Goose With Fruit Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• Prepare dried fruit:
• Cover figs, apricots, and prunes with water in a 3-quart saucepan and simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Drain in a sieve. Reserve 2 cups fruit, then thread remainder onto 4 skewers.
• Prepare goose:
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Crack allspice and peppercorns using a mortar and pestle (or spread spices on a kitchen towel and crack with bottom of a heavy skillet), then stir into butter.
• Discard neck, giblets, and any loose fat from goose. Using pliers, pull out any remaining quills. Prick skin all over with remaining skewer (especially thighs and breast), holding skewer nearly parallel to skin to avoid puncturing meat. Fold neck skin under body and fasten with skewer. Season goose well with salt inside and out. Put onions and reserved 2 cups fruit in cavity and tie legs together loosely with string. Rub skin all over with spiced butter.
• Roast goose:
• Put goose on rack in roasting pan and roast in middle of oven 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast, basting goose and skimming off and reserving excess fat (for roasted potatoes ) with bulb baster every 30 minutes, 1 hour more.
• Arrange skewers with fruit on rack around goose (if rack is too small to fit all skewers, tuck some into wings). Continue to roast goose, basting and skimming and reserving fat in same manner, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 170°F and several fruits from bottom of cavity speared on thermometer register 160-165°F, about 1 hour more (juices will be slightly pink when thigh is pierced; temperature will rise to 175°F as goose stands).
• Remove fruit from skewers and transfer to a bowl. Keep warm, covered. Transfer goose with 2 large spatulas to a cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 30 minutes.
• Make pan sauce while goose stands:
• Pour off fat from roasting pan. Straddle pan across 2 burners, then add shallots and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add Armagnac and deglaze pan by boiling and scraping up brown bits. Add demiglace and jam and briskly simmer, whisking, until jam is incorporated and sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour sauce through a sieve if desired and keep warm, covered.
• Discard onions from cavity of goose and add fruit from cavity to fruit in bowl, then keep warm, covered. Carve goose, cutting breast into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Serve fruit and sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Calculate the cooking time: cook for 10 mins at 240C/fan 220C/gas 9, then reduce to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and cook for 20 mins per kg for medium-rare, 32 mins per kg for more well done, plus 30 mins resting.
• If the goose is ready-trussed, then loosen the string and pull out the legs and wings a little - this helps the bird cook better.
• Check the inside of the bird and remove any giblets or pads of fat. Using the tip of a sharp knife, lightly score the breast and leg skin in a criss-cross. This helps the fat to render down more quickly during roasting.
• Grate the zest from 4 lemons and 3 limes. Mix with 2 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder and pepper, to taste.
• Season the cavity of the goose generously with salt, then rub the citrus mix well into the skin and sprinkle some inside the cavity.
• Stuff the zested fruit and a small handful of parsley, thyme and sage sprigs inside the bird and set aside for at least 15 mins. Can be done up to a day ahead and kept refrigerated.
• Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9.
• If you want to give the bird a nice golden skin, brown in a large frying pan (or a heavy-based roasting tin), using a couple of tbsp olive oil. Holding the bird by the legs (you may like to use an oven glove), press it down on the breasts to brown.
• Once browned, place the bird in the roasting tin. Drizzle with 3 tbsp clear honey and sprinkle with 1 tbsp thyme leaves.
• Roast for the calculated time, turning the heat down after 10 mins to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Cover the goose with foil if it is starting to brown too much.
• Every 30 mins or so, baste the bird with the pan juices, then pour off the fat through a sieve into a large heatproof bowl. You will end up with at least a litre of luscious fat - save this for the potatoes and other veg.
• At the end of the cooking time, leave to rest for at least 30 mins, covered loosely with foil. The bird will not go cold, but will be moist and much easier to carve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash the goose thoroughly inside and out. Dry well with paper towels. Prick the skin with a fork or fine skewer (this helps release the fat during cooking) and generously rub all over with sea salt. Stuff the bird with the cut fruit. Tuck the wings under so they are not exposed. Add 1/2 inch water to the roasting pan and position the goose breast side down in a roasting rack. Place the pan in the oven for 45 minutes. Check the bird while it's roasting to make sure the water doesn't evaporate or the goose fat will burn. After 45 minutes, take the goose out of the oven. Turn it breast side up and prick the skin again. Carefully remove the excess fat by tilting the pan and using a baster. Add another 1/2-inch of water to the pan. Continue to roast for another 2 hours.
• The goose is cooked when its juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer. If they are at all bloody, roast for a further 15 minutes and check again. To be sure the goose is cooked, insert a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. It should read 170 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Pour out excess fat leaving about 2 tablespoons. Add the scallions, ginger, blackberries, sugar and soy sauce. Saute for 5 to 10 minutes until the blackberries begin to break up and the juices are released. Add Zinfandel and reduce by half then add the chicken stock and reduce by half again. Pass sauce through a sieve and discard the pulp. Serve with the goose.

Steps:

• Take the goose out of the fridge 1 hr before cooking. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. In a frying pan, toast the whole spices over a medium heat until aromatic. Use a pestle and mortar (or spice grinder) to grind to a fine powder. Mix in the crumbled stock cubes, orange zest, 1 tsp salt and cinnamon.
• Lay the goose in a high-sided roasting tin, score the skin all over with a sharp knife and rub in the spice mix, making sure you press into all the cut marks. Loosely cover the tin with foil and roast for 2 hrs, then remove the foil and roast for a further 2 hrs. Once cooked, rest for at least 20 mins, loosely covered with foil. Reserving the fat to roast your cabbage (see goes well with).
• While the goose cooks, make the salsa. Fry the onions in the oil over a medium heat for 10-15 mins until golden brown. Add the cranberries, cook for a few more mins, then remove from the heat. Mix in the remaining salsa ingredients and keep in a warm place to allow the flavours to infuse. Carve the goose and serve with the salsa.

Steps:

• Prepare gooseberries by using scissors to snip each end. Rinse to remove dirt and debris.
• Transfer berries to a pot and add onion, sugar, and enough water just to cover. Cover and cook gently over medium heat until soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust level of sweetness. Remove from heat and transfer carefully to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
• Puree the mixture. Serve sauce warm or cold.