On the transition from goose to turkey

Crispy skin, plump and fat, and more tender than ribeye, it is an almost perfect meat for Christmas.

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In not too short a time, we shall all be tucking into our Christmas dinners, sipping snowballs and cracking open the tins of chocolates. That is, if you haven’t started already.

Dinner will no doubt be a smaller affair this year, but surely not in terms of portions; certainly not! Roast potatoes, of course. Brussel sprouts, naturally. Sage and onion stuffing: delicious.

But what indeed will we be stuffing? What of the roast beast, as Dr. Seuss would put it?

'Tis the season to be jolly, and none will be jollier than Bernard Matthews Farms, for it is the turkey that has become the poultry of choice for families across the nation. And not a bad choice that is! But what of the humble goose?

A goose, I’d say, is an altogether grander and tastier mouthful. Crispy skin, plump and fat, and more tender than ribeye, it is an almost perfect meat for Christmas. Anyone familiar with the goose’s smaller cousin, the duck, will have a good idea of what to expect.

So, when did the American bird replace the English? In truth, for as long as there have been English settlers in the American colonies there has been a turkey on a Christmas dinnerplate.

Seen as exotic compared to the staple goose, and the boar which preceded it in centuries long passed, it is said that Henry VIII was the first English king to be served it at Christmas. Despite this, the goose remained the popular meat of Christmas Day well into the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century.

Judging from Henry VIII’s patronage, we can surmise that the turkey was perhaps a tad out-of-reach for the average English family. Indeed, from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, we can see that it was a large turkey that Scrooge sent for to serve to the poor Cratchits — his first act of kindness and great generosity since his epiphany — who were stuck with a mere goose.

The publication of A Christmas Carol in 1843 went a great deal towards making the turkey yet more fashionable, but it was, ultimately, the widespread accessibility of home refrigeration in the 1950s that crowned (if you'll excuse the pun) the turkey the staple of Christmas dinner, being now much easier to store than previously.

Turkey is no doubt delicious, and more well-suited to large gatherings, with often plenty of leftovers for Boxing Day sandwiches. I myself am certainly partial to a dab of cranberry sauce in the festive season. But maybe this year, when Christmas will be a smaller, yet perhaps more intimate day, a goose will find its way out of the cold and into your oven.