Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Goose, Grilled.— Take the remains of cold goose. The legs, back, rump, and gizzard are especially suitable. The breast, &c., may be made into a hash. Dip the joints in clarified butter, and score the flesh in two or three places, popper them rather highly, strew a little salt over them, dip them in finely-grated, bread-crumbs, and, again, in the butter, and broil them over a strong clear fire until brightly browned. Serve either drj' or with grill sauce (se«GriU Sauce). Time, three or four minutes to broil. Goose Hams. — Geese are in some parts salted, cured, and smoked. Cut the goose through the back, the breast, and legs. Rub a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre well into it, and, afterwards, haK a pound of salt, and two ounces of good brown sugar. Let the bird remain in pickle for three days, turning it every day, and rubbing it well with the pickle. Dip the pieces, wet with the brine, into sawdust, covering each piece well. Hang them in smoke for a week, then let them hang in a dry place. Before using them, rub off the sawdust. They are eaten without further cooking, with bread and butter. The lean should be red, and the fat white. Goose, How to Choose.— Choose a young goose. This is more easily said than done, as geese are frequently offered for sale when they are much too old to be eaten. The breast should be plump, the skin white, and the feet pliable and yellow. If the last are red or stiff, the bird is old or stale. Although Michaelmas is the time for geese, they are in perfection about June ; after Christmas the flesh is tough. A goose ought not to be eaten after it is a year old. It is said that Queen Elizabeth was the originator of the Michaelmas goose. She had one on the table before her, when the news arrived of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and she commanded the same dish to be served every succeeding Michaelmas. Green or young geese come into season in March. Goose in Jelly, or Euck in Jelly. — Put the goose in a deep stewpan, and barely cover it with clean stock, or water. Put "with it a dessert-spoonful of salt, a tea-spoonful of pepper, two large onions, two bay-leaves, two or three sprigs of lemon th>Tne and sweet basil, with a small piece of tarragon. Put the cover on the saucepan, and simmer gently, until the meat parts easily from the bones. Take out the goose, drain it from the gravj', remove the bones, which may be GOO ( 262 ) GOO returned to the saucepan, and boiled a little longer, and cut tlic meat into convenient-sized pieces. If the gravy requires it, add a little more pepper and salt. Skim oS the fat, strain it through a jelly -bag, and mix with an ounce of good gelatine, which has been soaked in cold water for haK an hour or more. Put a little of the jelly into the bottom of the mould. Let it set, then put in any pretty ornamental devices, such as hard-boiled eggs, sliced beetroot, pickles, &c.; pour a little more jelly over these, and, when it is stiff, put in the pieces of meat, leaving room for the jelly to flow between them. Let the dish remain until the next day, then turn out, and garnish ;ipcording to taste. Time to simmer the goose, two hours, or a little more. Probable cost of goose, 6s. Sufficient for a breakfast, luncheon, or supper dish. A couple of ducks may be prepared in this way instead of a goose.