My initial plan was to have roasted lobster in creamy sauce for our New Year Eve dinner. Hubby got the lobsters together with everything written in my shopping list. But on an impromptu trip to the market, a lone young goose on the frozen aisle caught my eyes. Change of plan! We would have roasted goose instead. And went with it was all the changes to the accompanied dishes.

The only catch was that I had never roasted a goose in my life. But somehow hubby and kiddos got all excited – it looked like my skills in the kitchen were unrivaled. Thanks for the faith, but geez, chill, people. After surfing the net, I ended up with a mashup version of two recipes from Food and Wine and The Spruce Eats. The roasted goose turned out perfect. Next time, I would need to figure out how to to ease the absurd amount of smoke fuming from the dripping fat. The whole house still smelled of goose the next day. It was still delicious though.

Roasted goose with fried potatoes and simple apple marmalade

(Adapted from The Spruce Eats)

For the roasted goose:
1 young goose, about 10 lbs
24 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
4-5 bay leaves
A handful of whole peppercorns
2 tsp kosher salt
1 onion (quartered)
1 orange (quartered)
1 lemon (quartered)
1 apple (quartered)

For the fried potatoes:
1 Yukon potatoes (peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick)
Goose fat from above
Sea salt

For the simple apple marmalade:
Goose fat from above
2 Granny Smith apple (diced 1/2″)
1 yellow onion (diced 1/2″)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper

To roast the goose:

1. Use a scissor to remove all visible fat and skin.
   • Note: Save the fat and skin for the fried potatoes.
2. Remove neck and giblets.
3. In a large stockpot, make the brine by combining 24 cups water + 1 cup kosher salt + 1/2 cup brown sugar + bay leaves + whole peppercorns. Stir until sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
4. Brine the goose overnight or for 24 hours.
5. Remove the goose from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
7. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt in the goose cavity.
8. Rub the remaining salt on the goose skin.
9. Stuff the cavity with onion, orange, lemon, and apple.
10. In a large roasting pan with a rack, place the goose, breast-side up.
11. Add the neck and giblets and 2 cups of water to the pan.
12. Use a fork to prick the goose skin, especially the fattest parts.
    • Note: This step is important to drain the fat.
13. Roast for 1h50′ to 2h.
    • Note: Increase the roasting time if the goose is bigger than 10 lbs.
14. Remove the goose from the oven and cover the goose loosely with foil.
15. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

To make the fried potatoes:

1. Fill water in a medium stockpot.
2. Put the potato slices in and boil.
3. Once the potato are semi-cooked, drain and pat dry.
4. On a nonstick skillet, heat goose fat over medium-high heat.
5. Fry the semi-cooked potatoes by small batches.
6. Drain on a paper towel.
7. Serve warm with the roasted goose.

To make the simple apple marmalade:

1. In a medium skillet, heat goose fat over medium-high heat.
2. Add diced onion and cook until golden brown.
3. Add diced apple and cook until soften.
4. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
5. Serve warm with the roasted goose.