Christmas goose with tartar stuffing

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 goose, approx. 5 kg
• 1 kg minced meat (tartar)
• 250 g smoked belly
• 2 apples
• 1 small can of chestnuts
• 200 g walnuts
• 200 g raisins
• ½ stalk rosemary
• 2 stalks of tarragon
• 2 stalks of mugwort
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• Goose offal (heart, liver, stomach)
• 200 g cream
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper, crushed

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 9 hours; Total time approx. 10 hours 30 minutes

Low temperature

Gut and thoroughly clean the goose. Carefully sew up the neck opening with strong twine. Prepare the stuffing: Skin the goose’s stomach and cut into small cubes of approximately 1/2 cm. Dice the heart, liver, and bacon. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Halve the quarters lengthwise and chop into small pieces. Roughly chop the chestnuts and walnuts. Pluck the rosemary, tarragon, and mugwort leaves from the stems and finely chop them. Mix these ingredients well in a bowl with the tartar, raisins, eggs, and salt. Fill the goose with the stuffing. Ensure the stuffing is very tight and completely fills the goose. Carefully sew up the belly opening with strong twine. Prepare the goose: Lightly grease a sufficiently large roasting pan with neutral-tasting oil. Place the goose in the roasting pan and cover with the lid. Place the roasting pan in an oven preheated to approximately 75-80°C. Allow the goose to cook for eight hours. Then skim off any remaining goose fat from the roasting pan, leaving only a small amount. Generously brush the goose with the remaining fat. Return the goose to the oven preheated to 180°C for another hour, uncovered. Brush the goose with more fat every 10-15 minutes and sprinkle with ice water to create a nice crust. Once the roasting time has passed, remove the goose from the roasting pan and open it along the belly and breast. Scoop out the stuffing with a spoon and keep warm. Detach the wings and open the thighs lengthwise along the inside. The thigh bones will slide easily out of the tender meat. The ribs and backbone can also be easily removed from the goose. Divide the remaining meat into portions. Prepare the sauce: Strain the meat juices and remaining fat from the roasting pan through a sieve into a saucepan. Keep the liquid simmering gently over medium heat. Whisk the cream until foamy and gently fold it into the broth with a whisk. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the meat with the stuffing and sauce. Green dumplings are a wonderful accompaniment.