Home › The Principles of Cookery › Goose, Roast
Goose, Roast
A roast goose is generally filled with sage-and-onion stuffing (see GOOSE STUFFING, SAGE-AND-ONION). The way in which this is made must depend upon the taste of those who have to eat it. If a strong flavour of onion is liked, the onions should be chopped raw. If this is not the case, they should be boiled in one, two, or three waters, and mixed with a smaller or larger proportion of bread-crumbs. It should be remembered, when bread-crumbs are used, room should be allowed for swelling. Truss the goose firmly, tie the openings securely, put it down to a clear, brisk fire, and baste it plentifully until done enough. A goose is both unwholesome and unpalatable if insufficiently cooked. Take it up, remove the skewers and fastenings, pour a little gravy into it (see GOOSE, BONNE BOUCHE FOR), and send some good gravy (see GOOSE GRAVY), and either apple or tomato sauce to table with it. Garnish with lemon. Time, from an hour and a half to two hours and a half. Probable cost of goose, 6s. (See GOOSE STUFFING, TO DEPRIVE OF OFFENSIVE ODOUR.)
This is a spit-roasting instruction written for an open fire, and the two things it leaves to the cook — how hot and for how long — are exactly what a modern oven changes.
- "A clear, brisk fire" in oven termsStart the bird at 425F for about 30 minutes to set and colour the skin, then drop to 325-350F for the remainder. The original's brisk fire radiated heat from one side only, which is why constant basting and turning were essential; in an oven the fat the bird renders does most of that work.
- The instruction that matters"Unwholesome and unpalatable if insufficiently cooked" is the hinge, and it is still true. Take the thigh to 175F on a thermometer — goose leg meat is dark and tough below that — and check that the juices from the thigh joint run clear rather than pink.
- Timing by weightThe recipe's hour and a half to two and a half hours gives no weight, so treat it as a range for a moderate-sized bird. Reckon roughly 15-20 minutes per pound, adding time if it is stuffed, and confirm with the thermometer rather than the clock.
- FatA goose gives up a great deal of fat — often a pint or more. Prick the skin over the breast and thighs before it goes in, set the bird on a rack, and pour the fat off the tin two or three times during roasting so it does not smoke or spit. Keep it; it is the best possible fat for potatoes.
- Room for swellingThe warning about breadcrumbs is real. Sage-and-onion stuffing absorbs juices and expands, so fill the cavity loosely to about two-thirds. Stuffing packed tight also slows the heat reaching the centre of the bird.
- Raw or boiled onionThe choice offered here is a genuine flavour control. Raw chopped onion gives a sharp, pungent stuffing; onions blanched in one, two or three changes of water grow progressively milder and sweeter. Two changes is a reasonable middle course.
- Trussing and "skewers"Victorian kitchens used metal skewers and string to close both the neck and vent ends against a turning spit. In an oven, tying the legs and tucking the neck skin under is enough — but do close the cavity so the stuffing stays put.
- Sauce and garnishApple sauce is the standard partner, with tomato sauce offered here as an alternative. The lemon garnish is decorative, though a squeeze over the carved meat does cut the richness.
- Yield and costA goose of this sort carves to serve six to eight — it has far less meat for its weight than a turkey. The 6s. price tag was a substantial sum for a Victorian household, which is part of why goose was a festival bird rather than a weeknight one.
Goose was the older English festival roast, well established long before turkey displaced it; it was traditionally eaten at Michaelmas (29 September), when geese fattened on the stubble of the harvested fields were at their best, and again at Christmas, when "goose clubs" let working households pay in by instalments through the year for a bird. The sage-and-onion stuffing is not decoration but a deliberate counterweight to a very fatty meat, as are the apple sauce and the lemon.