Goose for Christmas

this a store-bought goose or a wild goose?
store-bought will have a bunch of fat (more fat that you might think is possible within the laws of physics). a wild goose is much leaner

if store-bought, your goal is to render as much fat as you can so that the skin will crisp up, without drying out the meat

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Goose is a red-meat bird similar to duck. Perforate the skin of the bird before roasting by making several 1-inch cuts all over the skin and fat of the goose. This will ensure the goose’s skin crisps and that you don’t end up with oily meat. I prefer a hybrid steam-roast method for goose: Start in a hot oven, say 475 degrees, with about a cup of water in the roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes. Pour off any remaining water (most of it should have cooked off) and continue to roast to desired temperature.

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i like to roast turnips, beets and carrots in a pan with the goose (root veggies + goose = magic)

Brine it. Dry it. Score it. Roast it.

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Brine it. Dry it. Score it. Roast it.

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Leaning towards something like this. Serious Eats recommends piercing the skin, parboiling, drying, dry brining, fridge overnight, then roasting next day.

If its your first one, and I've never done domestic goose just domestic duck and wild goose and duck, then I would recommend planning on not trying to have great skin. Cooking the bird and cooking the skin are two different things. With a duck there's not a lot of meat so the skin is huge. With a 10lb goose I'd plan on getting the goose cooked properly and the skin as an after thought. Worry about the skin on goose 2 or 3 once you have a couple under your belt.

Nailed it...

I bought one for the hell of it a few years ago. Roasted it on the rotisserie over indirect charcoal. It was alright. Interesting to do something different. It’s all dark meat but can dry out if cooked too long. I prefer duck.

When you look at recipes, it is critical to know if they speak of farmed or wild goose. As with ducks, it makes a helluva difference. Wild is lean like deer, and farm is fatty AF. Very different animals.

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FYI I would waste neither the time or effort brining a goose.

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It's just a dry brine....rubbing salt on the goose and setting it in the fridge overnight.

In any case, thanks for all the tips folks.

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That makes zero sense

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Duck and goose skin don't usually cook like a chicken skin, you can roast a chicken and get great skin and meat at the same time. Duck and goose is usually not that easy.

I'm saying that its fairly common to get great skin and overcooked or raw meat or get good meat and not properly cooked skin.