Goose!

[Teppy]

So finally the stores around here are stocking goose. I've been cooking goose for years - certainly my favorite bird. Duck is a distant second.

It seems that each time I cook a goose I discover another part that is particularly tasty. The legs are tender and full of flavor. The wings, if not overcooked, are rich with sticky gelatin. And the neck with it's super-dark meat and chewy texture is fantastic. The giblets, pureed with fat, spread on bread and toasted, make a wonderful start to the meal. The fat itself makes any vegetable into a main dish.

Of course the skin - separated and slowly cooked in it's own fat - is the food equivalent of heroin. Chewy, rich, crispy salty goodness. Just tonight I took all the tough muscles and connective tissue from the back (which can be sort of slimy) and I slowly re-cooked them in the fat rendered from the skin, and sprinkled a bit of truffle salt . What was previously "junk" meat was suddenly the best. Almost a goose confit.

Which brings me to my question. What the hell do I do with the breast meat? That's supposed to be the best, right? But compared to everything else it's dry and bland. If only there was a use for the breast meat, I could pronounce goose, "Nature's Most Perfect Food."

[Ruth]

Be sure to keep it very rare. It would be good cooked very slowly in its own fat to no more than 120°F. If you have the equipment I think goose breast would be the perfect candidate for sous vide.

[tim]

Hi,

I like to cold smoke goose breast. Wrapping the breast in caul fat keeps it moist. The flavor and texture are wonderful.

Tim

[Dave Hatfield]

De construct your goose much as you might a turkey. Julia Child has some good recipes & I did a pictorial on my blog last Thanksgiving. Although we did turkey the same technique works for goose.

The problem is that cooking times of the various parts of the goose cook at different speeds. Therefore break the goose up & cook for appropriate periods of time.

[Prawncrackers]

I would say the opposite, unlike duck, rare goose is not the best way to eat it all!

[Peter the eater]

Goose breast + salt + time = goose breast prosciutto!

At 10 o'clock on the round board:

[Dave Hatfield]

I would say the opposite, unlike duck, rare goose is not the best way to eat it all!

←

Didn't say anything about either rare or duck.

One cooks the breast until its still juicy which takes less time than most of the other parts.

Thus dismember the goose & cook each part as appropriate.

[Shelby]

I love goose livers and hearts!

[Kim Shook]

I would say the opposite, unlike duck, rare goose is not the best way to eat it all!

←

Didn't say anything about either rare or duck.

One cooks the breast until its still juicy which takes less time than most of the other parts.

Thus dismember the goose & cook each part as appropriate.

←

I think Prawn was probably responding to Ruth's comment about rare goose - it was before yours.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Kim Shook (log)

[Prawncrackers]

I would say the opposite, unlike duck, rare goose is not the best way to eat it all!

←

Didn't say anything about either rare or duck

I didn't say you did Dave! It was meant as a response to this earlier post:

Be sure to keep it very rare. It would be  good cooked very slowly in its own fat to no more than 120°F. If you have the equipment I think goose breast would be the perfect candidate for sous vide.

[Prawncrackers]

I think Prawn was probably responding to Ruth's comment about rare goose - it was before yours.

Doh, i should refresh my windows before replying!!

Anyways, back on point, i love goose. Just coming back from Hong Kong on holiday i really miss the roast goose there. Just can't get roast goose here in the UK, not the Cantonese style anyway. I suppose it must be the breed, do you have the Cantonese style in the US Chinatowns?

[Dave Hatfield]

I would say the opposite, unlike duck, rare goose is not the best way to eat it all!

←

Didn't say anything about either rare or duck

I didn't say you did Dave! It was meant as a response to this earlier post:

Be sure to keep it very rare. It would be  good cooked very slowly in its own fat to no more than 120°F. If you have the equipment I think goose breast would be the perfect candidate for sous vide.

←

Sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Something I rarely do.

edited to add the pun. Couldn't resist!

Edited November 21, 2008 by Dave Hatfield (log)

[Ruth]

I think Prawn was probably responding to Ruth's comment about rare goose - it was before yours.

Doh, i should refresh my windows before replying!!

Anyways, back on point, i love goose. Just coming back from Hong Kong on holiday i really miss the roast goose there. Just can't get roast goose here in the UK, not the Cantonese style anyway. I suppose it must be the breed, do you have the Cantonese style in the US Chinatowns?

←

I know where you must have had the goose in HK. It is sui generis and excellent. Did you also have the thousand year old eggs? That is the very best place to eat them.

Nonetheless I stick to my guns - when cooking goose breast Western style as opposed to Chinese style it is at its best cooked exactly like a duck magret - that is very rare.

[mtigges]

I think Prawn was probably responding to Ruth's comment about rare goose - it was before yours.

Doh, i should refresh my windows before replying!!

Anyways, back on point, i love goose. Just coming back from Hong Kong on holiday i really miss the roast goose there. Just can't get roast goose here in the UK, not the Cantonese style anyway. I suppose it must be the breed, do you have the Cantonese style in the US Chinatowns?

←

We do in Vancouver, though in Richmond not Chinatown.

[Teppy]

Prosciutto - thanks, very cool idea. I've just now started a couple of duck breasts to "practice" in preparation of this season's Goose #2.