While Americans will cook millions of turkeys this year for Christmas, for centuries people from all over Europe and especially Germany have traditionally cooked a goose. Why is that?
Like many symbols in Germany the goose goes back to pagan religious times. In fact in Egypt there are stories that a goose laid a cosmic egg that when hatched the world began. The goose remained a symbol of diety that crept into other cultures as people emigrated from Egypt.
On a more practical basis geese were the perfect bird for a farmer, large or small like my grandma's family in Germany. They are smart, and resiliant to bad weather and don't need expensive feed but can forage sustainable food on their own.
Goose Island in the river near Stiensfurt, Germany where they could feed on the lush grass all day. |
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I remember my dad telling me that it was my grandmas job in the morning to take the gaggle of geese and walk them out to an island between the 2 rivers that came together in Steinsfurt and let them graze all day with the other geese. In the late afternoon she went back to the island and from the hundreds of geese grazing the Streib geese would separate and follow her back to the family house.
So a goose was the natural choice for a Christmas dinner. When my grandma and many of her sisters emigrated to the United States they bought a farm in Oregon where most of them lived. My dad remembers one two of his aunts had the job of butchering the goose for the dinner. They were dressed in the acceptable wardrobe of the days long skirts, and one would hold the goose and the other held the head and weilded the knife.
The Goose also blessed us with eggs. The fat made a spread made with the fat called Schmalz, but also was used to waterproof boots and shoes. The feathers were used to stuff pillows and feather beds.
The popularity of the Goose is rising in places like Ireland and the UK but has always been popular in Germany with restaurants as well as a holiday meal in the family home be it Christmas or Michaelmas or Martinstag.
Many people are finding that the meat of the goose is much more rich and flavorful and that it is not greasy as so many think. The fat is drawn off with a baster several times during roasting, however the fat content also keeps the meat moister.
Another benefit is the Goose fat for cooking. Try Goose Fat French Fries or roasted potatoes that are really decadent. I spent 15 dollars on an order of "Duck Fat Fries" at the famous Workshop Kitchen in Palm Springs, and it was worth it.
The Christmas Goose
(Ganz Braten)
This is a delicious treat with crispy skin and stuffed with a bread and served
with a vegetable, apple dressing.
Go here to learn how to cook a Christmas Goose
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