Roast Goose with Sage and Onion Stuffing

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large roasting tin with a rack
• •Skewer or sharp-tipped knife for pricking the skin
• •Heatproof bowl or jar for collecting rendered fat
• •Wide-bottomed baking dish for the stuffing
• •Carving board and sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the goose

   Take the goose out of the fridge a good hour before you plan to cook it. Cold meat in a hot oven doesn't end well. Pat the skin completely dry with kitchen paper, then prick it all over with a skewer or the tip of a sharp knife: legs, breast, anywhere you can see fat sitting under the skin. You're not stabbing through to the meat, just puncturing the skin so the fat has somewhere to escape during roasting. Be thorough. The crispness of the skin depends entirely on this step. Rub the bird generously with fine sea salt, working it into the pricked skin. Tuck the lemon halves and the sage sprigs into the cavity.

   Order the goose from a good butcher, well in advance. A free-range bird with proper flavour is not something you'll find on a supermarket shelf at the last minute. Talk to your butcher. Ask for the giblets. They'll make a stock that turns the gravy into something worth remembering.
2. 2

   Start the roasting

   Set the oven to 220C/200C fan. Place the goose breast-side down on a rack set over a deep roasting tin. The rack matters: the bird needs to sit above the fat, not swim in it. Roast at this high heat for thirty minutes. The kitchen will start to smell extraordinary, rich and savoury, like something important is happening. After thirty minutes, take the tin out, carefully turn the goose breast-side up, and pour off the fat that has already collected in the tin into a heatproof bowl or jar. There will be more of it than you expect. This is the first pour. There will be others.

   Save every drop of that fat. Strain it through a sieve into a clean jar when it's cooled a little. Goose fat keeps in the fridge for months and turns roast potatoes, parsnips, or anything you fry in it into something extraordinary. This is not a byproduct. It's a gift.
3. 3

   Reduce heat and roast slowly

   Turn the oven down to 180C/160C fan. Scatter the quartered onions into the tin beneath the rack. Continue roasting for another two and a half to three hours, pouring off the fat from the tin every forty-five minutes or so. Each time, the fat will be golden and clean. Each time, save it. The goose is done when the skin is deep bronze and feels taut and crisp, the leg joint moves freely when you wiggle it, and the juices from the thigh run clear when you pierce it at the thickest point. Trust your instincts. A goose tells you when it's ready if you pay attention.

4. 4

   Make the stuffing

   While the goose is roasting, make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a wide pan over a low heat and add the chopped onions with a pinch of salt. Let them cook slowly, stirring now and then, for a good twenty to twenty-five minutes. You're not frying them. You're coaxing them from sharp and raw to soft, sweet, and translucent. When they smell like the best version of themselves, sweet and buttery and gentle, take them off the heat. Stir the onions into the torn bread along with the chopped sage, beaten egg, and a good grinding of pepper. Season well. The mixture should be moist but not wet, savoury and fragrant with sage. Spoon it into a buttered baking dish and set it aside.

   Fresh sage only. Dried sage is a different thing entirely, dusty and medicinal where fresh sage is warm and almost peppery. If you can grow it, do. A sage plant in a pot on the windowsill will see you through years of stuffings, brown butter, and bean dishes.
5. 5

   Bake the stuffing

   When the goose has about forty-five minutes left, put the stuffing dish into the oven alongside it. The top should go golden and slightly crisp while the inside stays soft and giving. If the goose finishes before the stuffing, that's fine. The bird needs to rest anyway.

6. 6

   Rest the goose

   Lift the goose onto a warm platter or board. Cover it loosely with foil and a couple of tea towels. Let it rest for at least thirty minutes, longer if you can manage. Goose meat tightens if you carve it too soon. The resting is not optional. While it rests, the juices settle back into the meat and the skin stays crisp. Use this time to make the gravy and finish everything else.

7. 7

   Make the gravy

   Pour off all but a tablespoon or two of fat from the roasting tin, leaving the roasted onions and the dark, sticky juices on the bottom. Set the tin over a medium heat on the hob. Add the splash of wine or cider and let it bubble up, scraping the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to lift all the caramelised goodness. Pour in the stock and let it simmer for ten minutes or so, until it has reduced to something with body and flavour. Taste it. Season it. Strain it into a warm jug if you like, or don't. A rustic gravy with bits of onion in it is an honest thing. This is not a restaurant.

   If you have the giblets, simmer them with a carrot, an onion, and a bay leaf in water for an hour while the goose roasts. Use this stock for the gravy instead. It makes all the difference, a deeper, more goose-flavoured gravy that ties the whole plate together.
8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Carve the goose at the table if you can. The breast comes off in long slices, darker and richer than any chicken or turkey. The legs can be pulled away at the joint. Serve with the stuffing spooned alongside, the gravy poured over, and whatever else the season asks for: roast potatoes crisped in goose fat, braised red cabbage, steamed greens. Put it all on the table at once. Let people help themselves. This is the kind of meal that doesn't need fuss. It needs warm plates and good company.

Chef Tips

• •A goose feeds fewer than you'd think. It looks enormous, but the carcass is large and much of the weight is fat, not meat. A 5kg goose will serve six comfortably, but not eight. If you're feeding a crowd, you might want a ham alongside it, which is no bad thing.
• •The skin is the prize. Dry it properly before roasting, prick it well, and don't baste it. Basting softens the skin. You want it left alone to crisp in the dry heat of the oven. When it's right, it shatters cleanly under the knife, thin and bronze and deeply savoury.
• •Don't throw the carcass away. It makes a stock of extraordinary richness, dark and gelatinous, perfect for a Boxing Day soup or a risotto later in the week. Simmer it with an onion, a carrot, a stick of celery, and a bay leaf for three or four hours. Strain it and you'll have something better than most restaurants serve.
• •If this is your first goose, don't be alarmed by the fat. It is not a sign that something has gone wrong. A goose is meant to render. That is what it does. Embrace it. Save the fat. Your potatoes will thank you until March.

Advance Preparation

• •The stuffing can be made the day before, covered, and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before baking, and add ten minutes to the oven time.
• •Take the goose out of the fridge a full hour before roasting. A cold bird roasts unevenly.
• •The gravy stock, if using giblets, can be made the day before and refrigerated. Reheat and use when deglazing the tin.
• •Rendered goose fat can be strained and stored in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to three months. It freezes well for even longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)