Oca amb Peres

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole or Dutch oven with lid, 8 to 10 litres
• •Large tongs
• •Shallow skimming spoon or fat separator
• •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Large serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the goose

   Pat every goose piece completely dry. Prick only the thick pockets of skin with a fine skewer, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Season with 20g of the salt and all the pepper, reserving 2g of salt for the finished sauce. Leave the pieces at room temperature for 30 minutes while you prepare the onions and tomato.

2. 2

   Render and brown

   Put the olive oil in a cold, wide heavy casserole and arrange the first batch of goose skin-side down. Set it over medium-low heat and let the fat render slowly until the skin is deep gold, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn and brown the flesh side for 3 to 4 minutes, then transfer to a tray. Repeat without crowding the pan. Carefully strain the rendered fat into a heatproof jar, leaving about 45ml in the casserole.

   Keep the heat moderate. A fierce pan colours the skin before the thick goose fat has time to come out, leaving you with a greasy sauce later.
3. 3

   Build the sofregit

   Lower the heat and add the onions to the fat in the casserole. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until dark gold, soft and jammy. Add the 2 chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the grated tomato and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sofregit, the slow onion and tomato base, is brick-coloured, almost dry and showing small glints of fat around its edges.

4. 4

   Braise in stages

   Pour in the wine, scrape the bottom well and boil for 4 to 5 minutes, until reduced by about half. Add the hot stock, bay leaves, thyme and cinnamon. Return the leg and wing pieces skin-side up; the liquid should reach roughly halfway up the meat. Bring it to a bare simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook gently for 60 minutes. Add the breast pieces and continue at the same quiet simmer for 35 minutes.

5. 5

   Add the pears

   Nestle the pear halves into the sauce without piling them on one another. Cover slightly ajar and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, turning the pears carefully once. They are ready when a small knife enters with slight resistance and the halves still hold their shape. The goose legs should give easily at the joint, and the thickest breast piece must reach at least 74°C. If a breast piece or pear is ready before the legs, lift it out and keep it covered while the legs finish.

   Use pears that smell ripe but remain firm at the neck. A soft eating pear collapses into the sauce before the goose is tender.
6. 6

   Skim the sauce

   Transfer the goose and pears to a warm platter and cover loosely. Discard the bay, thyme and cinnamon, then let the sauce stand for 5 minutes. Skim off the clear fat thoroughly with a shallow spoon or fat separator. Goose runs much fatter than duck, and this is the step that decides the sauce: the picada can bind wine, stock and sofregit, but it cannot bind a lake of fat. Boil the skimmed sauce uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, until it lightly coats a spoon.

7. 7

   Finish with picada

   Pound the almonds, toasted bread, 2 reserved garlic cloves and parsley in a mortar until you have a coarse paste. Loosen it with about 120ml of the hot sauce, then stir it back into the casserole. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the raw garlic taste is gone and the sauce is smooth enough to cling to the goose. Return the meat and pears, spoon the sauce over them and warm gently for 5 minutes without a hard boil. Taste before adding any of the reserved salt, then rest for 10 minutes and serve with one or two pear halves in each portion.

Chef Tips

• •Order the goose from a butcher and ask for eight bone-in serving pieces. A frozen goose is perfectly sound for this, but a 4-4.5kg bird needs 48 to 72 hours to thaw safely in the refrigerator.
• •Conference, Bosc or firm Blanquilla pears work well. Buy them in late autumn or winter, when they are fragrant but still dense. If your thumb sinks into the neck, save that pear for eating and choose a firmer one for the casserole.
• •For the duck version, use one 2.8-3.2kg duck and reduce the stock to 700ml. Braise the legs and wings for 45 minutes, add the breasts for 20 minutes, then add the pears for another 20 to 25 minutes. It is ànec amb peres, a related Catalan dish with a lighter sauce.
• •Strain the rendered goose fat and refrigerate it in a clean jar for up to one month. Use it for roasting potatoes. Throwing it away after working so patiently to render it would be poor household management.
• •Serve this with bread for the sauce and a medium-bodied red from Empordà, especially garnatxa or carinyena without too much oak. The wine needs enough freshness for the pears and enough body for the goose.

Advance Preparation

• •If using a frozen goose, begin thawing it in the refrigerator 48 to 72 hours before cooking. Keep it on a rimmed tray on the lowest shelf.
• •For the calmest Christmas meal, complete the braise through the breast stage one day ahead, without adding the pears or picada. Cool the goose in its sauce and refrigerate within 2 hours. The next day, lift off the hardened fat, reheat gently, add the pears for 25 to 30 minutes, then finish with the picada.
• •The almonds and bread for the picada can be toasted one day ahead and kept airtight. Grind them with the fresh garlic and parsley only when the sauce is ready.
• •Leftovers keep for up to 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat at a very gentle simmer so the pear halves stay whole, adding a small splash of water if the picada has thickened the sauce too firmly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 525g)