Roast Goose

Method

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1. The day before, prick the skin all over with a sharp skewer at a shallow angle — you are piercing the fat layer, not the meat. Concentrate on the breast and the thighs.

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2. Set the goose on a rack in the sink and pour a full kettle of boiling water slowly over it. The skin will visibly tighten. Pat completely dry.

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3. Rub the salt, pepper, caraway and marjoram over the skin and inside the cavity, set the bird on a rack over a tray, and refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours.

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4. Take it out 2 hours before roasting. Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F.

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5. Stuff the cavity loosely with the onions, apples and thyme, and set the goose breast up on a rack in a deep roasting tin.

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6. Roast 30 minutes, then drop the oven to 170°C / 340°F and roast a further 2 hours 30 minutes, ladling the rendered fat out of the tin into a bowl every 45 minutes. You should collect close to a litre.

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7. The goose is done when the thigh joint reads 82°C and the juices from the thigh run clear.

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8. Raise the oven to 220°C / 430°F for a final 10 minutes to blister the skin, then rest the bird on a board, loosely tented, for 30 minutes.

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9. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat, set the tin over a medium heat, add the wine and boil hard for 3 minutes, scraping the base.

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10. Add the stock, simmer 5 minutes, then whisk in the cornflour slaked in cold water and the redcurrant jelly, and simmer 2 minutes until glossy.

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Chef’s Tips

• Save every drop of the fat. Goose fat roast potatoes are the second reason to cook a goose.
• A 5 kg goose feeds eight, not twelve. There is far less meat on the frame than the weight suggests.
• Prick at an angle. Straight down and you go through into the meat, and the juices leave with the fat.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock makes this meat-free without changing the method, if that is what you need.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Pairing Suggestions

• Red cabbage braised with apple
• Roast potatoes in the goose fat
• A glass of Riesling

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerated for 3 days. The carcass makes an exceptional stock. Rendered fat keeps 6 months in the fridge.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.