Roast Goose with Port Wine Gravy
- One 10-to 12-pound goose, neck chopped into 2-to 3- inch pieces, and giblets reserved to make Homemade Goose Stock
- Chestnut and Prune Stuffing Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons rendered goose fat or butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 22/3 cups Homemade Goose Stock
- 1/3 cup tawny or ruby port
Instructions:
There is a lot of romance about roast goose for Christmas, probably stemming from the Yuletide dinner scenes in British tales or from the German culinary tradition.
- One to two days before roasting, rinse the goose and pat dry with paper towels. Pull out the clumps of pale yellow fat from around the tail cavity. Cut off any excess neck skin and reserve. Cut off the wings at the second joints, leaving only the last wing segment attached to the goose. Use the neck, giblets (no liver), and wing tips to make the stock, reserving the liver for the stuffing. Cover and refrigerate the fat, skin, wings, neck, wing tips, and liver until ready to use.
- Place the goose on a rack in a roasting pan. Refrigerate at least overnight and up to 48 hours. The skin will dry out, but that’s what you want.
- Meanwhile, render the goose fat: Coarsely chop the goose fat and cut the skin into thin strips. Place in a medium saucepan and add ¼ cup warm water. Cook with the lid ajar over medium-low heat until the fat has rendered into a golden liquid and the skin strips are lightly browned, about 2 hours. Strain through a wire sieve into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. (You can discard the cracklings in the sieve or reserve them to serve sprinkled on a green salad.) Store the fat in small containers (1-cup deli containers work well), as you will most likely be using it in small amounts. It will make about 2 cups. (The rendered fat can be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.)
- When ready to roast the goose, fill the body cavity with the stuffing. Using a trussing needle and kitchen twine, sew up the opening. Using the tip of the needle, prick the goose skin all over (without reaching into the meat), especially in the thigh area.
- Place the goose on a rack in an oval roasting pan with a lid. Add 2 cups of water to the pan and bring to a boil on top of the stove over high heat. Cover tightly and reduce the heat to low. Steam the duck for 1 hour. Remove the goose on the rack from the pan and pour out the liquid in the pan. Return the goose and the rack to the pan and season the goose with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Roast the goose, uncovered, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (without touching a bone) reads 180°F, about 1½ hours. During the last 15 minutes of roasting, increase the oven temperature to 400°F to crisp the skin. As the goose roasts and rendered fat accumulates in the pan, use a bulb baster to remove and add it to the rendered fat from step 3, if desired, or discard. Transfer the goose to a serving platter and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
- To make the gravy, pour all of the rendered fat out of the pan into the reserved fat. Set the roasting pan over two burners on medium-low heat. Add ¼ cup of the rendered goose fat to the pan. Sprinkle the flour into the pan, whisking constantly. Let the mixture bubble until it turns beige, about 1 minute. Whisk in the stock and port, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. (Save the remaining stock for another use. It is an excellent
- substitute for chicken stock.) Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season the gravy with salt and pepper. If desired, strain the gravy. Transfer to a warmed sauceboat.
- Carve the goose (see “Carving Up,”), and serve with a spoonful of the stuffing and a portion of the crisp skin. Pass the gravy on the side.