begins.

After three days, pull the meat out of the packaging. It should have a firm feel to it when you remove it. Give it a good rinse to get all the brine off, and place it into a bowl of ice water to help pull some of the salt out of the meat. Let it soak in the ice water for about 2 hours, pull the meat out, and pat it dry with a paper towel. Once it’s dried, mix up the following ingredients and apply a coating to both sides of the meat.

9 Tbl Ground black pepper
3 Tsp Ground coriander
¾ Tsp Onion powder
3 Tsp Granulated garlic
1 ½ Tsp Smoked paprika
1 ½ Tsp Dried thyme

Get the smoker fired up and running steady at 225 degrees. Place each piece on the rack with a gap in between to allow for an even cook. On my Traeger, I ran it for about two hours until it hits an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Remove each piece and let it cool down. Slice at your desired thickness, and enjoy.