Duck, duck, duck, wild goose. An obvious opening to our topic, but I couldn't help myself.

Hunting season is upon us, and as disagreeable as the act of shooting these aviary creatures out of the sky is, I comprehend the concept that in order to conserve the species a certain amount of population control is necessary due to the diminishing amount of wetlands and food supply.

Tried hunting; didn't like it; ... probably saw “Bambi” too many times. Getting up before dawn to drive into the cold wet wilderness and sit still on the ground or in a boat and wait for anything to fly overhead is unnerving to me.

But as a food lover, I can appreciate the haul and respectively prepare the fowl in a fitting manner.

While flipping through some hunting periodicals and catalogues for cooking information, it was interesting that there are so many different types of camouflage wear. So the next time your wives drag you shoe shopping, please don't ask them why they need to buy a fourth pair of black shoes. My favorite part of the catalogues other than the doggies lying on their beds are the cooking tools. But there can be more to the huntsmen's culinary repertoire than making jerky and stew.

Four beautiful wild goose breasts were bestowed upon me to fulfill my “fowl” experimentation. Half were used by cooking them low and slow, and the other two were cooked hot and fast. The middle ground does not benefit the goose's palatability.

The first two breasts were braised in a can of chicken stock with bay leaves, peppercorns and fennel slices. Braising is a cooking method of browning the meat in fat, then adding a small amount of liquid, tightly cover and cook until fibers have been broken down. Fennel is a strong aromatic that I used to counteract any of the gamey smell of the goose. (The goose was also soaked in salted vinegar for a day and then buttermilk for four days beforehand to remove blood and gaminess.) The breasts were cooked for about two hours until they easily fell part.

With the shredded goose meat, I made barbecue sandwiches, enchilada/taco filling, and an appetizer of raspberry jam and brie in a puff pastry cup. The common denominator of all the recipes is that the flavorings used are strong enough to handle the goose. The pungency of the brie, the spicy strength of the taco seasoning and the sweet smoke of the barbecue sauce camouflaged the less than desirable other flavors.

With the other two goose breasts, I made a stir fry. I seared small cuts for a salad and made mini meatballs. For the stir fry, I julienned slices (slicing against the grain is important to maintain tenderness) of goose, then lightly tossed them with seasoned flour and cooked the slices in a small amount of oil over high heat quickly. At the same time, I cooked broccoli, then combined with goose to be served over white rice. I used a mix of hoisin sauce (sweet and spicy), soy, sesame and ginger for the sauce.

For the salad, a small portion of the breast was salted, peppered and glazed with pure maple syrup. Then seared rare (anything past rare is not worth it) and thinly cut against the grain. I also tried an apricot preserve glaze, which was great as well. Do not try to sear the entire breast at once; it is too big and will not cook properly. Cut it into manageable single serving size portions.

The slices were served over Bibb lettuce with craisins, shredded carrots, toasted pecans and dressed with a raspberry vinaigrette.

The remainder of the goose meat (a breast and a half) was finely ground and mixed with three heaping teaspoons of horseradish (less if you don't like spicy food), 1/4 cup green onion, one teaspoon of mustard, two dashes of Worcestershire sauce, one egg, two squirts of ketchup, 1/2 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. The horseradish adds a totally different element to the goose meat and sweetly warms up the flavor.

Using a melon baller, I scooped out small meatballs and sauteed quickly in hot oil until evenly browned. Before forming all of the meatballs, test one first to make sure that the seasoning is to your liking. They can be eaten plain or served with a sauce; some prefer a Swedish cream sauce or salsa, but I like french onion dip.

Interesting tidbits I learned about geese: male and female geese have the same plumage, which is interesting because male birds usually have more attractive feathers (e.g. Cardinal); geese can live to 40 years of age; they pair for life, which made them a symbolic wedding gift in Chinese culture; in the Hindu religion, the wild goose is a symbol of freedom through spiritual purity.

Geese are more than golden egg layers and keepers of fables (think “Mother Goose”), they are intelligent resourceful creatures with a rich folklore and hopefully a protected future.

Valerie Usowski, an Auburn native, is banquet manager at the Auburn Holiday Inn and a Culinary Institute of America graduate