Christmas goose and turkey recipes

Many Brits are gearing up for a Victorian-style Christmas dinner, with a 42 per cent rise in sales of goose reported by one major supermarket.

This old-fashioned choice is now fighting turkey for the title of Britain's best-selling bird. So whether you're staying true to your trusty turkey or you're in favour of something more adventurous, Taste has selected some fail-safe recipes to help even the most modest home cook have a Christmas table hit.

Christmas Goose with Root Veg, Sticky Pears and Bramble Gravy
Recipe courtesy of the BBC Good Food Magazine

4 to 5kg oven-ready goose, trussed for roasting
2 oranges
4 bay leaves
Bunch thyme
3 tbsp sunflower oil
8 medium carrots, peeled
8 medium parsnips, peeled
4 turnips, peeled and halved or quartered
For the bramble gravy:
1 tbsp golden caster sugar
100ml good-quality red wine vinegar
Half a jar bramble jelly (Tiptree does a good one; or use blackberry jam)
100ml strong chicken stock
For the pears:
6 pears
2 tbsp icing sugar
Large bag watercress, to serve

Remove all fat from inside the bird and use a skewer to prick the skin all over, especially under the wings. If you have time to spare, sit the goose in a sink, then slowly and carefully pour over 3 kettles of boiling water. Dry with kitchen paper, then leave for 1 hour or so to dry completely. This will help the skin to crisp.

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Season the goose cavity with salt and pepper and stuff with oranges, bay leaves and thyme. Rub the breast and legs with 2 tbsp oil and season generously with salt. Lay the carrots in the middle of a very large roasting tin. Sit the bird, right way up, on top of the carrots. In a bowl, toss the parsnips and turnips with the rest of the oil and bay leaves, then scatter around the goose. Cover tin with foil, scrunching it up at the sides so it’s a tight fit.

Roast goose in oven for 1½ hours.

Take the goose out of the oven. Remove foil and use a baster to suck out most of the fat from the tin into a bowl. Lightly baste the goose and turn the parsnips. Re-cover with foil and roast for another 1½ hours. Suck the fat from the pan again and baste, then increase heat to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Return to oven, without any foil, to brown for a final 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove goose from oven and transfer to a large board or platter to rest in a warmish place for 30 minutes. Scoop vegetables out into another roasting tin and keep warm in a low oven. Keep goose tin to finish making the gravy in.

To make gravy, remove the oranges from the goose using tongs. Pour off all the fat from the roasting tin into a bowl (it’s great used for roasting potatoes). Scatter the sugar into the tin and stir to scrape off any tasty brown bits. Splash in the vinegar, simmer until practically dry, then stir in the jelly to dissolve, bubble and cook down. Finally, add the stock and squeeze in the juice from the oranges. Bring to the boil, then strain into a jug or small saucepan to reheat later.

Peel and halve the pears. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the cores, then cut the pears into quarters.

In a bowl, toss the pears in the icing sugar until completely coated. Heat a large frying pan over a high flame and add the pears to the pan.

Cook for 1 minute or so, tossing constantly, until the pears are really well caramelised and slightly burnt around the edges.

Serve the goose on a platter surrounded by watercress and pear wedges. Serve with the slow-roasted vegetables and gravy.

Cider Roast Turkey
Recipe courtesy of the BBC Good Food Magazine

4.5 to 6kg turkey, giblets removed and kept
450g stuffing
2 leeks, trimmed and halved
2 carrots, halved
50g butter, softened
300ml dry cider
For the gravy:
300ml dry cider
600ml chicken stock
2tbsp quince or redcurrant jelly

Heat oven to 190C. Wash and dry turkey, removing any feathers. Pull out giblets and neck, set aside. Lift up the skin that covers the neck opening, then push the stuffing up and under the skin, securing it tightly underneath with a skewer or two cocktail sticks. Weigh the stuffed turkey, then calculate cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg (20 mins per lb).

Put leeks and carrots in a roasting tin in a single layer – this makes a trivet for the turkey to sit on and adds flavour to the gravy. Add neck to the tin. Sit turkey on top and coat the breast with butter. Pour in cider, cover with foil, then roast according to your timings. Keep checking the tin – if vegetables seem to be burning, add a splash of water or cider. At 30 mins before end of cooking, remove foil and season generously.

To test that the turkey is ready, pierce the thickest part of the thigh; the juices should run clear. Take turkey out and leave to rest, covered with a clean tea towel, for up to 1 hour.

To make gravy, drain fat and juices from tin into a jug, discarding the veg and neck. Place tin over a flame, then pour in cider, scraping up the flavour-filled crusty bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce the cider by half, then strain into a saucepan (this will save you hob space later).