'Goose-killer lurks in River Lea' ...

[Spesh]

Don't know the area, but is there a non locked route between there and the Thames via any of the various creeks? Just wondering if a seal could get up there, there's pictures of one at Battersea bridge on the BBC website and would have thought a goose would be a lovely snack for a seal.

[Lady Muck]

 

I have no doubt that the River Lea does not hold the environment that would sustain a pike big enough to take a goose

 

 

It does and I've watched them take ducks down in one go, up here in Tottenham, no bother. Some of them are pretty massive, I once prodded what I thought was a huge plank of wood on the river bed and got the shock of my life when it moved!

[nina]

ooh, get 'er...goose for christmas dinner!!

 

Sadly, they are full of fat. Probably the reason a pike would enjoy such a catch.

[steelaway]

ooh, get 'er...goose for christmas dinner!!

 

 

 

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

Edited December 13, 2011 by steelaway

[Barry]

It does and I've watched them take ducks down in one go, up here in Tottenham, no bother. Some of them are pretty massive, I once prodded what I thought was a huge plank of wood on the river bed and got the shock of my life when it moved!

 

Yes pike do take water fowl but it would take an outstandingly huge one to take a goose

 

There is a guy in my marina who has had pike up to 38 pounds from the back of his boat - that could take a duck easily. A pike that big will be nearly 4 ft long

 

But one that could take a goose in the uk - not a chance

[Old Son]

How can anything take a goose from below without so much as a ripple. There would be srious splashing at least! I reckon its too many bevvies

[Guest wanted]

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

Yep, didn't enjoy it. They are very fatty. goose fat roasted spuds are great though.

[journeyperson]

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

 

To cook a Canada Goose: Take two large saucepans of boiling water, put goose in one pan and a brick in the other, bring to boil. When the brick is tender the goose is cooked.

[Starcoaster]

Thats mucho disappointing on the Canada geese! No point in feeding up Candy and Kevin here any more then...

[lexicon]

My vote goes to catfish

They can get big and likely got into the river from a lake during flooding and can live happily in rivers as they do in Europe.

[sebrof]

Couldn't you just say Pike, save lots of us having to look it up?

 

Tim

 

Well, I could, but....................

[Barry]

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

 

You need to cook it slowly and a trivet is essential - got to let the goose cook out of its fat

[sebrof]

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

 

I have often cooked goose for Christmas. They are delicious, but as others have said, half the weight is fat.

 

But that's proper goose. Canada Goose is very fishy-tasting and even the French haven't found a good recipe for it.

 

ETA: Wanted, you should try again. If I am cooking Christmas dinner, it's goose every time over turkey. And Bazza may be wrong about Esox, but he's right about a trivet. Mind you, I roast everything (lamb, beef, pheasant, duck, etc.,) on a trivet over some water, as the French do. Keeps the meat moist, and the juices, instead of burning, make superb gravy.

Edited December 13, 2011 by sebrof

[NB Alnwick]

When I was a child, living in Welford, there were many such stories about Pike in the, then, derelict canal. It was said that they would even attack fully grown mallards, coots and moorhens although I never did witness such an attack. What I did see was even more spectacular - I was fishing for Bream in the lock and suddenly had a very large Bream take the bate, I could see the fish 'flashing' about in the deepish water of the derelict lock - and it took some time to get it to the surface - as I reeled the fish in and just as it was breaking the surface there was a sudden shock. It felt like something had tugged the line but the line held and as I eventually pulled the fish out of the water I could see that it was firmly clenched in the jaws of a huge Pike. The Bream was a big one - well over a foot long - I reckon that I saw at least two feet of the Pike too before the ensemble broke free - I have to say that it was intensly scary . . .

[nina]

To cook a domestic reared goose, you cook pretty much the same as a duck because both have large amounts of fat. Place on a rack in a roasting tin with the tin half full of water (as it cooks the steam reduces the fat from the goose). Goose is a delicious meat and the crisp goose skin is nice, you just don't get much meat after it's cooked. Serve with gooseberry sauce or similar. The fruit acid cuts into the grease making it easier to eat. To be honest, a pike wouldn't get much of a feast from a goose whereas it would be eating a turkey for weeks like the rest of us.

[steelaway]

I have often cooked goose for Christmas. They are delicious, but as others have said, half the weight is fat.

 

But that's proper goose. Canada Goose is very fishy-tasting and even the French haven't found a good recipe for it.

 

ETA: Wanted, you should try again. If I am cooking Christmas dinner, it's goose every time over turkey. And Bazza may be wrong about Esox, but he's right about a trivet. Mind you, I roast everything (lamb, beef, pheasant, duck, etc.,) on a trivet over some water, as the French do. Keeps the meat moist, and the juices, instead of burning, make superb gravy.

 

 

 

Thanks for that.

 

We have started roasting on a trivet and much prefer it.

I've not heard of adding water to the pan, sounds like a brilliant idea - I'll let you know.

 

Alex

[sebrof]

Thanks for that.

 

We have started roasting on a trivet and much prefer it.

I've not heard of adding water to the pan, sounds like a brilliant idea - I'll let you know.

 

Alex

 

If you have a fan-assisted oven, turn the fan off.

[NB Alnwick]

Has anybody ever had a goose for xmas dinner ? I was offered one recently but wouldn't how to cook it or if they taste any good.

 

Alex

 

Yep - that was our Christmas dinner for years before I retired - delicious with stewed gooseberries Victorian style. Nevertheless, as has been said a large Goose might just feed a family of four - which makes it very, very expensive . . .

[Timleech]

Yep - that was our Christmas dinner for years before I retired - delicious with stewed gooseberries Victorian style. Nevertheless, as has been said a large Goose might just feed a family of four - which makes it very, very expensive . . .

 

 

You must eat very large portions....

 

 

We've had two large dinners with one goose between at least 8 in one case, & 10 in another. Nobody went hungry, & there was the bonus of not having heaps of leftovers to deal with for days or weeks afterwards as with a typical oversized turkey

 

Tim

[Tim Lewis]

Be careful what you put in the water ...

 

13 December 2011 BBC

 

'Goose-killer lurks in River Lea' near Olympic Stadium

 

River Lea Might the seemingly placid waters of the River Lea be home to a flesh-eating fiend?

 

A goose-eating beast is lurking in the watery depths under the shadow of the Olympic Stadium, a boatman has warned. Mike Wells said he had spotted a Canadian goose being pulled below the surface of the River Lea in east London, which "disappeared so fast it didn't make a sound". There were reports of a goose being dragged under the surface back in 2005. British Waterways, which is responsible for the upkeep of the river, asked people to report any further sightings. Mr Wells, who estimated the weight of the goose to be about 7kg, said: "I was sitting on the back deck of my boat with a friend having a cup of coffee. And suddenly this goose about 30 metres away disappeared - it was extraordinary. We just saw the goose go vertically down - in the space of half a second it had gone." “We don't believe there is a crocodile in the river”

 

In 2005 boat trippers on the River Lea watched as a Canada goose vanished "almost instantaneously", apparently dragged beneath the water by a mystery beast. Mark Gallant of the Lea Rivers Trust, who was on the boat, said at the time of the 2005 incident: "Whatever that thing was, it had to be big." A British Waterways spokeswoman said of the latest incident: "We don't believe there is a crocodile in the river. Things that have been suggested are a big pike or a mink, which can prey on ducks. But geese might be a bit big for them." She continued: "In some areas you get terrapins which get dumped and have taken to the conditions well - they can get to the size of dinner plates. But geese might be too big for them to take as well. No-one has reported anything to British Waterways, but we would encourage people to get in touch if they have seen anything."

 

I wondered when this story would resurface! I was on the boat trip in 2005, it was on a RIB going up the Waterworks River, and witnessed the incident. We were fairly certain that the goose which was on a run (flap) up to taking off snagged on wire or similar which cased it to crash dive into the water.

 

I see that BW have issued a statement stating why it can't have been a croc here.

 

Tim

[Smelly]

When I was a child, living in Welford, there were many such stories about Pike in the, then, derelict canal. It was said that they would even attack fully grown mallards, coots and moorhens although I never did witness such an attack. What I did see was even more spectacular - I was fishing for Bream in the lock and suddenly had a very large Bream take the bate, I could see the fish 'flashing' about in the deepish water of the derelict lock - and it took some time to get it to the surface - as I reeled the fish in and just as it was breaking the surface there was a sudden shock. It felt like something had tugged the line but the line held and as I eventually pulled the fish out of the water I could see that it was firmly clenched in the jaws of a huge Pike. The Bream was a big one - well over a foot long - I reckon that I saw at least two feet of the Pike too before the ensemble broke free - I have to say that it was intensly scary . . .

 

I watched something very similar from the towpath of the L&L by Ainscoughs at Burscough during a fishing match a few years back. The pike won!

 

Even without large carnivores, there can be dangers under the surface, and British Waterways has issued a reminder to people not to be tempted to enter the waterways over the festive period

 

err, like the temperature?

Edited December 13, 2011 by Smelly

[NB Alnwick]

You must eat very large portions....

 

 

We've had two large dinners with one goose between at least 8 in one case, & 10 in another. Nobody went hungry, & there was the bonus of not having heaps of leftovers to deal with for days or weeks afterwards as with a typical oversized turkey

 

Tim

 

Obviously there are bigger Geese around . . .

[Timleech]

Obviously there are bigger Geese around . . .

 

Well, Christmas Dinner usually includes a few chipolatas, stuffing etc, so portions of the bird can be a bit smaller than if it's a simple 'meat & two veg' meal

 

Tim

[bizzard]

The kids in Arthur Ransome's book ''The big six'' caught a 32lb Pike,in the river Thurne Norfolk Broads.

[Offcumden]

Couldn't you just say Pike, save lots of us having to look it up?

 

Tim

As Centurian Captainus Mainwaringus said

" Don't tell them your name Esox Lucius"