Roast Goose with Chestnut and Fruit Stuffing

1 goose, 9 to 12 pounds	2 Tbs grated lemon rind
24 to 30 prunes which have been brought to the boil and marinated in sherry or port to cover	2 to 3 cups whole shelled and skinned chestnuts (canned chestnuts in brine are excellent for this)
6 cooking apples, peeled, cut sixths, rolled in sugar and lemon juice	2 Tbs grated orange rind
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Prepare the goose for roasting. Roll the marinated prunes in the grated lemon rind, the apples in sugar and lemon juice, and the chestnuts in the grated orange rind. Stuff the bird with alternate layers of these three ingredients. Close the cavity with several thicknesses of foil or sew it up. Rub the goose with salt and pepper and prick the skin. Place on a rack in a roasting pan, cover with foil, and roast at 375°F about 2 ½ hours. Remove the foil, prick the skin of the goose very well, and return to the oven for 15 to 25 minutes or until the skin is crisped. Remove to a hot platter and serve surrounded by baked or candied sweet potatoes. This is good with an endive salad made with sliced oranges and onions and tossed with a vinaigrette sauce.

James Beard: “Strangely enough, although goose has been traditional in many of the countries from which people came to the United States, the number of recipes for this bird are very few. Even more astonishing – goose is a very difficult bird to find except occasionally at holiday time. At one point, small geese called junior geese were raised in the West. They had less fat on them, and more compact body frame, but even these are now practically unknown. A Mennonite group in Ontario, Canada has developed a remarkably good strain – not as fat as a French goose but tender and deliciously meaty. The average goose one finds in a market is frozen.”

James Beard’s American Cookery

[Wolfe] “In any art..one of the deepest secrets of excellence is a discerning elimination.” ~ League of Frightened Men

[Wolfe] “It is disastrous to permit the vagaries of the heart to infect the mind.” ~ League of Frightened Men

Goose with Apple Stuffing – Czechoslovakia

10 to 12 lb goose	2 Tbs butter
3 tsp salt	1 cup bread crumbs
1 mp pepper	1 small onion, minced
2 tsp caraway seeds	1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups sliced apples

Wash the goose and carefully remove any remaining feathers. Dry thoroughly. Combine the salt, pepper, and caraway seeds and rub into the skin and inside of the goose. This is best done at least 8 hours before using to allow the seasoning to be absorbed.

Place the apples in a saucepan with the water. Cook over low heat until very soft, about 20 minutes. Mash the apples with a fork and add the bread crumbs, minced onion, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Stuff the goose with the apple mixture and fasten the opening with skewers or with thread. Roast in a shallow pan in a 350° oven for 3 hours. Pour off the fat as it accumulates. At the end of 2 hours, carefully pour 1 cup of ice water over the skin . Baste a few times during the final hour of roasting. The skin should be crisp and brown when the goose is completed.

Round-the-World Cookbook

[Archie about Wolfe] “l have seen him, during a relapse, dispose completely of a ten pound goose between 8 o’clock and midnight.” ~ League of Frightened Men

[Archie] “I’m funny about women. I’ve seen dozens of them I wouldn’t mind marrying, but I’ve never been pulled so hard I lost my balance.” ~ League of Frightened Men

[Archie about Wolfe] “He did not lift his eyes from the page, his head did not move, there was no stirring of his entire frame in the specially constructed enormous chair behind his desk; but l saw his right forefinger wriggle faintly – his magic wand, as he once called it- and I knew I had him.” ~ League of Frightened Men