Anyone cooked a Goose ??

[jwyno]

Hi All

As we always have a goose at Christmas and this weekend is Michaelmas - a traditional old worldy time to cook a goose at the end of the harvest - I was wondering if anyone had any tips or success at cooking a goose in a WFO, as I plan on trying one in the next week or so to ensure I dont ruin our Christmas dinner

I pretty much planned to do it the same way I always have in a standard oven...
1- Remove excess fat and giblets from inside the cavity and bring a large pot of water to the boil large enough to 'dunk' the goose.
2- Once boiling, submerge the goose for up to a minute and then remove and pat the skin dry and drain any excess water from the cavity
3- Place in the fridge for 24 hours to air dry
4- Prick the goose all over, particularly around the more fatty areas under the wings to allow excess fat to drain out while cooking
5- Use whatever is your favourite rub for the skin (i think we use one based on an old Jamie recipe with lemon and lime zest, chinese 5 spice, salt and pepper)
6- Place the remaining citrus in the cavity along with additional herbs and seasoning.

I will start cooking on a high heat to brown the skin quickly and then I plan to cover with foil to protect the skin from any flame and excess heat and cook for the next 4 ish hours - removing any fat and basting every 30 minutes or so.

I did a duck a while ago along the same lines but it was quite small but came out ok.

Cheers
James

[bookemdanno]

I shink that'll work well.
A goose is probably easier than a Turkey and i've got a plan bubbling away in the back of my mind for xmas din din!

[minesamojito]

That should work a treat, not done one myself, but that's exactly how I'd do it.
Cheers
Marcus

[rivergirl]

salivating at the thought of potatoes cooking in the fats ....

[jwyno]

I need to apologise at the lack of photo's as unfortunately the vino started flowing before the goose had even entered the oven so i have nothing to show for my efforts (other than a happy face)....however I did as I described using oranges and lemon as my citrus, mixed with chinese spice and olive oil and then generously rubbed over the outside of the goose with the segments of orange and lemon going in the cavity with extra garlic, rosemary, sage and thyme.

We covered the goose straight away and checked it every 20 minutes to baste and then remove excess fat. I now have just under a litre of goose fat in the fridge for whenever the need arises.

The goose was in the oven with the temp fluctuating between 180 and 200c for 3 hours, and I just removed the foil for the last 10 minutes to give more colour but it was pretty good already.

The potatoes went under the goose for the last 30 minutes, and then stayed in another 30 minutes once i took the goose out to rest - and they were stunningly crunchy on the outside ;D

The goose fat was fun as twice when removing fat, I obviously got some on the outside of the foil when wrapping it back up resulting in the foil catching fire on two occasions but luckily it never got through to the bird or the fat underneath. We did have a damp drying up cloth to the side just in case but all was good.

The goose was juicy and moist and full of flavour so now have it signed off by the boss for my Xmas day dinner as well !!!

[jwyno]

Rather late in the day to include photo's against the original post but the attached photo is basically my Christmas day goose cooked in the same way as described, along with the turkey on the left of the plate but more traditional butter and sage under the skin and bacon over the top.

The potatoes went under the goose for 30 minutes and then were left in the goose fat once the bird came out to rest and the sausages and stuffing went under the turkey.

We didnt have any space left for Xmas pud !!

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