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My goose is cooked!
For our first Christmas dinner at our house, I attempted to make a goose. My dad had successfully cooked a goose before, so I used his recipe.
The full spread.
The recipe is from Great Recipes from the World's Greatest Cooks by Peggy Harvey. The goose recipe is credited to Allan McNab. He comments: "The author of many of our cookbooks have a tendency to feel that they have discharged their obligation to the goose if they accord it the same treatment they advocate for the duck. This is not the way to respect the bird which was held sacred by the Romans because a wakeful goose had warned the city of the impending invasion of the Gauls. [The Christmas goose] should be young and should weigh between 10 to 12 pounds. A goose more than 18 months old should not be eaten but kept as a watchdog.
Our goose, raised on a local Amish farm, was indeed a 12 pound goose.
Christmas Goose with a German stuffing
10-12 pound goose
1 bottle of decent port (we used Sandeman Reserve)
1 pound of prunes
1/2 cup of coarse bread crumbs
6 apples, peeled and chopped fine
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 pot of coarse grain French mustard
1 orange, zested
2 lemons, zested
Rub the goose with at least one tablespoon of salt. Prick the skin all over with a sharp knife. Moisten the cavity with some port. Fill the cavity with stuffing (see below.) Add a cup of boiling water to the roasting pan before putting it in the over. Cook for 25 minutes per pound at 375 degrees. Baste often. You will need to remove the goose fat from the roasting pan regularly so you can baste as you do that. I got about 10 cups of fat from the goose. We cooked the goose in a covered roasting pan and it still browned nicely.
The goose has a huge cavity. This recipe makes a lot of stuffing, but you will be able to put all of it in the goose. Soak a pound of prunes overnight in enough port to cover. Cook slowly to remove the stones. (I used pitted prunes, but I did cook them some to soften them further.) Add the breadcrumbs, chopped apples, brown sugar and melted butter. Mix well. Stuff into goose.
McNab comments, "You must serve a sauce with this goose." Heat 2 cups of port, mustard, zests, salt and pepper in a pan. Thicken with cornstarch if desired. I didn't need to thicken the sauce.
The recommended side dish was thinly sliced cucumbers lightly sauteed in butter. I made these, although my cucumbers were not thinly sliced. It was disgusting. Much tastier were the potatoes roasted in goose fat. (Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Chop and toss with goose fat and roast until crispy.)
2 comments:
Bridget has made goose before, but she wasn't satisfied with the results. I'm glad that yours worked out better.
Did you retain the bones/carcass to make stock?
We thought about making stock, but had neither the time, nor the energy. I'll have to plan better if I make it again.
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