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Goose, Bonne Bouche For
Mix very smoothly half a tea-spoonful of salt, a pinch of cayenne, and a tea-spoonful of made mustard, with a glass of port, and pour it into the goose just before serving, through a slit made in the apron. Time, ten minutes to prepare. Probable cost, 4d. Sufficient for one goose.
A seasoned port mixture poured into the cavity of a roast goose at the moment of serving, so that it mingles with the hot fat and juices and comes out with the carving. Timing is the whole point: it goes in after the bird leaves the oven and before it reaches the table.
- "A glass of port"In Victorian cookery books an unqualified "glass" of wine means a wine glass of the period, roughly 2 to 2 1/2 fl oz. Use tawny or ruby port; nothing dry or fortified-and-savoury such as sherry, since the sweetness is there to answer the goose fat.
- Made mustard"Made" mustard is mustard already mixed to a paste with liquid, as opposed to the dry powder then sold in tins. English mustard is the intended flavour; a teaspoon of it is assertive, which is the idea.
- The apronThe apron is the flap of skin and fat covering the vent end of the bird. The slit is cut there so the liquid runs into the body cavity rather than over the crisped breast skin.
- Pour it warmThe recipe does not say to warm the mixture. Warming it briefly in a small pan without boiling is a modern suggestion, on the grounds that cold port will cool the hot juices.
- Rest first, then pourThe recipe specifies only 'just before serving'. Add the mixture at the last moment; poured in early it would simply drain into the roasting tin.
- What to do with it at the tableTip the carcass so the liquid collects, spoon it out with the pan juices, and serve it as a thin gravy rather than expecting the meat itself to be flavoured. A goose gives up a great deal of fat, so skim before serving.
- YieldEnough for one bird, as the recipe states; it gives no number of diners. There is no reason to scale it up; a larger quantity only dilutes the juices.
Bonne bouche is French for a titbit or a pleasing mouthful, and by the nineteenth century English cookery writers used it loosely for any small finishing touch that came at the end of a dish or a meal. It is less a dish than a trick of service: a spoonful of something sharp or sweet introduced at the last second to lift a rich roast. Goose was commonly served with apple sauce and with sage and onion. The "probable cost, 4d" is characteristic of Cassell's, which priced nearly every recipe so that a household could reckon the expense of a menu in advance; fourpence was a trifling addition to a bird that might have cost several shillings.