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Goose, to Braise
Truss the bird as if for boiling. A braising-pan proper is constructed to hold live coal on the lid, but where this is not to be had, the goose must be put into an ordinary stewpan, with a closely-fitting lid. Fat bacon and savoury herbs should be laid both above and under it, and a little stock added to moisten it. Thick folds of paper should then be put on it, and the lid wrapped about with a cloth to prevent any of the steam escaping. The bird should be cooked very slowly. Time, five hours. Sufficient for eight or ten persons. Probable cost of goose, 6s.
A working method rather than a recipe: no quantities, and a vessel most kitchens no longer own. The translation is straightforward if you treat it as a low oven braise in a Dutch oven.
- The hinge: fatA goose carries a great deal of subcutaneous fat, more than most birds you would braise (duck is comparable). Prick the skin all over before it goes in, and expect to pour off a good deal of rendered fat partway through. Skim the braising liquid before it becomes sauce, or the dish will be greasy.
- The braising-pan and its live coalsThe lid was hollowed to hold hot coal so that heat came from above as well as below. A heavy Dutch oven in an oven set to 300F does the same job. Do not attempt the cloth-wrapped lid on a gas hob; a sheet of foil crimped under the lid gives the seal the paper and cloth were for.
- TimeFive hours over the low, uneven heat of a coal range corresponds to something in the region of three hours in a steady low oven for a large bird, but the recipe states neither a weight nor a temperature, so treat the conversion as a starting guess. Test the thigh joint rather than the clock: the leg should feel loose and the meat pull from the bone.
- "Trussed as if for boiling"Legs pushed up close against the breast and tied, wings pinned to the sides, so the bird sits compact in the pan. Nothing splayed out to catch on the lid.
- Fat baconUnsmoked fatback or a fatty streaky bacon, not modern cured smoky rashers, which will dominate everything. Two or three thin sheets under the bird and two over works, though the recipe gives no quantity.
- "A little stock"A cupful is probably enough. This is a sealed braise, and the goose will release a large volume of fat and juice; too much liquid at the start gives you a boiled bird.
- Savoury herbsGenerally understood as some combination of thyme, marjoram, parsley and bay; no fixed list is implied. Goose takes sage and a little sharp fruit well if you want to go further.
- FinishingBraised skin comes out pale and slack. Lift the bird out, drain it, and give it fifteen minutes uncovered at 425F to colour before carving.
- YieldEight to ten is optimistic by modern standards. A 10 lb goose has a great deal of frame and fat; plan on six to eight servings, with the rendered fat kept for potatoes.
Braising in a closed pan was the standard rescue for older, tougher birds, and geese in the nineteenth century were frequently old: farm geese were kept for eggs and for the down before they were killed, and the Michaelmas and Christmas markets took stubble-fed birds. Roasting suits a young green goose; anything older repays the long, damp, sealed heat described here. A pan with a recessed lid for live coals is a French professional utensil, and the method as given here acknowledges that most readers would be making do with a stewpan and folded paper. The stated cost of six shillings puts the bird at a substantial sum for the period.