When Your Goose Is Cooked, Christmas Is Truly Here

BY PATRICIA TALORICO
WILMINGTON NEWS JOURNAL

Forget riding in one-horse open sleigh; it rarely snows at Christmas. Few people still roast chestnuts on an open fire. And when was the last time you had plum pudding? If you are longing for one old-fashioned holiday tradition, how about cooking a Christmas goose?

Before turkey began gaining popularity, roast goose was the fowl to serve on Christmas Day -- and still is in many parts of Europe.

Geese are larger than ducks -- usually 8 to 14 pounds -- and look like skinny turkeys, though they cost much more than the traditional Thanksgiving bird.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the annual U.S. consumption of duck per person is about 1/3 pound and goose is even less.
Buy the biggest goose you can find. The Cratchits of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol "eked out" their meal with apple sauce and mashed potatoes because goose has less meat, pound for pound, than chicken or turkey.

When ordering a goose, allow at least 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per person. A stuffed 10-pound goose should feed about six to eight people, but Space says "you can't have Ponderosa servings."

Round out your meal with plenty of vegetable side dishes and a dessert. For an appetizer, try serving English Stilton cheese and crackers.

Roast goose is a tradition in England at Christmas and on Michaelmas Day, the Sept. 29 holiday celebrating the feast of the archangel Michael. In Germany, Christmas goose is often stuffed with apples and prunes.

Almost any recipe for turkey and chicken can be applied to goose, but the flavor of the waterfowl is different.

Goose, like duck, is poultry and considered "white" meat, the USDA says. But the flesh is entirely dark because these birds of flight use more oxygen then chickens or turkeys. Proteins in meat myoglobin hold oxygen in the muscle and give duck and goose meat a darker color.

Before cooking, a goose should be scalded in boiling water and dried in a refrigerator for one to two days before roasting to tighten the skin. The tighter skin causes fat to be squeezed out during the cooking process.

Roasted Goose

1 goose (about 10 pounds), thoroughly thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh sage or dried sage

Remove the giblets and neck from the goose. Set aside and refrigerate, if using for gravy.

Next, rinse the goose inside and out. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Protecting your hands with rubber gloves, submerge the neck end of the goose into the water and hold for two minutes. Pull the goose out, and then submerge the tail end for another two minutes. Remove the goose from the water. Pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Set the goose, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Sprinkle the bird, inside and out, with salt and pepper and sprinkle the breast with dried or fresh sage. If stuffing the goose, loosely pack the body and neck cavities. Bake any leftovers in a buttered baking dish. If not stuffing, fill the cavity with halved onions, celery stalks, carrots and assorted herbs, such as sage, thyme, rosemary or parsley. (These are called aromatics.) Fold skin flap over legs to close cavity. Place the goose, breast side up, in the oven and brown for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast for about 1 1/2 hours. Using a meat thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh, make sure the goose has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees to 180 degrees.

Remove the goose from the roasting pan to a carving board and let it "rest" for 20 to 30 minutes before serving. Remove the pan drippings, separate the fat from the juice, and use for gravy if desired. Makes about 6 to 8 servings.

Goose Stuffing With Sausage, Sage and Apples

1 pound firm white sandwich, French or Italian bread, including the crusts (croutons, bagels or packaged bread cubes can be substituted)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
4 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 to 1 cup chicken stock
2 eggs, beaten
1 pound bulk pork sausage

If using fresh bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Put bread cubes on a baking sheet in the center of a preheated 400 degrees oven. Bake until cubes are dry, but not browned. Put in a large bowl and set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the sausage in butter, if using, over medium heat, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add onions, celery and apples. (You can use the fat rendered from the sausage or, if you prefer, you can drain off all but 2 to 3 tablespoons of the fat before adding the onions, celery and apples.) Cook until apples are soft. Remove from heat, add parsley and spices and mix well. In a separate pot, heat stock to a simmer.

Mix the onions, celery and apple mixture into the bowl with the bread cubes. Pour the heated stock and the beaten eggs over the bread mixture and stir briefly, just enough to incorporate. Cover the bowl and let steam for 10 minutes. Stir again. Spoon mixture into the body cavity of the goose. Or spoon stuffing into a large, shallow, buttered baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (Moisten the stuffing with additional stock as desired.)

Giblet Gravy

Goose neck, heart and gizzard
2 tablespoons butter or goose fat
1/2 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup white or red wine
1/2 cup carrots, diced, optional
1/2 cup celery, diced, optional
4 cups chicken stock or combination of juices from roasting pan and chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 whole cloves
1 goose liver, diced

Roux:

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
Cut neck into 2-inch pieces, dice heart and gizzard.

Heat fat or butter into a saucepan and add goose parts and brown. When browned, add onions and continue to cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Add wine and reduce by half. Add carrots and celery, if using, and saute for a few minutes. Then add chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, cloves and diced liver.
Use a separate pan to make a roux (the flour-butter mixture) and heat the butter until melted. Add flour and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (It should be a light blonde color.) While constantly whisking, add roux to the gravy and simmer an additional 20 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Remove neck pieces and bay leaf. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.