Goose - for Christmas dinner - advice pleASE

[Avantia]

we are going to be hosting Christmas this year for 12 (only 2 children). DH has suggested goose as the meat , not quite sure myself .

Is Goose like duck -,little meat but lost of fat ? How big a goose for 12 people ?

Any thoughts ?

Not sure on size, but yes, goose produces vast quantities of fat. Make sure you have loads of containers at the ready to collect the fat for roasting potatoes in. You will need to syphon fat off several times during cooking ime, and have enough for potatoes to last you 6 months!

Goose makes a lovely Christmas dinner. I can't answer your other questions though, sorry ! But am salivating at the thought

We had goose a couple of years ago. It was ok and enjoyed by most. It was fairly easy to cook just followed instructions. Geese are fairly huge to start with though. We also cooked hams that year and they were all gone. Also had enough goose fat for roast potatoes until the following November!

I think you'd struggle to feed 12 on one goose to be honest unless they're not very big eaters.

Nigella and Delia have nice goose recipes but for up to 8 servings I think.

I think that geese have a big carcass relative to the amount of meat you get hence not being so good for large numbers - well unless you fancy doing 2 and have the necessary oven space.

I really enjoy goose, but to feed 12 I'd say you definitely need 2 and possibly 3- so it could well be impractical cooking-wise not to say very expensive too!

Goose is good (but honestly, not THAT good) and needs regular (and messy) attention compared to a turkey/other joint as the fat needs removing regularly. It is pretty tedious.

We did it one year and I can't remember how big it was, but no way would it have fed anything like 12.... they reduce an awful lot (due to loss of fat) so take advice from your butcher/supplier on the size needed

Not what I would ever choose again for Christmas Day, as there is enough to do as it is in putting a meal for 12 together, without having to fuss around your bird on a very regular basis. If it matters, it will wreck your oven and make your house stink.

Goose is lovely but you will need to cook a seperate meat (ham or gammon would go well) or you won't have enough.

It's fairly easy to cook although I couldn't get a tine big enough so cooked on the grill pan!. Needs to be slightly raised off the pan so all the fat can drain off, which you'll need to remove regularlt throughout cooking.

Think our goose was a 12 pounder although nearer a stone once stuffed

Last year my SIL cooked goose. She got the biggest size available and said it was just big enough to feed 5 adults and 4 children BUT the children eat next to nothing, and there were no leftovers at all, and they would have liked a little bit more each.

Some quick responses -thank you - will pass the info onto DH .

I did duck one year, before I met DH , and had to cook another meat with that.

A rethink is needed I feel .

My brother always does the most delicious goose - and the carcase makes stock to die for.

Yes - goose is heavy on the carcass. So you look at it and think that there is loads, but there is less meat on it than you think.

Ok , have passed message onto DH , he now asks whether it is possible to just get a goose crown like a turkey crown ?

I have googled bit it didn't look promising .

Have you thought about a goose stuffed with other birds - I know they can be very expensive but may be worth speaking to your local reputable butcher? Otherwise why not do a goose , a ham (which can be prepped day or so before) and a turkey crown (boned by your butcher)

I would say that if you really want goose for christmas for 12, you will need to buy more than 1 and cook them the day before.

Goose -stuffed with other birds ? now thats interesting .

We intended to go and see our butcher this week and get his advice so so will see what he says on that .

When we had 16 for Christmas dinner, my brother did a goose in the oven, and dp did a joint of beef in the barbecue. It was fab and we had loads of delicious leftovers. But the goose wouldn't have done more than about 8 or 9, I think.

You could order through your local butcher and ask him to remove the legs for you and you could cook those seperately.

want to just add what the others said about the fat - it is a very fatty bird but you can reduce the amount of fat that drips off it in the oven by scooping lots of the dry fat out before hand. It sounds disgusting but my MIL is the goose expert and thats what she does - she puts her hand in the neck bit and scoops most of the fat out! otherwise your oven will be nearly drowning in fat!

at Aldi or Lidl you can sometimes get parts of a goose but dont think they do a crown.

Agree that despite them being big when you buy them they wouldnt feed 12 people!

but it is delicious!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken

I love goose, tastes quite beefy but with lovely crispy skin like crispy duck. You might need.

There were 7 adults and 3 children at our Christmas last year and we had a 6 kilo goose.

I prefer not to stuff as per HFW's advice that stuffing the inside of birds means you have to ccok it for longer and the breast meat might be overcooked.

The beauty of it for the cook is that you just leave it in the oven and pretty much let it get on with it!

Seem to remember that Rick Stein did a goose not so long ago.

I have done goose, there will definitely not be enough meat for 12 adults, even though it is very rich and most people don't eat a lot of it.
Think of a big bony body with only a thin layer of meat on it.
I have never seen a goose crown though a good butcher should do one for you to order - probably at huge expense. I would guess that would feed 4-5 adults, no more.

thank you all for all your advice . xx

we have had a goose several times for just the 2 of us! Check you can get it in your oven, and that you have a tin big enogh to fit it in. It's the most delicious flavour, a cross between duck and beef with delicious crispy skin. You will need to regularly pour off the goose fat which will give you a few large jars full to cook roasties in for the rest of the year.

We have always bought from Seldom Seen Farm (google it) and has been outstanding, if not cheap. They also do a 3-bird roast which you can order frozen and sounds delicious and I think can serve up to 12, but is too big for just us with 2 tiny dc's. An average goose would serve 6 comfortably, I think. I am tempted by Nigella's recipe for goose stuffed with potato, sage and onion.