Roasting a goose may be daunting, but if your goose is well cooked, it has succulent, tender, dark meat that is rich tasting, and free of fat. Goose is the ultimate special occasion bird, and a world away from chicken. This classic choice for Christmas dinner is enjoyed around the world, and throughout history. Read on for recipes that will make you an expert at roasting a goose.
A fine roasted goose can be a feast for king and peasant alike, according to the French writer Honoré de Balzac. Roasting a goose is slightly different than roasting a chicken or turkey, so it’s important to have a good recipe and an understanding of what to expect before you get started (plenty of precious goose fat to cook with, for one). Goose pairs well with various fruits and chestnuts and the recipes below reflect that. Find one you like and go for the goose this holiday season.
The Basic Roasted Goose
Forget your fear of flabby, greasy goose with our roast goose recipe. This do-ahead method produces a succulent, flavorful bird with crispy skin. A poaching or steaming technique is employed to render fat and par-cook the bird. After poaching, only a half-hour of high-heat roasting is needed before serving.
Apple and Chestnut Stuffed Goose Slovenian Style
We searched the internet for goose recipes from around the world, and one from Saveur for a Slovenian style stuffed goose got our attention. Served with handmade, shredded egg noodles – called mlinci – this is definitely something different.
A Goose for the Best Chef in the World
This recipe from Nadine Levy Redzepi (yes, she’s the wife of chef René Redzepi) appeared in the December 2017 issue of Food & Wine. Turns out she does most of the cooking in their home, and her cookbook called Downtime details how the Redzepis dine day-to-day. Try her inspired Goose Stuffed with Apples and Armagnac-soaked Prunes for a taste of what the world’s best chef might be eating on Christmas.
Stuffed Goose à la Julia Child
Speaking of prunes, Julia Child used them to stuff a goose (along with pork and chestnuts) in this recipe recreated by Kay Chun at Food & Wine. Research shows that Julia made this for Christmas dinner in 1970, but the recipe does not appear in any of her cookbooks. The stuffed goose recipe at Food & Wine was developed using Julia’s goose recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and it looks like a keeper.
Have you roasted goose before? Tell us about your experiences. Connect with us on social media to share your cooking adventures. Tag @dartagnanfoods on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
I’ve been serving Roast Goose for Xmas for decades now, & my favorite recipe is Julia Child’s “Steam-Roasted Goose” from her wonderful book “The Way to Cook”. Multiple steps, but easy to follow, & turns out a wonderful bird every time (as well as lots of lovely goose fat to freeze & use for sautéing root vegetables during the year!). I recommend the recipe highly.
Thank you for the comment and recommendation! We love to hear about your Christmas traditions. And our goose recipe uses that same steaming technique, so we agree with you completely.
Our family has LOVED having a D’Artagnan goose at Christmas for the past 3 years. We deep fry the goose (like a Cajun deep fried turkey but without injection or Cajun spices)!! It is unbelievably DIVINE and rivals the famous Hong Kong roasted goose of my dear parent’s childhood memories.
Thank you for sharing that! We hope you enjoy a goose this year as well!