No, it does not taste like chicken. But at Christmas time, goose has one thing on its side: tradition.
Goose was a featured dish at the Victorian Christmas table, famously celebrated in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and goose was also favored at the holiday table for many generations of
Eastern European Jews. The goose clearly deserves status as a
favorite among many holiday traditions.
Because geese enjoy the
water but also need to stay warm, they develop a layer of fat under the
skin. The meat itself is not marbled with fat, as it is in beef,
so it is quite easy to remove the fat before cooking. Even
though goose has more calories than chicken, its fat and
cholesterol levels are similar to that of chicken breast or canned
salmon, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Ingredients: 1 thawed, raw goose (12-14 pounds)
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped onion
8 cups day-old bread cubes
3 cups chopped, unpaired apples
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon thyme or sage Directions:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a large pan, cook celery and onion in butter until tender, stirring occasionally.Remove the mixture from the heat, add the bread cubes, apples, raisins and seasonings. Set aside.Remove
neck and giblets from goose. Remove and discard the excess fat from body cavity and
neck skin. Pat the goose dry with paper towels.
Wings may be
removed at the second joint and cooked later, or you can leave the wings attached and
bend them to the back.Fill neck and body cavities with prepared fruit stuffing mixture.Fold
neck skin backwards and turn under, covering the neck opening (you may fasten with
skewers or toothpicks). Tie the legs together or tuck in a band of skin around the
tail, if present.Place
the goose breast side up on a baking rack in large pan. Insert a meat
thermometer deep into thigh muscle, being careful that the probe
is not touching the bone.Roast the goose, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees.Reduce the oven temperature to 325 and continue roasting for 2 to 2 1/2 hours -- until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees.During roasting, spoon off and discard accumulated fat at 30-minute intervals.When
roasting is complete, remove goose from the oven and transfer it
to a platter and allow to stand 20 minutes for easier carving. (The
giblets -- and wing sections -- may be used to make gravy or soup.
Cook all but the liver in water to cover with onion celery and other
seasonings. Simmer for one hour, then add the liver and cook for another
10 minutes.)
One thing the Christmas goose has in common
with the Thanksgiving turkey is leftovers. As with any poultry product,
the leftovers should be refrigerated as soon as possible.
