Can an overcooked goose become livery? You bet. Are they fatty? Oh yes. But remember that a goose is not a turkey, just as a duck is not a chicken. You don’t cook them the same way.

Why You Can Serve Goose Breast Medium-Rare

Both ducks and geese are red meat birds—meaning the breasts of both need to be served medium-rare. That’s pink, or 140-150°F for those of you with thermometers. Regarding poultry and salmonella, I did quite a lot of research for this post about eating rare duck or goose, and suffice to say that I’ve found no one who can fully explain why no one gets sick from eating rare waterfowl. But that seems to be the case. I could not find one instance of food poisoning from eating rare—or even raw!—duck or goose meat. Exactly why is a Great Mystery. I eat 50 to 60 wild ducks and geese every year—breasts always rare—and I have never gotten sick from it. Every fine restaurant in America serves duck breast medium to rare. So, all evidence points to it being okay to eat pink goose breast. By the way, a 160°F duck or goose breast will no longer be pink. If this concerns you, fine, cook it longer. It’s your bird.

How to Evenly Cook a Roast Goose

Now. How to get medium-rare breast with properly done legs and wings? Take the bird apart midstream. The only thing you lose is that “ooh, ahh!” moment of a perfect-looking roast bird. But that bird will not taste perfect, my friends, no matter how lacquered the skin is. If the legs are done properly, the breast will be overcooked. And besides, you’ll cut into the bird in a moment anyway. With my method, you roast the goose for a while, then slice off the whole breast and finish it in a pan once the legs are done. That way you still get a nice roasted flavor on the whole goose, and you get crispy skin and you get properly pink breast meat. Also, because you are cooking the goose at a relatively low temperature, you also won’t smoke up your kitchen. Are there other ways to go about this? You bet. But this is a method of roasting a whole goose that is relatively easy. It requires only a few ingredients, yet results in a bird so luscious, you will wonder why you don’t eat them more often.

What to Do With Goose Fat

Oh, and as for all that extra goose fat you will get? Save it. Goose fat is God’s gift to potatoes, and is a spectacular medium for cooking winter greens such as kale, spinach or chard. Alternately, you can order goose online from specialty poultry purveyors. Order it to arrive at least a few days in advance to make sure your goose is fully defrosted before cooking. Whole geese are expensive, since they are a specialty bird and usually have to be imported. D’Artagnan is a well-known online seller of specialty poultry.

What to Serve with Your Roast Goose

Roasted New Potatoes Cranberry Sauce Popovers Kale and Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad Berry Almond Crumble

1 8-pound goose (see recipe note) Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and chopped 1 whole head garlic 1/2 cup Madeira 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups chicken stock (for gravy) 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 pounds assorted root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, and/or rutabagas, peeled and chopped into large chunks

While I have never found any instances of food poisoning from raw duck or goose, it’s best to handle the goose with common sense. Use a separate cutting board and utensils to avoid contaminating other foods. Wash your hands with soap frequently – if for no other reason than because geese are fatty and you don’t want to be walking around with greasy hands. Use paper towels to clean up. To do this, use a thin sharp knife – a boning knife is ideal, or you could use a paring knife or fillet knife – and cut across the side of the joint, severing the tendons. Bend the joint the opposite way it is supposed to go to break it. Cut the remaining skin and tendons. You should not need to cut bone at all. Slice off the neck skin about a half inch in front of the body. First, grab the fat inside the body cavity and put it in a bowl. Now, slice off the wide belly flaps covering the body cavity. If you plan on stuffing the goose you’d need these, but we’re not, so out they go. You also want to remove the “Pope’s nose,” which is the goose’s tail. All of this should go into a pot with a little water (about 1/2 cup) and put over low heat to render out. Rub the goose all over with the cut half of a lemon. Use both sides to get it good and coated. Put the spent lemon halves inside the goose. Sprinkle salt liberally all over the goose. Use more salt than you think you need; it helps crisp the skin and adds a lot to the flavor. Slice off the top of a head of garlic and place it inside the goose. Place the goose breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan and into the oven. Add the chopped onion and stir to combine. When the onion gets a little browned, sprinkle the flour in the pot and stir to combine. Cook this over medium heat, stirring often, until it smells nutty, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn the heat up to high and add the Madeira. Let this boil furiously for a minute or two. Then, add the chicken stock and stir to combine. Add the dried thyme and turn the gravy down to a bare simmer. You can also use this time as an opportunity to spoon out some of the goose fat that may be collecting in the bottom of the roasting pan. Add it to the pot with the rendering goose fat. When you’re done, put the goose back into the oven for another 20 minutes. Now, you need to carve off the whole breasts. Using a thin knife—again, a boning knife is ideal—make a slice where the breast meets the leg and another slice where the breast meets the wing. Then, slice along the keel bone, which separates the two halves of the breast. Go straight down and tap the point of the blade against the breastbone as you move the knife up toward the wishbone, then back toward the open body cavity. Know that a goose has a deep keel and that the breastbone comes out wide at almost a right angle from it, so work your knife in short, gentle strokes out to free the whole side of the breast. Once you get near the wishbone, find it with the tip of your knife and carefully slice around it. Repeat on the other side. Remove the breasts and tent with foil. Watch the goose gravy. If it gets too thick, add a little water.
After 30 minutes, probe the thickest part of the goose’s thigh with a thermometer. Remove the goose when the temperature is between 165° to 170°F. Check the root veggies. If they are done, great. If not, keep them in the oven for the moment longer. Remove the garlic from the goose. Tent the goose with foil and set aside. Return the gravy to the pot and put on low heat. Simmer it more if it is too thin. Take the goose breasts, which should be a lovely pink on the meat side, and pat them dry. Place them skin side down in the pan and sear the skin hard. You might need to press down on them a little to get good contact. Check after 3 to 4 minutes. You want a rich brown. When it is ready, remove the breasts – don’t cook them on the meat side! – and immediately salt the skin. Set aside, skin side up. Move the pan off the heat. Take the goose breasts, which should be a lovely pink on the meat side, and pat them dry. Place them skin side down in the pan and sear the skin hard. You might need to press down on them a little to get good contact. Check after 3 to 4 minutes. You want a rich brown. When ready, remove the breasts – don’t cook them on the meat side! – and immediately salt the skin. Set aside, skin side up. Move the pan off the heat. Get the pan hot again and sear the skin surfaces of the legs and wings. While this is searing, slice the breast (at an angle is nice) skin side up. Salt the legs and wings and serve with the root veggies. Now remember: You have worked hard to get a good sear on your goose skin, so put your lovely gravy underneath the meat, not on top of the skin.