How To Buy and Prep the Perfect Goose

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How to Buy the Perfect Goose

If you do not have hunters in the family, and you want to make one of these recipes, you certainly can purchase a goose (especially around the holidays). You will now be an informed shopper and know what to look for.

Fresh goose is available during the Christmas season and an awesome choice for goose recipes. Make sure the goose is plump, well formed, and has smooth, blemish free skin and free of pin feathers. It is so hard to judge the quality of a frozen goose, so please stick with the well-known brands.

A 10-12 pound goose is the biggest bird you should buy because the larger ones are almost always tougher. The 10-12 pound goose may feed up to 8 people depending on how much your family eats and if you want leftovers.

Instead, consider buying two or three geese (instead of the bigger birds) if you need to. It is very deceptive because the geese do have a large carcass and relatively little meat, compared to, say, a chicken.Allow the goose to thaw 2 days in the refrigerator. Or you can thaw the goose for 5-6 hours in cold water in the original package in the sink; changing the water frequently.

How to Prep a Goose

I believe that game birds are the most delicious wild meat, and the key to this is that prepping the bird is as important as how you cook the bird. Take care of the bird as soon as you've bagged it, so when you use one of my recipes for goose, it will be wonderful.

If you can freeze the bird one week before cooking it, the freezing tenderizes the bird and there is no need to marinate it (keep this to yourself).

NOTE: I want to let you know a "little secret" of mine for goose that I use:

Secret #1: Goose is stronger tasting than any wild duck (it's like roast beef texture), so I marinate the goose in buttermilk (or milk) for 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking.

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If you want to marinate the goose in a "flavored marinade," (like orange or savory, etc.) rinse all of the buttermilk from the bird and marinate your bird again.

You know that a turkey (domestic or wild) needs to be basted in fat to stay moist - but the goose is just the opposite. The rendered fat that accumulates on the bottom of a roasting pan needs to be discarded.

Secret #2: PRICK JUST THE SKIN AND THE UNDERLYING FAT OF THE GOOSE with a fork or a needle; do not prick the meat. If you can, pull out any pads of fat before cooking.

Secret #3: BOIL 1 cup of water and pour over the goose before seasoning it and placing it in the oven, and midway through baking, to melt the fat. It will crisp the skin and prevent the goose fat in the roaster to catch on fire.

For delicious goose recipes, visit http://www.misshomemade.com/gooserecipes.html.