An Uncomfortable Post.

Through the years of raising my flock and then writing about it over the course of this past year I have grown to know and love the individual personalities of my birds. I know a number of my readers have also expressed delight or concern about the state of my individual hens and even the overall health and temperament of Coq Au Vine himself. I am so delighted that the peace and comfort that my little backyard flock brings me can be shared with all who stop by to read about it. It is my hope that reading about these experiences brings a little of that peace and comfort to everyone.

In my last posts, I mentioned that our two spare roosters were spared. I also mentioned that for Thanksgiving we departed from the obligatory turkey dinner in favor of trying goose for the first time.

Now the uncomfortable part. What does roast goose taste like when compared to chicken and other poultry? Just on the off chance that one of my hens has snuck a wireless interwebs access device into the coop, they should be rest assured that I am NOT, repeat, NOT speaking about eating any of them! (mostly).

So … here we go …

I do not cook well at all. So any of my comments about the actual preparation and cooking of said poultry is second hand at best and should be taken with a huge grain of salt (no pun).

Additionally, goose, as I understand it, is a much more common meal across the pond. This was our first experience with it, so I have to imagine that any of my readers from Northern Europe may be sniggering at our clumsy American ways, but we gave it a good go, I’d say!

We purchased a fresh, young, 12-lb goose and felt that would be more than sufficient for four people to have a good meal. The first obstacle was the price! Not being a common meal in the states, I have to imagine that it is much less expensive in areas where it is more common. Based on price alone, we will not be feasting upon goose very often!

To look at this bird in its raw state, we were struck by just how large the wings were when compared to other poultry. The drum sticks were smaller than a typical turkey of a similar size, but still sufficient. My wife cautioned that the internal cavity would not be as large as a turkey, and thus would not accommodate an unusually large amount of stuffing. Never the less I let her know that even a taste of the stuffing would be enough for me to be satisfied. My wife also prepared a goodly quantity of stuffing to be baked outside of the bird. This is what I would call the ‘lesser’ stuffing. But even my wife’s ‘lesser’ stuffing is far superior to most folks stuffing, in my humble opinion!

My wife researched the proper particulars of roasting a goose and was nervous about it coming out good. She is a wizard in the kitchen for all meals great and small. She can cook meals with all of the bells and whistles or meals with ad hoc ingredients cobbled together from what is on hand and each one of truly amazing. She, however, is eternally convinced that the meal has come out wrong and won’t be fit for human consumption until the taste test reveals otherwise on the faces of our family and the enthusiasm in which we stop gabbing and concentrate on eating with true fervor.

So it was with the goose. But I’m a little ahead of myself.

Goose is a particularly greasy bird. My wife roasted it on a rack to let the excess grease drain off. She also gently pan cooked the gizzards which produced more grease. Halfway through the roasting process, she drained off a goodly amount of the grease. She filled a 16oz canning jar to the brim with it for later stock and still had plenty enough grease from which to make gravy.

So, after the stuffing, trussing, basting, draining, and roasting, the bird emerged from the oven at the appropriate time and the sheer look of it was enticing! A rich, golden brown it was. My wife made the first slices into it to check her work and was horrified to discover that she ‘ruined’ it. The meat was unlike any other poultry we had seen. Rich, dark, and a little tougher than one might imagine. I was not deterred in the least. The look of it reminded me of a roast duck, though a little more greasy, and certainly less fatty than duck.

We sliced off most of the breast meat and I discovered that by and large, there is a lot less breast meat on a goose than on a turkey of similar size. The drum sticks were also smaller, but without the bone splints that interrupt the fine meat of a turkey leg. The wings were positively huge. Additionally, there was much more stuffing in that bird than my wife had cautioned me to expect and it was beyond belief in its flavor!

As the meal progressed, we discovered that although the breast meat seemed to be in less abundance than we expected, it was a denser and filling meat than the overly plumped up birds that usually are the centerpiece of a holiday meal. That meat was dark, mild, yet filling! The wings produced much more meat than any other poultry I’ve had. The color and texture of goose reminded me a lot more of duck than either turkey or chicken but was still unique.

The grandest feature, I think, was all of that grease. The stuffing from the bird’s cavity and the gravy were the most wonderful, delicious, flavorful features that I had ever had in a holiday meal.

So, I liked the goose very much. I’d prefer duck or turkey, but goose has its own unique features that make it worth the trouble to enjoy every once in a while. As compared to chicken, it is very, very different. The only similarity I’d say is that they are both broadly ‘poultry’.

Left overs have been distributed and mostly eaten. My flock has picked the goose carcass clean to their own delight. This thanksgiving was a success!

The short points:
Chicken – cheap, easy, and a million ways to prepare. Free range farm chicken is tougher but more flavorful than industrially produced chicken, and probably healthier I’d guess.

Turkey – traditional, commonly available, best ‘bang for your buck’ for a one bird meal.

Duck – my favorite! Smaller, one duck if a good meal for two people and will still produce leftovers.

Goose – very glad for the experience! Different, meat is heavier and filling, makes the best gravy for sure!

I have no experience with pheasant, wild duck or goose, or swan, or any of the like. Would LOVE to hear from folks who have tried these!

To keep peace in this house, please, I implore you, don’t tell my chickens about this post!

And a special thank you to Brazil! Lately, someone from Brazil has started reading this blog in earnest! Hope you are enjoying it!