Why is Goose so expensive?

[liuzhou]

56 minutes ago, gdenby said:

the eggs reportedly are to oily for ordinary use, and only used for certain pastries.

 

Never found goose eggs to be oily. I use them regularly for omelettes.

[David Ross]

My friends in the UK are more fortunate than we are in the US.  And it's the demand issue.  Sainsbury's is one of the supermarket giants in the UK and the goose is 9$ UK which is about $11.60 US.  I have a friend who lives north of London and they can get goose at a local butcher shop that is more of the free-range type of bird and it's also far less than what we pay for in America.  On another note, Goose is one of the featured entrees on Lufthansa flights during December.

 

My Father finally got Mother to buy a goose one Christmas and it really wasn't a good choice.  All it really did was perpetuate his thought "I'll give you a Christmas goose!"  The meat wasn't too bad, but there was a lot of grease and at the time we didn't know the fat would be great if we saved it.  There wasn't really enough meat for four hungry people, so after dinner I think we all wished we had just had turkey.

 

I'm still going to do goose some year, but I know I'll cringe at the price.

[Duvel]

7 minutes ago, David Ross said:

On another note, Goose is one of the featured entrees on Lufthansa flights during December.

 

Yup. Just had it last sunday on FRA-EWR ... yummy !

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by Duvel (log)

[gfweb]

53 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

Yup. Just had it last sunday on FRA-EWR ... yummy !

 

 

 

Classic sides

[robirdstx]

On 11/21/2019 at 6:33 AM, gdenby said:
Farmed geese can be bought direct from Schiltz farm, who are apparently the main producer in the US. Still expensive.

But buying goose for meat is missing the best part, the fat. If you like potatoes fried in duck fat, you'll love goose fat.

My local Kroger’s has the Schiltz Farm product - Free Range All Natural Young Goose. I picked one up today. They were on sale at $4.99/lb. Mine weighs 10.58 lbs. I have only had goose a couple of times (and loved it), so  am really looking forward to making it for Christmas dinner this year.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, robirdstx said:

My local Kroger’s has the Schiltz Farm product - Free Range All Natural Young Goose. I picked one up today. They were on sale at $4.99/lb. Mine weighs 10.58 lbs. I have only had goose a couple of times (and loved it), so  am really looking forward to making it for Christmas dinner this year.

 

A lifetime ago, my then-boyfriend and I got a goose to cook for Thanksgiving. I don't remember much about what we did, but I remember that we got a LOT of fat from it and enjoyed cooking with it later. I also remember liking the flavor. Enjoy your goose! That's a great price!

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, robirdstx said:

My local Kroger’s has the Schiltz Farm product - Free Range All Natural Young Goose. I picked one up today. They were on sale at $4.99/lb. Mine weighs 10.58 lbs. I have only had goose a couple of times (and loved it), so  am really looking forward to making it for Christmas dinner this year.

Wow. I’d be stocking up if there was more than just me at home. But of course it’s not on sale here in Canada!

[andiesenji]

On 11/20/2019 at 12:24 PM, chromedome said:

At Superstore and Sobey's they run $15-$16-ish/kg, so individual birds can range anywhere from $60-something to almost $100.

 

My GF is keen to try one sometime, so we may splurge at some point in the leadup to the holidays. The odds just got a bit lower, as I had to put an unexpected $400 into my van and historically freelancing dries up quite a bit in December. We'll see.

 

Also, @Anna N, was it you who'd spoken of enjoying russet apples but never seeing them in a store? My local Sobey's has them now, so if you call the produce people at your closest store you might be able to snag some.

(...not entirely OT, because goose and apples go together beautifully...)

 

When I was much younger and used to hunt geese, among other waterfowl, I used to see  notes posted  in the gun shops from people who offered to "share expenses"  in return for a goose or geese. It depends on your state and what the bag limit is. Different for different species.

I always had takers for all the geese I got but with the cost of ammo, gas and etc., even back then some of the people with whom I hunted traded geese and would make a call so they could meet us at a pickup point. (Pay phones in those days)

The recipient would bring an ice chest full of ice.  They had to do the plucking and cleaning but they got a super fresh goose or geese and for bargain prices.  I think one guy was a chef because he got ten from one hunter - white geese - I think the bag limit was 30 back then in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

 

Anyway, check to see if there is a gun shop in your area and go and ask, doesn't cost anything to inquire if there is any waterfowl hunting in your region and if they supply hunters and explain  why you are asking.  

I was no longer hunting when I moved up here to Lancaster  but I met an officer from Edwards AFB  in my computer club  and he mentioned he hunted and we talked and I learned his wife refused to  do the prep on the game he hunted and he wasn't all that adept himself so we made a deal. i would prep it so all she had to do was put it in the oven and in return I would get part of whatever it was.

I posted about the time I got a haunch of wild boar, took photos and took a roasting pan full to an eG potluck. 

All of the guys who hunted have gone, reassigned or retired so no longer do that but it was great for 20 years.  

Anyone who has experience with preparing game  can often  make similar arrangements because there are a lot of newly hatched hunters who do not have a partner who is enthusiastic about preparing it to make a meal.

It's worth a try.

 

Edited November 28, 2019 by andiesenji (log)