Roasted Goose with Crispy Skin

It was a lot, by lot, I mean "LOT" more labor intensive than the recipe led to believe. The recipe leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Last I checked, I don't think they are charged by the number of characters when writing a recipe. It also took longer to get to temp than advertised.

In the end, the flavor was excellent and my wife and I ate way too much. The Jus was flavorful and we had plenty.

It will be a lot easier next time now that I have the right expectations...

This recipe reminds me of what happens when a person knows so much about something they forget what it is like to to be new at something.

Give it a shot... It is worth it and a great learning experience.

I will take Andrew’s challenge and write a review. Which was not very easy on this site. It’s obvious Food & Wine has not checked this page in many years. By my calculations (and Google search), Jaques Pepin is 85 years old. He’s not checking his social media.

It’s true, the directions are messed up. But Jaques Pepin is a culinary rockstar, so I had faith that the recipe would work. I was right.

After the initial step of steaming, the pan juices yielded 4 cups of goose fat! After the second day, when the goose goes in the oven, it would be helpful to have a second rack for flipping, although the goose is small enough to turn pretty easily.

The bird browned beautifully and the skin was almost as crispy as I like. I wonder if steaming it a little longer would make it crispier? Or maybe leaving it in the fridge one extra day before roasting. Nonetheless, my husband pronounced it “un-effing-believable”.

The goose did not produce any juices, so the jus was a bust. Next time I would make extra honey and Tabasco and pour it in the pan when the bird is flipped. Not too much, just to beef up the jus. You don’t want to steam the goose now.

I refrigerated what little was left from the pan juices, which was about an ounce of actual gravy. So I mixed maple onion jam in with the red wine and corn starch (I had no potato starch) for a sweet, oniony complement to the gamey goose. Other suggestions would be sour cherry or cranberry sauce.

The cooking of goose is laborious and time consuming. The perfect thing for a family in quarantine during the holidays. I’m not sure I would attempt this again. I much prefer duck to goose.

As another reviewer said, you need a modicum of cooking skills to attempt this ambitious dish.

I made it using pomegranate molasses as the glaze and stuffed it with oranges, cumin and ginger. I found the instructions clear and helpful. Turned out fabulous. Basic cooking skills and vocabulary are needed, but otherwise simple and delish.

I'm stumped at the 112 lb goose.