Goose with prunes and apples: cooking secrets
A rich festive table in Russia has always been a sign of prosperity and well-being. Goose with prunes and apples is served at Christmas, family celebrations and for no reason just to please loved ones. But often even experienced housewives are afraid to get involved with cooking. And all because the bird keeps its secrets, in inept hands it becomes tough, unappetizing and smells bad.
Queen Elizabeth I made the goose a Christmas dish. When the message about the victory of the British fleet over the Spanish came during the meal, she thought that it was the bird on the table that brought good luck.
Carcass selection and preparation
You can determine the age of a bird by the following criteria:
- the young goose is distinguished by yellow legs with soft membranes; in the old one they are red and hard;
- the sternum of a bird bends well up to 6 months, later ossifies.
It is better to take a chilled carcass - it is impossible to determine the freshness of a frozen carcass by smell, as well as to check the firmness of the breastbone. The skin should be creamy, sometimes with a yellowish tinge. After crushing the breast or leg, there are no dents on the fresh meat.
The goose is inspected for the remains of feathers and entrails, if necessary, burned over an open fire (the upper cap can be removed from the gas burner), washed. The outer wing phalanges are cut off, soaked in salted water for at least 6 hours.
Pickling methods
Goose meat is dietary, but often becomes tough during baking. To prevent this, the carcass must be marinated for a period of 6 hours to 2 days.
There are many ways:
- just rub the goose with salt and spices;
- you can add crushed cranberries, lingonberries, chokeberry to the mixture;
- instead of berries, orange or lemon fresh is sometimes used, while the pickling time is reduced to 4-6 hours;
- a mixture of mustard and honey works well, but then the crust will turn out to be very dark;
- economy option - the bird is coated with mayonnaise or soaked in a solution of apple cider vinegar (1 tsp for 1 liter of water);
- an exquisite marinade can be made from lemon and dry white wine.
When preparing marinades for roasting goose with prunes and apples, it is recommended to use garlic - its smell goes well with the aroma of dried plums.
Goose with prunes and apples, baked until crispy
The carcass is taken out of the refrigerator and dried with a kitchen towel.
Goose is cooked with prunes and apples in the following sequence:
- Apples freed from the core, cut into 4-8 pieces depending on the size. The prunes are poured with hot water, left to swell for 15 minutes, the bones are removed (if any). Cut in half or grind in any way.
- Rub the carcass with salt, garlic and other spices to taste.
- Fill the goose 2/3 with a mixture of apples and prunes... If you hammer the carcass tightly, the meat will remain damp inside.
- The neck is tucked in, the abdomen is sewn up with thick threads or stabbed with toothpicks. The wings and legs are tied to the carcass, otherwise they will burn during baking. The breast and thighs are pricked to drain excess fat.
- The goose is placed on a baking sheet and placed in an oven preheated to 200 ° C. Every 20 minutes, the carcass is poured with white wine, or fat flowing onto a sheet.
- When the crust is brown enough, cover the baking sheet with cling foil or soaked parchment paper. Bring the goose to readiness.
You can roughly calculate the baking time of a bird by multiplying its weight in kg by 60 minutes. The goose is ready when absolutely clear juice is released from a deep puncture on the breast. The dish is taken out of the oven, left covered for 30-60 minutes, cut, served to the table.
Goose baked with apples and prunes is a festive dish. To make it tasty and not ruin the celebration, you need to choose a fresh carcass and adhere to simple rules. Enjoy your meal!