cook for crowds
Eat | Drink | Enjoy

How to cook: Goose


how to cook goose

follow us:

Goose
26th October, 2018

If you've bought a frozen Goose then the most important part is to get the bird defrosted completely before we even consider preparing it for the oven. I would usually allow the Goose a minimum of 48 hours in the fridge to fully defrost but to make 100% sure you can leave it for 72 hours. The larger your frozen bird; the longer it will need to defrost.

If you need to speed up the defrosting process you can remove from the fridge and keep it in a cool room (not warm!) for a few hours

Lets work out the cooking time using the weight of the bird. It's vital that it gets enough cooking time to cook properly though not too much that it overcooks


Cooking Times by Weight

Size (kg) Time
4.5 kg 3 hours
5.0 kg 3 hours, 15 minutes
5.5 kg 3 hours, 30 minutes
6.0 kg 3 hours, 45 minutes
6.5 kg 4 hours, 00 minutes

Assuming that the Goose is defrosted now we can start to prepare the bird. I usually do this the day I'm roasting as it's really quick.

Remove any giblets and large pieces of fat from the inside of the bird and keep to one side. Once cleared, pat the inside dry.

Using some olive oil, smear this over the skin of the Goose and work the oil into the nooks and cranies of the bird and give it a nice overall coating

Using a skewer, prick the outside of the bird; especially under the wings and places where there is a lot of white fat beneath the skin. This will help to drain the fat from the bird when roasting and leave a crisper skin.

Give the outside a good seasoning with salt and pepper and leave the bird in a roasting tray for a good hour to come to room temperature before roasting

Now we'll cook the bird. If you've placed the prepped bird beforehand and left in the fridge; get it out and leave it on the side an hour before it goes into the oven

Pre-heat the oven to 220C

When the oven is at temperature, place the roasting tray with the goose into the oven

After 20 minutes at 220C, reduce the oven temperature to 180C and drain the first batch of fat from the tin. This is likely a two person job. Reserve the fat for potatoes.

During it's roasting time, you'll likely have to drain the goose fat several times. I like to give the goose an occasional baste with juices and fats.

If the skin begins to darken too much, cover lightly with some tin foil to protect from the heat

When the Goose is cooked (based on cooking times we worked out earlier), remove the Goose from the oven and remove it from the roasting tray. Wrap very loosley in tin foil to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes for smaller birds and a minimum of 45 minutes for the largest birds. This lets the meat juices settle and makes for easier carving.