{"id":4863,"date":"2003-11-04T18:51:56","date_gmt":"2003-11-04T17:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/?p=4863"},"modified":"2019-11-27T21:40:51","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T20:40:51","slug":"medieval-goose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coquinaria.nl\/en\/medieval-goose\/","title":{"rendered":"Medieval goose"},"content":{"rendered":"

Straight to the recipe<\/small><\/a><\/p>\n

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An English recipe from the fourteenth century<\/h2>\n

\"Cooks<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turkey seems to be the bird par excellence for a Christmas 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.
\nHowever, 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!
\nIn 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.
\nA 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. And so Martinus became bishop of Tours.<\/p>\n

The cookbook of King Richard II?<\/h3>\n

\"PortraitThis recipe is taken from\u00a0The forme of cury<\/em>, (edition Hieatt and Butler, see bibliography<\/a>). Originally this text seems to have been written around 1390. Seven different versions of\u00a0The forme of cury<\/em>\u00a0have survived. Only one of these mentions as its origin the court of King Richard II (1377-1399). However, because some of the other versions have lost the beginning of the text, one can not determine whether this mentioning of the royal court is unique for that one manuscript or whether it was an intrinsic part of the original cookbook. (Curye on Inglysch<\/em>\u00a0pp.20\/24, see bibliography<\/a>).<\/p>\n

One of the ingredients in the recipe for the goose is\u00a0galyntyne<\/em>. That is actually a sauce, based on broth with spices and bread crumbs, which congeals when cold. I have chosen a recipe for\u00a0galentine<\/em>\u00a0from another manuscript, from the fifteenth century: Yale University, Beinecke 163 (edition Hieatt, see bibliography<\/a>). There was a recipe for\u00a0galentine\u00a0<\/em>in\u00a0The forme of cury\u00a0<\/em>(recipe nr 142, p.130), using only bread crumbs, vinegar, galingale, cinnamon and ginger. I liked the other recipe better with the goose.\u00a0Galantine<\/em>\u00a0was a popular dish, you can find several recipes for it, to accompany meat or fish.
\nThe second recipe on this page is given only to show you what I have used in the\u00a0sauce Madame<\/em>. Constance B. Hieatt states in her edition of this recipe (An ordinance of pottage<\/a><\/em>\u00a0p. 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.<\/p>\n

In the Middle Dutch manuscript Gent 1035 there is\u00a0another recipe for a sauce to serve with your goose<\/a>, and\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0is a Middle Dutch recipe for a galentine on fish. Yet another recipe for\u00a0fish in Galentine<\/a>\u00a0has been published on Coquinaria with the adapted recipe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The original recipe<\/h2>\n

The text for the\u00a0Sauce Madame<\/em>\u00a0is from\u00a0The forme of cury<\/em>. This manuscript has been published as\u00a0Curye on Inglysch<\/em>, together with several other English manuscripts from the fourteenth century (edition Hieatt and Butler\u00a0recipe nr 32, pp.104\/105, see bibliography<\/a>).
\nThe manuscript with the recipe for galantine, is published with other fifteenth-century manuscripts in\u00a0An ordinance of pottage\u00a0<\/em>(edition Hieatt\u00a0recipe nr 142, p.130, see bibliography<\/a>).
\nIn rendering the original Middle English text I have silently changed the letter thorn (\u00fe) in\u00a0th<\/em>. This has no effect on the meaning of the words.<\/p>\n

Sawse madame
\nTake 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.<\/em><\/div>
Sauce Madame.
\nTake 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.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n
Felets in galentyne.
\nTake 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.<\/em><\/div>
Fillets in galentine.
\nTake 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.<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>Modern adaptation of the recipe<\/h2>\n

I have published this recipe as Medieval Christmas Goose<\/em> because I have prepared it in 2002 for Christmas. At that time I was not very engaged in photographing dishes in a decorative manner. This is the only picture I took from the prepared goose and to be honest, it is horrible. The pucture of the goose in the oven looks better. However, the dish itself was a joy to eat.
\nMain course<\/span> for 6 to 8 persons<\/span>; prepration in advance<\/em> 90 minutes (+ making stock and if necessary thawing the goose)<\/span><\/span>; preparation<\/em> 3 hours<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Goose1 farmed goose<\/span> of 3 to 4 kilo (6 to 9 pounds)
\nFor the stuffing<\/em>
\n2\u00a0quinces<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or sour apples
\n2 pears<\/span> (I used Doyenne de Comice, because I love them so much)
\n2 Tbs chopped parsley<\/span>, and 1 tsp each of\u00a0sage<\/span><\/a>, hyssop<\/a> and savory
\n2 garlic<\/span> cloves, chopped
\n20 to 30 grapes<\/span>, white or red, skinned
\nFor the sauce<\/em>
\n1 Tbsp goose grease<\/span>
\n1 small onion, chopped
\n1\/2 liter (2 cups) dark stock (from meat or poultry)
\n1\/2 deciliter (1\/4 cup) red wine<\/span>
\n1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
\ncrumbs of 3 lightly toasted slices of bread, crusts removed
\nspices: galingale, cinnamon, mace, cloves,\u00a0cubebs<\/a>\u00a0(powdered, ratio 2:1:1\/4:1\/4:1\/4, together 1 tsp.)
\nsalt to taste
\nthe neck and giblets of the goose
\nthe stuffing from the goose<\/p>\n

Preparation in advance<\/h3>\n

Prepare the goose<\/strong>\u00a0as explained\u00a0below<\/a>.
\nMake the stuffing<\/strong> – 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.
\nTo make the galentine<\/strong> – 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.<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/h3>\n

\"TheRoast the goose<\/strong>\u00a0– Preheat the oven to 180 \u00b0C\/ 350\u00a0\u00b0F. Stuff the goose, secure the filling within, and place the goose on a rack on a roasting tin.
\nPlace 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.
\nNow 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 100\u00a0\u00b0C\/210 \u00b0F to keep it warm. However, the recipe indicates that the goose is to be served in pieces. Cut off the leggs, wings, and\u00a0 breast fillets. Cut the fillets in thick slices. If you want to, you can also debone the legs and wings and the carcass.
\n\"StockMake the sauce<\/strong>\u00a0– 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.<\/p>\n

To serve<\/h3>\n

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.
\nIf you are not afraid of anachronisms you can serve oven roasted potatoes (with skin) with the goose. Otherwise you should serve bread.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n

All descriptions of ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Cubeb pepper<\/h4>\n

In Dutch also known as ‘tail pepper’.\u00a0Piper cubeba<\/em>\u00a0originates from Indonesia. Just like orfinary pepper, these are dried berries, but with the stalks still attached. It was in use as kitchen spice in Europe from the late Middle Ages until the eighteenth century.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Quinces<\/h4>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Old fruit varieties<\/h4>\n

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\u00a0Doyenne de Comice<\/em>\u00a0originates from the middle of the nineteenth century, the\u00a0Conference<\/em>\u00a0is 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.
\nThere 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?<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sage<\/h4>\n

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.
\nOriginally 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.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Farmed goose<\/h4>\n

\"Domestic<\/a>A farmed goose is not the same as a wild goose. This recipe is for farmed, 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.
\nIn 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.
\nTo roast a goose, set the oven on 200 \u00b0C \/ 390 \u00b0F (conventional oven) or 180 \u00b0C \/ 350 \u00b0F (convection oven). To calculate the roasting time reckon with 15 minutes in the oven for every pound (450 gram), plus twenty minutes extra. When the goose weighs 3 kilogram (6,6 pounds), it has to stay in the oven for about two and a half hour.
\nTake the goose out of the oven, let it rest for ten minutes, covered with crinkled foil (shiny side inwards). Then carve the goose as you wish.
\nTo keep the grease: Cut the tail grease off before roasting. Melt this separately, strain it, and keep it in a jar in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sweet spices\u00a0(powdour douce)<\/h4>\n

These were pre-mixed spices, just like modern curry powder. There are several recipes for medieval mixed spices. Ginger and cinnamon were usually present in the mixture, other spices that could have been added are mace, bay leaf or cloves.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Bibliography<\/h2>\n

The editions below were used by me. Links refer to available editions.<\/p>\n