7/365
This is our Christmas Goose! Yes, I realize that we are cooking/eating this a bit late, but because Will's folks are visiting and celebrating mini-Christmas with us, we thought it would be a good idea. We have never eaten goose before today (at least not Will, his mom, and I). However, we receive a meat CSA from some friends who own a farm (Grass is Greener Meats and Produce). If you don't know what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and basically you buy a "share" in a local farm. For this particular CSA, we receive farm-fresh meat (poultry, beef, and pork) on a monthly basis. For the December CSA, we also got a goose for Christmas. My father-in-law was kind enough to cook this today while we were working. Why my father-in-law? Well, he's a great cook, and he's the only one of the four of us who has actually eaten goose before. At any rate, we came home today to an amazing-smelling house!! As far as what goose tastes like, it's a bit hard to describe - kind of like a cross between duck and the dark meat of turkey. All goose meat is dark meat. All I can tell you is that this was mild, flavorful, and just really good!
How he prepared the goose (about 8.5 lbs):
First, he brined it for about 1.5 hrs in a 1/2 c. salt/1 gallon of water solution. Then, he scored just the skin only on the breast in a little chevron pattern (can be seen in the pic) to help render the fat. He made a mixture of 1 Gala apple (chopped), 1/2 c. raisins, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and stuffed it in the goose with about 10 sprigs of thyme. The only other spice was liberal salt on the breast side only. He then put it in a roasting pan (breast side up) with 2 cups of water, and tightly covered the pan with foil. He roasted it in the oven at 350F for 2 hrs., uncovered it, and cooked it for an additional 15 min. to brown/crisp the skin. It was delicious!
7/365
This is our Christmas Goose! Yes, I realize that we are cooking/eating this a bit late, but because Will's folks are visiting and celebrating mini-Christmas with us, we thought it would be a good idea. We have never eaten goose before today (at least not Will, his mom, and I). However, we receive a meat CSA from some friends who own a farm (Grass is Greener Meats and Produce). If you don't know what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and basically you buy a "share" in a local farm. For this particular CSA, we receive farm-fresh meat (poultry, beef, and pork) on a monthly basis. For the December CSA, we also got a goose for Christmas. My father-in-law was kind enough to cook this today while we were working. Why my father-in-law? Well, he's a great cook, and he's the only one of the four of us who has actually eaten goose before. At any rate, we came home today to an amazing-smelling house!! As far as what goose tastes like, it's a bit hard to describe - kind of like a cross between duck and the dark meat of turkey. All goose meat is dark meat. All I can tell you is that this was mild, flavorful, and just really good!
How he prepared the goose (about 8.5 lbs):
First, he brined it for about 1.5 hrs in a 1/2 c. salt/1 gallon of water solution. Then, he scored just the skin only on the breast in a little chevron pattern (can be seen in the pic) to help render the fat. He made a mixture of 1 Gala apple (chopped), 1/2 c. raisins, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and stuffed it in the goose with about 10 sprigs of thyme. The only other spice was liberal salt on the breast side only. He then put it in a roasting pan (breast side up) with 2 cups of water, and tightly covered the pan with foil. He roasted it in the oven at 350F for 2 hrs., uncovered it, and cooked it for an additional 15 min. to brown/crisp the skin. It was delicious!