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Roast Goose
Answer
Dear Worried
ROAST GOOSE WITH APPLE, APRICOTS AND PISTACHIO NUTS
People are often put off goose without having tried it, which is a shame as it is a real treat. By pricking the skin well and removing the fat as it collects during cooking you should have succulent results. The finished meat is quite delicious and makes a refreshing change from the omnipresent turkey. It is easy however to be tempted to gild the lily - goose meat is quite rich, so concentrate on preparing a few vegetables and trimmings simply and really well, and smaller portions than turkey will suffice.
A 10 lb (4.5 Kg) oven-ready goose will serve 6 comfortably.
Stuffing
3 oz (75g) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
10 oz (280g) chicken breasts
1 tbsp chopped sage
12 oz (350g) dessert apples
6 oz (175g) fresh white breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large free-range egg
10 dried apricots, soaked overnight in 4 tbsp brandy
3 oz (75g) nibbed pistachio nuts
Glaze, Gravy and Presentation
3 tbsp real maple syrup
3 tablespoons of plain flour
1 pt (600ml) poultry stock
2 tbsp red currant jelly
salt and freshly ground black pepper
bunch of watercress
First make the stuffing. Melt a third of the butter in a pan on the Simmering Plate and add the finely chopped onion. Stir for a couple of minutes and then cover and transfer to the Simmering Oven for 20 minutes. Return to the hotplate and allow any liquid to boil off. Allow to cool. Cut the chicken breast into several pieces and place in a food processor with the onion, sage, peeled, cored and quartered apples, breadcrumbs and generous seasoning. Process until just combined. Beat the egg in a cup with a fork and with the machine running add together with as much of the remaining butter, melted, needed to make a light and firm mixture. Drain the apricots, reserving the brandy, and chop into small dice. Add to the bowl with the nuts and pulse the blade to incorporate but not further chop the fruit and nuts.
Season the goose. Fill the goose cavity with the stuffing. Prick the goose all over with a fine fork. Roast upside down on a grill rack set in the low position in a roasting tin on the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven. After 30 mins turn the right side up and continue roasting until the breast is browned, about 20 mins. Transfer to the Simmering Oven until tender, for about a further 2 hours. Baste and remove fat twice during cooking - save for making paradisal roast potatoes. When nearly cooked, pour over the brandy and ignite. Brush the maple syrup over the skin and return to the Roasting Oven for ten minutes to give the skin a final golden crisping. Test that the juices run clear when the thickest portion of the thigh is pierced. Ideally use a meat thermometer; it should read 70-72 degrees C.
While the cooked bird is resting on a warmed platter, pour off most of the fat from the roasting tin and reserve, leaving 3 tablespoons in the tin. Stir in the flour and mix to make a roux and transfer the tin to the floor of the Roasting Oven for 3 minutes to cook the flour. Heat the stock in a pan. Transfer the tin to the Simmering Plate and gradually whisk in some hot stock to make a smooth gravy, scraping the base of the tin with a flat wooden spatula to incorporate all the delicious deposits. Thin to your desired consistency, whisk in the red currant jelly and correct the seasoning. Strain into a warmed gravy boat. Garnish the goose with the watercress and serve with apple sauce.
I hope you have a brilliant meal.
Best Wishes
Richard Maggs
THE AGA COOKERY DOCTOR
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Dear Richard We are interested in cooking a goose for an early Christmas family meal for six of us. My husband is really keen but several of us are worried that it might be too greasy. Do you have a recipe for goose that is easy and that has a fruity stuffing please? Yours worried!