How to cook a goose: practical tips

While commonly served during the festive season, goose meat is fabulous to eat at any time of year. In this article, you’ll learn how to cook goose properly. Find out how long to cook your bird and discover helpful tips that you can apply to other poultry dishes.

How to cook a goose

You can cook goose joints in a slow cooker or an air fryer, but since this poultry tends to be sold as a whole bird, you will be cooking goose in the oven for the majority of recipes.

Roast goose: how to cook goose in an oven

To roast goose in the oven:

1. Take the bird out of your fridge and allow it to reach room temperature.
2. Remove the outer packaging, but keep the strings that truss the goose in place to maintain its form.
3. If not done already, remove the giblets from inside the bird.
4. Prick the skin of your goose with a fork over the breast meat area and then pour boiling water over the top, ensuring you do so slowly to avoid unwanted splashes.
5. Cover the bird loosely with aluminium foil.
6. Preheat your oven to 240°C, or 220°C for a fan-assisted oven.
7. Spoon out the water and the rendered fat at the bottom of the roasting dish. You can use this for your potatoes.
8. Put the lightly covered goose into the middle of your oven.
9. After ten minutes to half an hour, reduce the oven’s temperature setting by 50°C.
10.  Every 30 minutes, baste the goose by ladling the liquid fat collected in the bottom of the roasting dish, carefully drizzling over the bird.
11.  Midway through the roasting process, loosen the trussing strings to allow heat to penetrate all parts of the bird. You can do this by snipping them with kitchen scissors.
12.  When cooked, take the goose out of the oven and allow it to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes before carving.

Best goose cooking tips

• Consider browning the bird before roasting it. To do so, hold the bird by its legs and sear the skin onto a heated skillet or frying pan for a few minutes until it browns all over.
• When you baste a goose, there will be enough fat at the bottom of the pan to cover the bird and use for roasting vegetables, so scoop some up.
• When basting, pay particular attention to the legs. Because they are thinner, they are more likely to dry out in the oven.
• Season the bird thoroughly before roasting it, and for a fuller flavour, consider seasoning the inside of the goose’s cavity by hand.

Goose cooking times

Goose should be cooked 30 minutes per kilo, plus another half hour to produce top-quality results. 

• If you want rare meat at the end of the roasting process, reduce the oven’s heat by 50°C after 10 minutes of cooking. 
• For a medium bird, turn the heat down after 20 minutes.
• For a well-done goose, only reduce the heat after the first 30 minutes of cooking has elapsed.

Goose fat roast potatoes

Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes make the best roast potatoes cooked in goose fat. To make them:

1. Peel potatoes and cut them into similarly sized pieces.
2. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan of simmering water, then boil them for a few minutes before straining them.
3. While the potatoes are steaming, allowing water to escape, put your collected goose fat into an empty roasting dish. Then, put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt while the goose is cooking.
4. Remove the dish from the oven and carefully pour the potatoes in, ensuring the fat doesn’t splash out.
5. Turn the potatoes through the fat to make sure they’re covered.
6. Return the potatoes to roast to the oven for 30 to 35 minutes until they have cooked through.

Goose recipes

Thyme Roasted Whole Chicken with Pancetta Roasties is a great poultry recipe you can easily adapt for a goose. Simply use the method above to create a delicious meal for any occasion. Alternatively, check out this tasty recipe for Roasted Duck Breast, which you can also make with roast goose as an alternative.

FAQs

How long to cook a goose?

You should cook goose until its juices run clear when poking the meat down to the bone. Typically, a goose will need 30 minutes of roasting time per kilo plus an additional 30 minutes in the oven. However, you may need to cook it for longer if you constantly open the oven door to take things in and out.

What is the best way to eat goose?

Goose is best eaten right after it has been roasted. The strong flavour of the bird means it doesn’t need much added, but you can add some herbs and spices.

Why pour boiling water over goose before cooking?

Hot water poured over a pricked goose’s skin helps to render the fat, making it release more rapidly into the roasting tray. This fat can then be collected and used for tasty roast potatoes and other vegetables, such as parsnips.

Why is goose fat good for roasting potatoes?

Goose fat tastes pleasant, and since roasted potatoes need some form of fat to crisp up, why not use one as flavoursome as goose fat? Also, goose fat can withstand high temperatures, which is needed for a crispy potato coating.