Martha’s Great Goose

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This dish comes from a Hutterite woman living near High River, Alberta, who happily cleans our waterfowl for a very reasonable fee. The recipe is especially good for turning those older, tougher geese into tasty fare.

Serves: 4

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Ingredients

  • 1 raw beet, quartered
  • 3 onions, sliced
  • 1 tsp each salt and black pepper
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 Canada goose, dressed
  • 1 apple, cut into small chunks
  • Poultry seasoning, to taste
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted

Preparation

  1. Half-fill a large pot (big enough to hold the goose) with water and add beet, 2 of the onions, salt, pepper and garlic. Add goose and bring to a low boil; simmer gently for 4 hours, adding water as it boils off. Note: For the sake of marital harmony, I do this on a Coleman stove on our backyard picnic table to avoid steaming up the house and splattering the oven top.
  2. Remove goose and drain liquid from cavity. Keep stock for gravy or soup.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle poultry seasoning inside cavity; stuff with apple and remaining onion. Brush goose with butter; place breast-side up in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with a bit more poultry seasoning on the outside. Roast until skin is crisped and the meat is hot (30 to 60 minutes). Remember, the bird will already be cooked—and very tender—so all you’re doing here is browning the skin and making it nice and crisp.