Wondering what to do with goose? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 22 recipes to put it to work.

What is goose?

Goose is a large, dark-meated bird that turns up mostly as a holiday roast, the centerpiece of a Christmas dinner long before turkey claimed the spot. The meat is richer and beefier than turkey or chicken, closer in flavor to duck.

The fat is the difference. A thick layer sits under the skin, and that fat is the whole story of cooking a goose.

A single bird can render off a cup or two of liquid fat during roasting. Manage it well and you get crisp skin plus the best roasting fat in any kitchen.

Most geese run 8 to 12 pounds (3.6 to 5.4 kg) and feed six to eight, since a goose is mostly frame and fat with less breast meat than its size suggests.

How to Cook a Goose

The technique that matters most is rendering the fat. Prick the skin all over with a skewer, angled shallow so you pierce the fat layer but not the meat underneath.

That gives the fat an escape route. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the skin first if you want it extra taut, then dry it well.

Roast at a moderate 325 to 350°F (160 to 175°C) on a rack set over a deep pan. Pour off the rendered fat every 30 to 40 minutes so the bird isn't sitting in a fryer. A 10-pound (4.5 kg) goose takes roughly 2½ to 3 hours.

Doneness is the part cooks get wrong. Goose is dark meat throughout, so it stays moist and tastes best cooked through to about 165 to 170°F (74 to 77°C) in the thigh, hotter than you'd take a turkey breast. Quebec-Style Roast Goose leans on this slow, fat-draining approach.

Wild goose is a different animal: far leaner and prone to drying out. That's why recipes like Savory Wild Goose Stew braise it low and slow instead of roasting it dry.

Flavors That Cut the Richness

Goose is fatty enough that it needs an acidic or fruity partner to balance every bite. Apples, prunes, oranges, and tart cherries are the classics.

They show up again and again. Goose with Apples and Wild Goose a L'Orange both pair the rich meat with bright fruit, and the Danish roast adds prunes to the same idea.

Stuffings lean savory and absorbent to soak up the drippings, which is why wild rice is such a natural match in Roast Goose with Wild Rice Stuffing. Caraway, sage, and onion are the traditional German aromatics behind a Christmas Weihnachtsgans.

A honey or molasses glaze gives the skin a lacquered finish, as in Chinese Honey Goose.

The most common mistake is stuffing the cavity tight and roasting at high heat. Packed stuffing slows the heat reaching the center, and high heat scorches the skin before the fat renders.

Keep the heat moderate and the stuffing loose. And never throw away the fat. Strain and refrigerate it; goose fat keeps for months and makes the crispest roast potatoes you'll ever eat.

Substitutes

Duck is the closest stand-in, since it shares the dark meat and heavy fat layer and rewards the same prick-and-render treatment. Two ducks roughly replace one small goose and cook faster.

Turkey is the easy holiday swap if you want a milder, leaner bird, but expect a different result: white meat that dries out without basting, and none of the rendered fat. Treat it as its own dish.

For braises and stews where goose adds depth, dark-meat chicken thighs or duck legs carry similar flavor at a fraction of the cost. Neither matches the bird's character in a centerpiece roast.

Buying and Storing Goose

Most geese sell frozen, since fresh ones are seasonal and tied to the late-fall and Christmas market. Look for creamy, unblemished skin and a plump breast.

Smaller geese around 8 to 10 pounds (3.6 to 4.5 kg) have a better meat-to-fat ratio than the largest birds.

A frozen goose needs a long, slow thaw in the refrigerator, about 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds, so a 10-pound bird wants two full days. Never thaw it on the counter.

Keep a thawed raw goose in the coldest part of the fridge and roast it within a day or two. Cooked goose holds three to four days refrigerated and freezes well for a couple of months, though the skin loses its crisp.

Save every drop of rendered fat. Strained into a clean jar and refrigerated, goose fat keeps for several months and freezes almost indefinitely, ready for roast potatoes or frying eggs.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find goose: Goose is usually found in the poultry section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Goose is a member of the Poultry Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

鹅

British (UK) term

Goose

en français

oie

en español

ganso

How much does goose weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 unit (yield from 1 lb ready-to-cook goose)	185 grams
½ goose	766 grams

Related

Poultry Products

Recipes using goose

There are 22 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 22 recipes