Crispy and Moist
“Bob said he didn’t believe there ever was such a goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavor, size and cheapness were the themes of universal admiration.”
--Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”
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Why does the Christmas goose occupy such an esteemed perch in holiday lore, yet one rarely finds it resting at the center of the dinner table?
Compared to the industrial turkey (free-range heritage turkeys are another matter), goose has more flavor, texture, character and, last but not least, more fat. It’s meatier and complex, halfway between duck and beef, with a whisper of gaminess. Roasted properly, its skin is crackly and crisp.
A roasted goose is something you can really get excited about, instead of the feigned enthusiasm it takes to get through a turkey dinner. That goose is not more popular in North America is an object of some historical curiosity. This puzzled even the author of the classic culinary bible “James Beard’s American Cookery,” who noted that the paucity of goose and American recipes for it was indeed strange considering that most European settlers came from countries where goose was traditional. Here, roasted goose has been most strongly associated with Victorian England, and certainly no one conjured more indelibly sensual images of it from the perspective of truly hungry people than Dickens.It’s not as if there haven’t been plenty of geese around, either. To wit, wild geese have become a nuisance in the East, triggering a good deal of contention on how to manage the population. (Note to geese: try depositing golden eggs on people’s lawns for a change instead of, well, you know.) And strangely, when I was a child in the ‘60s, domestic geese were coveted for their down, yet nobody seemed interested in eating them. I remember two geese who stood sentry at the driveway to my grandparents’ farm and chased the car as you drove up to the house. As barnyard animals went, they were the farm’s only welfare cases, which was odd for a generation that was resolutely unsentimental toward animals.
But the American goose may be coming into its own. According to Jim Schiltz, a South Dakota goose wrangler and president of the National Goose Council, the American goose has been bred to the point of considerable superiority to its European cousin. It has more meat to the bone and less fat overall, but with a crucial layer of fat between the skin and meat that sets it up for self-basting. Goose got a boost two years ago when Ralphs, Safeway, Albertsons and Wal-Mart began distributing them more widely. And the goose is fundamentally resistant to the sort of industrialization that has befallen other fowl. “They’re grazers, and they generally spend all but the first 20 days outdoors, so geese tend to be free range,” Schiltz says. They’re also a seasonal proposition. They are hatched in April and reach maturity by the end of summer, which means they’re ready for harvest from August through December.
Upon reflection, I believe I first ate goose during a stay in Vienna a few years ago. It was November, and a friend insisted on taking me out for a Martini Goose--a traditional dish served in Austria and Scandinavia for the feast day of St. Martin of Tours. St. Martin, it seems, was a humble man who was drafted to become bishop but didn’t feel worthy. So, as lore holds it, he tried to flee his destiny by hiding with the geese. They gave him away by quacking loudly. I could never figure out whether getting eaten is, for the geese, a punishment or a show of gratitude for pushing him onto the pedestal.
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Old-Fashioned Crispy Roast Goose
Serves 4-6
12-14 pound goose
Salt and pepper to taste
With a sharp knife, cut away excess fat and skin that hangs at both ends of the goose. Trim thoroughly and discard fat.
Salt cavity and prick thoroughly with a fork on both sides of the bird (25 to 30 pricks). Prick through the skin and subcutaneous fat only; try not to prick into the meat of the goose.
Place goose on a rack set in a large roasting pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with water to prevent splattering. Place the pan in the oven and roast the goose at 250 degrees. After 1 hour prick the goose thoroughly on one side and turn it over, and prick thoroughly on the other side. Continue to roast with the newly turned side up. Repeat this procedure every hour.
After 4 hours of roasting, prick and turn once again. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue roasting--pricking and turning once--for an additional 75 minutes. Let goose rest for 15 minutes before carving. Season well with salt and pepper before serving.
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Martin Booe is a frequent contributor to the magazine.