NEW RECIPE: Spiced Roasted Goose (Home for the Holidays, Part 4)

The winter holiday season is a great time to spend with family and friends with all of the exciting celebrations and get-togethers happening. At most of these events, food has a center point where everyone gathers as they eat and enjoy whatever dish there is. From centerpieces to side dishes, its important to keep things simple and efficient so you're not super stressed. Each of these recipes is an easy recipe to pull off, and will impress your guests! 

This goose is definitely more of a posh centerpiece, as it dials in at roughly $6-7 per pound. However, it has extraordinary flavor and pays off big for a lot of future meals because of one thing - the amount of fat you can extract from a goose is extraordinary, and its flavor is amazing as well. One goose can give you enough fat to last for half the year (in the fridge and out of light as much as possible, of course, to prevent spoilage). It's great for roasting potatoes, frying eggs or toast, and many other cooking applications.

Focusing back on the actual goose, though, it makes an amazing centerpiece for a get-together. If you are a fan of duck, you'll love the flavor that goose provides and that they cook very similar. Goose isn't too tricky to cook, making it an easy but interesting choice for a meal centerpiece! 

Recipe serves 12-16 people.

Ingredients:

1 14-18 pound goose, necks and giblets removed from the cavity
2 oranges, halved and zested
1 tbsp Szechuan pepper corns
2 tbsp Chinese Five Spice
1 tbsp sea salt

Cooking/Assembling:

1) Let the goose sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before starting.

2) Preheat your oven to 485 degrees F.

3) Score the skin of the goose all over in very small diamonds, about 1/4 inch in length.

4) Grind the orange zest, Szechuan peppercorns, Five Spice, and salt in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to form a paste. Rub into the scored skin.

5) Roast the goose for 15 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees F. Cook for another 15 minutes per kilogram (roughly 7-8 minutes per pound).

6) To ensure the legs cook evenly, cut them open with 15 minutes left of cooking. Not completely off, but cut open.

7) Let the goose rest for at least 45 minutes before carving. Don't forget to store the goose fat in containers!

The goose is carved and in the center of this masterful meal. It is incredibly tender and rich, so a little bit of goose goes a long way for a meal. The extremely fragrant spice rub helps cut through that richness (as does the rendering of most of the fat), making it an extravagant but easy centerpiece for any holiday meal!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know what you think and what you would change. If you make it at home, let me know how it turns out! Enjoy! =)