Christmas goose

DoctorDad · December 2018

After getting a conveggtor and cooking my first BGE turkey for Thanksgiving ( a resounding success), I am emboldened to try a goose for X-mas. Alas, I am torn between the idea of a whole goose on the table, with crispy skin, but afraid of overcooking the breast in order to get the legs done. My Chinese wife says I should steam it half way done first, but I don't think it will be crispy if I don't start with very dry skin. What to do?

Botch · December 2018

Will be watching this thread close. My local grocer had about 6 geese in the freezer, and I haven't tasted one since I lived at home (Dad LOVED goose!) Avg price, $55!! (and there ain't much meat on a goose)
I'd been googling some goose recipes, and they're all over the place, including cooking the bird to 155, slicing off the breasts, then cooking the rest to 195! Other recipes included steaming, or boiling, the goose to get most of the fat off, so your wife may be right.
As I said, will be watching this thread close.

st¡ke · December 2018

Goose blows

breast is minimal. Wings nonexistent. Legs spare

but you have to do it. We all do. And it's all Dickensian. So. Yeah

steaming is correct. You don't have to but it yields predictable results

it also yields goose fat. Which is worth its weight in goose fat. Perfect for potatoes etc.

Prick, steam over a mixing bowl (to retain fat. Then roast

bunch of recipes/methods out there

i did it a looking time ago,
and so have no clue where the link is

also. I'm not really stike. Most of this is cut and paste from googling "site:eggheadforum.com"+"stike"+"[insert subject here]"

gdenby · December 2018

I've done goose several times. Yes, its expensive. Most are produced at a single farm in South Dakota. And they don't have all that much meat, but it can be very good.

Attached, are a few shots from different year. An early one, I trussed up, trying to get more even cooking. My recollection is that it was tender, but not as tender as I would have liked it, and rather greasy. I hadn't learned how much of the body fat needed to be removed before cooking, and hadn't slit the skin enough for rendering. The geese I've had typically have enough loose fat that I get a quart or more rendered.

The other shots are from 2 years ago. On that one, I had removed the leg quarters and wings. This is something I've started to do w. turkeys also. Those get started in the SV so the tendons are partially melted before a quick-ish Egg finish. The breast and back portion that I mangled while cutting away the thighs were cooked around 350. Flipped right at the end, and the heat cranked up till the remnant fat in the cavity was bubbling. I was pretty happy w. that one. Very crisp outsides, still moist and tender flesh.

DoctorDad · December 2018

@gdenby Nice pics! Thanks for sharing! I heard that geese and ducks are processed differently (cleaner) than chicken and turkey so it is safe to eat them a bit rare. I don't want to overcook, but it looks like you managed to get the color and "doneness" just right! Did you baste it? I was thinking about a basting solution of honey, soy sauce, fresh grapefruit juice and 5 spice powder. Did you raise it about the drip pan with a rack? I definitely want that goose fat for 'taters!!

Botch · December 2018

My local market actually had some geese in the freezer, was Dad's favorite but I haven't had it in over three decades.
Haven't pulled the trigger yet (and I'm running out of time) but was surprised to see this requirement in Martha Stewart's recipe on-line: cook until the breast registers 180º ?!?!?

gdenby · December 2018

Poultry can be safely eaten when cooked to lower temperatures, but most people will not like the texture. If you cook any meat to an IT of 185F, all pathogens are killed in a few minutes. If you cook to 165, the time frame is more like 10 - 15 minutes. Its can be safe at 140. I tried that a few times w. chicken, holding it at 140 for about 45 min, and it was icky.

The problem w. goose is that the legs have more tendons per volume than turkeys. The meat there is quite edible at 165, as is the breast, but the connective tissue will still be intact.

And then there is the fat. You can see in the 2nd image how I scored the skin towards the end, having pricked it at the start, and there was still an unpleasant layer of fat remaining. That's why the second set, perhaps the the 5th attempt after the earlier one, had the legs and wings cook mostly in SV.

I suppose pre-steaming would do much the same by pre-rendering, and might make it possible to pull the fat and skin layers away from the flesh, much like making Peking duck.

No, I haven't basted, other than spooning some of the cavity fat and juices onto the carcass when I've turned it. Just rub. The scored skin will ooze out fat w/o you having to bother. I think your basting mix would taste good, but I'd be inclined to put it in the cavity, and let the flavors seep into the meat, while the skin gets crisp. Just my inclination.

Early on, I saved the fat drippings from the pan. I stopped doing that because the smoke flavor was sometimes very strong, and it didn't keep as well as the fat I rendered by itself.

If you save a Christmas goose's fat, a sinfully glutinous Easter brunch can be goose fat fried 'taters topped by duck eggs over easy.

Botch · December 2018

gdenby said:

The problem w. goose is that the legs have more tendons per volume than turkeys. The meat there is quite edible at 165, as is the breast, but the connective tissue will still be intact.

One of the recipes that came up on my search, the guy cooked the bird up to 150 and then removed it, cut the breasts off, and returned the legs/wings/etc to the fire and cooked it to 195! Be kind've a messy cook, but he swore by it.

500 · December 2018

My friend just did a “BBQ” goose. He hunts them and said he’ll get me one next time. Maybe I’ll smoke it until it pulls like a butt. Y’all think that might work? Never had goose before, just duck breast from fancy restaurants.

Eoin · December 2018

We make goose at Christmas most years, though never on the Egg as that is full of turkey.

Watch out for the fat, because there's a lot of it, so have a big enough drip pan in place. Keep the fat for roasted spuds, ours sits in kilner jars in the fridge.

@Botch, I used this recipe where the breast is removed mid cook. https://www.splendidtable.org/story/cook-your-goose-slowly-at-a-low-heat-to-let-the-fat-render-out Remove the breast meat at 135F as described and pan fry to finish. It's really good and avoids drying out the breast meat.

Christmas goose

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