A goose baked in the oven, especially if it is 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 spice to the meat, as well as well-chosen wine, the dishes from this bird turn out to be tasty, refined and very beautiful.
Instructions
Step 1
Secrets of preparing meat
It is quite difficult to spoil goose meat during cooking if the carcass has been properly processed before. Therefore, the preparatory process is an important part of creating a delicious dish. Tender and soft meat will be obtained if the goose, gutted and thoroughly washed under running water, is rubbed with a mixture of spices, herbs, herbs and left for a day or two in the refrigerator. Then the cooking process will take a little less time, the dish will turn out to be tasty, juicy and aromatic. You can rub the carcass with salt, ground Provencal herbs and pepper, cranberries or lingonberries, grated ginger, garlic or rosemary as desired, depending on what taste you want to get in the end, honey, olive oil, mustard, lemon and Orange juice. They can be used individually or mixed in equal proportions.
Step 2
We bake the goose whole
After the meat is soaked and softened, the goose can be baked. It is best to cook whole poultry after stuffing it with suitable ingredients. As the latter, for example, apples, quince or oranges are suitable, which will give the meat a delicate sweetish aftertaste. It is better to cut the fruit into small wedges. You can also use prunes, fried mushrooms and pre-cooked rice, sauerkraut with cranberries, or a mixture of liver pate, onions and white bread. The filling will give the meat a special taste and aroma, and later can be used both as a decoration for a dish and as a side dish. The goose should be started by about two-thirds, so that the edges of the hole can then be conveniently fastened with thick threads or toothpicks.
Step 3
For cooking, it is better to use a deep ceramic or cast iron dish of a suitable size, which can be closed with a lid. Before placing the goose in it, it is better to grease the mold with a small amount of butter or olive oil and pour about 2 cm of warm water. The carcass can also be poured with a sauce made of honey, olive oil, orange or cranberry juice. The goose should be baked in an oven preheated to 220 ° C, gradually lowering the temperature to 180 ° C, so that the meat then languishes. During the cooking process, it is good to water the goose with the juice that stands out - then the meat will turn out to be more juicy, and the crust will be crispy and aromatic. Cooking time can take from 1.5 to 2.5 hours, depending on the size of the carcass, the age of the poultry and the preliminary preparation of the meat. About 20 minutes before the end, the lid should be removed to make the crust on the bird more crispy. It is quite easy to check the readiness, 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 to the table.
Step 4
Cooking the goose in chunks
You can bake a goose in the oven not only whole, but also in the form of pieces. In this case, it is much more convenient to soften the meat by soaking it in slightly salted water or apple cider vinegar diluted in water in a 1: 1 ratio for 5-6 hours. Then you won't have to bake the goose for a long time, and the meat itself will turn out to be more tender. A couple of hours before cooking, the pieces must be washed, dried and pickled.
Step 5
As a marinade, for example, white or red dry wine is perfect - ideal for tough 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 coarsely diced apples or oranges, prunes to such a marinade. As a marinade, you can use olive oil, cranberry juice, honey, salt, pepper and aromatic herbs such as rosemary or thyme mixed in equal proportions. You can marinate the goose at room temperature.
Step 6
To make the taste of the meat even more delicious, you can put the pickled pieces on a plate, dry them with a napkin, pour over 100 ml of cognac and set fire. When the fire goes out, put the meat in a saucepan and lightly fry in butter. In this case, the fire should be large enough, so in time it will take no more than 15 minutes. Then the chopped goose should be placed in a deep ceramic dish, filled with the remnants of the marinade and placed in an oven preheated to 200 ° C. It is imperative to cook under the lid. In time it will take no more than 1, 5 hours. At the end, the lid can be removed to make the crust on the meat toasted.
Step 7
How to serve baked goose
Despite all the intricacies of cooking a goose, baking it is only half the battle. In order for the dish to really captivate guests and home, you need to serve it correctly. As a side dish for meat, you can use the filling if the goose has been stuffed, or you can make a gentle pea puree. The latter needs to be chopped in a blender, soaked for an hour, pour boiling water in a ratio of 1 to 2 and cook over low heat until tender. Add butter at the end. Vegetables stewed in wine will go well with poultry: carrots, broccoli, potatoes.
Step 8
From sauces to baked goose, vegetable or mushroom is perfect, but apples, berries or fresh herbs will decorate the dish. For spirits, poultry tastes best when combined with red wines such as merlot, bordeaux or cabernet sauvignon.
