How to roast a goose for Christmas: tips and video

Steps on how to roast a goose for Christmas:

• A 4.5kg goose will feed about 6-8 people. Keep it uncovered at room temperature for two hours before cooking.
• Season the cavity of the goose and push in some fresh herbs. Tie the bird into a neat shape with cooks’ string and then sprinkle it with salt before putting it on a wire rack inside a large roasting tin.
• Roast the goose in an oven heated to 220 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
• A roast goose creates a large quantity of fat. Remove your goose from the oven after about 30 minutes and pour off any fat into a bowl. Return the bird to the oven for a further one hour and 20 minutes, reducing the heat to 180 degrees.
• Continue to pour off the fat every 20-30 minutes.
• A goose is cooked when a digital thermometer pushed into the thickest part of the thigh reads 65-70 degrees Celsius.
• Pour off any remaining fat then leave the goose to rest on a lipped board for 20-30 minutes, covered with a loose tent of foil whilst you make your gravy.
• Roast goose will give you lovely home-produced fat which will keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to two months. Discover ways to use up leftover goose fat here.

Or, check out our roast Christmas goose recipe here.