Christmas Goose

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The tradition of the Christmas goose has been followed for quite some time now. Recently a lot of people have started to cook turkey for the Big Dinner, but the Christmas goose still remains a classic. There are many recipes available on the internet, but we have skimmed through a lot of recipes to give you the one we thought best!

Traditionally, the Christmas Goose was eaten by the rich aristocrats in Europe. The goose was so well celebrated and loved that Queen Elizabeth the 1St had sent out orders that goose must be eaten for the Christmas Dinner. However, at the time, not everyone could afford buying a goose. Times have changed today but goose still remains delicious! Let us cherish this lovely taste of Christmas! Before we go ahead with the recipe, it is very important that you choose the best goose available. A plump goose who has unblemished skin would make brilliant for the dinner. Make sure that the goose has a nice layer of fat underneath. This fat would work very well on our taste buds.

Before you cook the goose, it is important that you pull the goose out of the fridge for at least an hour before you begin. These steps below will help you through the recipe:

Your cooking time will be calculated depending upon the weight of the goose after you have stuffed it. It's quite simple really, for every 500 grams of weight, you need to cook for 15 minutes, plus put in an additional 30 minutes and you can't go wrong!
Score the legs and the breast of the goose with the help of a sharp knife. Make sure you clean the goose from the inside before you stuff it.
Now, take 4 lemons and three limes and grate their zests, to this, add in 2 tsp of sea salt and a tsp of Chinese five spice powder. To this mixture, add pepper as per your taste and mix. The cavity of your goose must be generously rubbed with salt. After this, take the above citrus mix and rub it onto the skin of the goose. Add some inside the cavity too.
Take a small handful of parsley sprigs. Take a small handful of thyme and sage too. Stuff these inside the goose and also stuff the lemon and limes that you have just zested. You should preferably do this a day in advance and store in the fridge for obtaining a rich flavor. If not, 15 minutes of setting aside could do.
Heat your oven to 240 degrees Celsius. If you like the brown skin on the bird, you may put it on the pan with a few tsp of oil and make the skin golden brown. Now you may press using the bird's legs so that the bird's breasts can brown. Now it's time to put the bird in the oven.
Once you place the bird in the roasting tin, you can drizzle around 3 tsp of honey on top and add a dash of thyme on top. After 10 minutes you should reduce the heat to 190 degrees Celsius and cook the bird for the time you have calculated. You may now cover the goose with foil.
Be sure to baste the bird with the juices from the pan after every half hour. You may pour the fat through the sieve and save this fat to make the potatoes! Once the time is done, keep the foil on the goose and let it rest for another half hour. Now your goose is ready!

If you want to make gravy for the goose, you can put 2 tsp of the goose fat that you had collected into a pan and add 2 tsp of flour, after one minute, slowly add some chicken broth to this mixture. Put in a little salt and pepper and season it to your taste. Add in some thyme and continue to cook until you get the desired consistency. You can also serve the goose with some mashed potatoes or potato croquettes or some cooked apples if you like.

Dip into a nice and moist goose which absolutely sumptuous and juicy. By now the Christmas Goose looks so great that you would not want to wait! Dig in! Have a Merry Christmas!