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Cookbook:Goose

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Goose
CategoryMeat and poultry

Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients | Equipment | Techniques | Cookbook Disambiguation Pages | Ingredients | Game

The goose is a variety of poultry. It may be wild or domesticated.

Characteristics

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At a distance, a goose is very similar to other poultry like chicken or duck. The anatomy and cuts are all the same, and many fabrication techniques overlap. However, goose differs from chicken largely in the meat and the fat. Essentially, goose is all dark meat (due to its style of endurance flying) and has a large amount of fat in the skin.[1][2] In fact, a 9–14-pound goose can provide as much as 1 pound of fat.[3] Additionally, the meat-to-carcass ratio on a goose is fairly low and typically feeds fewer people than you would expect[4]—11 pounds of whole goose is only enough for 5–6.[3] Plucked goose may still have some very tiny quills in the skin, but these are likely to dissolve during roasting.[5] The younger the goose, the more tender it will be (and vice versa).[1]

Selection and storage

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Goose is typically sold whole, either fresh or frozen.[4] If you have access to fresh goose, look for clean and unblemished skin, fatty skin, and a ideally pliable bill.[4][6] Avoid huge birds, as bigger usually means older and tougher—11 or 12 pounds is a good target.[7] Like all meat, store in the fridge for a couple days or in the freezer for longer. Thaw in the fridge.[6]

Goose is often served roasted, especially since long cooking is needed to render out all the fat.[2][8] Because of its size, low and slow cooking is recommended.[1][4] It may be served with a sauce or stuffing, and pairing it with acidity helps cut through the richness.[2]

A few techniques are purported to help with the fat rendering. Pricking the skin all over is said to provide points for the rendered fat to run out.[5][7] Additionally, scalding the goose for about a minute in boiling water is also said to help.[5] Make sure to remove the lobes of fat at the body cavity opening and render these separately.[4] When roasting, there is no need to baste the bird due to the high fat in the skin,[1] but you do want to make sure to periodically remove the fat that accumulates in the roasting pan to prevent scorching and fires.[7]

If you want to cook the breast and legs to the same level of doneness, you can separate the legs from the body and slow roast them separately.[4] The legs may also be confited.[8]

Recipes

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References

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  1. a b c d Gisslen, Wayne (2015-03-12). Essentials of Professional Cooking, 2nd Edition. Wiley Global Education. ISBN 978-1-119-03072-0.
  2. a b c Labensky, Sarah R.; Hause, Alan M.; Martel, Priscilla (2018-01-18). On Cooking: A Textbook of Culinary Fundamentals. Pearson. ISBN 978-0-13-444190-0.
  3. a b Chesman, Andrea (2015-09-19). The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How: Field-to-Table Cooking Skills. Storey Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-61212-205-2.
  4. a b c d e f "How to cook a goose | Good Food". www.bbcgoodfood.com. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  5. a b c "Crisp-Skinned Roast Goose and Gravy Recipe". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  6. a b Kipfer, Barbara Ann (2012-04-11). The Culinarian: A Kitchen Desk Reference. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-544-18603-3.
  7. a b c Wolf, Bonny. "How to Cook Your Goose". NPR. https://www.npr.org/2007/12/19/17336306/how-to-cook-your-goose. 
  8. a b Ruhlman, Michael (2008). The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen. Black Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-86395-143-2.