History
Before the seizure of most common land under the various Enclosure Acts, small communities would invest in flocks of geese and graze them on open spaces within each parish. The benefits were many – eggs, feathers, down, quills, medicinal uses for its fat – but chiefly geese were valued for their meat. Many English customs and traditions – not only Michaelmas and Christmas – came to be celebrated by feasting on goose whose meat was always regarded as superior fare.
Queen Elizabeth I adored good food and was reported to be eating roast goose with hot apple sauce and sage and onion stuffing, a dish of which she was particularly fond, when she received news of the defeat of the Spanish Armada. To mark the occasion she decreed that roast goose should be eaten on Michaelmas day and every year thereafter.
During the Middle Ages, Michaelmas was a great religious feast coming just after the autumnal equinox when nights start getting longer than days and St Michael became popular as the protector against the forces of dark. His feast was celebrated with a traditional well-fattened goose fed well on the stubble fields after the harvest. In many places there was also a tradition of special large loaves of bread made only for that day.
Michaelmas day is also known as the last day upon which blackberries are worth picking.
Lots of country folk, even now, steadfastly refuse to collect them after this day. By ancient folklore, it is the day upon which the devil puts his foot on brambles, or as they say in some areas spits on them – or worse!
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Traditional recipe for Michaelmas goose
Pre-heat oven to 190°C /375°F/gas 5.
Ingredients
- serves 8
4-5 kg oven ready goose with giblets (9-11 lb)
salt and pepper
450 gram no-soak prunes, stoned and chopped (1 lb)
56 gram soft brown sugar (2 oz)
450 gram apples, peeled, cored and chopped (1 lb)
275-300 ml poultry stock (½ pint)
575-600 ml dry cider (1 pint)
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
Method
Remove giblets, wipe the goose clean, prick the skin all over. Rub the bird inside and out with salt and pepper. Mix the chopped prunes, apples and sugar together. Spoon into the body of the goose and secure well with a skewer or with a trussing needle and string.
Roast in the centre of a preheated oven for about 3 ½ hours. Allow 20 minutes per pound plus 50 minutes.
Strain stock into a saucepan, add the cider and bring to the boil. After the goose has been roasting for about 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 170°C(325°F) gas mark 3. Baste generously with the mixed stock and cider about every 20 minutes.
After 4 hours, prick one of the legs. If the juices run clear, it’s done. Strain off fat and stir in the redcurrant jelly. Boil rapidly to reduce, and if more gravy is needed, add a little extra cider. Serve with the strained gravy, apple or gooseberry sauce and bread sauce. Enjoy!
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