Any ideas on how to cook a goose? Alternatives to turkey.

[Bobbins]

I don't actually like turkey. My Mum and Dad have always done the Chistmas day lunch, I never have. Unfortunately my Mum died earlier this year, and so that we don't sit around trying to re create exactly how it usually is I want to do someting different for my Dad and a couple of friends round at my house. So I'm thinking GOOSE...but I have no idea about buying/preparing or cooking. Am I setting myself up for disaster. Every year I consider doing something different, and so did my parents, but we always end up with turkey. Are there any other good alternatives to turkey?

Bobbins, a girl after my own heart! I HATE turkey, yet every year it gets dished up simply because its "traditional" Pah! Goose on the other hand is delicious!
20mins/lb plus 20mins (a la chicken!) It produces masses of fat whilst cooking, a la duck. Prick the skin all over pre cooking and rub in some salt to help the skin crisp up nicely. If its huge, it may be worth starting it off upside down and putting it right side up after 1/3-1/2 its cooking time, to keep the breast moister.
Leaving it to stand for 10-15mins after cooking helps to tenderise everything.
Sorry to hear about your Mum, first Xmas's after losing a loved one must be really hard, hope you have a good day with your family.

Thanks honeybunny

what about stuffing/accompaniments?

Bobbins, we've done goose a couple of years running using a Josceline Dimbleby recipe which has a spiced apple and ginger accompaniment. Personally, although delicious, I think this recipe is a little bit fiddly...dh does it really well.
We love goose and if you keep the fat afterwards in the fridge it is stunning for sauteeing potatoes or starting off casseroles.
Let me know if you want the recipe and I will dig it out.

Thanks Marina,
Could you post it here as I expect I'll be printing out the thread. If not you could mail me at [email protected] (sorry that address is a reference to me growing old and living in a big house with my two best friends...having lots of cats and wearing purple hats)

I'm looking at Delia online at the mo. Just realised I've got two pheasants in the freezer that I have never had the blindest idea how to use. I suppose they are christmassy, just not very big, and I wouldn't get leftover. I'm thinking of cooking for 4-5 people at most. Is it best to stuff these alternative birds? I've never had goose or pheasant before. Do they still go with bread sauce and all the other shenanigans ie; bacon...sprouts etc?

I think I'll try the goose and keep the pheasants in the freezer for another experiment. Still need ideas for accompaniments. I love chestnuts.

I remember doing this lovely Jamie Oliver recipe for roasted onions with parmesan cheese...yummy...that would be good for christmas. I've lost the recipe though

I'm your fairy godmother-waterwitch bobbins! The onion recipe is here, I hope

And these are apparently prizewinning accompaniments for goose, here!

OK Bobbins, courtesy of Sainsbury's "The Josceline Dimbleby Christmas Book", here's that recipe. Now I'm off to check out that roasted onion recipe!

Glazed goose with apples, ginger and green chillies

As well as a 12-15lb goose, you will need:

4oz crystallised ginger
4 large garlic cloves
1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
2 fresh green chillies, de-seeded
1.5lb eating apples
Juice of one lemon
6 tablespoons natural yogurt
5fl oz apple juice
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
Handful of chopped coriander, mint or parley (we always use coriander)
Salt, pepper

Remove the giblets and reserve any lumps of fat from the goose. Rub the skin with salt and put the goose breast-side down on a rack in a large roasting pan or dish. Place the pieces of goose fat on top and cover the dish with foil. Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 (180 deg C, 350 deg F) and cook the goose for 20 mins per pound.
While the goose is cooking, put the crystallised ginger in a small bowl of hot water and leave it to soak. Chop the peeled garlic, fresh ginger and chillies together finely. Peel, core and slice the apples. Take 4-5 tablespoons of goose fat from the roasting pan and heat this to medium heat in a flame-proof casserole dish or heavy saucepan. Add the chopped garlic, fresh ginger and chillies and stir for 30 secs. Add the sliced apples, stir and then cover the dish. Strain the soaked crystallised ginger and cut it into slivers. Add it to the cooked mixture, together with the lemon juice, and season with salt. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for 20-25 mins, until the apples are fairly mushy. Stir in the yogurt and remove the pan from the heat.
About 45 mins before the goose has finished cooking, pour out as much fat as possible from the pan and pour in the apple juice. Turn the goose over so that it is breast side up. Stir the caster sugar into the soy sauce and brush the mixture over the goose. Put it back in the oven without any foil.
When ready to serve, re-heat the apple mixture gently and stir in the chopped coriander, mint or parsley. Pour off any more fat from the pan juices, season them to taste and use them as gravy. The apple mixture should be spooned over the carved goose as it is served.

We found the best source of non-ordered goose is Waitrose - and that the recipe does not take account of the ferocity of the modern fan oven, so you might find the goose is done before you calculated.

Does it have to be a bird? What about a leg of lamb with mint and garlic? We've still not decided what to have as there will only be DH, me & DD and I'm due baby2 on 26 Dec. so it could be cheese sandwhiches in the end.

Bobbins - hate turkey too, but more importantly love your email address.

Turkey - whats not to like?

Latest Sainsbury's magazine has a goose recipe, so presume goose will be readily available in Sainsburys. However the recipe warning is to clean your oven beforehand and after - enough to put me off!!! What about a nice roast chicken??

Bobbins, Delia (in her first book - don't remember what it was called) does a lovely chestnut stuffing recipe, I have to make it vegetarian but its really made with chestnut puree, apple, onion, and sausage meat, I'm sure would go well with goose. Not that I eat either goose or turkey! My dinner is a plate of sprouts and then banished to the garden for the rest of the day.

Thanks for the recipes and stuff laydees

florenceuk > yes that is rather daunting (cleaning oven...TWICE). Nuff to make me think again too. I think my Dad has heart set on goose now tho.

www> you are a smasher. I thought I would never see those scrum diddly umptious onions again.

willow2> glad you like the address. It was very difficult to get an ID that hadn't already been taken. Funnily enough I wasn't given the alternative of [email protected] which was quite a relief!

Enid> turkey shmurkey....eugh...and as for turkey curry...good GRIEF

I always do Roast Chicken, so its not an option. I just want to do something really different, so that we are not comparing this year to last year when we had our full quota of loved ones, and mummy cooking.

Capon is nice. More moist. I have cooked goose and it's nice but very fatty when cooking. Literally I had to empty the cooking tray about 6 times when I was cooking it.

I shall put this to my father, although I don't think the fat issue would dissuade him, and I'm not sure how sympathetic he would be towards my oven's cleanliness issues.

I wonder if I could perhaps do the two pheasants, along with another bird, duck perhaps, or am I setting myself up for a fall?

Bobbins, duck would be good as its really, really easy to do. Its very hard to stop pheasant being dry IMO, its not often that great.

Getting your dad to clean the oven would probably disuade him (but might not perhaps give the festive Christmas for him you were hoping...). I go with an alternative to pheasant if you do cook them - it's a tough (sometimes literally) bird to get yummy. If you wanted the really easy option to counteract all the other hard work you've got to do (what state are the pheasants in? have you got to gut them too?), M&S do a great ready-to-go-in-oven duck.

Pheasants are easy too. But perhaps wont be at there best being frozen. Never as nice as fresh and well hung. Yummy. For a brace, about 55-60mins is enough cooking time in a 180-200C oven. Stuff them with a peeled whole onion, helps to sweeten their taste if they are quite gamey. They should feed 4-5 at a squeeze (4 comfortably) Criss cross the top of each bird with bacon to keep the breast moist, then remove with about 15mins to go, and dust with flour and a sprinkle of sea salt to crisp them up. Serve with the usual bread sauce, roast root veg, sprouts and stuffing if you really want to go to town!

Think a duck would be a bit small for 5 of you, you might need to throw in an extra breast or 2 in case. Go goose girlie, you know it makes sense!! Just wish it was us!

And Enid, dry, tasteless cardboard springs to mind when ever I think of turkey, even when Mum cooks it, sorry Mum! YUKKKKK!!!!! You know my plate will be devoid of it again this year! Even if it is a "Bronze" one.

GOOSE, GOOSE, GOOSE!!!

Don't worry honeybunny, we'll leave you some extra sprouts to fill that gap

Home grown, organic sprouts. YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY! Ds1 and I will be trumpeting merrily all afternoon!

We're having home grown organic chicken for Christmas lunch. So home grown and organic that it's still in the garden at the moment! YUM! And no-one else in our house likes sprouts (actually, when I think abut it, haven't tried ds on them, maybe he'll join me) so they re ALL FOR ME!!