The confit is now completed, and sitting in the icebox. The more I think about it, the project wasn’t really all that challenging, however managing my time was. With a bit of planning, a confit of goose (or duck, or other game) can be prepared easily along with all the bonuses such as concentrated jellied glaze, broth, rendered fat, cracklings (or should I say “quacklings?”) and of course, the actual goose. I held a few pieces out for tonight’s dinner which I served over pasta with a mushroom/sundried tomato and white wine sauce. It is quite different from a roasted game bird-no question, but really quite flavourful and enjoyable. Dinner also featured roasted tomatoes stuffed with a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, thyme, parsley, shallots, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil. 10 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees F. I could live on those. For dessert. I made a sorbet of blueberries, strawberries and cherry juice with a hint of vanilla. I simply mashed the fruit with 1 cup caster sugar until liquid, added enough cherry juice to make 2 cups liquid and a few drops of vanilla. Into the ice-cream maker for about 20 minutes. It was a delightful meal.
I’m not going to post all the directions as they are wonderfully published in Julia Child And More Company, as well as the directions for cooking down broth to glaze which may be found in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I haven’t looked, but I’d guess there’s probably an entry in Oliver’s La Cuisine as well.
I likely will go ahead and make a cassoulet, sans the pork sausages.
A few bits of advice:
To create a rack for the inside of the glass bowl I stored the confit in, I broke bamboo skewers in half and trimmed off the rough edges. This worked well.
You will need more cheesecloth for straining at various points in this project than you ever anticipated using. Stock-up.
Get everyone out of the room, or better yet, the house. A pot filled with simmering fat on the stove is no time for distraction. This is particularly true when making the glaze, as it tends to go slowly and then begin reducing quickly of a sudden. It can go from perfect to burnt in the time it takes to walk from one room to another-so stay put during the process.
Heat resistant spatulas!
Disposable cutting boards.
Glass jars, of many sizes, with good lids. I’m always saving them and still never have enough.
The goose I used was larger than what must have readily been available when these books were written in the 1960’s. I ended-up not using the wings as it would have meant another four inches of fat just to cover them in the pot. Were I to do this again, I’d begin planning earlier and save-up quite a few cups of rendered goose/duck fat, as I did not wish to use lard. Solid vegetable shortening was the direction I went, and while I did not notice a significant change in the flavour or texture, it was still a drag not to have quite enough rendered goose fat on hand. I really ought to talk to our butcher in the fall when he is handling and cleaning fresh ones-he may be able to save some fat in the freezer for us.
So happy anniversary to us, and hopefully next year, my spouse will request something even more challenging. He did, by the way bring home some lovely deep-pink roses.
Now what on Earth am I going to bake tomorrow for Friday Cakeblogging?
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