Christmas Isn't Christmas Without... A Roast Bird of Some Description
We've experimented over the years. Once Flora discovered a store a mere thirty minutes away from us stocking pheasant, that was the beginning.
Then, one year in Calgary, she insisted on a "proper Christmas goose." Kirsty obliged and found her one. It was a labor intensive bird, mostly for draining the liters, and I mean that quite literally, of fat from the roasting pan. Had we been in Ye Olde Days the fat would, no doubt, come in handy for candles, cooking other things, greasing rusty hinges and locks for when you want to sneak through a creaky old castle and stab the unjust laird through the heart for stealing...
sorry, that got away from me.
Modern conveniences robbed us of that experience, but Mum was sure Kirsty would find a use for all the goose fat congealing in Tupperware containers in her fridge. So she wouldn't let her throw it away. I have since found out that latkes fried in duck fat are incredible, so goose fat probably wouldn't be so bad either.
Myself, I'm very basic in my poultry tastes: Chicken. No need to reinvent the wheel for me or struggle with a gargantuan turkey. Chicken is great. Stuff it with the Grabowska stuffing (no, I'm not telling you what it is! Too many people know it already!), slather it with some oil or *coughgoosecough* fat, and shove it in the oven to get a nice crisp skin. Serve with roasted tatties (potatoes), brussels sprouts stirred in a pan with pancetta, chestnuts, and brandy and you've got a banging Christmas dinner on the table!
One year I briefly fantasized about roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. But that was just too weird. A bird is what's needed.
Then, one year in Calgary, she insisted on a "proper Christmas goose." Kirsty obliged and found her one. It was a labor intensive bird, mostly for draining the liters, and I mean that quite literally, of fat from the roasting pan. Had we been in Ye Olde Days the fat would, no doubt, come in handy for candles, cooking other things, greasing rusty hinges and locks for when you want to sneak through a creaky old castle and stab the unjust laird through the heart for stealing...
sorry, that got away from me.
Modern conveniences robbed us of that experience, but Mum was sure Kirsty would find a use for all the goose fat congealing in Tupperware containers in her fridge. So she wouldn't let her throw it away. I have since found out that latkes fried in duck fat are incredible, so goose fat probably wouldn't be so bad either.
Myself, I'm very basic in my poultry tastes: Chicken. No need to reinvent the wheel for me or struggle with a gargantuan turkey. Chicken is great. Stuff it with the Grabowska stuffing (no, I'm not telling you what it is! Too many people know it already!), slather it with some oil or *coughgoosecough* fat, and shove it in the oven to get a nice crisp skin. Serve with roasted tatties (potatoes), brussels sprouts stirred in a pan with pancetta, chestnuts, and brandy and you've got a banging Christmas dinner on the table!
One year I briefly fantasized about roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. But that was just too weird. A bird is what's needed.
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