Duck, Duck, Goose!

Saturday evening I invited a colleague from Germany and another friend to join us in our Sukkah for a festive meal. Several weeks ago I saw a special at the supermarket on kosher goose legs imported from Hungary and decided to wait for a special occasion to cook them.

I had never cooked goose before, so I asked on Daniel Rogov’s site if any one had a recipe. Daniel provided a recipe for goose with orange sauce and another one for goose with raspberry sauce. I happened to see frozen black currants at the supermarket and decided to make Sauce Cassis. It was a perfect complement to the goose. If you don’t keep kosher, you will presumably add butter to the sauce to thicken it, but I used a little goose fat instead. I served it with crushed basil & garlic potatoes and green peas, and the dinner was delicious. My friend Carol, made a lovely apple and pear crumble for dessert. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of it.

Goose with Sauce Cassis
Ingredients
For the goose:
  • 4 goose legs
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Salt and pepper
For the sauce:
  • 1-1/4 cups chicken or beef stock
  • 1/2 cup Madeira or port wine
  • 1/4 cup Creme de Cassis
  • 1/4 cup black currants fresh or frozen
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Rind of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 piece of orange rind
  • 2 tablespoons goose fat
Instructions
For the goose:
  1. Rub legs well with garlic and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Brown the legs in a hot frying pan until brown on both sides. Roast on roasting pan with a rack in a 200C (190F) oven for 35 minutes per kilo (15 minutes per pound).
  2. When the legs are done, remove them from the oven to rest.
For the sauce:
  1. Combine stock and all of the other ingredients, except for the goose fat, in a saucepan and cook until it has reduced by half.
  2. When the goose is ready, remove the excess fat from the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons, and add the remaining liquid to the sauce. Add the 2 tablespoons of goose fat and cook for another couple of minutes.
  3. Reheat the goose legs and serve with a generous amount of sauce on top of the goose.