Goose with Apples
Submitted by joesuds
Goose with apples is the classic Danish Christmas roast, stuffed with apples, prunes, and onion to perfume the meat as it slowly renders. A 3-hour holiday centerpiece for 15.
YIELD
15 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
3 hrsREADY
4 hrsThis is the bird that crowns Danish Christmas tables, and it earns the spotlight every year. The cavity gets packed with chopped apples, prunes, and quartered onion, but here’s the secret most cooks miss: the stuffing is aromatic only, never served. Its job is to perfume the meat from the inside out as the goose slowly roasts.
Goose is famously fatty, and the slow 325°F (160°C) roast is what coaxes that fat to render into a beautiful, mahogany-skinned bird without a basting brush in sight. You’ll be drawing off pools of golden goose fat throughout, which (a quiet bonus) is the best fat ever rendered for next-day roast potatoes.
Pro Tips
- Lemon-rub the inside and outside before stuffing. The acid cuts through goose’s natural gaminess and helps crisp the skin.
- Pull off the rendered fat every 30 minutes. Letting it pool in the pan creates steam that prevents the skin from getting properly crisp.
- Don’t baste the bird, period. Goose has so much subcutaneous fat it self-bastes, and adding more moisture stops the skin from crisping.
- Let the goose rest in the turned-off oven with the door ajar for 15 minutes before carving. Skipping the rest means juices flood the cutting board instead of the slices.
Variations
- Stuff with chopped pears and dried cranberries instead of apples and prunes for a sweeter aromatic.
- Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary to the cavity for a more herbaceous bird.
- Serve traditional Danish-style with red cabbage, boiled potatoes, and a brown gravy made from the strained pan drippings.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
To prepare this classic Danish Christmas dish, first wash the goose under cold running water.
Pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels and rub inside and out with lemon.
Lightly salt and pepper the inside and stuff the cavity with the coarsely chopped apples, prunes and onion quarters.
Close by lacing skewers or by sewing with heavy white thread.
Fasten the neck skin to the back of the goose with a skewer and truss the bird securely so that it will keep it’s shape while cooking.
Roast goose on a rack set in a shallow open pan for 3 to 3½ hours (about 20 to 25 minutes per pound).
As the goose fat accumulates in the pan, draw it off with a bulb baster or large kitchen spoon.
Basting the goose itself is unnecessary.
To test whether the bird is done, pierce the thigh with the tip of a small sharp knife.
If the juice that runs out is still somewhat pink, roast another 5 to 10 minutes or until juices run clear or pale yellow.
When done, turn off oven leaving the finished bird to set with the door ajar for 15 minutes to make it easier to carve.
Transfer the goose to a large heated platter and remove the string and skewers.
Scoop out the stuffing and discard it. The fruits and onion will have imparted their flavor to the goose but will be far too fatty to serve.
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