Some of you are planning to cook Goose for the holidays.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

I decided, after a lifetime of standing rib roast (now in the $100.00 range) that this Holiday happiness eve dinner is going to be Goose.

I have never cooked a Goose before but I cook a really mean Turkey so, how hard can it be? No one in my family has ever had Goose before cause we always cook standing rib roast.

Unlike another poster here, I am not concerned that some of my family will not like goose and I will not be cooking a Turkey to supplement the meal. They all know that #1, I am a good cook and I am always trying things out like my recipe for peppered Pears with Blue cheese and Sage http://www.epicurious.com/community/myepi/myrecipebox/?category=com.amg.condenet.epi.attribute.domain.MainIngredientAttribute&type=F&name=Pear&categoryName=Main%20Ingredient

And #2, If you don't like the main course, there will be so many other goodies that you will come to my Winter Solstice Celebration anyway.

So, My questions to Goose cookers.
I assume some of the same things apply to Goose as Turkey. #1 Brine the bird. #2 cook it upside down for at least the first hour so the juices flow to the top.

What else do I need to know?

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. Oh, I almost forgot. What goes good with Goose?

Side dishes? I hear that Potatoes are really good cooked in Goose fat.

[yawnmaster]

16. I'm not sure what is good with the goose...

but whatever it is, its probably good with the gander.

[vadawg]

2. just a personal taste thing, but is the goose aged, i find that if you hang it for a while

a long while it makes the meat gamier :)

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. The only way I can get it here (assuming I don't go to a park and

shoot one) is to buy a frozen one from the local meat market so I am guessing it's not aged. The local meat market only has them in stock for the holidays and only frozen. I know, I know but I live in a major metropolis.

[vadawg]

4. ok thats different then, for some reason i thought you had one that ahem flew into your power line

ive never cooked one from frozen so i think it will be similar to a turkey but greasier. mmmmm yummy..

[OffWithTheirHeads]

5. Also, since none of us has ever had Goose before, I'm guessing

gamier is not going to go over well. I'm thinking, sort of like Turkey but better. Gamy might be good for a family of hunters but my family pretty much thinks that meat comes in shrink wrap from Safeway. I don't want to totally freak them out, just get them to try another alternative.

[vadawg]

6. lol if its a safeway one i dont think you will find pellets in it :)

it shouldnt be to bad but ive never had a store bought or one that wasnt hung for a while (until the head comes away form the body) so im not 100% sure if it will be real gamey, im sure its going to be greasier as its just a darker meat than turkey.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

7. No, not from Safeway but from a local meat market

I doubt Safeway sells goose Hell, I can't even get a good duck there but the local fish and poultry market sells some of the more exotic stuff and will even butcher your wild game. Just bring it in the back door please cause people get freaked out seeing where their meat actually comes from. Dead animals.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

8. Tell me about hanging one

Until the head comes away from the body. It goes against everything I've been told about meat so I'm interested.

[vadawg]

9. its an old tradition to make the meat gamier, especially with birds like pheasants and ducks/geese

you simply hang the bird by the neck in not too warm a temp until the head comes away, anytime between 10 days and more depending. i think a lot of people do it nowadays in a fridge but growing up we didnt have fridges so we did it in th open...

[OffWithTheirHeads]

10. So, the whole carcass just basically softens up?

until the head breaks off? I don't doubt that it makes the meat better but it goes against everything I have ever learned about meat preservation. Very interesting. Over the last few years I've been studying how folks did it in "The olden days" before farmer Safeway. I've been learning to can veggies, grow herbs, bake bread. etc. All I can say is what I produce at home is sooooo much better than what farmer Safeway has that I'm willing to look at all options.

[vadawg]

11. yup its just aging the meat, i still do stuff like the "olden days" lol

we can, bake our own bread, grow a lot of what we eat, and i get a lot of deer, bear etc. i too prefer it to the supermarket foods, but sometimes you just want a ramen noodles with tuna, pickled onions and mushrooms..

[seemunkee]

12. Thanks for the pear recipe

Looks really good and I'm sure my wife will love it.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

13. Surprisingly tasty.

Looks like a strange combination of flavors but it really works.

[JVS]

14. I didn't cook it, but my family had goose before.

It was good. Goose is richer and moister than turkey (or at least than the white meat of the turkey).

[foxfeet]

15. No, but I'm planning to goose the cook.

:evilgrin:

[supernova]

17. Here's one roast goose recipe that suggesting brining beforehand

Looks delish! :9

I've made duck several times, but I haven't tackled goose yet, mainly because I haven't had anyone express an interest in eating it with me. :-)

http://southernfood.about.com/od/duckandgooserecipes/r/bl70109a.htm

[msanthrope]

18. You need geese, not a goose. It cannot be cooked like a turkey,

or you will have a smoking oven and a greasy bird.

I say you need geese becasue a single goose will not give you much meat.

Brining is completely uneccessary, and in fact, I would not do it because I fear it would make the meat mushy.

You will need to use a water technique to drain away the fat---and you will need to slash the skin so the fat will run. I found a thread that describes this method very well--and it works!!! You get succulent meat, but not greasy goose.

Serve it with lighter foods--it is very rich, and you might want to make a citrus/herb sauce, as opposed to a gravy. I think it goes well with wild rice.


"1 goose
1 box prunes
4-6 tart apples
salt & pepper
thyme


Soak the prune in boiling water or brandy.

Wash the goose well and pull out all interior fat. Season cavity and stuff the goose with a mixture of the sliced, peeled apples and the drained prunes; sew closed at both ends. Prick the skin throughout the fattiest regions, but not into the flesh.

Place the goose face down on a rack in a heavy roasting pan. Pour about 2 cups of boiling water into the pan and place it in a 335 oven.

After an hour, drain the liquid from the pan (but save it for cooking fat). Pour 2 more cups of boiling, lightly salted water over the bird and return it to the oven, still breast down.

After another hour, drain as before (again reserving the fat/water mixture, which you can chill to separate), flip the bird, and baste with a cup of good white wine.

From now on, baste about every half hour with more white wine, trying to keep a balance of liquid under the bird as it browns and the skin crisps (prick skin again if you feel it’s necessary). The skin outside will turn very dark brown (cover if it seems too far gone) but even the breast meat should stay soft and velvety. Total time will be 4-4 1/2 hours, which seems long but is not too long.

When the bird is done (the joints have loosened and flesh has begun to pull back on the legs), let it rest on a warm platter. Add any brown bits from the reserved liquid and any mixture of wine or stock or brandy, along with a flour slurry. The prunes and apples add considerable flavor.

We have it with braised red cabbage (using some of the goose fat, red wine, etc.) and riced potatoes.

When we feel evil, we take the goose cavity fat and pork fat, cut it into lardons, and render it out with a little water. Then add the reserved goose fat, some finely chopped onion and apple and fresh thyme, let it turn golden and cool in jars in the refrigerator. Spread thinly on good bread (especially a dark rye) and sprinkle with good salt.

I also recommend a hash of leftover meat, fried potatoes and onions and the fruit, with any surviving skin recrisped and placed on top."

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/275545

[DemBones DemBones]

19. msanthrope sounds on target. Only once did

my mother cook a goose for Christmas and she was totally disgusted with having to remove liquefied fat every few minutes. We usually had duck for Christmas but my dad was jonesing for a goose that year. Mom probably should have called his mom to find out how to cook a goose without it being greasy but nobody called long distance for such trivial matters back then.