Goose

When we were at the York food festival market last Saturday I bought some goose breasts.  I have never cooked goose before (and only eaten it a couple of times) and wasn't entirely sure what to do with it.  There was lots of conflicting advice on the web.  My cooking books weren't helpful.  Lots of advice on how to deal with a complete bird but not much on breast pieces.

So I put the breasts in a medium oven for about an hour, then set them to rest for 20 minutes.  We had them with roast potatoes, vegetables and a sauce that was a variant on a Cumberland sauce.  I put a healthy dollop of red currant end elderflower jelly in a small saucepan, added some powdered ginger, some crushed garlic, red wine and some stock and simmered it till the jelly had dissolved, then I served it tepid over the goose. I also made a gravy for the roasties and veg.

The goose breast was very tasty but was extremely tough.  I think it either needs flash cooking or very slow cooking.  The sauce was extremely delicious.  So were the roasties and the veg and the gravy.

We had two goose breasts between three of us, and there was a fair bit left.  So I chopped the leftovers up into small cubes and put them in a casserole.  I added the left over sauce, the left over gravy, some chicken stock I had in the freezer (defrosted!), some mashed potato I had from the previous day, chopped orange capsicum, sliced red onion (sauteed gently for twenty minutes), more garlic and a few bits of fresh oregano.  I then cooked it in a very low oven for several hours.

We had it reheated the following day, covered with sliced potatoes in a hot pot style.  It was amazing.  The goose cubes had tenderised beautifully.  The sauces had all combined into something delicious and had been thickened by the mashed potato I had stirred through it.  I served it with fresh runner beans and fresh peas. It was a hot pot fit for a queen.  And for the visiting foodie who happened to be there!!!

I have never seen goose breasts for sale on their own before.  Must keep an eye out for them.  Mind you, I would have bought a whole goose (they were only small, it being only September - they were also much cheaper than full-sized Christmas geese).  Alas, they had run out and we couldn't get back on any of the other days for one of the fresh stock.  Oh well, never mind.