Everyday Uses
Other everyday uses for goose fat include:
• Making oven chips: As above, but par-boil the potatoes
wedges for 5 minutes and roast them for 30 minutes, turning
them a couple of times until crisp and golden.
• Other potato recipes: sauté potatoes in a little
goose fat, or add goose fat to mashed potato, instead of using
butter.
• Frying onions: heat a little goose fat over a high
heat, add the onions and cook over a low to medium heat until
the onions are softened.
• Toast and dripping: revive childhood memories and
spread goose fat, instead of butter, on thick slices of toast.
For a posh canapé spread goose fat on rye bread and
sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top with
some pickled red cabbage.
• Fried bread: Spread goose fat generously on pieces
of bread and put them into a hot frying pan for an even coating
and golden colour. Alternatively heat the fat in the pan and
add the bread.
• Fried eggs and omelettes: If you like a crispy edge
to your fried egg, fry it in really hot goose fat. Omelettes
will have a richer flavour too.
• Dumplings: Made with goose fat Dumplings are lovely
and light and required less fat than if made with suet. See
recipe for Steak and Kidney Stew with dumplings.
• Pastry: Shortcrust pastry can be made with goose fat,
however it can be very short and difficult to handle. Here
again, use less fat than if using butter or lard. Cut 100g
hard goose fat into 250g plain flour with a round-bladed knife.
No water is needed. Chill the pastry until firm before using
it. Hot water crust pastry: this works well. See
the recipe for Game Pie.
• Duck and goose confit: the French way of preserving
food in fat, so goose fat is perfect for this. See
recipe for Duck confit. Use goose fat for duck, goose
or pork rillettes, which is a homemade coarse pate, made from
confit. Use goose fat in the preparation of a cassoulet and
frying duck or chicken livers.
• Roasting poultry and game: brown the birds in hot
goose fat in a frying pan to colour and seal them before cooking,
or just spread goose fat on the breasts of the bird before
roasting it. Good for keeping turkey breast tender.
• Stuffings: fry chopped onion, celery and garlic in
goose fat to soften, before adding the rest of the ingredients.
• Risotto: a recipe that normally uses a lot of butter
for frying the onions and coating the rice grains, goose fat
gives depth and richness without adding as much fat.
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