Christmas Goose Roast with Lingonberry Pears

Ingredients

• 5 kg goose (4.5–1 goose)
• Salt
• white pepper (ground)
• 0.5 lemon (juice)
• paprika powder (sweet)
• 2 onions
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 Apples
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 400 g cooked potatoes
• 250 g peeled, cooked chestnuts (canned)
• 2 tsp mugwort (dried)
• 1 Garlic clove
• 100 ml dark beer
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 6 stale rolls
• 200 ml milk
• 1 Shallot
• 0.5 bunch Parsley
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 Eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• nutmeg
• 3 pears
• 0.5 lemon (juice)
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 6 tsp honey
• 6 tbsp white wine
• 3 star anise
• 6 tbsp lingonberries (canned)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
• 2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the goose hot, pat dry, and rub inside and out with salt, pepper, paprika powder, and lemon juice.

2. 2.

   Peel the potatoes and press them through a sieve into a bowl.

3. 3.

   Peel, quarter, core, slice the apples, and drizzle with lemon juice.

4. 4.

   Peel and finely dice the onions; sauté in butter until translucent, add the apples, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Stir in drained chestnuts, thyme, mugwort, and pressed garlic, then mix into the potato mash. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.

5. 5.

   Stuff half of the dumpling mixture into the goose through the neck opening, secure with wooden skewers. Fill the remaining mixture into the belly opening and secure. Place the goose in a roasting tube per package instructions, seal ends, and pierce the tube multiple times at the top. Rest on a cold rack.

6. 6.

   Place in a preheated oven (190°C, lower rack), slide the fat pan underneath, and roast for about 3 hours. Then cut the bottom of the foil, catch the drippings and fat in the oven pan.

7. 7.

   Remove the tube, pour out the drippings. Flip the goose, baste with half the beer, and roast uncovered for about 30 minutes until crisp, placing the fat pan back under the rack.

8. 8.

   Skim off fat from the drippings and set aside (for goose fat). Season the drippings with salt, pepper, and paprika. Whisk in cornstarch mixed with remaining beer, stir into sauce, bring to a boil, and thicken.

9. 9.

   For the bread dumplings, slice stale rolls finely. Place in a bowl and pour warmed milk over them. Let sit for about 30 minutes.

10. 10.

    Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallot. Strip parsley leaves from stems and finely chop. Add half of the chopped parsley with the shallot to the roll slices. Mix well, add an egg, knead into a loose dough, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

11. 11.

    Shape into a log with wet hands, wrap in a clean damp cloth, tie ends with kitchen twine. Boil in salted water at medium heat for 15–20 minutes (do not boil). Remove from cloth and slice.

12. 12.

    Heat lingonberries in hot butter with sugar. Add Grand Marnier and simmer gently for 3 minutes, then cool. Peel pears, halve them, drizzle with lemon juice, and dust with powdered sugar. Place two pear halves per sheet of foil on a baking tray, drizzle each with 2 tsp honey and 2 tbsp white wine, add one star anise, seal foil, and bake at 180°C for 25–30 minutes. Remove pears from oven and arrange with lingonberries.

13. 13.

    Optionally serve roasted chestnuts and fried celery stars alongside the goose roast.