I usually prefer trying new recipes over making the same dish again when we have guests. There is one time a year that is the exception: Christmas. Every year, I roast a goose from our local farm, with my favorite stuffing and assortment of sides: Semmelknoedel (bread dumplings), Kartoffelkloesse (potato dumplings), red cabbage, and of course a good sauce.
For starters and dessert, I stay true to my usual habits and vary them every year. The starters I have prepared over the years included goat cheese tarte with caramelized figs, beet carpaccio, and goat cheese with a wild herb salad.
The desserts have included creme brulee, homemade baklava, and a variation on red wine pears and speculoo or cinnamon parfait.
Main Course
If you have never roasted a goose, but would like to give it a go, I will map out my process here.
My first recommendation: find a local farm for good quality and sustainability. They can also give advice what the right size is depending on the number of guests you are expecting.
My second recommendation: spend a little time reading up on what you have to do to get the bird ready. I can recommend this page (it’s in German but can of course be translated): https://www.inizio-concepts.com/tipp-gans-vorbereiten.php.
My third recommendation: watch a short video on how to carve a goose before your guests arrive. E.g. this one:
I always choose to use the slow cooking method. I.e. the goose is in the oven for 8-9 hours. Why? It may sound like ‘more work’ because it takes so long. But this makes it impossible for the goose to dry out. You don’t need to baste it and you can focus on preparing the sides while the bird is in the oven.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Prep the goose (refer to the link above how to do that). The most important steps are: remove the bag with innards, remove the fat around the bottom, remove the oil gland in the tail, and remove any remaining feathers and quills. The let it sit at room temperature while you prep the stuffing. It should not go directly from the fridge into the oven. That will extend the cooking time.Save the innards, fat and anything you cut off for the sauce!
- For the stuffing, dice the toast, apples, celery and onions.
- Heat oil in a pan on meduim heat and add the onions. Let them slowly brown for about 10 minutes. Add the bacon bits and cook for another 5 minutes until the bacon has browned as well. Press the garlic and wait approximately 1 minute until fragrant. It should not get dark. Add chestnuts, celery, and apples, and after another 2-3 minutes, add the toast. Roast for another 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock in parts. The toast should soak up the liquid without the stuffing getting watery. Add salt and pepper to taste (don't underseason!).
- Take off the stove and let cool.
- Season the goose with salt on the outside and inside.
- Preheat the oven to 220℃ (430℉) top/bottom heat.
- Sow the neck side of the goose shut (or if you don't have cooking yarn, like me, use tooth picks in a zigzag manner). Add the stuffing to the goose (it should be packed) and then also sow the bottom side shut (or again, use toothpicks). If you want to be on the safe side, add a cooking thermometer to the goose. It should go into the thigh without touching the bone.
- Put the goose onto an oven rack, and place the rack on top of a dripping pan/deep baking tray. Don't skip this, otherwise you will have goose fat all over your oven!
- Put the goose in the oven and roast for 1 hour.
- Lower the oven temperature to 80℃ (180℉). Make sure that your oven actually reaches this temperature! I actually have to set my oven to 90-100℃. I use my second thermometer to check on this throughout the day.
- Keep in the oven at this temperature for 8 hours. If your goose is heavier or lighter, the time will vary. A 4 kg goose will take approximately 7 hours, a 6 kg goose approximately 9 hours.
- If you or your guests are running late, that's ok. Just keep the goose in the oven for a bit longer. The low temperature means your goose will not dry out.
- 30 minutes before dinner, increase the heat to 180℃ (360℉) and roast for another 30 minutes. If you are not happy with the crispyness of the skin after about 20 minutes, you can also turn on your oven grill. But then you need to have a close eye on it to avoid burning it!
- Finally, take out of the oven, carve, and serve with sides.
Sides
I always make all my sides from scratch. That takes me all day after the goose is in the oven. And also some prep steps the day before, considering that I’m also making starters and dessert.
The minimum steps required the day before: The prep step for the red cabbage, cooking the potatoes and buying bread rolls.
Here are my recipes that I have continuously improved over the last years:
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add some goose fat to a large pot or casserole and melt on medium heat.
- Cut/hack the goose bits into pieces, add to the pot and roast until browned.
- Cut the vegetables and onion in pieces, slightly crush 2 cloves of garlic, and add to the pot and let brown.
- In a separate pot, add powdered sugar and let caramelize on medium heat (not high!). Add the tomato paste and deglaze with red wine. Keep adding red wine until the caramel is dissolved.
- In the pot with the vegetables, add dates, the caramel-red wine-mix, and the goose stock. Cook on low heat for 1 hour.
- Afterwards, pour into another pot through a strainer to remove all pieces and then reduce by half on medium heat.
- Dissolve the corn starch in bit of water, and add to the sauce. Don't add the corn starch dircetly to the sauce, this will result in clumps. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil to thicken the sauce. Add the mugwort, ginger, orange peel, and the remaining crushed garlic clove to a tea strainer / empty tea bag and leave in the sauce for about 15 minutes.
- Before serving, add cold butter to the sauce and add salt and pepper if needed.
Ingredients
Method
- Add oil to a pan on medium heat and add the chopped onions. Let slowly brown, 15-20 minutes.
- Dice the bread rolls, put in a bowl and add tepid milk.
- Add the onions, chopped parsely and eggs to the soaked bread and knead to a dough. If the dough is too dry, add a bit of milk, if its too soft, add some bread crumbs.
- Use wet hands to form the round dumplings. If you don't cook them right away, add to a tupperware container and store until ready to cook.
- Add a pot with salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat, add the dumplings and let simmer for 25 minutes. They are done when the dumplings rise to the top.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Boil the potatoes for, depending on the size, 30-45 minutes. Ideally, do this the day before. Let them cool off.
- Peel the potatoes and rice (press) them.
- Add the salt and potato flour. Form them into round dumplings.
- Add water to a port and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat, add the dumplings and simmer for about 20 minutes. The water should not boil. The dumplings are done when they float to the surface.
Notes
The red cabbage recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks: ‘Kochen.’ by Stevan Paul. It’s a great book that covers all the basics.
Ingredients
Method
- On the day before, finely chop the red cabbage (remove the stalk). Wash it, add the salt and knead with your hands until soft. Don't skip this step! Otherwise, i wont't come out as soft.
- Add half of the goose fat to a large pot on medium heat and roast the onions until golden brown. Use the port to deglaze and cook for 1 minute.
- Add vinegar, jam and honey. Add the cabbage and stir. Add a weight on top and let steep over night.
- On the next day, add th remaining goose fat to a large pot on medium heat. Add the cabbage, orange zest, orange juice, and 1liter of water. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 1 hour. Stir occssionally.
- In the meantime, peel the potatoes and finely grate them.
- After the 1 hour is over, add the grated potatoes, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for another 30 minutes. Stir occssionally.
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