In cooking and gastronomy, goose is the meat of several species of bird in the family Anatidae, which also includes ducks and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, and various wild species and domesticated breeds are used culinarily in multiple cuisines. There is evidence as early as 2500 BC of deliberate fattening of domesticated geese in Egypt.
The meat, liver and other organs, fat, blood, and eggs are used in various cuisines. Methods of cooking include roasting, spit-roasting, braising, steaming, grilling, simmering, and stewing. Dishes include roasts, joints, soups, stews, curries, sausages, forcemeats, and dumplings.
In many culinary traditions, a roast goose is a feast meal dating back centuries.
History and uses
The common domestic goose belongs by descent to , the greylag goose, which is still also widely seen in the wild in Europe.Davidson, p. 34 It features in the cuisine of France, Britain, Germany and many other European countries. Geese also provide some famous oriental dishes: Alan Davidson in The Oxford Companion to Food instances the marinated and roasted goose of Shantou in Guangdong province in China.
Geese have been bred for the table for thousands of years, but by comparison with some other animals, domestication began late because geese take 30 days to hatch their young and more to rear them, which was too long for nomadic peoples. There are records of domesticated geese in ancient Egypt, and wall-paintings show them being force-fed to enlarge their livers. Pliny the Elder wrote in the second century AD that the goose was chiefly prized for its liver; he mentioned to the practice of force-feeing, and commented that soaking the liver in honey and milk made it even larger. Apicius gives a Roman-era recipe for (boiled goose served hot with cold apician sauce), in which a plain boiled goose is covered in a sauce made of pepper, lovage, coriander seed, mint, and rue.Renfrew, p. 86
The meat, liver and other organs, fat, skin and blood are used in various cuisines. The meat has a distinctive flavor. Goose eggs are also used culinarily, but unlike chicken eggs are only available seasonally; in the UK goose eggs have a autumn-to-early-winter availability.
Roast goose is the most common method of preparation. Roasted whole or cut-up goose dishes are found in Asian, European, and Middle Eastern cuisines. Spit-roasted goose was a traditional component of the indigenous cuisines of North America.
A byproduct of roasting is that roasting a goose will render a great deal of excellent-quality fat which can be used for roasting potatoes or other vegetables, as the shortening in pie crust (sweet or savory), as a spread for bread, and a multitude of other culinary uses. One can also simmer pieces of goose submerged in the fat to make confit. In some cuisines geese are raised primarily for lard. According to NPR, goose fat is "the crème de la crème of fats". in 2006 Nigella Lawson called it "the essential Christmas cooking ingredient".
In Chinese cuisine, goose is also steamed or braised with aromatics. In some cuisines stews or soups are made from goose meat. In German cuisine, goose neck is stuffed with goose liver and cooked to make a sausagelike dish; similar dishes are made in eastern Europe. Goose meat is also used to fill pies or dumplings or to make sausage.
Eastern Asia
China Most Chinese preparations of goose involve cooking it thoroughly. In southern China, roast goose is a variety of siu mei, or roasted meat dishes, within Cantonese cuisine. It is made by roasting geese with seasoning often in a charcoal furnace at high temperature. Roasted geese of high quality have crisp skin with juicy and tender meat. Slices of roast goose may be served with plum sauce.
In the cuisine of Teochew people in Singapore, braised goose is a traditional dish; typical braising ingredients include soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, and spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and star anise.
Hong Kong Roast goose is traditionally popular and remains a common main dish in Hong Kong. Roast goose, as served in Hong Kong, especially in the city of Sham Tseng, is similar to its counterpart in the neighboring Guangdong Province of southern China. Some restaurants offer a similarly prepared roast duck.
Europe For many European cultures, roast goose is traditionallyRoast Christmas Goose from the New York Times, originally published in December 18, 1994 Retrieved 5 June 2013 eaten only on appointed holidays, including Christmas and St. Martin's Day.in Germany at BBC language portal Retrieved 5 June 2013 Roast goose was a traditional Sabbath meal among Jews in Eastern Europe.
Britain In Britain, goose became particularly associated with Michaelmas in late September. According to Mrs Beeton in her Book of Household Management (1861):
Hannah Glasse (1751) published a recipe headed "Goose à la Mode", in which a whole chicken stuffed with ox-tongue is placed inside a large goose and the assemblage is gently poached with onions, herbs, ham, red wine, and chopped veal sweetbread, truffles and mushrooms.Glasse, p. 83 Mrs Beeton, a century later, specified a plain roast, with sage and onion stuffing.Beeton, pp. 476–477
Croatia A traditional dish in Croatia is , a noodle and goose meat stew with roots in the areas around Županja. Croatia also has a roasted goose dish, , which is stuffed with chestnuts; it is often served on the feast of St Martin.
Denmark is a goose roast with apples and prunes, similar to the French . It is usually served with red cabbage and – potatoes browned in butter and sugar.Pedersen, pp. 40 and 48
France The goose also features prominently in the cuisine of France. Davidson writes that the Gauls of what is now France were already producing plump geese, fed on barley or millet gruel, before the Romans invaded, and that the French can possibly claim the longest and most faithful devotion to the goose. They were for many years the principal producers of , goose (or duck) livers artificially enlarged by force feeding, known in France as – considered a delicacy by some and an abuse by others. The French may have been overtaken as producers by eastern European countries and Israel, but remain its principal consumers.Davidson, p. 311 The range of French methods of cooking goose is wide, and includes:
FrenchEnglishContentsRef Agen styleStuffed with Agen prunes, chopped brined pork, onions, olives and egg yolk, and roast.Perrier-Robert, p. 121Alsace style1. Stuffed with pork sausage forcemeat, roast, garnished with sauerkraut braised with goose fat and triangles of lean bacon cooked with the sauerkraut. 2. Stuffed with chopped goose liver, finely chopped shallots, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and roast. 3. Stuffed with cooked chestnuts and fried onions, and roast.Bickel, p. 422Perrier-Robert, p. 120English styleStuffed with sage and onion stuffing and then roast; warm apple sauce served separately. Bickel, p. 423In aspic (cold)Browned and braised; when cold the breast is removed, carved, put back into position, whole bird coated with cold thickened gravy mixed with aspic jelly, and when set, glazed with aspicBallotine of gooseBoned goose leg stuffed with forcemeat made of diced goose leg and liver, with egg white, double cream and chestnuts, braised.Courtine, p. 678BismarckBismarckRoast, dressed on shredded white cabbage braised with goose fat and white wine, garnished with halved cooked apples stuffed with chestnut purée. Bordeaux styleStuffed with a mixture of sliced sautéd mushrooms, soaked white bread, chopped goose liver, anchovy butter, green olives, eggs, garlic and seasoning and then roast.Burgundy styleCasseroled in red wine with bacon, turnips, onions and garlic.Periquet, p. 135BoiledBoiled in white stock with pot herbs, a larded onion and herbs; served with rice or buttered noodles and served with almond horseradish cream.Champagne styleCasseroled in champagne, with stuffing of onions, parsley, garlic and sausage meat.Periquet, p. 133ChipolataChipolataBraised, carved and served garnished with glazed button onions, glazed carrots, chestnuts, bacon and chipolata sausages.CasseroledSlowly casseroled in the goose's blood and lemon juice or vinegar.Escoffier, pp. 396–397Casserole Belgian styleCasseroled in Belgian beer with chopped onions and brown stock, bound with pig's blood, garnished with small mushrooms and bacon.Perrier-Robert, p. 134Confit of gooseStrips of goose, brined, completely covered in goose fat and slowly cooked.Danish styleStuffed with apples and raisins, roast, garnished with baked apples. Slow cookedBoned, stuffed with pork sausage meat mixed with diced ox tongue, salt pork, truffles and brandy and steamed in oven, served cold in the jellied stock. StuffedStuffed with apples and chestnuts, braised; the thickened gravy served separately. Flanders styleBraised, garnished with braised cabbage balls, carrots, turnips, slices of lean boiled bacon and boiled potatoes, covered with the boiled-down thickened gravy. French styleCut in pieces, braised with shredded lettuce and green peas. With morello cherriesBrowned, braised with mirepoix, red wine and demi-glace, carved, covered with the sauce mixed with stoned cooked morello cherries. Hamburg styleStuffed with peeled apple wedges simmered in butter and stoned prunes, roast, served with the natural gravy. With chestnutsStuffed with pork sausage meat mixed with chestnuts and cooked in stock until more than half done, and then roast, served with the natural gravy. Mecklenburg styleFilled with white bread stuffing mixed with goose fat, raisins, diced sautéd apples and goose liver, braised in brown stock and white wine, garnished with braised red cabbage. Nordic styleSeasoned with salt and crushed caraway seeds, stuffed with sliced apples and onions seasoned with marjoram, roast, served with the natural gravy. Normandy styleStuffed with a mixture of chopped goose liver, chicken livers, smoked bacon, onion and apples, with breadcrumbs, egg, Calvados and crème fraîchePerrier-Robert, p. 21Farmer styleBraised, garnished with small slices of carrots, turnips, celery and onions, green peas and green beans simmered in butter and mixed with thickened gravy. Little-Russian styleStuffed with thick gruel of buckwheat, braised with sliced onions, sauce finished off with sour cream. Provence styleCut into pieces, browned in oil, simmered in white wine with diced tomatoes and garlic, chopped anchovies and blanched black olives.RillettesLeft-over goose meat, salted and shredded and slowly oven-cooked.David, pp. 262–263Roast, Perigord styleRoast with potatoes and hard-boiled eggs.David, p. 483À la russeCut in pieces, poached in white stock with pot herbs and mushroom waste, covered with white sauce prepared with the stock and sour cream and mixed with sliced boletus. SaltedCut in pieces, rubbed with a mixture of salt, pepper and sugar, placed in an earthenware pot and pickled for a few days, cleaned, cooked in white stock with herbs and a larded onion, served with sauerkraut. Strasbourg styleStuffed with apples, roast, served with braised saurkraut mixed with chestnuts. Toulouse-styleSlowly poached in white wine and chicken stock, with tomatoes and onions.Perrier-Robert, p. 135Vaud styleThe goose is stuffed with sauerkraut, gin and juniper berries, roast and finally flambéd.Perrier-Robert, p. 136Visé styleBoiled in white stock with the giblets and garlic, cut in pieces and kept warm with the degreased stock fat; covered with veloute prepared with the stock, thickened with egg yolks and finished off with sweet cream and purée of garlic cooked in milk.
Germany