Double Stuffed Goose

Christmas is getting nearer

and the goose is getting fat.

And it will just have to get fatter

because we are going to my mother-in-law

for Christmas Dinner

and she won't eat goose.

She used to keep them as pets

and insists they are inedible.

;-))

Love you Mom,

but I also love eating goose at Christmas......

This is a great traditional way to do goose

for the festive dinner on Christmas day.

Ingredients:
1 goose, about 5kg more or less

For the Neck-end Stuffing;
100g dried cranberries, apricots or raisins (or a mix of dried fruits of your choice)
60ml medium sherry
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 rashers of unsmoked back bacon, cut into strips
50g butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped or mashed through a garlic press
450g good sausage meat
3 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
30ml chopped fresh parsley
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped off the stems.
150g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

For the Bum-end Stuffing:
350g shallots, thinly sliced
60g butter
15g caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
50ml fresh sage, chopped
85g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
5 slices of fresh white bread, crumbed
1 egg, beaten
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

To make the neck-end stuffing, soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter until the onion is tender and the bacon cooked.

Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so. Cool slightly then mix with the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough of the egg to bind.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

To make the bum-end stuffing, fry the shallots gently in the butter until golden, then add the sugar and the orange juice.

Simmer until the liquid has virtually all evaporated leaving a delicious jammy mass of shallots.

Pour boiling water over the sage, leave for one minute, then drain and squeeze dry. Add to the shallots, along with all the other ingredients.

Fry a small piece of stuffing to test seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Preheat the oven to 190C.

To prepare the goose, trim the excess fat from inside the goose. Pack the neck-end stuffing into the neck end of the goose, pressing it firmly and then tucking the flap of skin neatly down around it.

Secure firmly underneath with wooden cocktail sticks or a metal skewer.

Three-quarters fill the stomach cavity with the bum-end stuffing.

Prick the skin of the goose all over with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Lay some of the fat removed from the cavity over the thighs to keep them moist.

Cover with foil and place on a rack in the oven with a tray underneath so that you can empty out the fat regularly.

Roast a 4kg goose for three hours, a 4.5-5kg goose for three-and-a-half hours and a 5.5kg goose for four hours.

Remove the foil for 30-40 minutes before the end of the cooking time so that the skin can brown and crisp.

To test it is cooked, pierce the fattest part of the thigh with a skewer. If the juices run clear then the bird is done.

Rest for 20-30 minutes, oven turned off with the door ajar, before carving.