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Roasted Goose with Chestnut Stuffing

The first time I made this recipe was for a big dinner party. Goose is somewhat like turkey and it is a nice way to feed alot of people. Because goose is so rarely served these days it seems exotic but is really no harder to cook than a Thanksgiving turkey.

Ingredients

Conversions to European measurements can be found here!

1 big fat goose (around 6 pounds)
4 green apples cubed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chicken stock
3-4 pounds chestnuts fresh, whole
1/2 pound pancetta diced
1 pound ground veal
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/4 cup armagnac

Procedure

Start off by roasting the chestnuts. Roasting chestnuts can either be kinda fun and adventerous or it can be a horrifying nightmare. The difference, in my mind, is wether or not the chestnuts have been properly scored. If the chestnuts don't have a nice big slit to allow steam to escape they will explode. Really. Seriously. Explode.

Start off by scoring each and every chestnut with an X shaped slit formed by pushing the tip of your sharpest utlity knife into the widest, flatest part of the chestnut. Do not hold the chestnut in your hand while you are doing this. They are notoriously slippery and you run the risk up pushing your sharpest utility knife through your hand instead of the chestnut. You may then impress your friends and family with a great stigmata impression but sadly stigmata, although fascinating, is not super appetizing.

Once you have scored all the chestnuts you can either put them in a big roasting pan in a 500 degree oven. Or you put them in a big Wok on your stovetop on very high heat. It only takes about 15 minutes to roast a chestnut. You can check them periodically to get them when they are done. In the wok make sure you keep the chestnuts moving by constantly stirring and shaking the pan. You can tell they are done when you see the meat of the nut start to protrude through the slights you have made in the shell.

Once they are done roasting, let them cool and peal the shells. Retain the meat in a big bowl and discard the shells.

Mash the chestnut meats with a potato masher.

Stuffing

Brown the ground veal and pour off the excess grease. Add the diced pancetta and 2 teaspoons nutmeg. Add the meat to the mashed chestnuts along with the armagnac.

Stuff the goose with the checstnut mixture. Tie it off and place the bird in a roasting pan atop a roasting rack if you have one. Toss the apples around the goose and pour in the chicken stock.

Place the bird in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes. At 15 minutes reduce the oven heat to 325. Continue roasting the goose at this temperature for at least one hour more untill the internal temp reaches 165 degrees.

Once done remove the goose but retain the apples and pan juices. Remove the apples and place them in a bowl. From the roasting pan pour off as much fat as possible (scooping with a spoon will work well). Pour the de-greasesd juices into the bowl with the apples. Add the ground ginger and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Mash the apple mixture into the consistency of apple sauce. Server alongside the goose meat.