Talk to me about a Christmas goose

[AKMD]

I've always wanted to try roasting a goose for Christmas dinner. Has anyone had a goose (at Christmas or any other time!)? How did you cook it? Was it nice? How many people were you cooking for?

I have no idea how many people are coming to us this year. We might invite my parents and my brother, which makes 5 + a toddler. I'm fairly sure a goose would stretch but have no real clue.

Also, how much did it cost to buy a goose? My only reference is the very nice butcher's in my local market town that are quoting £50 :o

Ta!

Hi
we cooked one a few years back, it was very long and hardly fitted in the oven but it released an awful amount of fat (I sucked it out with one of these cooking thing and used it to cook the vegs which was really tasty). It was rather expensive and not as much meat as you'd get on a turkey but tasted really nice.
I would not get one again as it was very expensive (around £60 or more) and just fed the 4 of us without much left over of meat but it was different and tasted good.
Maybe if you have lots of other things to eat, it will be OK?
Good luck with your experiment

Hmm, ok, still very expensive. Maybe in 10 years I will have my goose! Thanks for the reply :)

They are pricier than a turkey, but absolutely delicious, and you don't have the problem of masses of leftovers to deal with! Though we manage to feed 4 adults and still have a good amount left over - we do have a ham as well so that could make the difference.

I've done a goose a couple of times for Christmas, and find that, although there isn't as much meat, it's so rich you don't need a lot. It does let out loads of fat though - I take mine out the oven every hour or so and drain the fat off. Strain it and keep it - it makes fabulous roasties! £50 seems reasonable, based on what I've paid in the past (at my nice butcher's in the village). For anyone who does cook one, it looks as if it's getting a but dry when you're raoasting it, as the meat does shrink off the bones a lot, but it not dry at all when you eat it (prolly all that fat....).

I have had to perform surgery on them to fit 'em in the oven though