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Are geese adventurous? Where I’m from (north-eastern Bavaria) roasted goose breast with potato dumplings are a a common Sunday dinner meal (duck breast is less

by arrrg 12y ago

Are geese adventurous? Where I’m from (north-eastern Bavaria) roasted goose breast with potato dumplings are a a common Sunday dinner meal (duck breast is less common, at least in restaurants, but my grandparents and parents often made it). Pork is obviously the standard thing to roast and consequently more common overall, but I would argue that at least where I’m from this roasted geese breast is a bigger deal than chicken based meals. Especially if it’s a Sunday dinner. Goose is also popular for Christmas, turkey not really. Actually, goose is probably the thing to make for Christmas where I’m from. Goose is obviously not chicken or turkey, but I really love it with very fatty gravy, a crispy, salty crust, and quite dry meat. I love fried chicken, too, I think everyone does, plus turkey, but that’s not what I’m looking for when eating roasted goose breast.

waterfowl 12y ago
It is not something the average american home cook would attempt, not because it's hard but because they don't tend to be stocked in normal grocery stores, and when they are(around holidays) they're really expensive. Add to the fact that the pure liquid fattiness of the(even raw) bird in my experience makes it a huge hassle(I was told by my grandmother whose house I cooked it at that her oven smelled strongly of goose/grease until she ran the hardcore clean cycle). "anecdotally" eating goose is not something that I was exposed to(outside of a "wild game dinner" put on by a hunting club) in my generic(fairly privileged) middle american childhood and I was exposed to a lot of cuisine(adventurous father)
- eshvk 12y ago
  > Add to the fact that the pure liquid fattiness of the(even raw) bird in my experience makes it a huge hassle Yah. In Grad. school, I once bought a whole duck on a dare. One of those long nights, I decided to stuff it and cook it. The damn tray was swimming in duck oil.
freshyill 12y ago
Oddly enough, goose isn't particularly common as a food in the U.S., even at Christmas. And this is in spite of the fact that we've had goose drilled into our collective consciousness as a traditional Christmas main course (and they're a very common nuisance animal). We eat tons of turkey in the U.S., but usually sliced. Most people only roast a whole turkey at Thanksgiving, but it's not uncommon to make it at Christmas. In the U.S., if you're cooking a bird, it's probably a chicken. Duck is more of a restaurant thing, particularly at slightly nicer Chinese restaurants. This story has got me really thinking. I made a fig pudding (adapted from a 120-year-old British recipe) at Christmas two years ago. It was OK. I think I overdid it with the amaretto. Maybe my next Christmas cooking adventure will be goose.
- mikepurvis 12y ago
  We do a four-pound roast chicken almost every week—it's a big yummy meal with lots of leftovers to become sandwiches, pasta, casserole, etc, plus making stock for soup or rice later in the week. Delicious and really economicaly.
  - omegaham 12y ago
    I thought this was weird until I went to the grocery store and found out that it was a dollar a pound. Yes please.
    - Mikeb85 12y ago
      WTF... The only things that are a dollar a pound here are onions and potatoes.
    - mikepurvis 12y ago
      We get a local organic one at the market, so it's more like $3/lb, but yeah.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  Good luck with the goose! I've only made it a few times and it's been a few years, but from what I recall... Goose is very fatty, and goose fat is very flavorful. Find ways to celebrate that, particularly on a cold christmas. Make a gravy, or roast some fruits in it, or potatoes, or... but it's definitely something you should be planning around.
a2tech 12y ago
It really depends on the area and age of the people eating. Growing up (way in the country) many of my older family members relished goose and duck. We kept them in a steady supply, but never really enjoyed the flavors ourselves. Now that I live in the city, many people I meet enjoy duck, but its a very different duck then what I grew up with-the duck as I knew it was wild, and very gamey. The duck most people enjoy are farm raised and more fatty and less gamey.
kephra 12y ago
Its allowed to hunt swans in Germany. Several thousand swans are shoot here. And they taste fine. So I guess the claim that people in US dislike eating swans still comes from their English heritage, where swans had been royal game only.

by arrrg 12y ago

waterfowl 12y ago

It is not something the average american home cook would attempt, not because it's hard but because they don't tend to be stocked in normal grocery stores, and when they are(around holidays) they're really expensive. Add to the fact that the pure liquid fattiness of the(even raw) bird in my experience makes it a huge hassle(I was told by my grandmother whose house I cooked it at that her oven smelled strongly of goose/grease until she ran the hardcore clean cycle). "anecdotally" eating goose is not something that I was exposed to(outside of a "wild game dinner" put on by a hunting club) in my generic(fairly privileged) middle american childhood and I was exposed to a lot of cuisine(adventurous father)

eshvk 12y ago
> Add to the fact that the pure liquid fattiness of the(even raw) bird in my experience makes it a huge hassle Yah. In Grad. school, I once bought a whole duck on a dare. One of those long nights, I decided to stuff it and cook it. The damn tray was swimming in duck oil.

freshyill 12y ago

Oddly enough, goose isn't particularly common as a food in the U.S., even at Christmas. And this is in spite of the fact that we've had goose drilled into our collective consciousness as a traditional Christmas main course (and they're a very common nuisance animal). We eat tons of turkey in the U.S., but usually sliced. Most people only roast a whole turkey at Thanksgiving, but it's not uncommon to make it at Christmas. In the U.S., if you're cooking a bird, it's probably a chicken. Duck is more of a restaurant thing, particularly at slightly nicer Chinese restaurants. This story has got me really thinking. I made a fig pudding (adapted from a 120-year-old British recipe) at Christmas two years ago. It was OK. I think I overdid it with the amaretto. Maybe my next Christmas cooking adventure will be goose.

mikepurvis 12y ago
We do a four-pound roast chicken almost every week—it's a big yummy meal with lots of leftovers to become sandwiches, pasta, casserole, etc, plus making stock for soup or rice later in the week. Delicious and really economicaly.
- omegaham 12y ago
  I thought this was weird until I went to the grocery store and found out that it was a dollar a pound. Yes please.
  - Mikeb85 12y ago
    WTF... The only things that are a dollar a pound here are onions and potatoes.
  - mikepurvis 12y ago
    We get a local organic one at the market, so it's more like $3/lb, but yeah.
dllthomas 12y ago
Good luck with the goose! I've only made it a few times and it's been a few years, but from what I recall... Goose is very fatty, and goose fat is very flavorful. Find ways to celebrate that, particularly on a cold christmas. Make a gravy, or roast some fruits in it, or potatoes, or... but it's definitely something you should be planning around.

a2tech 12y ago

It really depends on the area and age of the people eating. Growing up (way in the country) many of my older family members relished goose and duck. We kept them in a steady supply, but never really enjoyed the flavors ourselves. Now that I live in the city, many people I meet enjoy duck, but its a very different duck then what I grew up with-the duck as I knew it was wild, and very gamey. The duck most people enjoy are farm raised and more fatty and less gamey.

kephra 12y ago

Its allowed to hunt swans in Germany. Several thousand swans are shoot here. And they taste fine. So I guess the claim that people in US dislike eating swans still comes from their English heritage, where swans had been royal game only.