The exciting conclusion!! Reading this recipe I was struck by how much kitchen stuff was probably just common knowledge a few decades ago. How to truss a whole bird, tie the legs, pin the wings in, things like that. These things were probably a lot more rudimentary for generations of women who spent most of their lives looking after a home. Those of us who have careers outside of the home, or whose mothers had careers outside of the home, might not have learned this stuff. We (and by we I mean me) might not even own twine to tie the drumsticks (I used a twist-tie) or a skewer to pin the wings in (I might have used a knitting needle, DO NOT TELL MY GRANDMA THIS).
Anyway. In the end, we were surprised how little meat there was on this giant, giant bird – but I’m told that’s just how it is with geese, they’re not giant meat machines like turkeys. It was a ton of work, it was incredibly delicious, it was very educational and rewarding. And I don’t think I need to make another goose for a very, very long time.
Awesome job on the comics. I can’t believe how much effort that was for a bird. I’m not even complaining about the meat. I just get lazy a couple hours in. There are a couple of cookbooks that give instructions on how to do stuff like truss a bird or prepare certain techniques. I thought Julia had hers in the front of the book, but Joy of Cooking definitely has a whole area devoted to the beginning of each section and even throughout the book. There was a method for preparing bear shoulder and field dressing game meats.
I wanted a goose for Krismas dinner this year, but my mom didn’t think there would be enough meat for 5 of us. How many servings do you think you got off a 10lb goose? I thought she was just being lazy and didn’t want to cook a goose. Sounds (understandably) like both. :)
I was informed by family of a (seemingly) easier goose recipe, if you ever do try it again.
http://beekman1802.com/a-beekman-christmas-goose-via-fanny-cradock/
A little info on geese from a farmer who keeps them, and hopefully it’s not an imposition! Geese do store a lot of fat, both as a layer and in the meat itself. This is because they are snowbirds (literally). One winter we had three feet of snow on the ground, and the geese treated it as almost business as usual. They loved following the trails we made in feeding the sheep, though!
Their bodies are fairly dense, however, which means that the meat is scanty compared to our modern meat birds such as chickens. You will get more off a goose than a duck, but it will be proportionate. The meat is (or should be) fairly rich, however, compared to a chicken, so a smaller amount goes a longer way.
To flip poultry in the middle of roasting, use a LOT of paper towels. My favourite turkey method starts with the breast side down and then I flip it near the end to brown the breast skin. I just stack several paper towels and sort of use them like pot holders to grasp the bird at both ends and turn it.
My method for turning hot birds is inserting wood spoons at both ends and twisting it over, kinda like a rotisserie. It’s best to do it with a spotter. I made a goose last year and was surprised by three things: 1. Geese are expensive 2. There was enough to serve four people well, but I, too, am used to the all-giving turkey 3. Cold roast goose on salad is AMAZING!
I roasted a chicken using a recipe out of ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ and had the same issue. I actually remembered I had these crazy bird flipping fork things that were really helpful.