Local Goose for Xmas?

[sfbing]

Anyone have any leads for a locally raised goose for this Christmas?

[wally]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7502...

[Melanie Wong]

Biteclub had a piece today on the last geese from Petaluma, still available.
http://www.biteclubeats.com/2010/12/a...

I had thought Sylvia at S & B Farm has retired, but apparently she's still raising chickens. And her family has one last flock of geese.

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S & B Farm
125 Lynch Rd, Petaluma, CA

[sfbing]

Thanks--this is exactly what I was looking for!

[Melanie Wong]

Please let us know how it works for you. And, I hope someone will take over the business of raising geese!

[sfbing]

will do--I'm getting two American Buffs to be picked up Monday 12/20. I contemplated doing a comparison between the Embden and the Buff, but since most of the geese I've had in the US were Embdens, they seemed less interesting to me. $6.75/lb is a great price.

I'm planning to swing by Wildflour and Bud's. Any other suggestions for the North Bay while I'm at it?

[Melanie Wong]

Are you going East or West in your goose cooking style?

You're probably set for poultry bones. But if you have more space in your freezer, stop by Willie Bird Turkey store and pick up a frozen carcass to make stock for risotto or jook. Then you can swing by Matos cheese factory afterwards.

If you're going as far as Wild Flour, then you're nearly in the town of Bodega. Chef Mark Malicki mans the stove Saturday thru Monday at the Casino. I've loved his food and it would be great to hear how he's doing there.
http://tastingtable.com/entry_detail/...

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Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Rd, Santa Rosa, CA 95407

Willie Bird Turkeys
5350 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa, CA

Bud's Custom Meats
7750 Petaluma Hill Rd, Penngrove, CA

Casino Bar & Grill
17000 Bodega Hwy, Bodega, CA

Wild Flour Bread
140 Bohemian Hwy, Freestone, CA

[sfbing]

East for one, West for the other (stuffed with Italian sausage, potatoes, and jerusalem artichokes).

Ellyn still has three geese unspoken for as of Dec. 20 evening. She said she is also working on persuading a family in Healdsburg to take up goose herding.

[Melanie Wong]

Presumably you've cooked them by now, happy with the quality?

[sfbing]

They were quite good. Didn't notice anything particularly special flavor wise with the American Buffs compared to embden, which was what Ellyn thought as well. They were a little leaner (only 5 cups of fat extracted per 10lb bird!) than Embdens and also smaller. Which makes them perfect for people who are new to geese and just want a taste.

This may be a personal preference but I definitely preferred the meat more underdone than julia child's 180. The chinese style goose came out when dad thought it should come out (probably about 165-170) and the meat was much juicier although the skin was kind of flabby.

[Ruth Lafler]

On a related note, I heard the farmers from Mary's Turkeys on the radio the other day, and they've started raising geese specifically for the holiday season (apparently it was a big deal, as the only source of goslings was in Canada). She named several local places that were carrying them, although I'm guessing they might all be sold out (she said they sold all they'd raised, and she didn't even have one for herself!). I didn't realize it, but they're also raising ducks, in addition to the widely available chicken and turkey.

I guess my main point is that it's been hard to find them, but it seems as if they might be more widely available in future years.

[celeryroot]

Ruth . where is Mary s Turkeys. Are they all over the US?

[Ruth Lafler]

Mary's is located in Fresno. Their products are pretty widely distributed -- check their website: http://www.marysturkeys.com/

[wolfe]

I didn't check it's provenance or price but there was one frozen "young" goose available at the Shattuck Safeway in Berkeley.

[celeryroot]

There was one in Healdsburg this morning. Also , there was always one last year......infact the same one was there arnd Easter. I was watching it so knew weight ......maybe Ill put ink mark on wrapper to see how long it stays there. Ill check provenance next time I check in. I was hoping they put on sale last year as it was too pricey to experiment.