The goose baked in the oven, especially if cooked whole, can become a real decoration of the festive table and the pride of the hostess. With proper preliminary preparation, the use of additional ingredients that can add piquancy to meat, as well as well-chosen wine, dishes from this bird turn out to be tasty, delicious and very beautiful.
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Instruction manual
1
The secrets of meat preparation
It is rather difficult to spoil goose meat during the cooking process if the carcass was previously properly processed. Therefore, the preparatory process is an important component in creating a delicious dish. Tender and soft meat will turn out if you grate the goose gutted and thoroughly washed under running water with a mixture of spices, herbs, herbs and leave for a day or two in the refrigerator. Then the cooking process will take a little less time, the dish will turn out tasty, juicy and aromatic. You can rub the carcass with salt, ground Provencal herbs and pepper, cranberries or lingonberries, grated ginger, garlic or rosemary, if desired, depending on what kind of taste you need to get in the end, honey, olive oil, mustard, lemon and Orange juice. They can be used individually or mixed in equal proportions.
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We bake the whole goose
After the meat is soaked and softened, the goose can be baked. It is best to cook the whole bird, having previously stuffed it with suitable ingredients. As the latter are suitable, for example, apples, quinces or oranges, which will give the meat a delicate sweet flavor. Fruits are best cut into small slices. You can also use prunes, fried mushrooms and pre-cooked until half-cooked rice, sauerkraut with cranberries or a mixture of liver paste, onions and white bread. The filling will give the meat a special taste and aroma, and subsequently can be used both as a decoration of the dish, and as a side dish. The goose should be started about two-thirds so that the edges of the hole can then be conveniently fastened with thick threads or toothpicks.
3
For cooking, it is better to use deep ceramic or cast iron cookware of a suitable size, which can be covered with a lid. Before laying the goose in it, it is better to grease it with a small amount of butter or olive oil and pour about 2 cm of warm water. You can also pour the carcass with a sauce of honey, olive oil, orange or cranberry juice. Goose should be baked in an oven preheated to 220 ° C, gradually lowering the temperature to 180 ° C, so that the meat then languishes. In the process of cooking, it is good to water the goose with the allocated juice - then the meat will turn out more juicy, and the crust will be crispy and fragrant. Cooking time may take from 1.5 to 2.5 hours, depending on the size of the carcass, the age of the bird and the preliminary preparation of meat. About 20 minutes before the end, the lid should be removed so that the crust on the bird turns out to be crispy. Checking readiness is easy enough, just piercing the carcass near the thigh with a fork - the flowing transparent juice will tell you that the dish can be taken out and served.
4
Cooking goose in pieces
You can bake a goose in the oven not only as a whole, but also in the form of pieces. In this case, the meat is much more convenient to soften, pre-soaked in slightly salted water or apple cider vinegar diluted in water in a ratio of 1: 1 for 5-6 hours. Then the goose should not be baked for a long time, and the meat itself will turn out to be more tender. A couple of hours before cooking, the slices must be washed, dried and marinated.
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As a marinade, for example, white or red dry wine is perfect - ideal for hard meat. It is better to keep the goose in it in a non-oxidizable sealed container so that the aroma does not disappear. You can also add apples or oranges, prunes, cut into large cubes, into such a marinade. As marinade, you can use olive oil mixed in equal proportions, cranberry juice, honey, salt, pepper and aromatic herbs, such as rosemary or thyme. Goose can be marinated at room temperature.
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To make the taste of meat even more refined, pickled pieces can be laid out on a plate, dried with a cloth, pour 100 ml of cognac and set on fire. When the fire goes out, the meat should be put in a saucepan and lightly fry in butter. The fire should be large enough, so in time it will take no more than 15 minutes. Then, the cut goose should be placed in a deep ceramic dish, pour the remaining marinade and put in an oven preheated to 200 ° C. Cooking is necessary under the lid. In time it will take no more than 1.5 hours. At the end, the lid can be removed so that the meat crust becomes fried.
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How to serve a baked goose
Despite all the intricacies of preparing a goose, baking it is only half the battle. To really conquer the dish of guests and home, you need to properly serve it. As a side dish for meat, you can use the filling if the goose has been stuffed, or prepare gentle mashed peas. The latter must be crushed in a blender, soaked for an hour, pour boiling water in a ratio of 1 to 2 and simmer until cooked. Add butter at the end. Vegetables stewed in wine will be well combined with a bird: carrots, broccoli, potatoes.
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Of the sauces, the baked goose is perfect for vegetables or mushrooms, but apples, berries or fresh greens will decorate the dish. Of alcohol, the taste of a bird is best revealed in combination with red wine, such as merlot, burgundy or cabernet sauvignon.
note
Before serving, all fastening threads, toothpicks should, of course, be removed.
Useful advice
You can bake a goose in the sleeve. In this case, it will take a little less time, but the meat will turn out to be just as soft and juicy. That's just to get a crisp, it’s better to cook a bird in a goose bowl. You can check the readiness with a toothpick, carefully piercing the meat in the sleeve.
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