It's Goose Season

Goose bumps accentuated after brief poaching

There's a reason why we associate a roast goose with the holiday season, even if we don't make it much anymore: after feeding on the remains of the field after harvest in medieval Europe the geese would be heavy with rich meat and fat, reaching optimum weight for rendering fat and roasting in early winter.

Don't be afraid of the fat. Goose fat has half the saturated fat of butter, and much of the remaining fat is monounsaturated, the same lipid that makes olive oil the healthy choice (at least when consumed in moderation).

Most of the year you'll only be able to find frozen goose, which is fine. Just make sure it's completely thawed (it can take two days in the refrigerator) before beginning the cooking process. Around holiday time, if you have a good poultry dealer or a butcher who takes special orders, you might be able to find a fresh killed goose. The rendered fat by the way, can be used wherever you would use lard and, in many cases, butter, even in pastries for savory dishes. Giblets can be used to make stock.

Here's my version of roast goose, which owes part of its technique to the Chinese way of preparing Peking Duck, where a quick poaching and then air drying promotes a crispy skin and rendering of excess fat during cooking. There's no need to prick the skin during the cooking process (you'll do that before cooking), but you will have to tend to the bird as it roasts to remove fat as it cooks and keep it basted.

ROAST GOOSE

Ingredients:

8-12 pound goose
Large apple (any variety), quartered
Large onion, quartered
Salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Remove and reserve giblets for stock and other uses. Do not rinse bird. Remove all loose fat from the bird and reserve for rendering, to be used when needed for frying potatoes, etc.
2. Bring a large stock pot two-thirds full of water to a boil.
3. While the water heats use your fingers to loosen the area between the skin and the flesh of the breast to separate them as best as you can. Then prick goose all over with a sharp skewer or similar tool, being careful to pierce only the skin and fat underneath, not the flesh.
4. Immerse the goose in the boiling water. Few stock pots can accommodate a whole goose, so put the bird in neck first and allow to poach for 60-90 seconds. Then remove and reverse, re-immersing the bird feet first for another 60-90 seconds. Remove to a rack over a half-sheet pan. When cool place the goose, uncovered, in the refrigerator for a minimum of overnight. You can safely leave it in for up to two days, which will create and even crispier goose.
5. On cooking day, preheat oven to 450-degrees F. Rub goose inside and out with salt and pepper, then stuff with quartered apple and onion.
6. Cook goose on a rack in a roasting pan at 450 for 20-30 minutes breast side up. Lower heat to 350.
7. Remove the bird from the oven and transfer it to a rack atop another pan (half-sheet pans work well). Drain the excess fat from the pan (a bulb baster makes this easier) and reserve for other uses after straining. Return the bird to the roasting rack and pan, basting it with remaining pan juices. (You may be more skillful than me and not require a second rack and pan for this process, but I find it's easier this way.)
8. Repeat the fat removal and basting process every half hour until the bird is done. The goose is cooked when juices run yellowish rather than pinkish when the thigh joint is pierced with a sharp thin knife or fork. Or take a temperature reading from the thigh meat: it's done at 170 degrees F. Total cooking time will be 2 to 3-1/2 hours, depending on the size of the goose.
9. Remove goose to another rack and pan, allowing to cool under a foil tent before carving.
10. While the bird cools you can make a pan juice reduction. Place empty pan over stove burners on medium, add a quarter to half a cup of water, stock or white wine (riesling is ideal, but any dry white works) and scrape bits (fond) from bottom of pan. Continue to reduce over medium heat by about half, adding herbs to taste if you like.