If youโre looking for a showstopping centrepiece, this Roast Goose with Stuffing recipe is perfect.
Traditionally enjoyed as a Christmas Goose, itโs also a popular dish for celebrating Michaelmasโan age-old harvest festival in Britain.
With its rich, flavourful meat and crisp skin, our traditional roast goose recipe makes a luxurious and delicious alternative to turkey for your holiday feast. Stuffed with our sage and onion stuffing, this recipe ensures every bite bursts with seasonal flavours.
Whether cooking goose for Christmas dinner, a family meal, or a Michaelmas celebration, this recipe will make your meal memorable.
This post will show you how to cook a whole goose with delicious sage and onion stuffing.
We include all the advice you need, from defrosting time, preparation tips, cooking times, serving suggestions, and how to store leftovers.
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- What size goose do you need?
- Goose Defrost Times
- How to Prepare Goose for Roasting
- How to cook Roast Goose
- ๐ Step by Step Recipe
- Cooking times for a Roast Goose with Stuffing
- Goose Fat
- Tips for Carving Goose
- Best sides for Roast Goose
- Storing Leftover Goose
- Reheating
- More Christmas Poultry Recipes
- ๐ฌ Reviews
Roast goose is a classic alternative to Christmas turkey for festive occasions or special Sunday lunches. Goose meat is darker with a stronger, richer flavour than other roast poultry.
Goose has more fat than other poultry, so it has to be roasted in a way that helps the fat drain. Do not allow the goose to sit in the fat, as it will fry and overcook.
Ingredients
Before we begin, letโs gather everything youโll need for the roast goose and stuffing:
- 4.2 kg Goose - we will give advice for other sizes too
- 300 g Sage and Onion Stuffing - use our recipe or a packet mix
- 1 Apple (for stuffing) - adds sweetness to stuffing.
- 1 Apple (for the goose cavity)
- 1 Onion
- 2 teaspoons Dried Sage - or a handful of fresh sage leaves.
- Salt and Pepper
This roasted whole goose recipe is based on our 4.2 kg goose, as seen in the pictures. However, weโll also cover the cooking times and defrosting guide for other weights.
What size goose do you need?
Here is what size goose you will need to serve your family.
- 3.5 kg Goose feeds approx four people
- 4.5 kg Goose feeds approx six people
- 5.5 kg Goose feeds approx eight people
Goose Defrost Times
If your goose is frozen, itโs essential to defrost it thoroughly before cooking. Hereโs a defrosting guide based on the weight of your goose:
- 3.5 kg Goose: 36 hours in the fridge
- 4.5 kg Goose: 48 hours in the fridge
- 5.5 kg Goose: 60 hours in the fridge
Plan ahead, as defrosting in the fridge can take quite some time. Once defrosted, take the goose out of the fridge about 2 hours before cooking to bring it to room temperature. This is important to ensure even cooking throughout.
How to Prepare Goose for Roasting
Here is a quick rundown of preparing the goose; see the recipe card for the full step-by-step instructions.
- Prepare Stuffing: Dice one apple and mix it into the sage and onion stuffing.
- Remove Giblets and Fat: Remove the giblets and trim large pieces of fat. Dry the goose with a kitchen towel for crispier skin.
- Season Inside: Sprinkle dried sage, salt, and pepper inside the goose.
- Fill Cavities: Place half the apple and onion in the main cavity, add the stuffing to the neck cavity, and secure with skewers.
- Prick the Skin: Poke the skin with a skewer to help drain the fat during cooking.
- Season the Skin: Rub salt and pepper over the goose.
The smaller neck cavity is where the stuffing goes.
We have used wooden skewers to keep the stuffing from falling out on the neck cavity.
The larger body cavity is where the halved onion and apple go.
How to cook Roast Goose
For a perfect roast goose measuring 4.5kg, follow the instructions on the recipe card below. If you have a different size, continue past the recipe card and see the adjusted cooking times.
๐ Step by Step Recipe
Roast Goose
Ingredients
- 4.2 kg Goose
- 300 g Sage and Onion Stuffing
- 1 Apple - for stuffing
- 1 Apple - for goose cavity
- 1 Onion
- 2 teaspoon Dried Sage
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- If using a frozen 4.2 kg Goose defrost in advance (see more advice in this blog post)2 hours before cooking, remove all packaging and place on a tray to dry out and come to room temperature.Preheat oven to 200โ / 180โ fan.
- Chop 1 Apple and 1 Onion in half these will be used for adding flavour inside the goose.
- Chop 1 Apple into small cubes, to add to the sage and onion stuffing.
- Prepare the 300 g Sage and Onion Stuffing, adding the diced apple.
- Remove giblets from inside the goose body cavity. Use kitchen towel to pat the goose dry inside and out.
- From this cavity, cut away large pieces of fat
- Season inside the body cavity with 2 teaspoon Dried Sage, Salt and Pepper
- Place the chopped apple and onion into the seasoned cavity
- Inside the neck cavity (the smaller cavity) fill with the prepared stuffing. You can fill this up quite alot as you can use the excess neck skin to secure it in place.
- We use two wooden skewers threaded through the skin and the carcass to keep the stuffing in place.
- Season the skin all over with Salt and Pepper
- Use a cocktail stick or skewer to prick the skin all over, try not to pierce through to the goose meat, just the skin.
Roast Goose Cooking Time
- We have prepared a 4.2 kg Goose with 300g of stuffing. This makes the total weight with stuffing 4.5kg. Please see blog post for advice on bigger/smaller goose cooking times.You should cook this stuffed 4.5kg Goose for 15 minutes per 450 grams, plus and extra 15 minutes. This is equal to 2 hours and 45 minutes total cooking timeBut take note of the instructions below, as the cooking temperature will change during cooking and drain the fat every 30 minutes.
- Begin cooking at 200โ /180โ fan/ 400โ/ gas mark 6 for 30 minutes - Breast side down
- Remove the goose from the oven, and tip the fat into a jug. Return back in the oven to continue cooking for the next 1 hour 45 minutes at a lower temperature of 160โ/ 140โ fan/ 325โ/ gas mark 3.
- Make sure to continue draining the fat every 30 minutes (this will be 3 more times).
- On the last fat draining, turn the goose breast side up and increase the temperature to 200โ /180โ fan/ 400โ/ gas mark 6 for the final 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and cover loosely with foil. Allow to rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer before carving for the most tender results.
- Sieve all the collected goose fat into another jug to remove cooking sediments. This is fantastic to use for cooking our Goose Fat Roast Potatoes.
- It will make more than you need, so store the excess goose fat in sterilised kilner jars. This homemade goose fat will keep in the fridge for 2-3 months.
- Before serving, carve the goose. Start by removing the legs and wings.
- Cut off both breasts from the goose carcass.
- Slice the breasts into smaller portions and remove the stuffing from inside the goose. Pick off any remaining meat from the carcass and wings and you're ready to serve.
- Serve with your favourite roast dinner sides.
Video
Nutrition
Cooking times for a Roast Goose with Stuffing
Once your goose is stuffed, it is crucial to add the weight of the stuffing to the bird's size for the cooking time. Our goose shown on this blog measured 4.2kg, but we added 300g of stuffing, making it 4.5kg.
I have also included times for other sizes, little and big Gooses, here.
Goose Size including Stuffing | Breast side down at 200โ 180โ fan 400โ gas mark 6 | Turn down oven to 160โ 140โ fan 325โ gas mark 3 | Breast side up at 200โ 180โ fan 400โ gas mark 6 | Total Goose cooking time |
3.5 kg | 30 minutes | 1 hour 10 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours 10 minutes |
4 kg | 30 minutes | 1 hour 25 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours 25 minutes |
4.5 kg | 30 minutes | 1 hour 45 minutes | 30 minutes | 2 hours 45 minutes |
5 kg | 30 minutes | 2 hours | 30 minutes | 3 hours |
5.5 kg | 30 minutes | 2 hours 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 3 hours 15 minutes |
Goose Cooking Process Explained
As you can see in the recipe card, most of the cooking time is at a low temperature with the goose breast side down.
The low, slow cooking temperature allows the goose fat to drain out and keeps the meat juicy.
In the final 30 minutes, you turn the goose breast-side up to get that perfectly browned and crisp skin on top.
Goose Fat
Itโs crucial to cook the goose on a rack to elevate it and allow the fat to drip away, preventing it from pooling around the bird.
Draining the goose fat
You need to drain the fat every 30 minutes for two reasons: to avoid the fat from burning, which can create smoke, and to prevent it from splattering and making a mess in your oven.
The easiest way is to lift the goose by the rack out of the pan onto another roasting tray, then carefully tip the hot fat into a jug. Place the goose back in the pan and repeat every 30 minutes.
Regular draining will ensure the bird roasts evenly and leave you with delicious rendered goose fat for use in other recipes!
What to do with goose fat
Once the whole goose has had its full cooking time, sieve all the collected fat through a sieve, then transfer the fat into sterilised pots.
Keep these in the fridge, where they will become solid and turn white. They store in the fridge for 2- 3 months. Or transfer to the freezer for longer storage.
Use to make our sensational goose fat roast potatoes, some super crispy Yorkshire puddings or our delicious honey roasted parsnips. Or simply use instead of oil to fry anything!
Tips for Carving Goose
The first important tip is to allow the goose to rest. Simply cover loosely with foil and allow all those delicious juices to settle. This will make it tender and moist and make it easier to carve.
Start by removing the legs and wings.
Then, carefully carve the breast meat.
Slice the breasts into smaller slices for serving. Remove the stuffing from the neck cavity and pick the rest of the meat off the goose carcass to serve alongside the meat.
Best sides for Roast Goose
This roast goose shines when served with all the traditional Christmas Dinner trimmings.
Crispy roast potatoes, sweet and sticky pigs in blankets, honey parsnips, and a side of red cabbage with apple. Add a dollop of homemade apple sauce and fluffy Yorkshire puddings to soak up every bit of gravy. And of course, letโs not forget the Brussels sprouts!
If you want to elevate the stuffed roast goose futher, try it with a rich red wine sauce or a tart cranberry sauce for an extra burst of festive flavour.
Storing Leftover Goose
Leftover roast goose can be a real treat, but itโs important to store it correctly to retain its flavour and texture.
It is best to carve it all and wrap in foil or in a airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for three days. Goose can be served as a cold meat or reheated.
For longer storage you can freeze cooked roast goose for 3 months in the freezer. Defrost in the fridge before eating or reheating.
Reheating
We find the best way to reheat cooked goose is in gravy, this prevents the meat drying out. Make up some fresh gravy pour over the carved goose slice inside a baking pan. Cover with foil and place in an oven for 15-20 minutes until warmed.
Microwave is a quicker way but can dry out the meat.
More Christmas Poultry Recipes
We also have other fantastic Christmas Poultry recipes you may want to try:
Roast goose with stuffing is a delicious and indulgent choice for any special occasion. With its crispy skin, rich meat, and the bonus of goose fat for roast potatoes, itโs a meal to remember. Whether itโs Christmas, a Sunday roast, Michaelmas or a family celebration, this recipe will impress your guests.
Let us know in the comments how your meal went.
Steve says
Reading this email and my mouth is watering, I'm gonna try this out for Sunday roast and if all goes well, will be cooking for Christmas day ๐ ๐
Luke and Kay says
Sounds like a plan, Steve! ๐ฆโจ Roast goose is such a showstopper, perfect for a Sunday roast and an absolute winner for Christmas day! ๐๐ Let us know how it goes, and feel free to share any picsโwould love to see the festive feast in action! ๐๐ฝ๏ธ