Roast Goose
A roast goose is generally filled with sage-and-onion stuffing. The way in which this is made must depend upon the taste of those who have to eat it. If a strong flavor of onion is liked, the onions should be chopped raw. If this is not the case, they should be boiled in 1, 2, or 3 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 into a hot oven, 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, and send some good 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.
A late Victorian roast goose done without a single measurement — the author assumes you can judge stuffing by eye and a bird by smell. The parts that need translating are the oven, the fat, and how you know it is done.
- "A hot oven"Read this as 425-450F. With a goose it is worth using that heat only for the first 30 minutes to set and start rendering the skin, then dropping to 325-350F for the remainder, or the breast dries long before the legs give up.
- Boiled "in 1, 2, or 3 waters"This means draining the onions and covering them with fresh boiling water once, twice or three times. Each change strips out more of the harsh sulphur compounds, so three waters gives the mildest stuffing and raw onion the fiercest.
- Room for swellingThe warning is real. Bread crumbs absorb fat and juices and expand; fill the cavity no more than two-thirds or the stuffing packs solid and the bird cooks unevenly. Baking the surplus in a dish alongside is the easier route.
- Stuffing temperatureStuffing inside a bird sits in raw poultry juices and must reach 165F on a thermometer, checked at the centre of the cavity, not just at the edge.
- DonenessThe instruction that a goose is "unwholesome and unpalatable if insufficiently cooked" is sound advice about texture as much as safety — undercooked goose is chewy and greasy. Take the thigh to 170-175F, which is above the 165F minimum but is where the dark, tough leg meat actually becomes tender.
- The fatA goose renders a great deal of fat, and the recipe's instruction to baste plentifully assumes you are basting with it. Prick the skin over the breast and thighs before roasting, set the bird on a rack, and ladle the fat out of the pan as it collects — otherwise the pan overflows and the drippings scorch. Save it; it keeps for months refrigerated and is excellent for potatoes.
- Timing and sizeThe one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hour range corresponds to birds of roughly 6 to 10 lb, at about 15 minutes per pound. Judge by thermometer rather than clock.
- Gravy poured "into it"Gravy is poured into the cavity after the trussing is removed so it mixes with the stuffing when carved. Make the gravy from the neck and giblets, and skim it hard — goose drippings are mostly fat.
- YieldA goose gives far less meat per pound than a turkey. A 10 lb bird serves six generously, eight at a stretch.