This goose recipe produces an absolutely delicious, crisp, tasty goose. You can use either fresh mushrooms or rehydrated dry mushrooms. Take your time, do not rush the bird out of the oven!
You will need to start preparing the goose several days in advance so get ready. If your goose is frozen, allow 2-3 days for it to thaw. In my experience it takes about a week since the moment i decide to roast a goose till the moment i am ready to serve it. Also, remember to give yourself (or, rather, the goose) about 30 minutes to rest when it is roasted and before you slice and serve..
Offal, neck, wing ending, and the good meat left over on the bones after you serve the goose should be used as a base for some fantastic soup of sauce. My favourite example is the barley soup.
Here is a sample of the roasted and sliced meat 
and stuffing:
10 servings.
- 1 (4.5 kg or 10 lb) fresh goose
- 400 ml wild rice
- 1.2 l (5 cups?) cold water
- 600 ml fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms. If shiitake not available, portobello mushrooms work very well too.
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- 150ml dry sherry
Careful preparation:
- Clean and dry the goose – remove all giblets, bits of feathers, unwanted fat..
- Prick the goose well all over with a skewer, especially on the breast and on the upper legs. Hold the skewer almost parallel with the bird so as to avoid piercing the flesh.
- Fill a very large pot, big enough to hold the goose, 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil.
- Submerge bird neck side down for 1 minute until goose bumps arise on the goose. Flip the goose over so that the tail side is down, and repeat the process.
- Remove goose from the pot, and drain water out of the goose. Place goose breast side up on a rack in a large roasting pan.
- Set in the refrigerator, uncovered, to dry the skin for 24 to 48 hours.
- The night before you wish to roast the goose, cook the rice in 5 cups water. Refrigerate overnight (takes more than an hour to cook , but taste is worth the effort).
On the day of the feast
- Remove the goose from the fridge at least one hour before you plan to roast it; it should return to room temperature before it goes into the oven.
- Saute the chopped onion in the butter or margarine.
- Add the mushrooms, saute them gently.
- Add cooked rice, eggs, and poultry seasoning.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Liberally salt and pepper the bird inside and out.
- Stuff the bird with the stuffing.
- Sew up the openings to the bird.
- Place the goose breast down on a rack placed in a roasting pan.
- Roast bird at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours; do not open the oven door.
- Take the bird out of the oven, and use a baster to remove the fat that has accumulated in the bottom of the pan.
- Turn the bird over on its back before you put it back in the oven.
- Leave the bird in the oven for at least another hour before checking for doneness. In order to check for doneness, you can use the thermometer (to reach 77 C or 170 F) or you can take a piece of terry rag, and squeeze the upper drumstick lightly. If it feels kind of squishy, it is done. Be patient. The time to completion is different with every bird and it may take quite awhile.
- When the bird is done, you may choose to move to step 24, or proceed with further crisping: I find in most cases the shortcut is recommended, but some geese may need special treatment..
- Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
- Remove goose from the oven, and transfer bird to a larger pan.
- Put it back in the oven for 15 minutes to further crisp and brown the bird.
- Take out the goose, and let it sit uncovered for a half an hour.
Finishing touches
- Place the original roasting pan over 2 burners.
- Add dry sherry, and scrape the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Combine these drippings with a giblet broth to make a gravy for the goose and stuffing.
- Once the goose has rested for 1/2 hour, cut the stitching from the bird and remove the stuffing.
- Serve goose with gravy and dressing.