How to roast a goose?

[Alsatian]

I have two Canada Geese -- each about 6 1/2 LBS dressed and plucked -- that I harvested last year and want to cook. I'm planning to roast the first one this coming saturday, December 1. Here is my proposed cooking method. Can anyone offer me any advice/confirmation or tell me of other preferred methods of cooking wild Canada Goose?

I'm going to stuff the interior of the goose with a stuffing of dried bread, pecans, and some dried fruit (probably some raisins and maybe some dried pears). I will salt and pepper the outside of the goose. I'll tie several strips of bacon on the surface of the goose, with the expectation that as the goose roasts the bacon grease will melt and baste the goose, to keep it from drying out. While domestic geese are greasy, my expectation is that wild goose will not be greasy and that I need to add the bacon fat to keep the goose from drying out -- is this thinking correct?

I'll plan to roast at 350 degrees for 90 minutes, but I'll check the bird to see if it is done earlier, for example at 60 minutes and again at 75 minutes.

What is wrong with this approach? How would you roast the goose?

[kelincp]

The only things I would do different.
Is forgo the stuffing, if you really want it pull some of thepan drippings out about 1/2 hour before the goose is finished add to some chicken stock as needed toss in your stuffinmixand bake. Stuffing takes extra cooking time and can lead to driedout meat.

I like the bacon idea with goose, I've done similar things with duck breast.Makesure you use a natural bacon.Normal store bought bacon will oversalt your skin and the nitrates leave a funny flavor. Mostgroceries carry natural smoked bacon. OscarMayer makes a "Natural" that ispretty good.

Also if you do leave out the stuffing. Loosely fill the the cavity with aromatics. For goose I might go with Apples, Sweet Onions, A star anise, and maybe some Orange peels (zest). These will steam as your goose cooks investing their flavor into the goose breast.

Good luck

[throwingStarr]

Touck off a Bic Butane while refueling an Exxon station.

[rbduck]

Looks like you got things covered quite well. I do recommend that you don`t overcook the goose.....250 to 300 roasted a little longer. You`ll want it just slightly pink(medium to med/well). Let us know how it turns out.

Ron

[SouthDakotaHunter]

I like to roast it with a couple cans of beer and a couple of onions (sliced into quarters). When it's about done take it out and pick all of the meet off it and put it the bottom of the roasting pan (in the juices)... Put it back in for 30 min or so...

[Alsatian]

How I did in fact cook my goose:

1. Brine the goose overnight. Thaw the goose out. Soak overnight in a brine of 2 gallons water, 1 cup salt, 1 cup brown sugar.

2. Sear the goose on all sides in bacon fat (about 1/4 cup bacon fat used).

3. Salt and pepper the inside of the goose. Stuff goose loosely with cut up fruit -- 2 whole red Jonathan apples, peel from one orange -- and sew the opening closed. Put several (maybe 8) strips of "natural" bacon (no nitrates, uncured) on the breast of goose and tie in place with string.

4. Roast in 350 degree oven until internal meat temperature reaches 160 degrees. Let stand covered with aluminum foil about 20 minutes after done. In my case, using a 6.5 LBS dressed goose, roasting was completed in 90 minutes. This was a lot faster than I had anticipated. In my first post above I said I planned to roast 90 minutes -- so why the surprise? -- but my wife had persuaded me that it would take closer to 3 hours, based on a recipe she had read in one of her cookbooks.

The goose was liked by all. Most of the meat was done but not pink. Some meat -- perhaps 10% -- showed some pinkness. I think this is about perfect, but others may feel (my wife is pretty much of this opinion) that any pink showing in meat is grounds for severe nervousness and anxiety. Actually, in the present case at least some of this color in the meat was, I think, due to bloodshot meat associated with steel shot. This is, after all, game meat.

I don't think the fruit in the cavity added any flavor benefits. I think the bacon helped to baste the bird. I think the brining did in fact help.

The whole menu was (1) roast goose with gibblet gravy, (2) cranberry sauce prepared from whole fresh cranberries, (3) wild rice/white rice pilaf (about 3/4 cup wild rice cooked 20 minutes then added into a cup of white rice and 2 cups chicken broth mixed with about 1/3 cup minced sauteed onion and this white rice cooked 20 minutes), (4) green beans, and (5) dressing. My wife made the dressing, cooked in a pan outside the goose, which included some cornbread, some white bread, some pecans, some fresh sage, some onion and celery sauteed in butter, additional melted butter, and some chicken broth, but no eggs. This menu worked well, I thought.

Thanks for recommendations and feedback.