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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To expect to be able to cook a goose for Christmas Dinner....

39 replies

TessTing · 04/12/2009 17:48

Even though I have never even attempted this before, nor even tasted goose before?

It's a family of 8 for christmas dinner and apparently the goose has "been voted in this year".

But it's our turn to host and that makes me chief cook.

Are they easy to do or should I be running for the hills? Do children like them?

In the kitchen I am more of an accidental hero as nothing really turns out quite as it looks in the books but is usually a good result all the same. But am I stretching too far here?

OP posts:

BexJ78 · 04/12/2009 21:41

we have goose as my auntie and uncle breed them fo christmas! They are lovely, but you need to keep an eye on the fat and drain it regularly; it really does come out at a rate of knots!!! really lovely and tasty, you just don't get masses of meat, but then again, you are also then not eating it up for days afterwards! Good luck!

oldraver · 04/12/2009 21:44

I'm not one of lifes good cooks but even I couldn't coco up cooking the goose. They are expensive. I last bought one about 6 years ago and cost about £45, it was a goose that led a very happy life as I used to check on the flock from time to time on the way home from work (they would all come running when they saw you at the gate)

I got a good baster to take off the fat, the farmer used to give us a bag of the fat along with the bird but like someone mentioned make sure you pull off any other visible fat (you can freeze it). We still had cranberry sauce with it as I like the tartness

Original poster

TessTing · 07/12/2009 10:42

Is there a goose big enough to feed 8 people? (A couple of them with "healthy" appetites)

OP posts:

stealthsquiggle · 07/12/2009 10:48

our local goose farm - she seems to reckon one could just about do 8 - also lots of cooking tips, etc.

DH likes goose, I prefer turkey - so we are having beef this year

sparechange · 07/12/2009 11:09

Goose is our Christmas meat of choice. Much nicer than turkey...
As OPs have said, there is a lot of fat so it will need to be drained a few times.

It is worth saving a few empty jam jars up between now and christmas, because the fat will keep in the fridge for at least a few months and makes the BEST roast potatoes known for man.
It also makes nice pressies for foodie friends...

diddl · 07/12/2009 11:29

We´ve also decided on goose this year even though we´ve not had it before!

Husband after I don´t know how many years has said he doesn´t like turkey!

Children don´t care, so we´ll give it a go!

ijustwanttoaskaquestion · 07/12/2009 11:36

£60-£80????? fecking hell - i was considering a goose, we are sort of half veggie and dont like turkey, can't afford free range - defo wont be affording that! Nut roast it is then

stealthsquiggle · 07/12/2009 11:39

If that was from my link - her geese are not cheap, in the grand scheme of goosedom (they used to sell them in Harvey Nichols )

Original poster

TessTing · 07/12/2009 12:14

Just checked {cheeky} but it seems that even Harvey Nicks can't afford goose this year - it's not on their online shop anyway.

Am now more attracted to the snobbery factor that I might serve something you can't even buy in Harvey Nicks. lol

OP posts:

whifflegarden · 07/12/2009 12:30

ijustwanttoaskaquestion, try waitrose. They usually do a good price on geese (although I haven't seen any online yet and waiting to be able to add to my trolley )

Might go on sale nearer the time as well.

NancyDrewRocks · 07/12/2009 13:36

I love goose at Christmas and often do it Christmas Eve when there are less people - Nigella has a great recipe where it is stuffed with mash potatoe it is yummy and a bit different esp if you're going to do turkey and all the trimmings the next day.

Word of warning it is very fatty and so needs to be cooked on a rack over the baking tray. Also don't get one that fills your oven they spit like mad and everything you cook until the oven is properly cleaned will have a whif of goose about it. Fine with turkey the next day, not so fine with the boxing day meringues!

PuppyMonkey · 07/12/2009 13:43

Goose is usually lovely - much meatier than normal poultry, almost reminded me of lamb a bit. We had it once and it was lovely and then the next year, it was too scrawny and not enough meat on it. So obviously a bit hit and miss.

I found it easy to roast on a rack.. We thought about it this year, the farm near us is charging £48 for a quite big one. But i still worry about that scrawny possibility. So probably doing a couple of legs of lamb instead.

MrsGuyOfChristmasBorn · 22/12/2009 09:56

This has been very useful as we are that cliche - the family that ordered a small gooese, discovered that a small goose is actually quite a big thing and faced ith dimemebering it to fit it in the oven....

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 22/12/2009 13:36

I cooked the largest goose I could find last week - I think they say a kilo per person (uncooked weight) and we got one that was 7.7kg, it fitted fine in our oven and fed 8 adults well. Its a dark, rich meat, very nice indeed.

Just a couple of tips:

I took 2 litres of fat away from the tin as it cooked, so you must cook it on a rack and you would be advised to get one of those suction-y bulb type things (baster?) to help get the fat out. Let it cool and then pour it into a bottle to keep - it makes fabulous roast potatoes
ours cooked for 7 hours - as someone said earlier, cook it for 15 minutes in a hot hot oven and then turn it down to 150 degrees and cook and it was meltingly good

Enjoy

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