How To Cook A Goose





A 5 Kilo Goose (which is pretty damn big and will only just fit in smaller ovens) costs about AUS $150 and will feed 5-6 people. This is assuming you also have potatoes, Rotkohl etc...

The goose will sometimes come with the neck still attached and often things like the liver, lungs, stomach and heart, still inside. The beast should have been gutted and cleaned, but these bits are considered ‘good eating’ so are left inside to be used at the discretion of the cook.

First thing is remove whatever is left of the neck, while still retaining enough of the skin to be able to seal the hole up. This can be difficult and usually requires carving scissors or a good pair of secatuers, or worst come to the worst, a good knife, and a lot of grunting.

Now remove all the insides and check out the skin. Whilst the beast should have been reasonably well plucked, you will probably find many small white bits in the skin that are the remnants of where the feathers grew. These should be removed. Use a small pairing knife and firstly squeeze the end of the white thingo out till it can be firmly gripped. Then pull. It can take some time to remove all these, and it can also drive you crazy; you don’t have to be fanatic, but try and remove all you can. Be careful not to actually hole the skin, you should be able to remove all the little bits while still maintaining the ‘structural integrity’ of the skin.

Now, wash the goose thoroughly inside and out ensuring the inside is clean and has no dark red or black stringy bits left.

Dry the beast down with paper towels or the like.

Salt the beast. Use a hefty handful of salt and thouroughly rub salt over all the skin inside and out.

Now quarter two apples and shove ‘em inside as well as lots of Majoram (German Basil), and anything else you might want to add into the cavity. I like using a little bacon here (adds a nice ‘smoked’ tang to the meat) but you can improvise as you desire, there are even recipes here that use oranges and the like... Ensure that no Majoram is left on the outside of the skin or this will burn and become bitter.

Now, ‘sew’ up both ends using toothpicks. Use the toothpicks to push through the edge of the skin on both sides of the hole, and then double back and once again through both sides. Keep doing this until the whole of both entries is sealed.

Truss ‘er up! Tie a piece of string around the breast of the bird, holding in place the wings – these should not touch, but be bound to the side of the bird. The Drumsticks should also be tied together to help keep the ‘sewing’ secure.

Maybe add touch up the salt if you think some has come off in the meantime and then...

Place the beast in a large baking tray, Breast downwards adding any fat from the goose (if there is any left over) into the tray and then about a cup of water. (don’t wet the goose, just pour the water into the bottom of the tray.) You can also put the Liver, lungs etc... in the bottom of the tray – these will cook as well and if you're into them – can be eaten as special nibblies with the goose.

Bung her in the oven. Preheated to about 180C.

The trick now is to baste regularly. Every half hour, open the oven, dip a large spoon into the fat which should by now be up to a few centimeters deep in the bottom of the tray, and pour this liberally over the whole bird.

After one hour, turn the bird over so it’s now it’s back.

From here on in, it should take it about two to two and a half hours to finish cooking. Remember to baste every half hour, and for the final basting, use salt water instead, then turn the heat up a notch or two, 220 or so, and go for another 20 mins/half an hour to get the really crispy skin thing happening.

Voila. Yr goose is cooked.