Goose "Oh My Gosh"

We’ve posted a lot of recipes here that draw from Wade’s childhood food memories, but this one is all mine. 

The origins of Oh My Gosh are dubious at best. Someone somewhere way down the family tree must have come from Hungary, because supposedly this stew’s original name was Buprikash. I’m approximating the spelling- I have never seen it written as anything other than Oh My Gosh- but pronounce it phonetically, with an exaggerated, Giada de Laurentis-style Eastern European accent for good measure. My grandmother, and possibly her grandmother before her, made it often enough for her family that they got sick and tired of eating it every week, and so began the singsong Thursday night refrain: “Oh my gosh, not Buprikash!”

It’s been a staple for so long that the old, stained recipe cards just read “Oh My Gosh,” and I’m willing to bet every grandchild and great-grandchild in my family has their very own copy. 

So what is it? It’s not quite Paprikash- that iconic Hungarian dumpling-and-chicken stew, rich and hearty with loads of paprika- but it might have started out that way. My family might have swapped out a few letters first, then added a little broth, changed the name completely, and left out the sour cream, but the bones of the dish still stand: tender braised chicken, paprika, dumplings. And it’s delicious. Much lighter than the Hungarian classic, Oh My Gosh is somewhere between paprikash and chicken and dumplings. It’s a little Old World, a little Southern, and a whole lot American. 

Now that the weather is finally starting to cool off, go ahead and make a batch. I’ve swapped the chicken for goose, because it’s what we had on hand, but you can absolutely feel free to substitute in wild turkey, or even rabbit or squirrel if you have it. Pheasant would be amazing too. A light-colored stock is absolutely necessary here. Other than braising the meat, this dish is fairly quick to throw together and even picky eaters love it. Ask my mom how she knows.

There’s two ways to go about making the dumplings: you can cook them in the soup itself, or start a separate pot of salted, boiling water. There’s no wrong way to do it. My mom would drop the batter into the simmering soup, letting the dumplings soak up all that flavorful stock. The only downside to this method is you have to be making A LOT of soup to have enough stock to do that. Not a problem when you are cooking for a family of six or a small army, but that’s just too much food for two people. I cook my dumplings in a separate pot of water. This also gives me an advantage when storing the leftovers- if you leave the dumplings in the soup overnight, the whole thing gets kind of gummy when you reheat it. Not so if you leave the dumplings out of the soup until you’re ready to serve it.

If you want the really, really authentic Owen family Oh My Gosh experience, make sure you cook up some “dough dodgers” (fried bread dough with butter) to dip in the broth, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, and “dip up!”

Goose “Oh My Gosh”

Servings: 4-6

Cook time: 4-6 hours

Ingredients:

6-8 goose legs (or substitute turkey, rabbit, squirrel or pheasant)

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 onion

1 carrot

1 bay leaf

2 quarts light-colored stock, such as turkey, rabbit, or squirrel

1 potato, chopped into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp parsley

A whole lot of paprika

Dumplings:

1.5 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup water

salt

Method:

In a large pot, heat a little oil over medium-high heat and gently brown the meat. Take your time and evenly brown each piece, but take care not to get too much color- you want a nice, toasty golden brown color.

Add your celery, onion, and carrot, saute a little until the onion is translucent. Add the bay leaf, then add enough stock to completely submerge the ingredients. Allow to simmer, partially covered, until the meat begins to yield to a fork. Add the potato and continue simmering, adding a little more water or stock if necessary to keep the ingredients submerged, until the potatoes are cooked through and the meat falls off the bone and can be easily shredded with a fork. Pull the meat out and remove from the bones, then add back into the pot. 

Add the parsley and season liberally with salt and pepper. Remember, you’ll be adding dumplings to this soup, which are going to soak up a lot of seasoning. Oh My Gosh is best with a lot of black pepper, so go heavy on it. Then, add your paprika. I’m crazy about spices, so I’ll add all the different kinds of paprika I have on my shelf- smoked, sweet, and half-sharp, in varying quantities- but regular old paprika was what I grew up with, and definitely does the job. You want to start with around 2-3 tablespoons and go from there. Taste, taste, and adjust.

Meanwhile, put together the dumpling batter. Stir together all ingredients. Add a little more water if the batter is too thick- think a wet biscuit dough. If you’re making a big batch of Oh My Gosh, go ahead and drop the batter by the heaping spoonful right into the simmering soup. If you’re not feeding a crowd, or don’t have enough stock in the pot to allow the dumplings to float around as they cook, drop them into heavily salted boiling water. Allow them to cook for a few minutes, until they are firm all the way through, and use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water. Reserve in a bowl until you are ready to serve.

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4 kids and a dog agree- oh my gosh is a heck of a meal