Goose is a delicious alternative to turkey at Christmas. In this post, I will go through how to cook goose and create a beautiful roast goose for Christmas. I will answer your questions and give you an easy guide to cook goose.
Honey Roast Goose is a brilliant bird to have for Christmas. It makes a great change from turkey and it’s also easy to cook. There are a few things to do before you pop it in the oven. Then sit back and relax while it cooks.
A Christmas goose is an incredibly fatty meat to cook. It leaves a lot of fat underneath it as it cooks. It is definitely worth using the fat for your roast potatoes.
Before it cooks I would also recommend adding some potatoes or veg under the goose. (I use any old vegetables and potatoes for this. As you won’t eat them it’s a good way to use up veg past it’s best. If you have a large enough oven you can get a metal frame that holds up the meat as it cooks but it’s not necessary).
This makes it so that the fat can drain away from the goose. This helps it to not go soggy in the fat. It also helps it cook evenly on the bottom of the goose.
Top Questions
What size goose do I need?
How long to cook goose?
How long do I need to roast a goose for Christmas per kg?
What can I do with leftover goose?
Christmas Goose Recipe
Christmas goose is most definitely our favourite way of celebrating the festive period when it comes to food choice. This easy goose recipe really is that – an easy goose recipe. You don’t need much in way of ingredients. Once it’s in the oven you can leave it to roast. It does need checking, just like any roast, but it’s only to drain the fat away.
Christmas goose sounds so impressive but luckily it’s easy to to make at home. A perfect way to dazzle your guests this Christmas. A roast goose is a great centre piece and by leaving it to rest once cooked you have great opportunity to whack the oven up to roast the potatoes and finish off all the extra trimmings you need. I would recommend goose fat roasted potatoes and garlic and bacon Brussels sprouts too.
how to cook goose – step by step
Make sure your goose is defrosted (if it was frozen), put it into a clean sink or large bowl. I prefer the sink as the goose can fit, I can do the work I need to do like the scoring and pouring water over it and then clean the sink really well after.
Start off by removing as much fat as you can (look around the wings and legs). Then score the skin of the Christmas goose and place it in the sink. Boil a kettle and gently pour over the skin. This will help tighten up the skin for cooking. Repeat two times more until the skin is tight.
To fill in the cavity we use orange slices, an entire bulb of garlic, onions, and fresh herbs. Although it isn’t eaten it’s nice to use them as it helps the centre of the bird from drying out. It also smells rather delightful when it’s cooking.
There isn’t a right way to cut up these ingredients and stuff the bird. We do a couple of cuts, orange into slices and mix together and scoop it in.
Move the goose to the prepared baking tray. Lay pieces of bacon over the top. This will help keep the breast meat moist and soft.
Substitutions and Variations
A great and easy substitution to make when cooking a goose at home is to add extra helps to the skin before you add the bacon. This brings out more flavour and makes the smell of the cooking goose even more delicious.
What size goose do I need?
When choosing your goose it’s worth checking the size of your oven and the baking tray you have as a goose is a large bird. We just about fit it in the oven last Christmas!
Here is my guide to what size goose to feed four people, up to 10.
4 kg will feed 4-5 people. It will take 2 hours to cook.
4.5 kg will feed 4-6 people. It will take 2 hours 15 minutes to cook.
5 kg will feed 5-6 people. It will take 2 hours 30 minutes to cook.
5.5 kg will feed 6-7 people. It will take 2 hours 45 minutes to cook.
6 kg will feed 8-10 people. It will take 3 hours to cook.
How to present a goose on the Christmas table
The beautiful golden brown goose looks incredible on its own but if you want to really dress up the goose to present on the Christmas table – here are my top ideas.
At Christmas, we always have extra oranges and clementines so we lay the goose on top of a few. (Usually the older slightly damaged ones). This adds some colour but also elevates it off the plate.
Another idea is to serve the goose on freshly cut Christmas tree branches. Of course, don’t eat Christmas tree pine needles. This is just for display.
One thing we always do when serving our roast goose is to add the bacon layer back on. It will have dried out but for photos and beautiful table it’s an easy win for how to present a goose on the Christmas table.
How long to cook goose
A goose is just like a big chicken and cooks in a similar way. How long to cook goose depends on the size so I have written out a rough guide on how long you will need.
4 kg goose will take 2 hours to cook.
4.5 kg will take 2 hours 15 minutes to cook.
5 kg will take 2 hours 30 minutes to cook.
5.5 kg will take 2 hours 45 minutes to cook.
6 kg will feed 8-10 people. It will take 3 hours to cook.
How long do I need to roast a goose for Christmas per kg?
To cook the goose, roast in the oven for 30 minutes per 1kg at 180ºC, Fan 160ºC, Gas Mark 4, 356ºF.
Honey Roasted Goose
What I love so much about this easy honey roasted goose is how easy it is. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants an easy roast at Christmas. With so much else to do over Christmas, we all need simple ways of doing things when we can.
Cooking a Christmas Goose feels like it could be a complicated bird but with this easy goose recipe you will discover it’s a simple roast and creates a beautiful dinner.
We create a simple honey glaze for the goose. Although you won’t eat it directly, the sweetness fills the air plus it will soak through the skin into the breast meat. It helps keep the goose from drying out as it rests post roasting. An extra bonus!
What can I do with leftover goose?
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How to cook goose – Easy Christmas roast goose
Equipment
- large ovenproof dish
- aluminum foil
- kettle
Ingredients
- 4 kg (16.91 cups) Goose
- 1 handful (1 handful) fresh parsley
- 1 (1) orange
- 1 (1) onion
- 1 bulb (1 bulb) garlic
- 300 g (1.27 cups) streaky bacon
- 4 tablespoons (4 tablespoons) honey
- 0.25 teaspoons (0.25 teaspoons) cinnamon
- pinch (pinch) salt and pepper
Instructions
How to cook Goose
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
- Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil. Use old vegetables, potatoes or an add wire rack to the bottom of the tin. This will raise the goose to make sure it doesn't sit in the fat.
- Remove all the fat you can from inside the goose. (You can keep this for goose fat potatoes or pop it in the food waste).
- Move the goose to a clean and empty sink.
- Sit the goose in an empty sink and using a knife cut lines over the top.
- Slowly pour over a kettleful of boiling water while it's in the sink. Repeat the process a few more times until the skin is tight. Leave the goose to cool, then pat dry with kitchen paper.
- Move the goose to the lined oven tray.
- To fill in the cavity slice the orange, cut an entire bulb of garlic in half, roughly chop the onions and fresh herbs too.
- Mix together and scoop it into the bird. (Although it isn’t eaten it’s nice to use them as it helps the centre of the bird from drying out. It also smells rather delightful when it’s cooking.)
- Weave or lay the bacon slices over the top of the goose.
- Wrap the goose in aluminium foil and pop it in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- For the glaze, mix the honey with cinnamon, salt and pepper. Set aside until you need it.
- After the first 1 hour, 30 minutes remove from the oven and remove the goose from the tin. Drain away any goose fat (not down the sink as the fat can block your sink – we pour it into a cup and then once cool and hardened scoop it in the food waste.)
- Pop the goose back in the tin, recover with the foil and return to the oven until there are 15 minutes left on the cooking time. Check the notes below for how long you need it to cook it for.
- When there are 15 minutes left take out the goose and remove the foil and the bacon. Drizzle over the glaze and pop the goose back in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Check the goose is cooked by sticking a knife into the flesh and check the juices run clear. Make sure to check the wings and in the thicker areas.
- When the goose is cooked remove from the oven. Wrap it in aluminium foil and leave it to rest for 30 minutes. It will stay hot. You can add a tea towel on top of the foil too if you are worried about it going cold.
- Serve and Enjoy at Christmas with friends and family. We placed the goose on a bed of oranges and placed the bacon back on for presentation.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
What a great post with really well laid out, clear instructions which are ideal when cooking goose for the first time.
Thank you Lesley, I’m glad you found it helpful and easy to understand.
This is such a comprehensive guide for cooking goose. It’s perfect for Christmas and such a nice change from turkey.
Thank you Janice!
Wow! That’s seriously early, but very very delicious! And it’s really good to know where to come for advice on how to cook a goose perfectly xx
Thank you Kate, it’s such a beautiful piece of poultry and definitely deserves more attention!
We often have goose at some point over the festive period. Its perfect on cold winter Sundays and the goose fat for roasting potatoes an added advantage.
You are so right! Goose fat potatoes are one of the best additions to any roast!
I’m always looking for something different to make for Xmas and have never tried making goose at home. This post would make it much less intimidating so will get it on my list asap. Thanks for sharing.
You’re most welcome Jo. When we first started cooking goose it was terrifying but as with a few years of practice we have it sorted!
So much attention to detail, you’ve done all the hard work for me, I hate maths at the best of times but with your clear instructions I’m now going to roast my first goose this winter and not be terrified of making any mistakes!
That is fantastic to hear. I really wanted to show simple it is to do and it’s definitely worth the effort to hear it. x
This is a really good, easy to understand recipe. It takes all the hard work away as you have got a great calculator for working out cooking times. The only thing I would say is, I can’t believe you throw away your goose fat! I pour mine into plastic takeaway boxes and freeze it. The fat from 1goose will last me all year!! Thanks for the great info.
This year we have kept it and it popped it in the freezer just like you said. Great roasties all year round is a plan!
Made this recipe with one exception. I poured a pan of boiling water over the raw, scored goose in the cooking pan on the stovetop. I steamed it repeating another pan of boiling water over the goose. Steamed for about 20 minutes total. This cut the grease down a lot. Goose was a hit! Served with root veggies and cranberries.