Goodmans Geese

Farm Gate

Judy Goodman is possibly one of the largest producers of free-range geese in Britain. For optimum flavour, as Judy says, “it’s important to buy a bird that has been free-ranging and reared for a minimum of 24 weeks and hung”.

Her geese waddle about in the fields at a stocking rate of about 100 per acre. They peck away contentedly at the grass, supplemented with a compound feed of minerals, vitamins, wheat and barley made up to Judy’s specifications. They’re slaughtered by dislocation of the neck (the approved way) at any age between 22-28 weeks, dry-plucked, hung for about 10 days, cold-eviscerated, and sold oven-ready, weighing between 4.5-6kg (10-13lb).

Magnificent meaty birds, with moist deeply resonant flesh, they are carefully plucked for an unbruised, unbroken skin, beautifully presented and trussed with string to make stuffing easier. They come oven-ready with a full complement of giblets, a chunk of goose fat and a bunch of fresh herbs. What is particularly striking about Judy’s birds is their finish: unlike some other geese, they have a good meat-to-bone ratio – a 4.5kg (10lb) goose is ample for 8 greedy eaters – as they are comparatively lean and, unlike some, do not shrink during cooking. Some geese swim in fat shrinking to almost half their size when cooked, not so Judy’s.