How to Dress Up a Goose

I cooked a goose over the holidays. It turned out to be a memorable meal, but not necessarily because of the goose. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the goose. It was very similar to duck. We only partook of the goose breast the first night, and I managed to cook the breast to medium, thus, the meat did not dry out. I used an electric roaster as well, which I highly recommend. The rack in the roaster allowed the fat to drip off of the goose, and there were no concerns about fires from the goose fat. Despite my success with the bird itself, it was the Tawny Port Gravy that my husband and I raved about. The gravy is one of Emeril Lagasse’s recipes from The Food Network. We were so pleased with the gravy that I will be making it to accompany future duck and/or pheasant dishes. Here is my slightly tweaked version:

Tawny Port Gravy

2 teaspoons olive oil

Giblets and neck from the goose (I halved the goose neck to fit better in the pot)

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

Salt, freshly ground, to taste

Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

5 bay leaves

Dried thyme, to taste

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups Tawny port (I used Benjamin Australia Tawny Port @ ~$10 a bottle)

2 cups water

In a sauce pan that can eventually accommodate all of the liquid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the goose parts and brown, stirring, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion, carrots, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme and cook, stirring often for 5-10 minutes, or until onions soften. Add the flour and stir. At this point you may be scraping the flour from the bottom of the pan. Do this for about 5 minutes (or lees, if you can’t stand the scraping any longer). Add the port and scrape all of the bits one last time. Bring port to a boil, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about an hour. The liquid should reduce down to about two cups. Remove from heat and strain into a clean pot. Keep warm until ready to serve. Ladle over goose breast or other wild game bird. Enjoy.

My husband and I were thrilled with the results. The gravy was sweet and slightly nutty. The harshness of the alcohol had evaporated. It really was a perfect accompaniment to the gaminess of the bird. We also ate sautéed green beans and shallots as well as goose fat roasted fingerling potatoes.

I used the leftover goose meat to make a Goose Shepherd’s Pie. I also made goose stock and rendered the goose fat.