Like every year in autumn, Polish restaurants include exquisite dishes with goose meat in their menus. The inauguration for this meat is a feast for Polish gastronomy, and if you are looking for some of the best goose dishes, be sure to visit Kraków and Małopolska voivodeship.
Although goose meat used to play a very important role in Polish cuisine, today it can rarely be found on Polish tables. It may be surprising, especially taking into consideration that Poland is one of the biggest producers of goose meat in Europe. Despite the fact that the vast majority of our goose meat is exported, the situation is slowly changing, and thanks to actions promoting this unique meat, more and more Poles are willing to try it.
Polish tradition
Although today goose meat is associated with an exquisite dish for special occasions, in the past it often found its way to dining tables. In the 19th and 20th century, goose baked with apples was nothing out of the ordinary. People ate cold side dishes consisting of goose with rosemary,
goose neck with liver filling (Jewish cuisine delicacy), or smelted goose lard, which was put on bread together with a pinch of marjoram. One of the most important dishes was corned goose breast, smoked and seasoned with cloves or pepper and juniper.
St. Martin’s delicacy
Today many of these delicacies are already forgotten – fortunately, this is changing thanks to various special events and festivals that popularize goose meat. There is no better time to promote goose meat than autumn – already in 1932 Ludwik Tomanek, a journalist from Kraków writing for “Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny”,
described the old Polish tradition of eating goose meat on 11 November. This is the day the Polish branch of Slow Food Association organizes the “Goose Meat on St. Martin’s day” event, during which the most famous chefs prepare their own ideas for this meat, and their delicious dishes can be found in the best restaurants throughout Poland. The official list of restaurants taking part in the event is published at gesina.pl.
Goose from Małopolska
In Kraków on this occasion it is worth visiting places like….. It is also worth noting that the winner of the best recipe in the 2016/2017 edition was the chef of Hilton Garden Inn Krakow Airport restaurant, who won the third place for his foie gras ganache with walnut crumble prepared on goose fat.
This year’s edition will take place from 10 November to 3 December. When in Małopolska, it is also a good idea to try the local Zatorska goose that is famous for its delicate, low fat meat. Having tasted it, you can be sure that goose will become a more frequent guest on your table, not only in autumn.
