Successfully cooked baked goose is the decoration of any holiday table. However, many housewives hesitate to contact this bird, having heard stories about hard goose meat. Indeed, the goose is different he chicken or turkey. He has heavier bones, thicker skin and much more fat. But at the same time, his meat can be as tender as chicken, if you follow simple but important rules when choosing a carcass and its preparation. It is better for a beginner to start with a baked goose in the sleeve, this recipe is simpler and faster.
Meat selection
The quality of the meat purchased directly determines the result. Of course, even experienced goose chefs can make edible and soft quite sophisticated manipulations even for an old goose. But why risk the reputation of a good housewife if attentiveness when choosing a goose carcass and knowledge of several tricks practically guarantee the preparation of a delicious baked goose in a sleeve?
The ideal goose for baking is a young bird, weighing 3-4 kg, which was not frozen. If the dish is being prepared for a large company, then you can take a carcass weighing six or more kilograms. However, one must take into account: the larger the goose, the longer it takes to bake, the higher the risk of hard meat, the heavier its bones. You also need to remember the oddities when the carcass did not fit corny in the oven.
The younger the bird, the more tender the meat of the baked goose in the sleeve in the oven will turn out. The young goose has a soft sternum and yellow paws, the old goose has a sternum firm, and the paws are coarse and red. The carcass does not always leave paws, especially in stores, in this case, the age of the bird is determined by the sternum. Fingers must be pressed on: if it is soft, like a chicken, then the goose is young.
Where to buy a goose: in hypermarkets or in the market? A matter of taste. In large stores, strict product quality control, a wide selection and good prices, but there the bird can be frozen many times. There is an opinion that the best tasted are home or farm geese grown on quality food without the use of antibiotics and growth hormones. But here you can run into an unscrupulous seller, so you need to be very careful when buying.
The store should first carefully study the packaging. It should be intact and with labels informing about the expiration date, manufacturer and others. The carcass itself should have a healthy, not bluish appearance, not have ice, when you press a finger on the meat, there should not be dents on it - this is a clear sign of frequent frosts.
In the market, it is better to become a regular customer of a reliable, honest seller. But if this is not the case, then you need to carefully examine the goose and even sniff it. The skin of a dead goose becomes sticky, so cunning sellers wash it and wipe it dry. This deception can be detected by touching the skin under the wings, where it is more difficult to wash off the sticky coating. Attributes of a quality bird: yellow paws; skin with a yellowish tint; soft tip on the sternum; normal smell without chemical and musty shades; elastic meat. Such a goose in the sleeve will surely turn out soft.
Marinade
One of the most important secrets of soft goose meat is proper and long pickling. Some housewives make a common mistake by rubbing the carcass with spices a couple of hours before sending it to the oven. But the goose is very different from chicken, which is easily and quickly pickled. There is a different approach: the longer the carcass is pickled, the tastier, softer and more aromatic the goose cooked in the sleeve will turn out.
Sophisticated culinary experts advise keeping the bird in the marinade in a cool place for at least twelve hours, and preferably a day or even longer. To make smells and tastes penetrate deeper, incisions are sometimes made on the meat. There are several ways to pickle:
- Dry method: the goose is carefully rubbed on the outside and inside with a mixture of oil (very good olive), salt (at the rate of one teaspoon per kilogram of poultry) and various spices to taste, wrapped in cling film and allowed to stand for at least ten to twelve hours. Oil in pickling a fat bird may seem like an excess, but it has a very important role - oil helps to penetrate aromas and tastes deeper into the meat.
- In the liquid. The goose is pre-soaked overnight in clean water, into which a teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar is added per liter of water. The acidic environment makes the meat softer. The carcass thus prepared is then pickled in a dry manner.
- In wine or juice. You can choose a combined option: grate the carcass inside and out with salt and your favorite spices, put in a bag, pour cranberry juice or white wine and leave for twelve hours, periodically turning the carcass over. Marinated with wine and baked goose in the sleeve, it is distinguished by its piquancy of taste and tenderness of meat.
Filling
There is a lot of fat in the goose, so the fillings are welcome in every possible way. They absorb poultry juice released during baking, make it less oily, share their aromas with goose meat, and the acidic ingredients of the filling soften the meat. The carcasses are voluminous enough to accommodate a sufficient number of side dishes for several people. There are many options for fillings: sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, prunes, apples, potatoes, mushrooms, buckwheat, oranges, rice, liver, dried fruits.
How to bake a goose in the oven in the sleeve: basic principles
- Goose baked whole or portioned. The general essence does not change. The whole carcass looks more beautiful and festive, in it the side dish is more fully saturated with the aromas of the bird. Portion pieces are prepared a little faster, they are easier to eat, the hot carcass will not need to be cut at the table.
- A well-pickled goose is filled with a filling of a maximum of two-thirds, because the products in the cooking process increase in volume, especially for cereals. In addition, a lot of fat gets into the carcass.
- The abdomen is stabbed with toothpicks or sewn with a thread. The paws are tied together so that they do not take up much space in the sleeve, in which several punctures for air are made, so the film does not tear.
- The cooking time is not exactly determined. There is an unwritten formula for calculating time: for every kilogram of poultry - one hour of baking. But the goose in the sleeve in the oven cooks faster, so for every kilogram of meat you can give 45 minutes, and add another 30 minutes on top to form a crust. The readiness of meat is determined by the color of the juice flowing during the puncture. Transparent juice - meat is completely ready, muddy or with blood - you need to bake further.
- It is better to put the goose in the sleeve on a dish or a baking sheet with its back down, so that juice flows less from it, and send it to the oven, originally heated to a temperature of 220-250 °. So the meat is cooked for an hour, then the heat is reduced to 180 °, and half an hour before the end of cooking, the temperature is added to 200 °, the sleeve is cut from above so that the carcass is browned and acquired an appetizing look.
Classic goose with apples (sleeve)
Grocery list:
- goose carcass;
- spices for pickling - according to individual taste;
- onions, carrots - one each;
- apples - 5 pieces (the amount depends on the size of the carcass);
- a small lemon;
- head of garlic, black pepper, salt, bay leaf.
Cooking process
Make cuts on the carcass, stuff them with finely chopped onions, carrots and garlic cloves. Grate the goose with oil, lemon juice, salt and spices, wrap in a film and pickle for twelve hours. Then the bird is filled with two-thirds of the whole small apples or apple peeled slices, bay leaves and peas of pepper. The abdomen is sutured. A young goose with apples in its sleeve is baked in the oven in about two to three hours.
Goose slices in the sleeve
Composition:
for marinade:
- olive oil - 60 grams;
- mayonnaise - about 4 tablespoons;
- two chicken eggs;
- spices for marinade;
- mustard - 1 tablespoon;
- prunes - 50 grams;
- pepper, salt to taste.
This recipe for a goose up its sleeve in the oven is extremely simple, and the result is excellent. A simple and very tasty dish. Mix the ingredients for the marinade, immerse goose slices in them and leave to soak overnight. Then the pieces are placed in a sleeve with or without a side dish and baked for about two and a half hours.
Buckwheat goose
Ingredients:
- medium goose carcass;
- spices and marinade oil;
- onion - 1 head;
- buckwheat - 2 glasses;
- apples - 2 pieces;
- lettuce;
- garlic - a few slices to taste;
- salt to taste.
Goose in a sleeve with buckwheat - a successful variation of a traditional Russian dish. The sleeve only simplifies the classic recipe. Rubbed with spices, oil and garlic, the bird is pickled for at least twelve hours. Then onion cubes are passerized in oil, half-finished buckwheat is added to it and fried for five minutes. It can be pre-boiled to the desired state, steamed with boiling water or simply pour ordinary water overnight. Buckwheat is mixed with apple slices and sent to the goose’s belly. The stuffed bird is put in a sleeve and baked for about three hours.