Inspiring recipes

Galton’s Roast Goose

Goose is my favourite of the poultry family. At home we are really spoilt for choice, with a Norfolk Bronze turkey on Christmas Day then roast goose on Boxing Day. You need to cook the goose for long enough to achieve very flavoursome meat with a wonderful crisp skin. Remember that goose is extremely rich, so you only need to serve small portions – just as well, as a large bird serves relatively few people. Ideally the stock for the gravy should be made a day in advance and allowed to cool, making it much easier to skim off any fat.

Serves 6 generously

For the gravy

The day before cooking your Gressingham goose, make the stock.  In a frying pan, melt the goose fat, then colour the vegetables, garlic and herbs.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a large, deep saucepan, then fry the rinsed gizzard, neck bone and heart in the remaining goose fat residue until coloured. Add them to the pan with the vegetables.

Pour the red wine vinegar into the frying pan, sprinkle over the sugar and scrape the pan; add the red wine to deglaze. Bring to the boil and simmer until reduced by half. Add this to the vegetables and giblets.

Pour in the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer very gently for at least I hour. Cool overnight. Next day skim any fat from the surface, return to a large saucepan and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce by at least half to intensify the flavour. Set aside.

 

For the Gressingham goose

Pre-heat the oven to Fan 220°C / Gas 7.

Remove all the fat from the cavity of the goose and keep it for rendering down and freezing (it’s perfect for roasting potatoes).

Rub plenty of salt and pepper on to the breast and place the goose on a trivet in a roasting tin so that the fat will run into the pan during cooking. Place the onion, carrot and sage inside the cavity.

Place the goose in the pre-heated oven.  Roast for 20 minutes, then turn the temperature down to Fan 180°C / Gas 4 and continue to roast for a further 2 hrs and 20 minutes, pouring off any fat from the roasting tin from time to time. (If the goose starts to brown too early, cover it very loosely with foil, removing this for the last 20 minutes so the skin browns well.)

Leave the goose to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Just before serving, chop the liver and quickly fry in a pan with a little goose fat. Reheat the gravy and add the redcurrant jelly and liver to serve.

 

  • Ingredients For the goose.....

  • 1 Gressingham goose, weighing about 5kg (11lb) dressed weight
  • 1 onion
  • 1 carrot
  • a few fresh sage leaves (optional)
  • salt and pepper

  • Ingredients for the gravy.....

  • 25g (1oz) goose fat (you should be able to harvest this from inside the goose)
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large stick of celery, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 sprig of rosemary
  • 1 sprig of thyme the giblets from the goose (gizzard, neck bone, chopped, heart and liver)
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar 150ml (1⁄4 pint)
  • red wine 900ml (2 pints)
  • chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp redcurrant jelly
  • salt and pepper
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