Festive Christmas goose – the king of kings on your table! It is very easy to prepare this bird if you know a few secrets, which we will be happy to share with you. But to begin with, stock up on patience, desire and endurance, the taste of this dish is simply amazing, and the combination of flavors will make your head spin, and believe me, by the end of cooking, you will barely be able to control your appetite. We present to your attention – Christmas Goose!
Ingredients for cooking Christmas goose:
- Goose – 1 carcass (weight from 1.5 to 2 kilograms)
- Water – at least 5 liters
- Salt – about 400 grams
- Apple – 2 pieces
- Prunes – 300 grams
- Butter – 100 grams
- Honey – 2-3 tablespoons
Spices:
- Ground white pepper – 1 teaspoon
- Fragrant ground pepper – half a teaspoon
- Ground black pepper – a quarter of a teaspoon or to taste
- Ground ginger – 2-3 pinches
- Garlic powder – 1 teaspoon
- Ground curry – 1-2 pinches
- Turmeric powder – half a teaspoon
- Ground coriander – half a teaspoon
Inventory:
- Knife
- Plate
- Cutting board
- Pelvis
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Paper kitchen towels
- A deep plate
- Needle
- Baker’s steam-buttered thread (or twine)
- Iron skewer
- Stewpan
- Piala
- Non-stick baking form
- Oven
- Dish-cloth
- Kitchen spatula
- A big dish
Cooking a Christmas goose.
Step 1: prepare the goose
If you bought a goose in specialized stores, it will be much easier for you, such a bird does not need to be gutted and cleaned. If you bought it at the market, there may be small feathers and hairs on the carcass that need to be removed. With the help of a knife, pinch the small feathers and pull them out of the skin with a light jerk of the hand. Then clean the goose from the entrails, kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, stomach, cut off excess fat and cut off the head and neck or, if you wish, the neck can remain.
Now the bird must be burned so that there are no fine hairs on it. Remove the burner from the stove and turn it on at full power, carefully take the goose in your hands, turn it in different directions over the fire, the skin of the goose will tighten a little, and the small hairs will burn. Then rinse the goose under cold running water.
Place the goose on the cutting board, breast side down, and press hard on the bird with your hand, this way you will break the breastbone, and later it will be easier for you to stuff, sew and process the finished goose.
Then pour ordinary running water into a large basin, add the required amount of salt to it, mix the mass with a tablespoon until the salt is completely dissolved. The liquid should not be oversalted. Immerse the bird in the water and let it soak for a while 12 hours, this process will soften the goose meat. During soaking, the water should completely cover the poultry carcass. At the end of the required time, remove the goose from the basin, rinse under running water and dry with paper kitchen towels.
Step 2: rub the goose with spices
In a deep plate, mix all the spices listed above in the ingredients and rub them inside and out on the goose carcass. Leave one tablespoon of spices for the filling. When rubbing the carcass, do not miss more than one place of the legs, thighs, wings, breast, ribs inside, everything should be covered with a thin aromatic layer of spices. Let the bird infuse in this form 20 minutes, and during this time prepare the filling.
Step 3: prepare the filling and stuff the goose
Rinse pitted prunes and apples under running water. One by one, cut the apples into 2 halves, then cut out the core, remove the stem and cut into thick slices up to 3-4 centimeters.
Sprinkle the prepared ingredients with the remaining amount of spices.
Stuff the goose with prunes and apples. At the edges of the tail part and the abdominal cavity, make several small holes with a knife, so it will be easier for you to sew up the bird. Then, with the help of a curved needle and a dense baker’s thread, sew the belly of the goose so that there are no gaps. Pay attention to this step, the tighter the goose is sewn, the more juice that will be released during the baking of the bird and the filling, will remain in the carcass and permeate the inner walls of the bird.
Goose meat itself is lean and a little tough, of course, after marinating in salt water, it became a little softer. But still, for reinsurance and so that the goose fat is under the skin of the bird, baked and seeped into the meat, it is worth making several holes in the skin with the help of an iron skewer. Do not pierce the bird through, only the skin and the layer of subcutaneous fat! Put the goose in a non-stick baking dish. Preheat the oven up to 180-190 degrees Celsius, no more!
Step 4: bake the goose
Now put a small amount of butter in a small saucepan and put it on the stove, turned on at medium level. Melt the butter, constantly stirring the fat with a tablespoon and not letting it boil. Remove the saucepan from the stove, pour the oil into a bowl, add the required amount of honey to it, mix the ingredients with a tablespoon until smooth and pour over the goose mass.
Place the mold with the stuffed bird in the preheated oven and bake for 3 hours until fully cooked. During this time, the goose will be perfectly baked and covered with a beautiful, fragrant brown crust. Periodically open the stove and use a tablespoon to water the goose with the juice released by the bird. At the end of the required time, turn off the stove and let the bird cool a little directly in the oven, just enough 10-15 minutes. Then remove the tray from the oven with a kitchen towel, carefully transfer the goose to a large flat dish, using a spatula, and serve with a two-pronged fork and a sharp kitchen knife.
Step 5: serve the Christmas goose
Christmas goose is served hot on a large dish. Immediately before serving, the bird is poured with the juice that it released during baking together with the apples.
Goose is processed in portions in the presence of guests and all family members. Hold the bird with a two-pronged fork and cut it with a large sharp knife with a wide blade. According to tradition, this bird is not processed into more than 10 parts: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 forearms and 2 breasts, cut into 2 halves
As a side dish, baked vegetables, fresh vegetable salad, boiled rice, boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes are suitable for this dish. An ideal aperitif for poultry is red sweet wine, alcohol opponents can enjoy this culinary masterpiece by drinking it with pomegranate or grape juice. A royal dish for a royal table.
Bon Appetit!
Advice:
– Instead of standing the goose carcass in salt water, you can marinate the bird in any marinade for 24 hours. During this time, the meat will soak in spices mixed with salt and soften.
– The spices indicated in this recipe are not essential, you can process the goose with any other spices you like that are suitable for poultry dishes.
– Honey mixed with melted butter can be replaced with sugar.
– The filling specified in this recipe is not essential, the Christmas goose is a dish for the whole family and you can stuff it with any fruits and citrus fruits you like.
– The longer the goose is marinated, the softer its meat becomes and the faster it is cooked.
