Modern Vespa

I know this must sound like a crazy questions coming from a Jew in Israel, but I'm curious if any MVers are serving roast goose for their holiday dinner?

If so, I need some tips. I'm not making Xmas dinner... but every year I toy with the idea of whole roast duck and goose as nice winter alternatives to the more mundane roast turkey, but I never follow through.

I'm already a champ with turkey, and have had limited success with duck (mostly roasting duck breast, not the whole bird).

However whole duck and goose are intimidating because of the amount of fat they produce.

I've watched a few online videos (the NY Times had one up today), but they are short on tips and show only the before (prep) and after (serving) stages and don't really explain reliable strategies for not burning down the house in a grease fire!

All constructive advice will be appreciated.

My tip is to cook either bird directly on the oven shelf with a large tray directly below to catch the fat. I have my par boiled potatoes in the lower tray so they roast in goose or duck fat. If you are not doing roast potatoes (Why the hell not!) you can save the fat for another time-it keeps in jars in the fridge for at least a month.

Do you mean directly on the wire rack that can be placed at different heights in the oven?!

Doesn't the fat spray off in all directions and ignite against the hot oven walls?

While I have never make roasted goose myself, my son-in-law has, it it is quite a delicate flavor. Based on my experience, somewhere between bald eagle and spotted owl.

Interesting. I too have become enthralled with roasting a whole duck and making it crispy duck. I think I am going to try this right after Christmas as we are dining at someone else's house for Christmas and I will not have all the troublesome leftovers to worry about. Going to use this method.

http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/11/the-best-way-to-roast-a-duck-hello-crispy-skin/

Of course this all hinges on finding a good duck.

lostboater-

Wow, thanks. Now all we would have to do is find some nice plump ducks.

No, the fat just drips mainly. The trick is to cook it low and slow initially then a quick blast at the end to brown it off. I usually do the low and slow part upside down ie the breast facing downwards to keep it moist.
And yes directly on the wire rack if you are doing potatoes or on a trivet within a deeper tray if not.
Could maybe place the bird directly on the potatoes I suppose but I haven't tried this method.

Says the man living in the land of roast lamb!

There is pond a few blocks away from my house. I don't think the city would miss one duck.

The wife has been preparing a goose at Christmas for decades, as her mother also did. They put water in the tray below the grid to make steam in the oven, turning the goose about every hour.

At the very end, about last 45 minutes, they kept dripping beer over the skin, and had removed the tray beneath so no more steam. The beer made for a very tasty and roasty skin, the meat was not too fat at all.

A tip though for the gravy. The liquid from the tray has to be cooled off (in refrigerator) and the excess fat, which has become solid, can be removed from the liquid. Then make the gravy from the non-fattened part. Goose is very fat, and there is still enough left for a tasty gravy.

Greetings to Israel.

Yup. Easy to get great roast lamb. The best restaurant for it on the island is just 5 km from our house.

Speaking of oven roasting, our kitchen is small, and the interior of our standard "home oven" is only 19 inches wide. A couple of years ago, our friends that operate the "gourmet grocery store" (and it is) ordered us a nice plump Thanksgiving Turkey. Margarita, the wife, proudly showed it to us when it arrived and said she'd keep it in their freezer until we needed it. No way it would fit in a typical European fridge. One look and I told her there was no way it would fit in our oven, either. She never though of that, as they have a larger stove (29 inch interior) in their house (large extended family). She grabs a tape measure, and it's 24 inches, end to end. So she grabs the phone, calls someone and speaks rapid fire Greek. Hangs up and says, "No problem. I called the bakery that makes our bread (4 km away). They will cook it in their wood oven for you. Bring it all prepared to them 6 hours before you want to pick it up." Did as instructed, and for 5 Euros, had a perfectly cooked turkey.

Since then, Margarita has confirmed turkey size with her meat purveyor when ordering for us. If we need more weight, I simply add some nice large drumsticks, which roast up just fine, and fit alongside the bird. This year, for 7 adults and three children, we served a 6 legged turkey, three of which I carved for dark meat, and the other three were joyfully eaten by our friend's three young daughters, without an argument over who gets one. As I am learning from the wonderful Greeks of Paros, no problem lacks a solution.

I come from a turkey family myself, but I think the majority of Germans have roasted geese for Christmas. You make it sound like something unusual.

I've never made one myself, but my Dutch friend tells me, the secret to a good duck is cutting off the Bürzel before roasting it. Merriam-Webster translates that to pope's nose or parson's nose.

My goose was cooked years ago.

Has anyone tried a goose in a plastic roasting bag? I am wondering if it would keep the oven clean.

How about a deep-frier? That's the Southern boy in me speaking. I have done a lot of turkeys that way. Maybe the goose fat would not be a problem this way.

The plastic bag won't work. The goose would cook in it's own fat, making it unbearable to eat.

The fat has to drip off. Nothing splatters around in the oven, but it will have to be cleaned afterwards because of the smoke and steam, when using a pan underneath to catch the fat.

That is what my family called it: il naso del Papa

While carving the turkey this year, I called it that, and our friend, Marina, who was assisting in the kitchen and speaks some Italian, went into hysterics. "The Italians do not call it that, do they?" I assured her we did and asked what the Greeks called it. She answered, "We just call it the γάιδαρος (ass)."

One Polish neighbor still does what the long gone butcher shop did. Match up a goose and turkey, split them and sew half a goose to a half turkey.

I have cooked several geese on a Big Green Egg smoker, outdoors, where nothing will burn down. I use an elevated cooking grid, placed above a pizza stone which acts as a barrier, so as to allow for indirect roasting of the goose. A drip pan, partially filled with a small quantity of water, acts as a trap for the thirty pounds of rendered fat which will be produced (did I mention my recent 5-way bypass?) This pan is placed on top of the pizza stone, held away from direct contact by three little balls of rolled up foil, which is placed between them. This keeps the fat from burning, which will ruin the flavor.

Cooking temp is around 300°F, with a small bit of pecan wood used for flavor. Delicious.
Good luck!!

Many years ago I purchased a goose to cook for Christmas dinner. I roasted it in the oven, first on low heat then high at the very end, on a rack in a pan. Water was added to the pan to keep the oven from drying out the goose. Everything was fine, the fat dripped away into the water, the goose browned nicely at the end of cooking and it went to the serving platter.

Our surprise came when we cut the goose and found there was almost no meat on the bones The inner cavity was huge and when the fat cooked away there was nothing left. That was my last experience with cooking a goose.

PS: and it kind of taste like chicken

Great story!

I grew up with them at xmas. Dad was an avid hunter who always went to Canada after Thanksgiving to get some. We cooked a couple in a huge roasting pan that had a rack in it. Put some water in it and cook at about 250 for a while and then up to 350. If it's done slowly it tastes better. You don't get much meat so hence the couple. We did 3 once and got enough for 3 people. Dark meat so you had better like it.. If you can buy one in a store they might be fatter. Nobody fattened up the ones dad got. Mom plucked the first goose for dad. However it was her last. She never swore but they have so many layers of down it takes forever and she swore the whole time she was doing it. I told my dad his goose was cooked and what mom said. He went out and bought her roses (his way of dealing with his mea culpas). Not a fond lover of dark meat so i've never done one. Thanks for bringing it up. Brought back some good memories. BTW he did his own goose plucking after mom's try. I got conned once but after that i was gone when he was going to pluck them. Good luck

We may need to differentiate, domestic/wild goose. Big difference!

In my country only the domestic, raised geese come into question. Not many folks here want to shoot at one.

It's been several years since I've eaten goose. In the meantime too rich, the dark juicy meat does not agree. Plus, I think the animals are cool, and I don't want to eat them.

Nicely told story. I have had a similiar experience. No more goose for me. When I cook duck, it is the breast only. Pricey, but yummy.

We roasted a goose a long time ago. As I recall, you do need to allow for the fat to drain off. It wasn't so special that we have felt the need to do it again, but who knows? I hope you like wings.

I am smoking/roasting a turkey tomorrow on my Big Steel Keg. Next week (New Years Day) I will be doing a duck.

This method works well - high heat; very hot oven. Bird goes in, covered with foil.

Immediately reduce the heat. Cook for around 75 mins, then remove the foil. Baste it. It'll brown and stay moist. Keep basting.

Cook until juices run clear. Job done.

No. It needs the heat
Flaccid goose skin is a massive no no

Trepp

Cook as you would a duck
On a rack within A roasting tray. Stab it and salt it first

Tip the fat off regularly - keep for
roast spuds
Roast at 200 degrees - hot - or gas 6 for 12 mins per pound
Rest 20 mins before carving

As with duck it's rich
And a 3 kilo goose will feed 8
Don't try anything fancy
You don't need to
X

Interesting. There will be alot of goose fat and it may have a low flashpoint. The peanut oil you are cooking it in has a high flashpoint. There may be a problem there. It is worth an internet search says this southern boy.

I guess ex-pats can eat all the Eagle they want.

A bottle of Souma to you in June for being the first to catch that.

Goose is the best! And a slow-roasted goose is even better. My mom used to cook goose every Christmas. I only made one and found a recipe that had it roasted over night in the oven. I would have to find that recipe again but can't right now. Internet.
Oh, and the fat is the best the goose has to give. Collect it all and spread it on bread, sprinkle salt and pepper on it and be in heaven. BTW, I did not cut off the Bürzel and it still turned out perfect.

PS: red cabbage is the perfect side.

PS PS: I found the recipe again, I had it printed. It is in German, of course. If you are sure you want it, I can give you the essence in English. Let me know (PM). Either way, guten Appetit!

PS PS PS: found the URL Google translate does a decent job.

and another PS for the gravy, by the same cook: this link

never had goose. But a properly prepared lamb? The best.

I just cook goose/duck on a rack in a roasting pan to keep it above the fat in the pan. Be prepared to buy a bigger bird than you think you need as they have much less meat that a turkey or chicken.

I made lamb and veggie korma(indian) for my family today, Really good.

When people ask me how I make it, I try to be nice....but....if you can't cook you can't cook.

I try to give people who want to be a part with easy stuff. It is Christmas.

Trepp,

I'm not really sure about the dietary laws you have but was wondering if you had ever heard of or tried Turducken? While it seems like wild fowl is okay to eat I'm not sure about the joining of the 3 together.

It's pretty popular around these parts though I have yet to have one. No one else in my family is adventurous enough to try it.

They'll eat turkey and they'll eat chicken but don't even mention duck or the fact that all 3 can be cooked together.

No problem with turducken from a kosher standpoint. Just seems a lot of work... and a great opportunity to overcook the outer turkey layer while undercooking the chicken.

Trepp,

As I said I've never had one. They're put one inside the other, as I understand it, after deboning. They're purchased at the store, usually local butcher shop, and prepared at home. I've never seen them in a restaurant or mass produced.

I've seen them at Kroger this time of year almost always next to frozen turkeys and ducks. Cooked a breast only version once and it was ok but nothing spectacular.

Now that would be something that may be small enough so that I can get to see what they're like. I'll need to take a look around here to see if I can find them here.

Thanks for the heads up cdwise.

The blast and the ensuing fire was enough for me,,, no mo gooses,,,,I'll stick with good ol turkey