Roast Goose with Apples
Roast goose with apples is a dish for a day when you have time: a large bird sits in the oven for two to two and a half hours, and rushing it costs you the breast. The sweet-tart apples inside are more than a garnish — their juice and acidity soften the rich meat from within, while the rendered fat you keep basting with builds a glossy, caramel-brown skin.
The salt is not rubbed on alone but mixed with caraway or ginger, and there is a reason: both tame the tallowy edge of fatty poultry, caraway in a dry, herbal way, ginger with warmth and a little heat. The half cup of water (about 120 ml) poured into the pan matters early on, before much fat has rendered and while the pan can still scorch.
Three things that decide the result
- Use firm, tart apples — Antonovka in Ukraine, Bramley or Granny Smith elsewhere; soft varieties collapse into puree and leak through the seam.
- Turn the bird; the side resting on the pan otherwise stays pale and looks steamed rather than roasted.
- Let the poured-off juices settle and skim the fat: gravy sits underneath, and the fat itself is worth saving for potatoes.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Clean and rinse the goose. Rub the bird all over with salt mixed with caraway (you can use ginger instead of caraway).
Stuff it with small sweet-tart apples left whole, and cut any larger apples into slices to tuck inside as well.
Sew the cavity shut, set the goose on a roasting pan, pour in half a cup of water, and lightly brush the top with butter.
Roast in the oven, basting with the pan juices. Turn the goose from time to time so it browns evenly.
After an hour and a half, test with a fork: if the goose is tender and well browned, leave it a little longer in the oven over moderate heat. A large goose usually roasts for 2 to 2.5 hours.
Transfer the finished goose to a platter, carve it, remove the threads, and pour the pan juices into a separate dish to serve as gravy.
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