Colonial Goose

Speaking of goose, I thought I would post my favourite recipe at it's Christmas.

This is goose with a twist !

The dish hails from New Zealand and probably originated because goose was hard to come by for the early settlers.

As New Zealand lamb was plentiful, a traditional Christmas Dinner of Roast Goose would therefore quite often be substituted with this.

I first made this dish about ten years ago, except of course I substituted New Zealand lamb with best leg of Welsh lamb, (my favourite).
The Welsh Lamb gives this recipe a very rich and intense flavour and is ideal for Christmas time. The leg of lamb is stuffed with apricot and honey stuffing and the flavour of the meat itself is enchanced by marinading. I spend all day prepping up and invite my oldest and closest friends to join me at 4.00 pm for an early dinner. As I have an extremely juvenile sense of humour, I tell them all that we are having goose. Of course, they know the truth by now. The wine flows along with the conversation and laughter and it's not unusual for 'Dinner' to finish at around 2.00 am the following day. Bendigedig !

The leg needs to be boned . Any good butcher will do this for you if you order the meat in advance.

If you want to do this yourself, use a really sharp knife and keep the blade close to the bone.
For the marinade, a polythene bag is an ideal way of keeping the wine and vegetables close to the meat so that the flavour penetrates all the way through.

Ingredients :

Four and half pounds of Welsh Lamb

Stuffing :

1oz butter
1 tbsp. clear honey
2 oz onion skinned and quartered
4 oz fresh white breadcrumbs
1/4 level tsp. dried thyme
1 egg beaten
1/4 level tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper

Marinade :

1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
6 oz onion, skinned and sliced
1 bay leaf
3 parsley stalks (crushed)
1/4 pint red wine

Dish serves 6 - 8

To bone :

Place the leg of lamb on a wooden board, Using a small sharp knife, work the meat away from the bone, from the top of the leg down to the first joint. Then cut along the line of the bone from the opposite end of the leg, just about enough to release the bone. Work the flesh away from the bone being careful not to the puncture the skin anywhere else. Sever the bone from all the flesh and ligament. Lift out the bone, working from the top of the leg.

Put the butter and honey in a small pan and melt over a low heat. Grate the onion and add to the breadcrumbs in a basin with the melted butter, honey, thyme and egg.

Snip the apricots with scissors into the basin and season well. Bind all the stuffing ingredients together. Wipe the lamb with a clean damp cloth, trim off the excess fat from the top of the leg and spoon the stuffing into the cavity from which the bone was removed.

Force the stuffing well down into the leg with the back of a spoon, Sew up with trussing needle and fine string. (Don't do this too tightly, or the skin may split while the meat is roasting).

Lift the meat into a poly bag and place inside a deep meat tray. Add the marinade ingredients and leave in a cool place for about 6 hours, turning the meat occasionally its juices. Remove from the marinade and weigh the stuffed joint. Roast at 350 degrees F (mark 4) for 25 minutes per pound.

If the meat should start to over-brown, cover it with foil. Remove the string and place the joint on a serving dish. Keep hot.

Pour off the fat from the roasting tin and stir in a little flour with remaining juices. Cook for a few minutes and add 2 - 3 tablespoons of the strained marinade and a little water. Adjust seasoning and bring to the boil. Stir and simmer for a further five minutes. Serve the gravy separately.

This dish goes well with creamed or roasted potatoes and spring greens or cabbage as well as buttered carrots.
It's also nice served cold with a crisp salad as a Boxing Day left-over.

Wine : A Californian Zinfandel compliments this dish well.

Invite your friends and family over and enjoy it !