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Christmas Roast Goose
Instructions
With Thanks to James Beard, Graham Kerr, and the Joy of Cooking
Pitted Prunes (18 or so)
Almonds with their skins on (about a large handful, 1/3 cup?)
Granny Smith apples (6 to 8)
Lemons (2)
Nutmeg (Ground is okay, best if freshly grated)
Sherry
Goose (probably 10-12 pounds)About 4 days ahead, begin soaking the prunes in sherry. (No need to refrigerate.)
Also begin thawing the goose at least two days ahead--check for
instructions on the wrapper. Note: fresh goose is really better, but I never remember to order one soon enough...The day before you plan to cook the goose, or early on the day you plan to cook it--depending on if you are cooking it at noon or dinner--remove it from the wrapper, remove the giblets from the inside and rinse thoroughly. The main purpose is to make sure the bird is thawed! If the giblet sack is still frozen inside the bird, begin a cold water bath in the sink--be sure to sterilize the sink by using Comet, rinsing, and then pouring boiling water on all surfaces first to cut likelihood of bacteria. The bird must be kept as well submerged as possible, and check often. As the bird thaws remove all easily accessible pockets of fat--like around the openings.
Once the bird is thoroughly thawed, dry it out with paper towels and refrigerate it until time to begin cooking.
About an hour before you want to cook the bird:
Blanch the almonds--DO NOT buy almonds already blanched, the fresh blanching makes a difference! To blanch almonds, put them in a pan and pour boiling water on them. Let them sit for 5 minutes and then drain. Pour cold water on them and slip the skins off. This is actually quite fun. When the skins are loose you hold the almond off center and squeeze, the nut pops right out!.
Cut the Granny Smith apples in quarters or slices, no need to peel or core. Rinse them in a little lemon juice.
Slice a lemon thinly.
Remove the goose from the refrigerator, dry the inside and rub the inside with salt.
Stuff the goose with the prunes and the apples, which should have been lightly salted and dusted with nutmeg.
Here and there add a lemon slice. (James Beard) The almonds can be mixed with the prunes and apples or added here and there like the lemon slices.
Prick the hell out of the bird with a large tined fork--a carving fork is best. Be sure to prick especially heavily in areas where there are visible pockets of fat, usually around the legs for one.
Roast the goose in a very slow oven on a rack. The rack needs to be high out of the pan so the bird does not sit in its own grease.
325 degrees for a total of about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
After the first hour, remove the fat from the pan. WARNING: this fat is VERY HOT and will try to come out of the syringe, move quickly.
Reserve this fat to make the gravy! It makes absolutely marvelous gravy without the burnt taste that comes with grease removed later.
When the fat cools, you should refrigerate it until just before the goose is done.
You may want to baste with the drippings once or twice (although it is probably not necessary) and probably want to cover the bird with foil at two hours to keep it from over browning.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The stuffing mix is NOT to be eaten!!! It imparts flavor to the goose and the gravy, but it also soaks up an incredible amount of grease. I just leave it in the bird while serving. Remove it when cleaning up, do not refrigerate the goose with stuffing inside.
It might be fun to make similar 'stuffing' complete with herbed bread cubes outside the bird. But if you do, core those apples! I usually make stuffing separate, it only needs to warm for about 15 minutes.
James Beard recommends putting wedges of potato in the bottom of the roasting pan. However, we find that too greasy. You might be able to roast some potatoes on the rack below the goose if your oven is large enough.
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