recipe November/December 2003
Medieval Christmas goose.
An English recipe from the fourteenth century. Dutch version
of this recipe
Turkey seems to be the bird par
excellence for a Xmas dinner. Personally I do not like turkey. The meat is rather tasteless
and much too dry. Presumably it is exactly that neutral taste and low-fat meat
which make turkey such a popular bird in the kitchen.
However, I prefer a fat goose. Goosemeat has a rich taste, and the melted goose
grease can be stored after straining it in the refrigerator. Thus you save
yourself an expensive can of goose grease from the store!
In medieval times geese were as useful as pigs: everything was being used,
from the quills to feather the arrows and to write with, to the grease which
could be used to make poultices, to rub on leather, to protect animals hooves,
paws and ears in the cold.
A roasted goose was eaten at Christmas, other days were Michaelmas (29
September) and Pentecost. On the mainland of Europe goose is traditional fare on
the feast of Saint Martin (11 November). This is no coincidence: According to
the legend Martin considered himself unworthy to replace the bishop of Tours who
died in 371 aD. To avoid being found he hid in a ... goose pen, where the ever
vigilant geese betrayed his presence by their cackling.
De legende wil dat toen de
bisschop van Tours was overleden (in 371 nC), de stadsbevolking Martinus als
opvolger wilde. Martinus vond zichzelf echter niet geschikt en had zich verstopt
in een ... ganzenhok. Waaks als ganzen zijn verraadden ze zijn aanwezigheid door
luid te gakken en zo werd Martinus tegen en wil en dank toch bisschop van Tour.
This recipe is taken from The
forme of
cury, edition recipe nr 32, pp.104/105.
Originally this text seems to have been written around 1390. Seven different
versions of The forme of cury have survived. Only one of these mentions
as its origins the court of King Richard II (1377-1399). However, because the
beginning of some of the other versions is missing, one can not determine
whether
this mention is unique for that one manuscript. (Curye on
Inglysch pp.20/24).
One of the ingredients in the recipe
is "galyntyne". That is a sauce based on broth, with spices and bread
crumbs, which jellyfies when cold. I have chosen a recipe for galentine from
another, fifteenth century manuscript, Yale University, Beinecke
163 (edition). There was a recipe for
galentine in The forme of cury (recipe nr 142, p.130), using only bread
crumbs, vinegar, galingale, cinnamon and ginger. I liked the other recipe better
with the goose. Galantine was a popular dish, you can find several recipes for
it, to accompany meat or fish. Here
you can find a Middle Dutch recipe for a galentine on fish.
The second recipe on this page is given only to show you what I have used in the
"sauce Madame". Constance B. Hieatt states in her edition of this
recipe (An ordinance of
pottage p. 135) that it is impossible to cut fillets from a breast of
pork. If you want to try the "felets yn galentyne", you can use fillet
of pork like Hieatt, or try spareribs.
In the Middledutch manuscript Gent 1035 you can find another
recipe for a sauce to serve with your goose.
In rendering the original Middle English text I have silently changed thorn (þ)
in "th".
This has no effect on the meaning of the words.
Sawse
madame.
Take sawge, persel, ysope and saueray, quinces and peeres, garlek and
grapes, and fylle the gees therwith; and sowe the hole that no grece come
out, and roost hem wel, and kepe the grece that fallith therof. Take
galyntyne and grece and do in a possynet. Whan the gees buth rosted ynowh,
take hem of & smyte hem on pecys, and take that that is withinne and
do it in a possynet and put therinne wyne, if it be to thyk; do therto
powdour of galyngale, powdour douce, and salt and boyle the sawse, and
dresse the gees in disshes & lay the sewe onoward.
Sauce "Madame".
Take sage, parsley, hyssop and savory, quinces and pears, garlic and
grapes, and stuff the geese with it. Sow the hole [closed] that no grease
comes out. Roast [the geese] well and save the grease that drips
from it. Take galentine and grease and do it in a small cooking pot. When
the geese have roasted enough, take them off [the spit] and cut them in
pieces, and take what is in it and do this in a small cooking pot. Add
wine if it is too thick. Add powder of galingale, sweet spices, and salt.
Boil the sauce, and dress the geese in dishes and lay the sauce on it.
Felets in
galentyne.
Take the ribbys of a breste of porke; fle of the skyn. Do the flesche on a
broche. Roste hit tyl hit be almost ynowghe; take hit of. Chop hit in
pecys. Do hit yn a potte with onyons cut grete, wyth clowys hole, macyz,
quibibys; do togedyr & a quantyte of swete broth. Draw a lyour of
paryngys of crustys of white bredde with good wyne and a lytyll blod,
& alaye hit a lytyll, & do therto poudyr of pepyr, a lytyll, &
a good quantyte of poudyr of canell, & sette it on the fyre &
styrr it. & when it is boyled inowgh, loke hit be nott chargaunt.
Sesyn hit up with poudyr of gynger, veneger & salt.
Fillets in
galentine.
Take the ribs of a breast of pork. Flay the skin. Put the flesh on a
broach. Roast it until it is almost done. Take it off. Chop it in pieces.
Do it in a pot with roughly chopped onions, with whole cloves, mace,
cubebs. Mix it together and [with] a quantity of broth of fresh
(=unsalted) meat. Temper a layer of trimmed crusts of white bread with
good wine and a little blood, and mix it a little. Add a little pepper
powder and a good quantity of cinnamon powder, and put it on the fire and
stirr it. When it has boiled enough, look if it is not [too] thick. Season
it with ginger powder, vinegar and salt.
Goose with "sauce madame".
1 tame goose of 3 tot 4 kilo (6 to 9 pounds)
For the stuffing:
2 quinces or sour apples
2 pears (I used Doyenne de Comice, because I love them so much)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, and 1 teaspoon each of sage, hyssop and savory
2 garlic cloves, chopped
20 to 30 grapes, white or red, skinned
For the sauce:
1 Tbsp. goose grease
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 liter (2 cups) dark stock (from meat or poultry)
1/2 deciliter (1/4 cup) red wine
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
crumbs of 3 lightly toasted slices of bread, crusts removed
spices: galingale, cinnamon, mace, cloves, cubebs (powdered, ratio 2:1:1/4:1/4:1/4,
together 1 tsp.)
salt to taste
the neck and giblets of the goose
the stuffing from the goose
Preparation in advance: Prepare the goose as explained below.
Make the stuffing: Boil the unpeeled quinces for an hour in water. Drain
and let cool. Peel quinces and pears, decore them. Cut them in small pieces. Mix
in the chopped herbs, garlic and peeled grapes. To make the galentine: Put the
stock in a boiling pan, add the giblets from the plastic bag. Bring to the boil,
let simmer a couple of hours. Strain the stock through a fine sieve.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180 grC/ 350 dgF. Stuff the goose, secure the filling
within, and place the goose on a rack on a roasting tin.
Place the goose in the oven, baste it regularly with the pan juices. When the
goose is done (after two and a half to three and a half hours, depending on the
size of your goose), take it out of the oven, let it rest for ten minutes,
covered with foil.
Now you have to make a choice: if you want to serve the goose whole, all you
have to do is scoop out the stuffing and return the goose to the oven on
100grC/210grF to keep it warm. However, the recipe indicates that the goose is
to be served in pieces. Cut off the leggs, wings, and breast fillets. Cut
the fillets in thick slices. If you want to, you can also debone the legs and
wings and the carcass.
Make the sauce: Heat some of the goose grease
from the roasting tin in a sauce pan. Fry the onion in it. Add the strained
stock and red wine, and the bread crumbs. Let this simmer a short while until
the sauce has thickened. Now add the stuffing from the goose, spices, and wine
vinegar. Bring to the boil once more. If the sauce is too thick, add wine, is it
too thin, add bread crumbs.
To serve:
Arrange the whole goose, or the goose meat, on a decorative dish. Pour some of
the sauce over it, serve the remainder of the sauce in a saucier.
If you are not afraid of an anachronism you can serve oven roasted potatoes
(with skin) with the goose. Otherwise you should serve bread.
Notes:
Quinces:
Quinces are shaped like an apple or a pear. They are full of pectine,
which makes them usefull in making preserves. You can not eat them raw, they are
much to hard and sour. When cooked, the quinces have acquired a subtle pink
colour. Ancient fruit
varieties: The stuffing of the goose consists mainly of quinces and
apples. The recipe does not specify which quinces and pears should be used. Many
commercially available pear varieties did not exist until fairly recently. The
"Doyenne de Comice" originates from the middle of the nineteenth
century, the "Conference" is even more recent. There was already a
difference between dessert pears and cooking pears. There were many fruit
varieties which have ceased to exist. You can use cooking pears or not too ripe
dessert pears, and quinces or sour apples.
There are still people who grow ancient fruit varieties. If you wanted to plant
a fruit tree anyway, why not try and find an ancient variety? Goose: A
fattened goose is not the same as a wild goose. This recipe is for a tame,
fattened goose. When the goose comes from the freezer, you have to take it out
of the freezer two days in advance of preparing it. Let it thaw in the
refrigerator. When you have forgotten to do this, you can thaw the goose more
quickly in a plastic bag, in a bucket full of cold water which you refresh now
and again.
In the cavity of the goose you find a little bag with neck and giblets of the
goose. These will be used to make the stock for the sauce. It is practically
impossible to remove the bag before the goose is fully thawed out. Once it is
removed, sprinkle the goose on the inside with salt. Wipe the cavity clean after
twenty minutes.
To roast a goose, set the oven on 200 grC / 390 F (conventional oven) or 180 grC
/ 350 F (convection oven). To calculate the roasting time you leave the goose in
the oven 15 minutes for every pound (450 gram), plus twenty minutes extra. When
your goose weighs 3 kilogram (6,6 pounds), it has to stay in the oven for about
two and a half hour.
Take the goose out of the oven, let it rest for ten minutes, coverd with
crinkled foil (shiny side inwards). Then cut the goose as you wish.
To keep the grease: Cut the tail grease off before roasting. Melt this
seperately, strain it, and keep it in a jar in the refrigerator. Sage: A
decorative perennial evergreen, Salvia officinalis. If you have the use of a
garden, be sure to plant one! You can pick the leaves all year round. Classical
combinations are with chicken livers, with onions as a stuffing for pork, and in
several egg dishes. Be careful, the taste can become overbearing.
Originally sage was used as a medicine (as the Latin name shows), but by the
Late Middle Ages sage also became an ingredient in recipes for food.
Bibliography:
The editions mentioned are the ones in my possession. The links are to available editions.
Yale University, Beinecke 163,
edition: An ordinance of pottage. An
edition of the fifteenth century culinary recipes in Yale university's ms
Beinecke 163. Edition C.B. Hieatt. (London, 1988).
, C.B. Hieatt
and S. Butler (London,
1985).