How to Cook Your Own Goose!

We are familiar with chicken, turkey and to some degree duck, but goose is the poultry that is in the next plain of delight. If you don’t like duck then there is a chance you won’t like goose. But maybe you haven’t had water fowl cooked properly. Goose is less gamy then duck and more succulent. It has a lot of fat (OK and enormous amount of fat) that has to be dealt with. When cooked right it is one of the gastronomic experiences that you should not miss.

The first thing to do is try and get over the concept of a whole goose coming golden to the table like a turkey. It is not the best way to cook your goose. Or maybe with the dried out breast meat and chewy leg meat it is the best way to “cook your goose”.

It is best to cook the breast and legs separately as well as in different styles. The breast can be roasted and the legs braised. Then they can be served as separate courses or on the same plate each with it’s own treatment.

When you get your goose take off the legs and thighs just like cutting up a chicken (if you don’t know how to cut up a chicken this recipe may be a stretch for you). Cut off the wings at the shoulder joints. These are big tough birds so use a sturdy sharp knife. Then starting at the bottom of the ribs cut the breast meat away from the rib cage. Go around the wish bone and be careful not to cut through the skin at the center of the breast. Do this on both sides of the bird and then pull the whole breast off of the keel bone in one piece. With the skin side up pierce the skin all over with a toothpick. This allows the fat to escape during roasting.

Roast Double Breast of Goose
1 large double goose breast, bone removed
4 juniper berries, smashed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ cups onions cut into ¼ inch dice
3 green apples, peeled, cored and chopped into ¼ inch dice
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 ½ cups of boiled potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/2 cup
1 pinch cloves
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lay the goose breast out in a baking pan. In a mixing bowl, stir together the juniper, rosemary, 1/4 cup olive oil and vinegar and pour over both sides of the breast. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
In a 14-inch sauté pan, heat the remaining oil over medium heat and add onions. Cook until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the apples, caraway and cooked potatoes and cook another 10 minutes, or until apples have started to soften. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, cloves, and egg and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the goose from the marinade, brush off and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and lay flat on cutting board. Lay the stuffing out evenly over the goose and roll up like a jelly roll. Tie securely with butcher’s twine and place in roasting pan. Roast in oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F. Remove, allow to rest 10 minutes, then carve.

While the goose breast is marinating for the 24 hours you can finish the legs and sauce. Take the legs and thighs, wings, neck, rib cage and any giblets (except the liver) along with any chicken parts you may have (the more the better) and put them in a roasting pan on a bed of chopped vegetables (ie. onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, celery, carrots, celery root, turnips, and parsley) using any combination you like. Put the roasting pan into a 400 degree oven and roast until the goose legs and thighs are golden brown. Remove the legs and thighs and set them aside to cool. Continue to roast the rest until the goose pieces are very dark brown.

Dissolve ¼ cup of tomato paste into 8 cups of simmering chicken stock. Pour this into the roasting pan and stir to combine evenly. Put everything into a stock pot with 2 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of peppercorns. Add enough simmering stock or water to cover. Bring this up to a simmer on top to the stove and skim off any scum that rises. Simmer for 3 hours continuing to skim off any impurities and fat that rise. Save any fat. After 3 hours remove the pot from the heat and carefully strain the stock through a very fine strainer into another pot or bowl. Discard everything but the stock. During this whole process add no salt. Put the stock back into a pot and simmer it until it is reduced to 4 cups.

Braised Goose
¼ pound of bacon or pancetta in a ¼ inch dice
1 cup of mushrooms, sliced (porcini, chanterelles or shitake preferred but button will do)
½ cup of red onion in ¼ inch dice
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 cup of red wine
2 roasted goose legs and thighs
1 cup of diced smoked sausage (andouille is good)
1 teaspoon of fresh chopped thyme
4 cups of dark goose stock
4 tablespoons reserved goose fat or butter
5 tablespoons flour or wondra
1 tablespoon red currant jelly or any jelly you like
Salt to taste
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

In a large sauté pan cook the bacon over medium heat until most of the fat is rendered but not quite until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve it.

Into the bacon fat add the mushrooms and sauté them until they are browned. Remove the mushrooms and reserve them with the bacon.

Into the remaining bacon fat add the red onions (if the mushrooms absorbed too much of the fat then add some olive oil) and sauté until them until they are soft and a little bit golden. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the red wine and simmer until almost all the wine has evaporated.
Transfer everything into a oven proof pot along with the goose legs and thighs, the sausage and the thyme. Add the stock to the original sauté pan and simmer until every thing is dissolved. Add the stock to the oven proof pot. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and put it into a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. After one hour remove the pot from the oven and test the goose by piercing the leg with a small pointed knife. The knife should slide easily into the meat without resistance. If it is not very done return it to the oven and check at 15 minute intervals until the meat is very tender.

When the goose is tender remove everything in the pot to a warm platter except the liquid. Pull the bones out of the goose. They should come out easily.

Strain the liquid and keep it at a simmer. Keep the platter warm.

Melt the goose fat or butter in a sauce pan. When hot whisk in the flour and cook, stirring until the roux is the color of a filbert shell. Slowly add the simmering stock while whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickened somewhat. Whisk in the jelly and then taste the sauce. Add salt to taste. Continue to simmer the sauce until it is reduced to a consistency of light cream. Pour half the sauce over the goose legs and garnish with the parsley. Serve the other half of the sauce with the goose breast.
This goose will serve 6 to 8 people. With it serve a good pinot noir.