I like roast ham, but I don't think it's really appropriate for Easter.
I have a goose in the freezer that I bought right after Christmas 2004
for 97¢ per pound (at that price, I shoulda bought 2), and I'm thinking
about cooking that this year.

I've never cooked a goose before, but I assume it's kind of like a duck
but bigger -- lots of very tasty grease that I'll have to deal with.

What are some good things to serve with goose this time of year?

I'm thinking braised red cabbage, sliced waxy potatoes baked with some
of the rendered goose fat, a green salad, and something for dessert made
with fresh strawberries.

Should I put something in the goose cavity when I bake it, like maybe
some sliced oranges and quartered onions?

Thanks,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:

> I'm thinking braised red cabbage, sliced waxy potatoes baked with some
> of the rendered goose fat, a green salad, and something for dessert made
> with fresh strawberries.
>
> Should I put something in the goose cavity when I bake it, like maybe
> some sliced oranges and quartered onions?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

Anything springy would please me, but when cooking goose many use heavy
things like prunes etc., whereas I prefer acid things, like sour plums
or cranberries. If I wanted to roast your goose, I'd rub it all over
with herbs and spices of choice, stuff it with a cranberry or sour plum
stuffing, and then through the cooking I would baste it with a baste
made of the tart fruit. Use a rack, collect fat for roasting chunks of
potatoes. There is nothing better you can do to a potato, but I should
think sliced ones would be better with the reserved fat you will have
for the next few weeks. Fry them up in it. Duck fat is the only
competition, IMO.
I actually like goose better braised, but that is a strictly personal
take from someone used to eating Italian.

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> I like roast ham, but I don't think it's really appropriate for
Easter.
> I have a goose in the freezer that I bought right after Christmas
2004
> for 97¢ per pound (at that price, I shoulda bought 2), and I'm
thinking
> about cooking that this year.
>
> I've never cooked a goose before, but I assume it's kind of like a
duck
> but bigger -- lots of very tasty grease that I'll have to deal with.
>
> What are some good things to serve with goose this time of year?
>
> I'm thinking braised red cabbage, sliced waxy potatoes baked with some
> of the rendered goose fat, a green salad, and something for dessert
made
> with fresh strawberries.
>
> Should I put something in the goose cavity when I bake it, like maybe
> some sliced oranges and quartered onions?
>

There are dozens of ways to cook goose; here is my favorite
method with notes, etc. They may help a bit; I serve this with the
prune stuffing and mashed potatoes as you will get quite a bit
of great sauce. The recipe is derived from Pellaprat. Cheers.

pavane


Today's geese are much leaner than the traditionally fatty thing.

Oven 325.

Defrost goose, remove any visible interior fat, prick very gently around
the leg/thigh/body area. Don't penetrate into the meat of the bird,
just
run a pointy thing parallel to the body and do a few pricks in that
area.

Fasten the neck skin to back with string or skewers. Stuff goose (my
favorite Danish stuffing is below or any good stuffing will work.) Tie
skin
closed around stuffing and secure the legs. Cut off the tip of the
wings.
Rub the goose with the juice of a lemon and salt and pepper it all over.

Put goose in large roaster (you should measure beforehand to ensure
that the goose will fit) and roast for about 16 minutes per pound, or
until
the drumstick feels soft and the joint moves easily. Siphon out the
grease
as it accumulates during cooking, leaving a bit to get drippings for the
sauce.
After it is done remove, put onto a cutting board and let sit for 20 min
or so
before you carve.


Stuffing:

2 C pitted prunes
2 C tart sliced apples
1/2 C port

Plump the prunes by mixing with port, microwave until the port boils and
then let it sit until cool, refrigerate. Do this ahead of time. Mix
the prunes
and port with the apples, stuff into the goose. Sew up the goose.

Sauce

All of the trimmings from the goose: neck cut into small pieces (very
hard to do), wingtips, pieces of trimmed skin, giblets, etc.
Some of the goose fat removed from inside the goose
Vegetables: large carrot, 2 stalks celery, celery leaves, medium onion
chopped coarsely
Herbs & spices: thyme, salt, pepper, bay leaf
Chicken broth: about a quart or a bit more
1/4 C currant jelly

Chop the fat, render it in a largish pot. Add the goose trimmings and
brown them well, very well. Add the veggies and brown them very well
also. Add about a teaspoon of thyme, salt, pepper and a bay leaf.
Cover it all with chicken broth, scrape any browned bits from the bottom
of the pan and let it simmer slowly until the goose is done, about 3
hours or more. It should be very dark and smell fabulous. As the goose
comes out of the oven strain the stock and degrease it a bit. If you
want giblets in the sauce (I usually do) cut the giblets into large
pieces before making the stock, fish them out of the strainer, cut them
up and add back into the sauce at the last minute.

Heat the roasting pan on stovetop, add goose stock, dissolve all browned
pieces, cook down a bit, strain and degrease, add as you think necessary
some of an equal mixture of flour and butter to thicken the sauce,
finally add currant jelly, dissolve it and taste, balance the sweetness
with lemon juice if necessary. The sauce should be extremely brown,
rich and savory.

zxcvbob wrote:
>
> I like roast ham, but I don't think it's really appropriate for Easter.

Hmmm? Why not. Ham is a traditional Easter food with everyone
I know.

> I have a goose in the freezer that I bought right after Christmas 2004
> for 97¢ per pound (at that price, I shoulda bought 2), and I'm thinking
> about cooking that this year.

Now, I really love goose and have no qualms about eating it
any time of year, but I really associate it with Xmas. Doesn't
seem appropriate to have it at Easter to me.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?