Serves 4-6
By braising the goose you can avoid any tough or dry cuts. Another advantage, unlike a roast, is that you can cook it up to three days in advance and reheat on the day, just adding the quince when you serve.
- 1 good quality goose, weighing 3-3.5kg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 quince, peeled and cored and cooked as below
- 1/2 stick of cinnamon
- 4 cloves
- 400g caster sugar
for the sauce
- 8 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
- 100g butter
- 5tbsp flour
- 1tbsp tomato purée
- 75cl bottle of red wine
- 2 litre hot chicken stock, or a good quality cube will do
- Few sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Put the quince in a pan with the cinnamon, cloves and sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour or until they are tender.
- Leave them in the liquid to cool.
- Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220ºC/430°F.
- With a heavy chopping knife, cut the goose in half (or get your butcher to do it).
- Cut off the parson’s nose and trim away any excess fat and the backbone where there is no meat.
- Remove the legs and cut them in half.
- Cut each breast into 4 pieces.
- Season the birds with salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Roast them in a roasting tray for 30-40 minutes, until they are nicely browned, turning them every so often and draining off any fat into a bowl.
Meanwhile make the sauce.
- Gently cook the shallots and garlic in the butter for 2-3 minutes until soft and lightly coloured.
- Add the flour and stir well over a low heat for a minute.
- Then add the tomato purée, and gradually the red wine, stirring well to avoid lumps forming, then slowly stir in the hot stock.
- Bring to the boil, add the thyme and bay leaf and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the goose from the oven and drain in a colander over a bowl to reserve the fat. (Keep this in the fridge for cooking roast potatoes or confit.)
Reheat
- Turn the oven down to 170ºC/330°F
- Put the pieces of goose into a casserole dish with the sauce, cover with a lid and braise for 2 hours or until the pieces are tender.
- You will need to remove a piece and check it with a knife and return it to the oven if it’s not tender.
- Remove the pieces of goose from the liquid, put them on a plate and cover with foil.
- Transfer the cooking liquid to a large saucepan, skim off any fat with a ladle and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
- Return the pieces of goose to the sauce and season with salt and pepper if necessary. At this point you can keep the dish in the fridge for a few days.
To serve
- Remove the quince from the liquor, cut into 6 wedges and add to the goose and sauce.
- Bring back to the boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
- Arrange the goose and quince on plates or a serving dish and spoon over the sauce.