The Christmas Goose... Re-appear

Goose is more commonly being used than turkey during Christmas in Germany. On a request from Chef Franky, we've had a roasted goose during the last Christmas gathering in Malaysia and I've been missing its taste since then. It's hard to get a goose here that we girls have almost needed to plan for goose hunting across the villages in Northern Malaysia. To re-appear the Christmas Goose and learning from the past experience, we've triggered Elaine at least a month ahead for the goose supply.

Arriving early at Franky's house, the goose is being baked inside the oven. A little salt, black pepper, Thyme and Oregano herbs to marinate the goose. Then, the sliced onion, carrot and white radish are put together with the goose on the heating plate that is then being placed inside the oven that has been pre-heated at 220 °C for about 15 minutes. According to Franky, controlling the heat has been the most important factor to determine the crispiness of the goose. The whole goose that weighs 5 to 6 kg will take about 4 hours to be cooked completely. The goose is baked inside the 220 °C oven for about an hour and then being cooked under 170 °C for the subsequent 3 hours. Besides, a must to do is to pour the fat onto the goose once every 20 to 30 minutes to ensure an even brownish colour and crispiness over the skin. I find the meat to be a little chewy and dry that I think it's because the goose is not fat and Franky as well hasn't stuffed some sliced vegetable inside its stomach to increase the juiciness. Anyway, the most amazing taste is the sauce that is made from the goose fat and sliced vegetable that are blended smoothly! Adding with some red wine and then heating the sauce on the fire, this is the most perfect sauce for the goose meat.

Chef Franky has prepared some side dishes such as the mashed potatoes, carrots and Blaukraut. The 1st two dishes are his homemade recipes while the Blaukraut is the red cabbage that is purchased from Cold Storage. Phui Yee is not a "potato person" but she definitely loves the mashed potatoes here. The secret is the milk and butter whereby they've to be mixed thoroughly with the mashed potatoes to give a smooth texture and creamy taste. It's indeed quite simple to prepare the carrots. The sliced carrots are cooked till they turn very soft and then being seasoned with the chicken cube before being thickened with the corn starch. I'm not fancy over the carrots because I dislike its slimy and starchy sauce.

It's really thankful to Franky for getting busy over the day and night to prepare such a delicious dinner for us. I guess it'll be over the next few months before I'm allowed to raise the request again.