Happily, goose is readily available during the Christmas season in most supermarkets (usually next to the frozen turkeys and ducks), and if you have a yen for rich-tasting poultry, then cook a goose for the holiday. Goose is famous for its delicious fat, which renders during the roasting, and although the fat needs to be drained periodically, this recipe is really quite easy.
See Also
Julia Child's Roast Goose
Prime Rib Roast Recipe
Lemon and Garlic Roast Turkey with Cider Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted prunes
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 1 cup dried figs, stemmed
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups port
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
- 10-12 pound goose
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 lemon
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 180 minutes
- Total Time: 210 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine the prunes, apricots, figs, thyme, port, allspice and honey in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the flame and simmer 20 minutes. Pick out and discard the thyme sprigs. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the poached fruits to a mixing bowl, and fold in the chopped apple. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil and let reduce by half, until thickened like a glaze.
- Trim away any excess globules of fat inside and around the goose's cavity. Snip off the wing tips. Using a sharp paring knife, score the breast and legs in a cross-hatch pattern.
- Squeeze the lemon juice inside the cavity, then season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Fill the cavity with the poached fruits, and tie the goose's legs together with kitchen string. Rest the goose in a roasting pan, and tuck the wings under. Using a pastry brush, brush the poaching liquid all over the goose, sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper.
- Roast the goose for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Calculate 16 minutes per pound for additional roasting time. Every 30 minutes, baste the goose with the pan juices and pour off the rendered fat through a sieve into a large bowl. (Save the fat for roasting potatoes and other uses -- the fat can be frozen for six months.) If the goose browns too quickly, cover with foil. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of roasting.
- Transfer the goose to a carving board and cover loosely with foil for 30 minutes before carving. Slice the goose by running a long thin knife (like a boning knife) along the backbone and cutting each breast half off whole. Then cut the breast half against the grain into slices. Break off the legs and slice the meat off the bone. Serve with the port-poached fruits.
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