Smoked Goose Flautas
Andrew Gardner for SPLIT REED
Presented by Traeger Grills
Forget the jerky and the poppers, hell- forget the breasts for this recipe entirely. We’re going to use those legs/thighs that you may not be familiar with for cooking, and we’re going to shred them, roll them up and smoke them on the pellet grill!
Ingredients:
Goose or duck thighs (skinned)
Jar of your favorite fresh salsa
1 white onion
Mexican cheese blend
Medium flour tortillas
Salt/pepper
This recipe is just a handful of ingredients, a little bit of prep and some time. Which isn't a whole lot to ask for smoky, spicy, crunchy, cheesy flautas.
Directions:
1. Begin by preheating your Traeger to 375.
2. Season your thighs with salt/pepper.
3. Leave the thighs on the Traeger for 30-45 minutes until they look and smell like they're ready to eat. The goal of this initial step is to pick up some smoke and brown them for better flavor. The real cooking will happen in the next step.
4. Next, you're going to transfer to a pressure cooker, and pour a tub of your favorite fresh salsa over the top. That's it. It will probably take between 1-2 hours in the pressure cooker. You'll know they're done when the meat is falling off the bone.
5. Let them cool, and while you wait get to chopping that white onion. You're going to want a real fine dice.
6. When the legs have cooled enough to handle, grab a couple forks and start shredding the meat. Your fingers would work just as well here.
7. Add all the meat to a decent sized mixing bowl. Give it a taste test at this point and see how you're doing. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. There's nothing wrong with adding some extra spices here. Cumin, paprika, chili powder, cayenne; hell- you could even sprinkle in some Lawry's taco seasoning (just don't use too much because it's pretty salty).
8. Once you're happy with the seasoning, dump in as much cheese as you'd like. You really can't add too much.
9. Next up, add the onions. Unlike the cheese you can definitely add too much onion. I used one medium/small onion for 6 honker legs. This is a personal preference so add as much/as little as you'd like.
10. Everything up to this point can be done ahead of time. I haven't tested it out, but I wouldn't go more than a day or two.
11. About 45 minutes before you're ready to serve, get your rolling station set up and crack (another) a cold on.
12. Now start assembling your flautas! You're going to want them rolled up somewhat tightly, but not too tight, just like in college.
13. Once you have a nice pile going, get a big skillet or griddle preheated over medium heat and add some neutral cooking oil, butter, lard. MAJOR bonus points if you've got some rendered goose/duck fat in your fridge. Place the rolled flauta seam side down so they seal up nice. Turn them a couple times until they're golden brown and the filling his hot and melty.
And that's a wrap- Enjoy!
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