Roast Goose With Chestnuts Prunes And Armagnac Recipes

Steps:

• Place 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags, add the prunes and honey, turn the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes to plump the prunes.
• Pour the prunes and all the liquid into a medium bowl and stir in the Armagnac, vanilla, orange juice, vanilla bean, and cinnamon sticks. With a vegetable peeler, cut 4 large strips of zest from 1 lemon and add to the mixture. Cut the lemon in half, cut 4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices, and add to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. (If you're not serving the prunes that day, refrigerate them in their liquid.)
• To serve, place the prunes in shallow dessert bowls and serve cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed, spooning the macerating liquid over them. Add a scoop of ice cream, a drizzle of Armagnac, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkling of grated lemon zest. (You'll be surprised how much flavor this adds!) Serve immediately.

Steps:

• If goose is frozen, place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Remove goose from the refrigerator, and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse goose inside and out with cold running water, and pat it dry with paper towels. Trim as much of the excess fat as possible from the opening of the cavity. Remove the first and second joints of the wings, and set them aside for use in making the stock.
• With the point of a sharp knife, prick the entire surface of the goose skin, being careful not to cut into the flesh. Fold the neck flap under the body of the goose, and pin the flap down with a wooden toothpick. Generously sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper, and insert 2 carrot halves, 2 celery-stalk halves, garlic, thyme, and sage. Using a piece of kitchen twine, tie the legs together. Generously sprinkle the outside of the goose with salt and pepper, and place it, breast-side up on a wire rack set in a large roasting pan.
• Roast goose in the oven until it turns a golden brown, about 1 hour. With a baster, remove as much fat as possible from the roasting pan every 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and roast until the goose is very well browned all over and an instant-read thermometer inserted into a breast, not touching a bone, registers 180 degrees, about 1 hour after reducing the temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare goose stock, which will be used when making the gravy and the dressing. Trim and discard any excess fat from the wing tips, neck, and giblets, and place them in a small stockpot. Add 4 carrot halves, 4 celery-stalk halves, both onion halves, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and enough water to cover the bones and vegetables by 1 inch (about 2 1/2 quarts water). Place the stockpot over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer stock, skimming the scum as it forms, for 2 hours. Strain stock through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Remove and discard the fat floating on the surface of the stock, and set the stockpot aside.
• Remove goose from the oven, and transfer it to a cutting board that has a well. Let the goose stand 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the gravy. Pour off all the fat from the roasting pan, and place the pan over high heat. Pour in wine, and cook, stirring up any brown bits with a wooden spoon until the cooking liquid is reduced by three-quarters. Add 2 cups goose stock, and cook, stirring until the liquid is again reduced by three-quarters. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in butter, and cook until slightly thickened. Pass the gravy through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a gravy boat, and serve with the goose.

Steps:

• Combine prunes, stock, 1 1/2 cups wine and 1 cup prune juice in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat. Transfer 12 prunes to small bowl, using slotted spoon.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat goose dry. Pull out fat from cavity. Rub inside and out with cut side of orange. Combine salt and pepper and rub inside and outside goose. Place orange, onion, bay leaves and 12 drained prunes in goose cavity. Tie legs together. Place goose on rack in roasting pan. Pierce all over with small metal skewer or toothpick.
• Roast goose 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and roast 30 minutes longer. Remove fat from roasting pan. Combine remaining 1/4 cup wine and 1/4 cup prune juice and brush some over goose. Continue roasting goose until juices run clear when pierced in thickest part of thigh, basting goose with wine mixture and removing fat from pan occasionally, about 2 hours.
• Transfer goose to platter and tent with foil. Let stand 20 minutes.
• Strain prune poaching liquid, reserving prunes. Degrease roasting juices. Add 1/2 cup poaching liquid to roasting pan and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer to heavy medium saucepan. Add Armagnac, remaining poaching liquid and degreased roasting juices. Boil until flavors are intense, about 15 minutes. Knead butter and flour together. Whisk into sauce in small bits and simmer until thick, about 8 minutes. Add poached prunes and chestnuts and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Carve goose into thin slices. Spoon sauce, chestnuts and prunes over.