Western Europe: Roast Goose for Christmas

There's a tendency to think of the turkey as more or less everybody's choice for Christmas dinner -- especially considering how easy it is to get them in Europe these days. But it's not so long ago that turkeys would have been seen here not just as an expensive luxury, but disease-prone, delicate, and difficult to raise -- something of a waste of time when there were better, cheaper and more traditional alternatives available.

When Spanish and West African traders first started bringing turkeys to Europe from Mexico in the 1600's, they were merely a curiosity. They spread through Europe only slowly because of their high susceptibility to the avian disease histamonosis or "black head", a protozoan-borne liver disease of barnyard fowl.  Though turkeys slowly became more popular through the 1700's as they spread more widely across western Europe -- the original Thanksgiving turkeys were brought to the New World from England with the incoming Pilgrims -- they remained prohibitively expensive because they were so labor-intensive to rear. Not until the 1950s were they seen as anything but a pricey fad food for gourmands and rich people. In A Christmas Carol, only when the wealthy Scrooge pays for dinner is there any chance the Cratchit family will have a turkey for Christmas. Their own original choice is the age-old, affordable, non-imported alternative, the goose.

People have been eating goose all over Europe for thousands of years, and the attachment of the goose to the autumn and winter holiday periods is natural when you consider the natural rhythms of a goose's lifespan. There's no such thing as an intensively-reared goose: they are free range by definition, spending the majority of their lives grazing on grass and field herbs. The so-called "green goose", which comes into season around the Christian feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, or Michaelmas (September 29), is reared exclusively on grass and herbage: the later "harvest" goose, also called the Martinmas goose for its finishing time around Saint Martin's feast (November 11th), spends its remaining time being fattened on grain, usually wheat or barley. (Sometimes these are called "stubble geese" because they used to be turned loose into the fields of post-harvest stubble to pick up scattered grain after the reapers had finished their work.) The two birds are very different. The green goose is leaner: the harvest goose is fatter and meatier due to its final diet of grain.

In past years North Americans have sometimes been scared off the concept of making roast goose for Christmas because of rumors that it's a greasy bird, or that it won't be as good for holiday eating because it doesn't have as much meat on it as a turkey. It's true that the meat-to-carcass ratio on a goose is lower than it is on a turkey. But goose meat is both higher-protein and richer than turkey meat, and is also much more flavorful: not a gamy flavor, but a substantial one. Once you've tasted a well-roasted goose, the contrast between its rich dark flavor and the bland flavor of turkey will surprise you. Also, the extra fat in the goose's skin makes it very difficult to dry out a goose while roasting it. (And the fat you pour off at intervals during the roasting process can be stored in the fridge or freezer for months, and makes the best roast potatoes on Earth.)

Roast goose with dumplings
(Image courtesy of KissMonika at Flickr)

In recent years many Europeans have become more and more interested in goose as a locally raised, greener alternative to intensively reared birds that (though they may almost completely fill your oven) have had all the taste bred out of them in favor of sheer bulk. And there's less waste, too. Because goose meat is so rich, a little goes a long way. Even a small goose of eight pounds (like the one in our illustration) can satisfy four people. So the goose is having a renaissance in those parts of Europe that have drifted a little away from the traditional bird. Sales in some parts of England alone were up nearly 100% this year.

Other parts of Europe have maintained their strong holiday goose traditions regardless of the presence of the turkey. Germany, Switzerland and Austria in particular are places where restaurants in every major city will offer succulent, crisp-skinned roast goose to their patrons around Michaelmas, Martinmas, and at Christmas. The normal side dishes in the German-speaking countries are potato dumplings and red cabbage, and the goose's stuffing normally contains potato as well. In England and Ireland, the stuffings often feature tart fruits like quince, apple or cranberry, as well as savory sausage meats and bacon.

Our treatment here features a potato, apple and bacon stuffing seasoned with cranberry and lemon -- tart flavors that balance the rich dark quality of the goose meat. Click on "read more" for a complete step-by-step guide on how to roast, stuff and serve a goose.

First find your goose. Depending on where you are, this may mean ordering it from a local butcher or supplier, or just picking a bird up from your supermarket's freezer case (though seasonally you may be able to pick one up fresh). However, local resources vary so widely that you should start looking into where you'll get your goose at least a month ahead.

There may also be some variation in what state the goose is in when it arrives and what extra parts accompany it. Most butchers and suppliers will include the liver and giblets of the goose; others will add the neck of the goose as well. If you can get more than one goose liver -- as we were able to, because others who had ordered geese from our butcher didn't want theirs --- do so: they make terrific, fiendishly rich goose liver paté. If you don't want to make paté, the liver can be quickly seared in a frying pan, allowed to cool, and chopped up to add to your preferred stuffing (you can add it to the recipe we give below). The giblets, and the neck if you get it, should be simmered on low heat for several hours with a little salt, pepper and sage to make a rich basic stock . This you can use after roasting to deglaze the roasting pan and make your goose's gravy.

As regards how big a goose you need: the rule of thumb is to allow 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of uncooked-goose weight per person. So a goose for four people, for example, should weigh at least eight pounds -- more if you want significant leftovers.

Preparing the goose

To get the goose ready for roasting, there are a few things you need to do.

Cut out the wishbone: This will make the breast meat easier to carve, and if there's enough neck skin left on the goose, it will also give you more room to stuff the neck cavity. With the breast side up, pull back the skin around the neck to reveal the bone. With a small sharp knife, cut around those parts of the wishbone that you can see on both sides. You don't have to cut too deeply: just enough so that you can slip a finger under the bone and pull it out.

Pierce the skin: Because geese live outdoors all year and are physically active in all weathers, they build up a far thicker layer of fat under their skins than intensively raised chickens or turkeys ever do. This fat needs an escape route during the roasting process if the skin of the goose is to achieve the crispness that makes roast goose famous.

To make sure the fat can get out during roasting, you must prick the goose all over with something sharp -- a small knife, or the tines of a sharp fork. The idea is to pierce the skin without piercing the flesh underneath, so that the meat's moisture won't have a chance to escape at the same time the fat does. When doing the piercing, don't omit the legs: the skin there won't get crisp if you forget them. Also, make sure that the sides of the goose underneath the legs and wings get their share of the piercing.

Stuff and truss the goose: Because you'll be turning the goose a number of times during the roasting process, you'll want to make sure that the legs and wings aren't going to flap around, and that the stuffing is going to stay in place. First, therefore, run a skewer between the bones of the ends of the wings and push a length of (non-plastic) twine through the holes, knotting them together as tightly as possible.

When this is done, season the inside of the body cavity of the goose with salt and pepper: then fill with your preferred stuffing. As with a turkey or chicken, don't pack down the stuffing or overfill the body cavity. When stuffed, sew the body cavity closed with more twine. The simplest way is to pierce the skin on both sides with a skewer and push the twine through, knotting each pair of skewer-holes together with the twine. If you like, and if the legs seem at all loose, tie them together with twine behind the body as well.

Roasting the goose: Preheat the oven to 425° F / 220° C (a little lower if you have a fan oven). Rub the skin of the goose with a little vegetable oil or olive oil: season with salt and pepper. Prepare a roasting pan, lining it with foil if you like: if possible, put a roasting rack in the pan to hold the goose more securely. Place the goose on its side in the pan or on the roasting rack. Pour a few tablespoons of water into the roasting pan to prevent the goose fat from scorching.

When the oven is heated, put in the goose and roast it for 30 minutes at 425° F / 220° C.

When the thirty minutes are over, take the goose out and pour the fat that has accumulated in the pan into a heatproof container (Pyrex or similar): then turn the goose on its other side, and return it to the oven, lowering the oven temperature to 350° F / 175° C. Check the roasting table below to find out how much longer you should roast your goose.

During this period, baste the goose as often as possible -- once every fifteen minutes, if you can.

Half an hour after turning the goose on its second side, turn it again so that it's breast side down (again pouring off the accumulated fat): then, half an hour after that, pour off any remaining fat and turn the goose breast-side up to finish roasting.

When the goose is done, remove it from the roasting pan and set it aside on the carving board or platter to rest. It needs at least fifteen minutes to rest before you start carving it.

Carving the goose:

The goose's body is shaped slightly differently from that of a turkey or chicken, so they don't carve in quite the same way. Here's how to do it:

• Cut away the string you used to truss the limbs of the goose and discard it.
• Cut open the sewn-up vent of the goose and remove all the stuffing to a bowl for serving.
• With a heavy-bladed knife, cut straight down through the goose's shoulder joints, all the way through. This frees the wings.
• Cut all the way around each of the legs and straight through the joint where it meets the body. Split the thighs away from the drumsticks.
• With a long carving knife oriented the long way along the goose's body, slice the breast meat off the breast.

Serve hot with your preferred side dishes. Use the goose fat you've poured off to roast potatoes or in other dishes (especially French ones): it will keep, refrigerated in a closed jar, for months and months. The carcass will make terrific stock.

Potato, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing for Goose

One of the best stuffings for goose that we know of. The tart apples and cranberries perfectly offset the richness of the goose meat.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes or 5 small ones
• 2 large tart cooking apples (Bramley or similar)
• 1 large onion
• 3 slices smoked bacon
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage or 1 teaspoon fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Zest of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon butter or lard

Peel the potatoes and chop into approximately 1/2 inch cubes. Parboil in salted water for 5 minutes: drain and set aside. Peel, core and coarsely chop the apples; peel and chop the onion. Grate the zest off the lemon.

Put the butter into a frying pan; when it sizzles, add the bacon slices and fry them until crisp and brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel: chop finely.

Add the onion to the frying pan: saut&eacutge; until the onions soften. Add the parboiled potatoes and saut&eacutge; until they brown very slightly. Remove from heat.

Wash the cranberries and chop them coarsely. Toss them in a large bowl with the potato and onion mixture. Add the chopped bacon, herbs, and other seasonings: toss again. Add the apples and mix together thoroughly.

Stuff the goose with all the mixture that will fit in comfortably: put the rest in a pie plate or cake tin to be cooked separately. (Moisten the pan-cooked stuffing with a little stock before baking it at about 350° F for about twenty minutes.)

After the goose is cooked, always remove all the stuffing from the carcass immediately after cooking. Refrigerate when it cools.