Oison à l’Allemande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6 to 7-quart (5.7 to 6.6 L) oval covered roasting pan or Dutch oven
• •6-inch (15 cm) flexible boning knife, if the butcher has not prepared the bird
• •Trussing needle and cotton kitchen twine, or 4 short metal skewers
• •¾-inch (2 cm) apple corer
• •10-inch (25 cm) lidded sauté pan
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve and heatproof gravy boat

Instructions

1. 1

   Bone the breast

   Keep the gosling cold while you work. The breastbone, wishbone, and ribs must be removed through the body opening without cutting away the breast meat or opening the breast skin; the boned breast should feel supple, while the back, legs, and wings remain supported by their bones. If doing this yourself, use the tip of a flexible boning knife to scrape the meat from the rib cage in short strokes, always directing the blade toward bone. Lift the cage out in sections rather than pulling against the skin. Stitch a small nick immediately with cotton kitchen twine. Ça se rattrape, but a long tear should be patched and tied before the bird is filled.

   This is an excellent job to give the butcher. Ask for the breastbone and rib cage to be removed from inside, with the breast meat attached to its unbroken skin and the leg and wing bones left in place.
2. 2

   Half-cook stuffing apples

   Peel and core 3 apples, then cut each into quarters. Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) of the butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add the apple quarters and turn them gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until their edges look translucent and butter-gold but their centers remain firm. This half-cooking matters: raw apples would release too much water inside the bird, while fully tender apples would collapse before the gosling is done. Transfer them to a plate and let them cool until barely warm.

3. 3

   Fill and close

   Dry the gosling inside and out. Season the interior with 1½ teaspoons of the salt and all the pepper, then arrange the half-cooked apple quarters inside the boned breast cavity without crushing or packing them tightly. Sew the body and neck openings closed with a trussing needle and cotton twine. If you have no trussing needle, cross short metal skewers through the skin and lace the twine around them. Truss the legs close to the body and season the outside with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Closing the bird is not brigade scaffolding; it holds the breast around the apples and keeps their juices where they belong.

4. 4

   Braise and baste

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Set the gosling breast-side up in a snug covered roasting pan or oval Dutch oven. Melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter and brush it over the skin, letting the excess run into the pan. Cover tightly and cook for 30 minutes, then baste thoroughly with the butter and rendered goose fat. Continue cooking, basting every 20 minutes. Uncover for the final 30 minutes and baste every 10 minutes so the skin becomes an even deep bronze. Begin checking after 1 hour 45 minutes; the center of the apple filling and the thickest part of the thigh must reach at least 165°F (74°C), usually after 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes in total. If the pan is dry at the first basting, melt another tablespoon of butter and use it immediately, taking that spoonful from the garnish allowance. Ça se rattrape. If the skin darkens before the center is hot, cover it loosely and continue at the same gentle heat.

   Set a repeating timer. A faithful baste protects the exposed breast and carries the bird's own flavor back over its surface; this is the principle that decides the dish.
5. 5

   Butter the garnish apples

   While the gosling cooks, peel the remaining 4 apples and leave them whole. Remove each core cleanly with a ¾-inch (2 cm) apple corer, the honest home equivalent of the book's tube-cutter. Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) butter in a lidded sauté pan over low heat. Add the apples, cover, and cook for 25 to 35 minutes, rolling them gently every 5 minutes and spooning butter over their surfaces and into the hollow centers. They are ready when a small knife enters with light resistance and the fruit still stands whole. If they color before becoming tender, lower the heat and keep the pan covered; if the butter turns black, move the apples to a clean pan with a fresh spoonful of butter.

6. 6

   Rest and garnish

   Transfer the cooked gosling to a warmed oval platter and rest it loosely covered for 20 minutes. Arrange the 4 butter-cooked apples around the bird, then spoon the red-currant jelly generously into their hollow centers. Keep any remaining jelly beside the apples rather than stirring it into the gravy; its clear tart sweetness is meant to meet the rich meat at the fork.

7. 7

   Build the roast gravy

   While the bird rests, tilt the braising pan and spoon away roughly three-quarters of the rendered grease, leaving the browned fond and a little fat behind. Reserve the removed goose fat for another cooking pot. Set the pan over medium heat, pour in the brown poultry stock, and scrape and swill the pan until every browned deposit has dissolved. Boil steadily for 8 to 12 minutes, reducing the gravy until it tastes concentrated and lightly coats a spoon. Strain it through a fine sieve into a warmed gravy boat. If it looks slick rather than glossy, let it stand for a minute and skim the excess fat; if it is thin, return it to the heat and reduce again. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Remove every thread or skewer before carving. Cut the breast across the grain, taking some of the apple filling with each portion, then divide the legs at their joints. Give each diner both breast and dark meat, one buttered apple with red-currant jelly, and the hot strained gravy passed separately. The fruit should brighten the gosling, not bury it. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Oison means gosling, and the age matters. Order the smallest young bird your poulterer can supply; a mature goose has firmer meat, much more fat, and needs a different cooking time.
• •Choose firm, tart apples that keep their shape, such as Reinette, Boskoop, Braeburn, or firm Granny Smith. Soft sweet apples turn to purée inside the bird and slump in the garnish pan.
• •Use rich, unsalted brown poultry stock with real body, not a heavily salted thin broth. The source assumed good gravy for roasts waiting beside the stove; reducing proper stock over the gosling's fond gives one home cook the same foundation.
• •Red-currant jelly is not decoration. Its acidity cuts through the goose fat, so use the sharp, clear kind and keep it distinct from the savory gravy.
• •Pour an Alsace Pinot Gris with enough acidity to carry the buttered apples, or a light Pinot Noir if the table wants red. Neither needs to be grand; the bird is already doing the ceremonial work.
• •Chill leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat the meat covered with a spoonful of gravy until it reaches 165°F (74°C), warming the apples separately so they remain whole.

Advance Preparation

• •Arrange the breast boning with the butcher a day ahead. Keep the prepared gosling covered and refrigerated at or below 40°F (4°C).
• •The brown poultry stock can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept cold, or frozen well in advance. Bring it to a simmer before deglazing the braising pan.
• •The whole garnish apples can be cooked in butter up to 4 hours ahead, chilled, and rewarmed gently in their pan. Add the red-currant jelly only after arranging them around the bird.
• •Do not stuff the gosling in advance. Fill, close, and cook it in one sequence so raw poultry juices never sit inside the fruit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 640g)