Eat like a German - German Recipe:
Weihnachtsgans

Weihnachtsgans
[ source: Flickr]

Serves: 4 persons

Prep time: n/a
Cook time: n/a
Total time: n/a

Germans don’t cook very many turkeys, for festive occasions it’s goose or duck. We don’t see the Christmas goose very often anymore, which is a shame because it is so simple to make. Like other fowl, onions, thyme and fruit are great seasoning choices.

Legend says that in 1588 the English Queen Elizabeth I at Christmas time just ate a goose when the news arrived that the Spanish Armada had been defeated. In celebration of this victory and a sign of good omen, they said they should dine on goose over the more traditional Christmas roast. The practice then spread to the rest of the European continent. Nowadays, the traditional Christmas roast in Britain is no longer the goose, but the turkey.

[ source: wikipedia ]

Ingredients:

• 4 1/2 lb. goose, cleaned and dressed (no gizzards)
• 1-2 apples, peeled, cored and quartered
• 1 small onion, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch wide strips
• 1-2 tsp. thyme
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 T. all-purpose flour
• 1 14 oz. can chicken broth or homemade stock

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Wash and dry the goose, like you would a chicken or turkey. Salt and pepper and sprinkle thyme inside the cavity, and fill with apple quarters and onions. If they don’t all fit, you can cook them alongside the goose in a small, buttered dish.

Mix 1 tablespoon salt with 1 cup of water and pour that into the bottom of the roasting pan. Place the roasting rack on top. Pierce the goose skin in several places to let the fat drip out as it cooks. Put the goose, breast-side down, on the roasting rack and place in oven for 50 minutes. Use the salt water mixture to baste the goose several times during this period. Add more water to drip pan if necessary. Turn the goose over onto its back and cook, basting as needed, for 50 minutes.

Let the goose rest for 5 minutes as you make the gravy.

To make the gravy: Mix 2 tablespoons of the fat drippings with 2 tablespoons flour in a saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring well after each addition. Salt, pepper and add thyme to taste. Keep warm.

Serve with canned peach halves decorated with current jelly, buttered Brussel sprouts, potato croquettes (or mashed potatoes) and the cooked apples and onions.

Tip: If you can’t find current jelly, cranberry sauce is a fine substitute. Serve it with dumplings and red cabagge...delicious!!!!

Uschi Engel

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