For such a big bird, goose is surprisingly meagre on the breast-meat front and I find a crown only yields enough meat to feed two of us. Perhaps we have very big appetites! Or were greedy! Anyway, the meat that it does give up is extremely tasty: dense and gamey. Its fantastic with a fruity sauce, such as cranberry, and a citrussy gravy, flavoured with the clementines and lemons I used as a trivet when the bird was roasting.
I started with a whole goose and removed the legs for another recipe, but you can also buy goose crowns (the back and breasts) on their own.
Serves 2
1 crown of goose, weighing approx. 1 kg
1 clementine, halved
1 lemon, halved
Rock salt
For the gravy
Pan juices from the goose, once youve drained off the fat (there will be a lot)
500ml chicken stock
1 glass white wine
1 tsp dried thyme
Juice from the clementine and lemon
1 tsp cornflour, mixed into a paste with 2 tsp water, to thicken the gravy
To serve
Two large handfuls curly kale, stalked removed, boiled in salted water for 5 mins
Roast potatoes, made with Maris Pipers, peeled, parboiled, then roasted in goose fat for 45 mins at 200C/Gas 6
Roast carrots, made with peeled chunks of carrot, cooked alongside the potatoes
Cranberry sauce, from a jar
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Lay the clementine and lemon halves in a deep roasting tin and put the goose crown on top of them. With a sharp knife, stab the goose skin all over, but dont go as deep as the meat. This will help release the fat during cooking.
2. Rub the skin all over with freshly ground rock salt, then put in the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
3. Once the goose is cooked, carefully remove it from the roasting tin with a pair of tongs and transfer to a plate. Cover with tin foil and leave for 30 mins.
4. Drain the excess fat from the roasting tin into a jar and save to make roast potatoes another time. It freezes well, for several months.
5. To make the gravy, put the roasting tin on the hob, turn up the heat, and add a glass of wine. Use a wooden spoon to de-glaze the roasting tin, then add the stock, thyme and citrus juices. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, before add the conroflour paste. Stir to thicken the gravy.
6. Use a carving fork to hold the goose in place, then use a sharp knife to carefully carve away each breast from the crown, so that they are whole. Now carve into thick slices, across the grain of the breast.
7. Serve with roast potatoes, roast carrots, curly kale, cranberry sauce and the citrus gravy.
