| 1 | I have made a thanksgiving goose every year for at least 15 years. |
| 2 | I have steadily gained on making the perfect bird but i finally found the greatest recipe ever in cook"s magazine. |
| 3 | The divine part of this approach to cooking the goose is that it employs some of the eastern method of drying the skin which is used in peking duck. |
| 4 | The skin simply drops all its fat and leaves a crispy, dry, delectable skin that folks fight over! no more rubbery, yucky goose skin full of fat! a frozen goose is perfectly adequate. |
| 5 | Have thawed 24 to 48 hours before the meal (48 is better). |
| 6 | Prick the goose well all over, especially on the breast and on the upper legs, holding the skewer almost paralel with the bird so as to avoid piercing the flesh. |
| 7 | Fill a very large pot 2/3 full of water (pot should be large enough to almost accomodate the bird) and bring to a boil. |
| 8 | Using rubber gloves submerge bird (neck side down) for 1 minute (till goose bumps arise). |
| 9 | Repeat the process (this time with the tail side down). |
| 10 | Drain the goose, breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan and set in the refrigerator, naked, to dry the skin for 24 to 48 hours. |
| 11 | When you are ready to roast the bird, on the big day. |
| 12 | Make your favorite stuffing. |
| 13 | I made one in "94" that seemed to be well liked. |
| 14 | The night before thanksgiving i cooked 1 ?cups (raw) wild rice in about 5 cups of water. |
| 15 | Drained and chilled overnight. |
| 16 | In the morning i added soaked, cut up dry shitake mushrooms along with their soaking water with an egg beaten into it. |
| 17 | A tablespoon of poultry seasoning, a sauteed onion, plenty of salt and freshly ground pepper. |
| 18 | Now you salt and pepper the bird insdie and out, liberally. |
| 19 | Preheat the oven to 325 degrees while you are stuffing and sewing up the bird. |
| 20 | Place it in the oven in a roaster and on a rack on it"s breast. |
| 21 | For a 12 1/3 lb. goose i needed a full 5 hours but this is quite a large bird. |
| 22 | Just close the oven and let it stay, undisturbed for 1 ?hours. |
| 23 | After this time, take it out of the oven. |
| 24 | Use a baster to draw out the fat that has accumulated in the bottom of the pan (schmaltz lovers, send up a cheer) you can strain this fat through a coffee filter, putting the schmaltz in small bottles which keep very well in the freezer for up to a year). |
| 25 | Turn the bird over on its back before you put it back in the oven. |
| 26 | Put it back in for another hour before you start checking for doneness. |
| 27 | The recipe gave the best advice on checking for doneness, at this point, that i have ever seen. |
| 28 | With a piece of terry rag, squeeze the upper drumstick (not thigh) lightly. |
| 29 | If it feels kind of squishy, like roast beef, it"s done. |
| 30 | Every bird is different so you must judge when it is done. |
| 31 | When meat is done (be patient, it may take a while), raise the heat to 400 degrees. |
| 32 | Remove roaster from the oven and transfer bird (rack and all) to a jelly roll pan. |
| 33 | Put it back in the oven for 15 minutes to further crisp and brown the bird. |
| 34 | Take it out and let it sit, uncovered for a half an hour. |
| 35 | Regarding the roaster, after you remove the bird to a jelly roll pan and put that in the oven, remove the fat from the roaster and put it over 2 burners adding about 2/3 cup of dry sherry and deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon. |
| 36 | Combine these drippings with your giblet broth either to make a gravy or to use later for goose carcass, slow cooker broth. |
| 37 | There is more on the subject, if you wish to know more check out the nov-dec. issue of cook"s magazine on pp. 6- |
