Roast goose à la Miss Jensen

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 goose
• 2 apples
• 2 bulb(s)
• 100 g prunes
• 200 g dried fruits, mixed
• salt and pepper
• 100 ml Calvados
• 100 ml apple juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 hours; Total time approx. 9 hours

Let the dried plums and mixed dried fruit soak in a mixture of Calvados and apple juice for one to two hours. If not all of the liquid is absorbed, drain the rest and set aside. Peel, quarter, and core the apples and pears. Rub the inside of the goose with salt and pepper. Mix the fruit with the goose giblets, stuff the goose with it, and sew it up. Place the goose breast-down on the rack in the cold oven, with a deep pan underneath. The goose, rack, and pan should be in the lower part of the oven. Set the oven to 160 degrees Celsius (top/bottom heat). After 45 minutes, pour the fat from the deep pan into a container, add a cup of hot water to the pan, and return the pan to the oven. After another hour, empty the pan again and add another cup of hot water. Empty the pan and top up with water three times. Always immediately pour the juices from the roasting pan into a container and place the containers in the coldest place possible (freezer, etc.). After three hours of roasting, place the goose on its back and roast for another one and a half hours. Shortly before the end of the roasting time, brush the goose with ice-cold water; this will make the skin extra shiny and crispy. However, this process is not always necessary. If the goose is not visibly brown all over after almost five hours, set the oven to 250 degrees Celsius and brown the goose with the door slightly open. Brush the goose with a little ice-cold water beforehand. This is really only necessary in an emergency. Shortly before the end of the roasting time, remove the containers of roasting juices from the cold, remove the fat, and pour the pure roasting juices into a saucepan. You will usually see that the first container contains only fat, the second is still half full of fat, and the third only has a thin layer of fat. The roasting juices in the fourth – and final – pan contain almost no fat. Add the meat juices from the last roast to the casserole dish. If there are any remaining fat spots on the sauce, remove them with a spoon. Remove the goose from the heat, discard the strings, place the stuffing in a sieve, and let it drain without pressing the fruit. Add this liquid to the casserole dish. Keep the goose warm for a short time. In the meantime, lightly thicken the meat juices—either with flour or cornstarch—and season to taste. The sauce should definitely not be too thick. Seasoning is usually not necessary. My experience with the amount of fat and sauce is based on a 5-kilo organic goose. The roasting method for the “cold roast goose” comes from the legendary Danish chef Miss Jensen, and the recipe itself is mine.