Mortensgaas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large deep roasting tin with a rack
• •Kitchen string or wooden skewers for trussing
• •Metal skewer or sharp-tined fork for pricking the skin
• •Heatproof jug for collecting rendered fat
• •Fine-mesh sieve for straining the gravy
• •Sharp carving knife and carving fork

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the goose

   Take the goose out of the fridge a full hour before you plan to cook it. A cold bird roasts unevenly, the outside overcooking before the heat reaches the centre. Pull out any loose fat from inside the cavity and save it. Trim any excess skin at the neck. Pat the entire bird dry with kitchen paper, inside and out. Moisture on the skin is the enemy of crispness.

   If the goose came with giblets, set them aside. You'll use the neck, heart, and gizzard to make a quick stock for the gravy. Simmer them in water with an onion and a bay leaf while the goose roasts.
2. 2

   Prick the skin

   This is the step that makes everything else work. Take a skewer or a sharp-tined fork and prick the goose skin all over, concentrating on the breast, thighs, and the fatty areas around the legs. You want to puncture the skin and the fat layer beneath it, but not the flesh itself. The holes create channels for the fat to escape during roasting. Without them, the fat stays trapped under the skin, which goes soft and flabby instead of crisp. Angle the skewer at a slant rather than straight down. This helps you pierce the fat without reaching the meat.

   Press gently. You'll feel the resistance change when you move from the fat layer into the flesh. Stop before you reach it. If a little clear liquid seeps from a prick, you've gone too deep, but it's not a disaster. Just aim shallower on the next one.
3. 3

   Season the bird

   Rub the coarse salt and black pepper generously over the entire surface of the goose, working it into every fold and crevice, especially where the legs meet the body and around the wings. Season the cavity as well. Coarse salt matters here. Fine salt dissolves too quickly and doesn't grip the skin the way coarse crystals do. The salt needs to sit in those tiny prick holes and draw moisture out of the skin during roasting. That's how you get the crackling.

4. 4

   Stuff with apples and prunes

   Mix the quartered apples and prunes together and pack them loosely into the cavity of the goose. Don't force them in. They'll swell as they cook, absorbing the juices that run inside the bird, and if you pack too tightly they'll turn to mush instead of holding their shape. You want them to steam gently and become a sweet, savoury compote by the time the goose is done. Close the cavity with two or three wooden skewers or tie the legs together with kitchen string to keep everything inside.

   Use tart, firm apples. A soft eating apple collapses completely. You want apples that hold a little structure, with enough acidity to cut through the richness of the goose fat.
5. 5

   Begin the slow roast

   Heat the oven to 160°C. Place the goose breast-side up on a rack set inside a deep roasting tin. The rack is important: it lifts the bird out of its own fat so the bottom skin crisps instead of braising. Pour a cup of water into the bottom of the tin. This catches the dripping fat and prevents it from smoking. Slide the goose into the oven and let it roast. The low temperature is deliberate. Goose fat renders best slowly. High heat seizes the surface before the fat underneath has a chance to escape, and you end up with greasy skin and dry meat. Patience is the technique here.

6. 6

   Pour off the fat

   Every forty-five minutes, open the oven and carefully pour or ladle the rendered fat out of the roasting tin into a heatproof jug or bowl. The fat accumulates quickly, sometimes half a litre or more from a large goose. If you leave it in the tin, the bottom of the bird sits in liquid fat and the skin there goes soft. Removing it also prevents the oven from smoking. This is the rhythm of roasting a goose: forty-five minutes, pour off the fat, close the oven, repeat. After about two and a half to three hours at 160°C, the goose should be nearly done.

   Save every drop of that fat. Strain it through a fine sieve into a clean jar, let it cool, and keep it in the fridge. Goose fat is liquid gold for roasting potatoes, frying eggs, or making the brunede kartofler that belong alongside this bird. It keeps for months.
7. 7

   Crisp the skin

   When the goose has roasted for about three hours and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of the thigh, raise the oven temperature to 220°C. Pour off the fat one final time. Roast for another fifteen to twenty minutes, watching carefully. The skin should tighten, darken to a deep amber gold, and develop a dry, papery crispness. You'll hear it crackle faintly when you tap it with a spoon. That sound is how you know it's done. If any areas are colouring too fast, shield them loosely with a piece of foil.

8. 8

   Rest the goose

   Lift the goose onto a carving board and tent it loosely with foil. Let it rest for at least twenty minutes, and thirty is better. Resting is not optional. The fibres of the meat, which have been tightened by heat, need time to relax and reabsorb their juices. If you carve immediately, those juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat. While the goose rests, make the gravy.

9. 9

   Make the brun sovs

   Pour off all but about two tablespoons of the drippings from the roasting tin. Set the tin over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the flour and stir it into the drippings, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the tin. These caramelised residues are concentrated flavour and they're the foundation of the gravy. Cook the flour paste for two minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns a deep golden brown. Don't rush this. If the flour stays pale, the gravy tastes floury. Gradually pour in the stock, whisking as you go, until the gravy is smooth and the consistency of double cream. Let it simmer gently for five minutes. Stir in the ribsgele. It adds a gentle tartness that balances the richness of the goose without sweetening the gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve into a warm jug.

   Use real ribsgele, not strawberry jam or sweetened substitutes. Redcurrant jelly has a sharp, clean acidity that works with dark meat and rich fat. If you can't find ribsgele, a teaspoon of good red wine vinegar in the finished gravy does something similar.
10. 10

    Carve and serve

    Scoop the apple and prune stuffing out of the cavity into a warm serving bowl. Carve the goose at the table or on the board: remove the legs first, then slice the breast in long, even pieces, cutting parallel to the breastbone. Arrange on a warm platter. Serve with the stuffing, brun sovs, brunede kartofler, and rødkål. Pour the gravy generously. Light the candles. This is mortensaften, and the table is where it happens. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Order your goose from the butcher well in advance. A good free-range goose for mortensaften is not something you find on the shelf the day before. Ask for it a week ahead. A fresh bird is always better than frozen for this dish, because the skin crisps more reliably.
• •Save every drop of rendered goose fat. Strained and stored in a jar in the fridge, it keeps for three months and transforms roast potatoes, fried eggs, and brunede kartofler into something extraordinary. A single goose can give you enough fat to last through Christmas.
• •The traditional sides are brunede kartofler and rødkål, and they're not optional in the way that sides sometimes are. The sugar-glazed potatoes and the sweet-sour cabbage are built to work with the richness of the goose. Together they make the plate complete.
• •If you can find bynke, the Danish wild mugwort, tuck a few sprigs into the cavity alongside the apples and prunes. It's the old-fashioned flavouring for goose, slightly bitter and aromatic, and it's the taste that anyone who grew up with mortensaften remembers. But the dish is complete without it.

Advance Preparation

• •Season the goose with salt and pepper the night before and leave it uncovered in the fridge. The cold air dries the skin overnight, which helps it crisp during roasting.
• •Make a simple giblet stock the day before: simmer the neck, heart, and gizzard with an onion, a carrot, and a bay leaf for two hours. Strain and refrigerate. This gives you a rich, homemade stock for the gravy that no cube can match.
• •Rødkål improves if made a day or two ahead. Brunede kartofler must be made just before serving, but you can peel and parboil the potatoes in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)