How to cook a Christmas Roast Goose

However and whatever you choose to serve with your goose this Christmas, here’s our guide to cooking it to perfection.

Ingredients 

1 Free Range Beech Ridge goose

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Your choice of stuffing or herbs (rosemary, sage, bay and/or thyme) or spice like cinnamon sticks, fresh ginger, star anise and orange, clementine or lemon, halved or onion

Your choice of root veg like carrots, onions, celeriac, fennel, parsnips…

Method

1. In the morning preheat your oven to 220°C/Gas 7
2. Pat dry the skin again and give it a decent rub over of salt too. *Remembering to remove any giblets from the cavity*.
3. Next, you’ll need to prick the goose all over, partially the fattiest parts of the underside.  Just pierce the skin and fat, not the meat / flesh. Ensure you pierce the goose well under the wings and around the thighs (this will help keep the flat flowing). Don’t piece the breast.
4. Season the cavity and fill with your choice of stuffing, or herbs / spices, halved citrus fruits or onions. (don’t fill more than 1/2 full).  Season the legs and breast well.
5. Place your bird on a rack and then into a large roasting tin. This will ensure the fat will render into the pan and avoid a stewed bird.
6. Add veg of your choice – carrots, celeriac, parsnips, or fennel under the goose in the tray along with the giblets and a touch of water (you may need to top this up throughout the cooking process). 
7. Roast at 220°C/Gas 7 for 20-30 mins, or until the skin is crisp and bronzed.
8. Lower the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. and roast 30 mins for every 1kg.
9. Every 30 mins or so, baste the bird with the pan juices. About 2/3 of the way through cooking, remove the veg tray from the oven and replace it with another tray. Skim away the fat from the veg tray*  then place the tray on the hob over a high heat to make the gravy (click here for our gravy recipe)
10. If it’s getting too brown, loosely cover it with foil. If it seems done before time’s up, do the pierce test – pierce the thickest part of the leg with the tip of a sharp knife. The juices should run clear. Also, if the drumstick feels as through is it about to come away from the bird, that is a good sign it is done. 
11. When done, remove the goose from the oven, cover with a double layer of tin foil and a tea towel and leave to rest for at least 20 to 25 minutes.
12. Once everything else is ready, it’s an idea to pop the goose back in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Then you are ready to carve and serve.