from Gourmet, December, 1979

12-pound goose, with giblets
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 onion
1 clove
1 carrot
3 sprigs of parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Softened butter or rendered goose fat
1/2 cup Madeira
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup Madeira
1 to 2 teaspoons arrowroot dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
Watercress and pickled crab apples, for garnish

Remove any loose fat from a 12-pound goose and, if desired, render it as you would duck fat. Put the neck and the giblets, except the liver, in a saucepan with 2 cups each of water and chicken stock or tinned chicken broth, 1 onion stuck with 1 clove, and 1 carrot, halved. Bring the liquid to a boil and skim the froth as it rises to the surface. Add a cheesecloth bag containing 3 sprigs of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1/2 bay leaf and cook the mixture over moderate heat for 1 hour. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl and let it cool. Chill the stock, remove the fat, and reserve the stock.

Sprinkle the cavity of the goose with salt and pepper and truss the goose. Spread the skin with softened butter or rendered goose fat and sprinkle it with salt. In a stainless steel or enameled saucepan combine 1/2 cup each of Madeira and water and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, bring the liquid to a simmer over low heat, and keep it warm. Arrange the goose breast side up on the rack of a roasting pan and roast it in a preheated hot oven (400 degrees F.) for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderately slow (325 degrees F.) and roast the goose, basting it with the Madeira mixture every 15 minutes, for 3 hours, or until a meat thermometer inserted in the fleshy part of the thigh registers 185 degrees F. Remove the fat from the pan several times during the roasting and reserve it for another use. Transfer the goose to a platter, remove the trussing, and keep the goose warm. Pour off any remaining fat from the pan, add 1/2 cup Madeira, and deglaze the pan over moderately high heat, scraping up the brown bits clinging to the bottom and sides. Add the reserved stock, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons arrowroot dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water, and simmer the gravy for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour the gravy into a heated sauceboat. Garnish the platter with watercress and pickled crab apples and serve the goose with the gravy.

Serves 6.

Comment: Serve for Christmas dinner with Golden Vegetable Puree and Braised Celery, from the same Gourmet article.