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Weihnachtsgans (Viennese Christmas Goose), Austrian

This is what I made for 2006 Christmas Dinner. German Hausfraus serve this up as the traditional Christmas dinner, and this is my first stab at it. One note of warning: Geese are very fatty, so make sure your roasting pan is large enough to catch all of the drippings. Otherwise the fat will drip onto the bottom of your oven, catch fire, thereby producing a large amount of stinky black smoke which will set off the smoke alarms in your house. This in turn will cause the dogs and all your guests to run outside to get away from all the noise. Really! It could happen...

Ingredients

• 1 11-13 lb. goose, trimmed of excess skin and fat
• 1 tbsp dried marjoram
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 apples
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock

Preparation Instructions

The Goose: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trim off goose wing tips, put into a small pot, and set aside. Prick skin all over with the tip of a paring knife. Rub bird, inside and out, with marjoram, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.

Stud apples and onions with cloves, then stuff into cavity of bird. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.

Heat oil in a large heavy roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add goose and cook until browned all over, about 15 minutes. Set goose aside. Drain off fat from pan into a medium bowl and set aside. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add wine and 1 cup water and cook, scraping browned its stuck to bottom of pan with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes.

Transfer goose, breast side up, to pan and roast until skin begins to get crisp, 35-45 minutes. Siphon off fat in pan with a bulb baster (add it to bowl with fat), leaving any pan juices in pan. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting goose until juices run clear when pricked and skin is brown and crisp, (about 35 - 50 minutes more), siphoning off fat from pan once or twice as it roasts. Meanwhile, add stock to pot with wing tips and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Strain stock, discarding solids, and set aside. (Serves 6-8)

Discard kitchen twine and apples and onions from cavity of goose. Put goose on a large serving platter and allow to rest 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, drain fat from pan, then set pan on top of stove and heat over medium-high heat. Add reserved stock, scraping browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, and boil until reduced by one-quarter, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then strain gravy into a warm gravy boat.

To serve: Fill goose cavity with warm chestnuts. Put cabbage next to goose on platter. Arrange apples and dumplings around goose. Moisten goose and cabbage with some of the gravy. Garnish dumplings with parsley. Serve gravy on the side.

Contributed by Schiltz Goose Farms, 2000

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