Oison à l’Alsacienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 to 9 quart heavy oval cocotte with a close-fitting lid
• •5 quart heavy covered pot for the choucroute
• •Long sturdy tongs and a wooden spoon for turning the gosling
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Large warmed oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Braise the choucroute

   Taste the sauerkraut before rinsing it. A well-balanced choucroute needs only draining; if the brine is fiercely salty or sour, rinse it briefly under cold water and squeeze it dry. Melt the goose fat in a heavy covered pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon rectangles and turn them for 3 minutes, just until glossy and beginning to release their fat, without crisping them. Fold in the sauerkraut, coating every strand with fat, then add the water and bring it to the barest simmer. Cover and cook gently for 1½ to 2 hours, turning the cabbage every 30 minutes. If the bottom dries before the cabbage is tender, add hot water 2 tablespoons at a time. Choucroute is a braise and may be moistened; the gosling must not be.

   Keep the bacon rectangles intact as you turn the cabbage. They should finish tender and distinct, ready to surround the bird rather than disappearing into the choucroute.
2. 2

   Stuff and truss

   Take the sausage-meat from the cold only when the gosling is ready. Season the cavity with ½ teaspoon of the salt and a little pepper, then spoon in the sausage-meat loosely. Do not ram or compress it; a packed stuffing heats slowly and cooks to a heavy block. Truss the legs and secure the cavity with kitchen twine, then season the whole exterior with the remaining salt and pepper, reserving a small pinch of salt for the choucroute. Stuff the bird immediately before cooking, never hours ahead.

   If all the sausage-meat will not fit without packing, bake the remainder in a buttered ramekin beside the gosling until its centre reaches 165°F (74°C).
3. 3

   Colour in butter

   Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in the heavy oval cocotte over medium heat. When the foam subsides, lower in the gosling and brown it patiently on the breast, back, and both sides, turning with long tongs and a sturdy wooden spoon. Allow 10 to 15 minutes and look for an even, deep butter-gold colour, not scattered black patches. If the butter burns before the skin colours, remove the pot from the heat and lift out the bird. Ça se rattrape: discard the blackened butter, wipe away the bitter specks with paper held in tongs, add the reserved tablespoon of fresh butter, and continue over gentler heat.

4. 4

   Complete the poêlage

   Proceed immediately with Poëlings (No. 250), carrying out that preparation in the heavy cocotte and using a 325°F (165°C) home oven for this 7 to 8 pound stuffed bird. Do not pour water, wine, or stock into the vessel while the gosling cooks. Begin checking after 1 hour 45 minutes; most birds of this size require about 2 to 2½ hours after browning. The centre of the sausage stuffing must reach 165°F (74°C), and the deepest part of the thigh should reach at least 170°F (77°C) without the thermometer touching bone. If the pot smells too dark before the bird is done, lower the oven by 25°F (15°C) and add a spoonful of melted butter, not liquid. If the skin is already dark but the stuffing remains under temperature, keep the vessel covered and continue gently. Rest the finished gosling loosely covered for 25 minutes.

   The thermometer belongs in the centre of the sausage-meat, not merely in the breast. The stuffing is the last part to become safe and therefore decides when the bird leaves the oven.
5. 5

   Settle the choucroute

   When the choucroute is tender but still holds distinct strands, uncover it. If liquid remains, cook gently until it has evaporated and the cabbage glistens with goose fat rather than swimming in broth. If it has tightened too far, fold in a spoonful of hot water. Taste before adding the reserved salt because both the sauerkraut and bacon may already have supplied enough. Keep the bacon rectangles whole and hold everything covered over the lowest heat.

6. 6

   Finish the poëling liquor

   While the gosling rests, complete and strain the cooking liquor exactly as directed in Poëlings (No. 250), then hold it in a warm sauceboat. This is where stock belongs, after the bird has left the cocotte, so it can capture the butter, vegetables, and roasting juices without turning the poêlage into a braise. If the finished liquor still looks greasy, let it stand briefly and skim it again; fat should lend aroma and gloss, not float in a heavy layer.

7. 7

   Dish and carve

   Remove the twine from the rested gosling. Spread the choucroute across a warmed oval platter, leaving a shallow hollow in the centre, and arrange the bacon rectangles around its edge. Set the whole gosling on the cabbage for the table, then carve it into breast slices and leg portions, giving each person some sausage stuffing, choucroute, and bacon. Keep the poëling liquor in its sauceboat so the burnished skin stays itself. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Order a young gosling weighing 7 to 8 pounds. Oison means gosling, and the tenderness of the young bird matters; a mature goose is larger, firmer, and needs a different cooking calculation.
• •The source asks for very good sausage-meat, so choose a butcher’s plain, well-seasoned pork filling with a fine but not pasty texture. Avoid strongly herbed or sweet sausage, which would cover the character of the goose and choucroute.
• •Buy plain sauerkraut without wine, sugar, or added spice. Taste it before rinsing. Good fermentation gives acidity without harshness, and washing it automatically can rinse away the very character the dish needs.
• •Butter is the working fat of the poêlage. A substitute will neither brown nor carry the aromas in the same way. We don’t apologize for butter.
• •Pour a dry Alsatian Riesling. Its acidity meets the goose fat and fermented cabbage directly, while its fruit is broad enough for the sausage stuffing.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, removing the stuffing from the cavity first. Keep for up to 3 days and reheat covered gosling slices over the choucroute with a spoonful of water.

Advance Preparation

• •The choucroute may be braised up to 2 days ahead. Cool it promptly, refrigerate it with the bacon, and reheat gently with a few spoonfuls of water before the gosling is ready.
• •Ask the butcher to prepare the gosling and sausage-meat a day ahead, but keep them separately refrigerated. Stuffing poultry in advance gives bacteria too comfortable a hiding place, so fill and truss only immediately before cooking.
• •The ingredients and equipment required for Poëlings (No. 250) can be measured and arranged before the gosling is stuffed. Once raw sausage enters the bird, the cooking should proceed without delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 820g)