JoeTGF wrote:A little off topic but still on xmas. What are people eating/roasting this year --- turkey, lamb, beef, pork? I am considering doing goose for the first time so if anyone has any good recipes on how best to do that its most welcome.
Brave!
However goose is the traditional christmas fare, turkey was only introduced after the 1700's.
Its a very fatty bird so you need to use a dry stuffing. Bread with apricot, sage, onion, a little lemon zest and garlic is best. You can then plug the parsons nose with a little sausage meat. It hardens in cooking and effectively seals in the flavours.
As for cooking, you need to put the bird on a raised mesh above a baking tray to allow all the fat to drain completely away. This is very useful for cooking the roast potatoes! Leave them in the tray underneath and they will roast beautifully in the goose fat. Yummy!! Baste the bird regularly and remember to turn the potatoes to get them evenly golden brown. Cooking time depends on the size of the bird, but 2 - 3 hours at 170 with a foil tent will allow it to slow cook all the way through. Whack the oven up to 200 at the end and remove the foil if you like the skin to be golden and crispy.
When done, take the goose out and leave to rest wrapped in foil for about 15 minutes. This gives you time to sort out the veggies and will make it easier to carve.
Enjoy!!
Knight