How to Roast a Goose: Temperatures for A Christmas Classic

A roast goose for Christmas is about as nostalgic as it gets. Even if you never had goose as a child, you’d probably agree that there’s something homey, comforting, familiar about the idea. 1 No, goose is not exceedingly popular in the States, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. With proper temperature tools and thermal knowledge, even your first goose should turn out great! So grab a goose and let’s get cooking.

Get your temperature and time tools here:

What is goose even like? How does it taste?

Goose is an evolutionarily migratory bird, so it’s designed for long, sustained flights. And what does that mean for what the meat is like? That’s right—it’s dark meat! Goose is all dark meat, which is part of why it’s such a rich and deeply flavorful bird. In fact, as we were eating our goose here at the office, we made the analogy that goose is like the lamb of the skies. In the same way that lamb is warmer, richer, more interesting than beef, goose is deeper, richer, warmer than chicken or turkey. (No, the analogy is not perfect, especially since most goose that you can buy is farmed and from breeds that don’t really fly all that much. But they could ….) One taster noted the “steaky” flavor of the meat.

And should that come as any surprise? Geese are in the same biological family as ducks (Anatidae) and we love searing duck breast for when we want a break from steak. It’s very similar to duck, but bigger. And like duck, the hunted version will be gamier and likely swampier-tasting than the farmed version. If you don’t love that, pick up a frozen bird at a good grocer (they usually have them this time of year) or order direct from the grower online.

Cooking your goose—key points

On goose fat and crisper skin

Because geese are waterfowl, they have loads of fat on them. Much of it is subcutaneous (below the skin), but there are also large fat deposits that are just sort of … there. Goose fat is delicious, so remove any excess fat deposits from the bird’s cavity, along with any excess skin, and render them down. Save and use the rendered fat for other things later (we’re looking at you, roasted potatoes).

Taking out the fat deposits will help you harvest a good portion of the goose’s fat, but not as much as you want, and it doesn’t do anything for making the skin you leave on the bird crispy. To harvest more fat and to make the skin more palatable, you need to prick the skin all over to allow the fat to render and drain out. We used a large needle with a slightly curved, flattened tip (called a “sail needle”—they should be readily available at your local craft or sewing store), which was excellent for piercing the skin deeply without piercing the flesh. Try to put holes everywhere on the goose where the skin seems plump and fatty (the wings don’t really need it). Take your time and really go for it—this process is important.

On oven temps and doneness temps

You could track the temperature of your goose breasts separately from the legs and take them off the carcass when they get to a nice medium-rare, then continue cooking the legs until they reach a supple 175°F (79°C), then arrange the pieces together on a platter, as we have done with whole duck. But the preparation we’re going for today is more traditional. And that means cooking the whole bird together until it’s done. We used RFX MEAT in conjunction with RFX GATEWAY to track the temp of the bird in the oven, and set our high-temp alarm for 165°F (74°C). When the high-temp alarm sounds, verify the temperature with your Thermapen ONE. The accuracy and reliability of both thermometers will help you get the exact temperature you want.

You could, conceivably, apply many of our turkey techniques to goose to get lower breast temperatures while still cooking the legs higher—icing the breast, using a hot stone under the pan, etc. But because the meat is dark meat anyhow, and bred for flying, it has connective protein stores within it that will help keep the meat tender and moist, even at these higher temperatures. If you cook a couple geese this year, maybe try a few things, but this method is a great way to try goose and see if it’s your thing.

Oven temp for roast goose

We want an oven temp that will be hot enough to render the skin, but still low enough that we we have fairly even temperature gradients. So we’ll go with 325°F (163°C) throughout the cook. We loved the texture of the skin that we got from this; the fat was very well rendered. (Add the oven-rendered fat to the other fat you collected earlier.)

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We love a good prime rib, a perfectly cooked tenderloin. But sometimes, it’s time to try something different for the holiday, something still traditional, even if you’ve never had it before. Roast goose is delicious! Get your RFX Starter Kit, and try it out this winter. Maybe this old tradition will become your new one! Happy cooking!

(Oh! It’s worth mentioning that roast goose pairs exceedingly well with German-style sweet and sour red cabbage. For a great version, try out this recipe for Rotkohl from Chef Billy Parisi to go along with your roast. Delish!)