Pre Roasted Goose

[Bishop1954]

Thank you so much! The one friend who is convinced he won't like it, always goes for the turkey legs. Hopefully I can convince him to give it a try. My other concern (not the best word to use. It's hardly an emergency) is a lot of the traditional goose sides aren't really what most North Americans consider traditional Christmas food. Can I ask what you served with yours?

Instead of the tradition Turkey (or Chicken) stuffing, I went with an herb style. I still did mashed potatoes, but instead of a green bean casserole, I did another type using green beans, chopped onion (larger pieces) and bacon. I included a gravy with the dripping and a bit of chicken stock, which came out great and some old fashioned yeast rolls. But experiment! If you like the things that you choose to go with it, you will enjoy the results...

[Mistletoe]

Actually yes. There is all dark meat and it can be a little greasy depending on how long it is cooked with the extra thick skin...

Sounds good to me- the best duck I ever had was just like that.

JollyElf- what are some of the traditional side dishes for goose?

[JollyElfDC]

Instead of the tradition Turkey (or Chicken) stuffing, I went with an herb style. I still did mashed potatoes, but instead of a green bean casserole, I did another type using green beans, chopped onion (larger pieces) and bacon. I included a gravy with the dripping and a bit of chicken stock, which came out great and some old fashioned yeast rolls. But experiment! If you like the things that you choose to go with it, you will enjoy the results...

Thank you. I already do my green beans like that, so that's one thing I know will work. I can't see there being drippings for gravy if I get the pre-roasted goose, but their website has a recipe for goose with cherry sauce, so I will probably have to do something like that. I thought with goose being richer and heavier some of the usual sides I serve would be to much.

[JollyElfDC]

Sounds good to me- the best duck I ever had was just like that.

JollyElf- what are some of the traditional side dishes for goose?

From what I see on line, Red cabbage, parsnips and roasted potatoes. Nothing wrong with any of those things, but they don't exactly scream holiday. I normally make ham with scalloped potatoes, and I don't think those sound right with goose. When I do a turkey and a ham, I do mashed. I really don't want to do roasted potatoes as they are a bit more last minute, but since I wouldn't have drippings to make gravy, I don't know if mashed would be the best choice either. Oh well, I probably have 2 years to figure it out. I know my next Christmas dinner will be ham!

[Bishop1954]

Probably the one thing I forgot to mention is that when I did my goose, it was not precooked...

[JollyElfDC]

Probably the one thing I forgot to mention is that when I did my goose, it was not precooked...

How much fat came out of the bird? What scares me the most about cooking a goose is the apparent constant need to remove the fat from the pan. I've heard it called as "baste and bail". I want something stress free. Did you find it hard to cook?

[Mistletoe]

How much fat came out of the bird? What scares me the most about cooking a goose is the apparent constant need to remove the fat from the pan. I've heard it called as "baste and bail". I want something stress free. Did you find it hard to cook?

Wow! That's a lot of fat!

[Bishop1954]

I put it on a higher rack. Yes, I did have to siphon some off during the cooking, but it was not as bad as I had heard...

[JollyElfDC]

Thanks for the info. I might try one when it isn't Christmas to practice and see how it goes.

[Bishop1954]

As I recall the meat was tasty and very tender. Good luck and enjoy...