The Ojibway/Cree word for smoked goose is … Nah-mesh-tek
and if it makes everyone feel better about it all … almost the entire bird was used for something. All parts were eaten including major organs, except for the intestines. The largest organ is the gizzard which is the size of a grapefruit and entirely sinewy muscle which is roasted over a fire. There was a method for us kids that adults taught us in how to roast the wings like giant shishkabobs over a fire. Usually Elders took their time picking away every bit of flesh from the neck and head during feasts. Feathers were plucked and collected to be made into stuffing for pillows and blankets (I grew up using an ultra thick goose down blanket as a kid that my mom made years ago). Wing feathers were collected and arranged for decorative use or used as a tool as decoys in hunting.
And the birds were only hunted in the springtime … usually in April … which is why we call this month Niska Peesim … Niska is the word for ‘goose’ and Peesim is the word for month … so it means ‘Goose Month’.
They are not normally hunted outside this month because it is difficult to kill, gather and preserve the bird in warmer weather. You can’t gather a couple of birds, butcher them and smoke them any other time of the year because the weather won’t allow it … summer is too warm and the food will be covered in bugs … winter is too cold and will just freeze everything without preserving it by smoking or drying.
Personally … I grew up the first 20 years of my life eating like this every year. But I’m in my 40s now and I haven’t hunted in 20 years and I think I’ve only had about two or three goose meals since then … I miss it but that is the price I paid for living near the city and leading a more modern lifestyle now.
The Ojibway/Cree word for smoked goose is … Nah-mesh-tek
and if it makes everyone feel better about it all … almost the entire bird was used for something. All parts were eaten including major organs, except for the intestines. The largest organ is the gizzard which is the size of a grapefruit and entirely sinewy muscle which is roasted over a fire. There was a method for us kids that adults taught us in how to roast the wings like giant shishkabobs over a fire. Usually Elders took their time picking away every bit of flesh from the neck and head during feasts. Feathers were plucked and collected to be made into stuffing for pillows and blankets (I grew up using an ultra thick goose down blanket as a kid that my mom made years ago). Wing feathers were collected and arranged for decorative use or used as a tool as decoys in hunting.
And the birds were only hunted in the springtime … usually in April … which is why we call this month Niska Peesim … Niska is the word for ‘goose’ and Peesim is the word for month … so it means ‘Goose Month’.
They are not normally hunted outside this month because it is difficult to kill, gather and preserve the bird in warmer weather. You can’t gather a couple of birds, butcher them and smoke them any other time of the year because the weather won’t allow it … summer is too warm and the food will be covered in bugs … winter is too cold and will just freeze everything without preserving it by smoking or drying.
Personally … I grew up the first 20 years of my life eating like this every year. But I’m in my 40s now and I haven’t hunted in 20 years and I think I’ve only had about two or three goose meals since then … I miss it but that is the price I paid for living near the city and leading a more modern lifestyle now.