Thursday, December 11, 2003

By Marlene Parrish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Goose is the bird of choice for the holiday table in many parts of Great Britain and Europe. In Austria, Northern Italy and Slovenia, it is as beloved as America's Thanksgiving turkey. Especially in Germany, goose reigns supreme.

A cooked goose can be a wonderful thing, though it tends to be more apprecieated as a holiday staple in Britain and Europe than it is here. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette) Where to order Geese don't grow on trees. Order at least a week in advance. Expect to pay from $3.30 (frozen) to $4 (fresh) per pound. Sizes run from 8 to 10 pounds. If you see a frozen goose in the supermarket and grab it to stash in your own freezer, plan to defrost it slowly for several days in your refrigerator. John McGinnis Brothers, Route 88 in Castle Shannon. 412-344-1450 Whole Foods, Centre Avenue, Shadyside. 412-441-7060 McGinnis Sisters, Monroeville. 412-858-7000 Giant Eagle Waterworks, O'Hara. (Most Giant Eagle supermarkets carry them frozen.) 412-781-6605 Many farmers. Ask at a farmers' market.

According to a saying in the Berlin dialect, which often substitutes the soft "j" for standard German's hard "g," "Eine jute jebratene Jans is eine jute Jabe Jottes" -- "A good roast goose is a good gift of God."

Many Germans are known to complain that the trouble with a goose is that there is too much for one person and not enough for two.

Americans, on the other hand, hardly go beyond the phrase, "I'll cook your goose." We know what it means, but it took a search on the Internet to find out where the phrase comes from. Its origin goes back to an incident that occurred during the reign of Eric XIV (around 1560), the "Mad King of Sweden." It seems that crazy Eric and a handful of backup troops trudged to an enemy town. The foes strung up a goose for him to shoot to mock the tiny band of combat wannabes.

But before nightfall, Eric's few invaders took charge and burned down the fortress. Shocked, the invadees waved white hankies and asked what was the intent of the conflict. To which Eric replied, "To cook your goose."

Until a few weeks ago I had never cooked a goose. Frankly, I was hesitant to foist my maiden effort on a table full of friends. But like the people whose goal it is to travel to as many countries as possible, my goal is to cook and taste as many kinds of birds and beasts as possible. For that you need an eating audience.

I rang up John McGinnis in Castle Shannon and ordered the bird. I consulted cookbooks, the Internet and magazines for the best method of cooking, and, as I suspected, none of them agreed. After considering the opinions and consolidating the methods, I made my own game plan. To confirm my conclusions, I called my German friend Chris. Yes, she said, that's how my mother did it. When she signed off, I was relieved and kitchen-ready.

The result? My goose was cooked, in the best sense of this phrase. It was crisp-skinned, golden brown and delicious. I surrounded it with classic side dishes of tart red cabbage, glazed chestnuts, baked apples and mashed potatoes and gravy. The Viennese would demand potato dumplings, and the Northern Italians would expect soft polenta.

If you want to try your hand at goose this holiday season, here are some pointers.

Goose is not as meaty as today's big-breasted turkeys. One 11-pound goose will serve 6 to 8 persons. Because they are not in much demand, they are pricey, about $4 a pound. But the more side dishes you have, the further the meat will go.

Though the 15-minutes-a-pound poultry-roasting rule worked for Grandma, today's cooks should rely on the thermometer. Our unstuffed (read hollow) 9-pound goose was done in 2 hours, even considering oven heat lost by opening the door three or four times.

Audition your roasting pan the day before you plan to cook. Geese are very long in the body. We used our All-Clad roaster, but another inch of goose, and it would have fit only into the blue speckle-ware oval roaster.

Use a V-shaped rack to hold goosey. Because of the conformation of their backbones, geese don't lie flat but tilt to one side or the other.

When it's time to turn the goose, use gripper-fingered rubber gloves. Buy a new pair if you need them. Tongs would tear the skin.

Add water to the roasting pan to a depth of 1/2 inch before you begin. This prevents dripping fat from spitting and spattering as it hits a dry pan, which would cause copious smoke and set off the smoke alarm.

Basting is unnecessary. A goose is a self-baster if ever there was one. Prick the skin front and back with a tip of a sharp knife, especially in the fatty areas of the body. As the fat accumulates in the pan, draw it off like this: Holding a medium saucepan in one hand and a bulb baster in the other, siphon off the fat (top layer of liquid), squirting it into the saucepan. You don't want to be moving the roasting pan back and forth on the rack sloshing grease and water.

Although the goose's all-dark meat itself was lean, the nine-pound bird gave off 3 cups (!!!) of clear fat. I'm saving every bit of it, too. I'll fry potatoes in some and freeze the rest to make duck confit for cassoulet for New Year's Day.

When making the broth for the gravy, boost the flavor by using canned chicken broth instead of water and add the vegetables, giblets (but give the liver to kitty) and wing tips. Watch out for "trick" broths, however. Canned chicken broth with roasted vegetables may sound good, but tinny-tasting pieces of vegetable solids not only skew the flavor, their bulk reduces the amount of good broth by almost one-third.

Poultry gravies can be pale and peaked looking. That's where Gravy Master steps in. Just a few drops of the caramelized vegetable concentrate is all you need for a richly brown gravy.

Roasting a goose is as easy as roasting a turkey. Would I do it again? Well, I'm singing the words from that old English carol, "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat..."

HOLIDAY ROAST GOOSE

• 9- to 11-pound young goose (thawed, if frozen); neck, heart, gizzard and wing tips reserved for stock
  
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
  
• 1 small apple, cored and quartered
  
• Several sprigs Italian parsley
  
• Several sprigs fresh sage leaves
  
• 2 teaspoons dried marjoram
  
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Position oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Remove excess fat and skin from main body cavity and neck cavity. Neatly trim off the long neck flap. Cut off the wing tips with poultry shears. Wash the goose under cold, running water and pat it thoroughly dry inside and out with paper towels.

Pierce goose with the tip of a sharp knife, especially where fat is the thickest on the legs and lower breast. Place onion, apple and parsley in the body cavity. Rub the bird inside and out with marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper. Tie the legs together loosely with kitchen string to hold shape. (Some butchers leave a strip of skin so that the legs can be tucked in and held in place.)

Place the goose breast side down on a rack set in a large, shallow roasting pan. Add enough water to the pan to reach a depth of 1/2 inch. This keeps dripping fat from spitting, spattering and smoking. Roast the goose for 30 minutes.

Carefully turn goose breast side up and roast for 20 minutes. As the fat accumulates in the pan, draw it off with a bulb baster or large kitchen spoon and, if you like, save it for another use. Basting the goose is unnecessary.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue cooking for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, for a total of about 15 to 20 minutes per pound.

Roast until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165 degrees and juices run clear when thigh is pierced with the tip of a small, sharp knife. The juice that runs out should be pale yellow; if it is tinged with pink, roast the goose another 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer goose to platter to rest for 20 minutes. Discard kitchen twine, if used, and apples, onions and herbs from cavity of goose. Tent loosely with foil to keep warm. Reserve pan juices. While the turkey rests, make the gravy.

BROTH FOR GRAVY

Simmer the broth for the gravy while the bird roasts. It can even be made a day in advance. Using canned broth instead of water gives extra flavor to the broth.

• 3 14-ounce cans low-salt chicken broth
  
• 1 cups water
  
• 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 small onion, sliced
  
• 1 small stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 3 fresh Italian parsley sprigs
  
• Reserved goose neck, heart, gizzard and wing tips

Place all ingedients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered until reduced to 3 cups, occasionally skimming surface, about 1 hour. Strain stock into a liquid measure; spoon off fat. If made in advance, refrigerate and remove the cold fat. Keep the reserved fat for sauteing.

GRAVY

There's never a problem finding ways to use extra gravy, so make lots. The tawny Port refines the flavor.

• Pan juices, about 1/2 cup
  
• 1/2 cup goose fat
  
• 1/2 cup flour
  
• 4 cups degreased broth
  
• Gravy master or Kitchen Bouquet
  
• 1/4 cup tawny Port (optional)
  
• Salt and pepper to taste

Remove fat and cooking juices from the roasting pan into a glass measuring cup. Spoon off fat from top and and measure the pan juices.

In a medium saucepan set on medium heat, add 1/2 cup goosefat; stir in 1/2 cup flour. Allow the mixture to gently bubble for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Gradually add 3 cups hot broth, whisking constantly. When the mixture thickens, allow it to bubble gently for 5 minutes. Add more broth to the consistency of gravy you prefer. It should coat the back of a spoon, neither too thick nor too thin.

Add a few drops of Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet to bolster and deepen the color of the gravy. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper generously to taste. Add 1/4 cup tawny Port, if using.

RED CABBAGE WITH APPLES

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds red cabbage
  
• 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons salt
  
• 2 tablespoons goose fat or bacon drippings
  
• 2 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch wedges
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  
• 1 whole onion, peeled and pierced with 1 whole clove, optional
  
• 1/2 bay leaf
  
• 4 cups boiling water
  
• 3 tablespoons dry red wine
  
• 3 tablespoons red currant jelly

Wash the head of cabbage under cold running water, remove the tough outer leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. To shred the cabbage, cut out the core and slice the quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch wide strips.

Drop the cabbage into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle it with the vinegar, sugar and salt, then toss the shreds about with a spoon (or your hands) to coat them evenly with the mixture.

In a heavy 4- or 5-quart casserole or Dutch oven, melt the goose fat or bacon drippings over moderate heat. Add the apples and chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the apples are lightly browned. Add the cabbage, the whole onion with clove, if using, and the bay leaf; stir thoroughly and pour in the boiling water.

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat to its lowest possible point. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cabbage is tender. Check from time to time to make sure that the cabbage is moist. If it seems dry, add a tablespoon of boiling water. If there is too much liquid, turn up the heat to evaporate it quickly. When the cabbage is done, there should be almost no liquid left in the casserole.

Just before serving, remove the onion and bay leaf and stir in the wine and the currant jelly. Taste for seasoning, then transfer the contents of the casserole to a heated platter or bowl and serve. Serves 8, or more if there are many dishes.

CHESTNUTS FOR GARNISH

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  
• 3 cups cooked chestnuts, or 14-ounce jar
  
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  
• 4 teaspoons honey

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chestnuts and cook until heated through, 2 or 3 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and the chestnuts are glazed, 4 or 5 minutes. Cover skillet and keep warm over lowest heat.

E-mail this story   Print this story