Roast Goose with gravy is a lovely alternative to the normal roast turkey and chicken. It has a succulent flesh that carries string flavours such a s Port Gravy. This is excellent for holiday get togethers like Christmas, Easter and Thanks Giving. The juices make a superb base for a gravy which is hard to beat. I have cooked a goose as a main dish with a baked ham for a range of flavours.
A roast goose doesn’t make an appearance often—saved for special occasions, cosy winter gatherings, and those long Sunday meals where the table seems to fill itself with stories as quickly as it does plates, but when it does, boy it’s amazing. When you do bring a goose home, it deserves to be the star of the show, and nothing complements it more beautifully than a rich, deeply flavoured gravy made from its own juices.
Preparing a roast goose feels like taking part in a long-held culinary tradition. The bird itself, with its generous layer of fat and dark, flavourful meat, already promises a feast before it even meets the heat of the oven. But what really makes the experience enjoyable is how the simplest touches—salt, pepper, fresh vegetables, and patience—transform it into something spectacular.
Before the goose goes into the oven, it’s always worth taking a moment to get the preparation just right. Drying the skin thoroughly gives it that gorgeous golden crispness later, and piercing the skin with a skewer helps the fat render out evenly. Goose does produce a surprising amount of fat, but don’t let that alarm you. It’s culinary gold—perfect for roast potatoes, sautéed greens, or even saved for another day when you fancy a treat. Anything cooked in goose fat tastes a little more indulgent.
The aromatic vegetables you tuck inside the cavity—onions and celery—do more than flavour the meat from within. They gently steam as the bird cooks, keeping the inside tender while subtly infusing the flesh with sweetness. Loosely tying the legs helps the goose keep its shape, though nothing needs to be perfect or overly fussy. This is home cooking, after all, where charm often comes from the rustic nature of the dish.
Around the bird, in the roasting tin, you scatter more onions and big, hearty chunks of carrot. They soften, take on colour, and absorb some of that glorious roast goose fat as the hours tick by. Later, once the bird is done, these vegetables will have given up every bit of their flavour to the tin. They’ve served their purpose, and what remains beneath them forms the backbone of your gravy.
The oven starts hot—very hot—to wake up that skin and begin crisping it. But after the first half-hour, lowering the heat allows the goose to roast gently. This combination ensures the skin turns beautifully golden and the meat cooks steadily without drying out. Basting becomes its own little ritual: opening the oven, spoon in hand, letting the heat envelope your face for just a moment as you gather up the juices and drizzle them back over the goose. Each baste helps the skin crisp and keeps the flavour moving.
Once the goose is cooked and resting—wrapped loosely in foil, giving its juices time to settle—you get to create the real magic: the gravy. By this point, the roasting tin is full of deeply browned bits, meaty drippings, and juices that carry every note of the vegetables and seasoning. After spooning off the excess fat (save it!), what remains is the essence of the roast.
Turning those pan juices into gravy feels wonderfully satisfying. No packet, no shortcut—just honest cooking guided by smell, colour, and taste. Add a splash of boiling water or stock, scrape up every last caramelised piece from the bottom, and let it simmer into something glossy and rich. Some cooks swear by adding port, others keep it simple, but what matters is that it suits the roast goose. A well-made gravy doesn’t overpower; it somehow ties everything together.
Serving roast goose with a gravy made from its own roasting juices feels like completing a circle. The crisp skin, the tender meat, the comforting warmth of the gravy—all of it speaks to slow, thoughtful cooking and the pleasure that comes from sharing a truly special meal.
Roast goose doesn’t just feed a gathering; it creates a moment. And with that irresistible gravy poured generously over each plate, it becomes the kind of dish people remember long after the table has been cleared.
Roast Goose with Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220 C / Gas mark 7
- Rinse the goose inside and out and dry with paper towel.1 large goose
- Using a thin knife or skewer, pierce the goose skin over the entire body and season with salt and pepper.salt, ground black pepper
- Cut the onion into quarters and all the celery, and put inside the cavity of the goose. Using cooking string, loosely tie the legs together.3 large onions, 2 stalks celery
- Place the goose into a high sided roasting tin breast side up.
- Cut the other onions and carrots into large chunks and place into the roasting pan with any giblets that may have come with the goose.2 large carrots
- Place the roasting tin on the middle shelf of the oven for the first 30 minutes.
- Boil the kettle.
- After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 160 C / Gas mark 3.
- Continue roasting goose basting with the juices every 15 – 20 minutes. Skim off the fat each time.
- Cook for a further 2 to 2 1/2 hours. A simple test is to pierce the thick part of the goose with a fork an if the juices run clear, its perfectly cooked.
- When cooked, transfer to a heated plate to relax. Keep the roast goose warm and covered with aluminium foil until ready to carve.
- Discard the vegetables, neck pieces and giblets from roasting tin. Spoon off fat from pan juices and reserve. Use whats left for a succulent gravy. Check out our Goose Port Gravy.
43 comments
Such a perfect pairing. Compliment without insults.
Wonderful festive dish, very impressive.
Crispy, juicy, and the aroma was irresistible.
Simple, traditional, and full of flavour.
I felt the cooking time was a bit long, but worth it.
A real showstopper for the holiday table!
A little labour-intensive, but worth the effort.
Not bad, but I prefer a richer herb seasoning.
Crispy skin, tender meat—this is a proper Sunday feast.
I struggled with the high oven temperature at first.
The vegetables were delicious, though I skipped the giblets.
Juicy and tender, exactly what I hoped for.
Beautifully roasted, but took longer than expected to cook.
The dish was good, but I would add more herbs next time.
The gravy had incredible depth—worth every step.
Not quite my favourite, but still tasty.
Not the easiest to carve, but the taste made up for it.
Too much fat for my liking, but the taste was worth it.
Absolutely loved it—will make again for Christmas.
My family couldn’t stop raving about this roast goose.
The preparation instructions were clear, made it easy to follow.
Really enjoyed the simplicity of this traditional recipe.
I didn’t enjoy the texture of the skin—it was a little chewy.
The meat was a bit dry in places, but the gravy saved it.
Loved the crispy skin, hated the leftover fat cleanup.
The goose was tender, and the gravy was the highlight.
The roast was good, but I found it a little too fatty for my taste.
The flavour was amazing, though I struggled with tying the legs.
Crispy outside, juicy inside; a classic roast.
I loved the flavours, though the gravy was slightly salty.
Gravy was perfect, but the goose needed a bit more seasoning.
Absolutely gorgeous goose and the gravy was divine!
Could be slightly less fatty, but very enjoyable.
Perfectly cooked goose, and the pan gravy was heavenly.
Overall, a classic roast that delivers on flavour.
The aroma while roasting was incredible.
Excellent flavour and the texture of the meat was perfect.
The pan juices turned into the best gravy I’ve ever had.
Too much salt in the seasoning for my taste.
I thought the vegetables added a lovely sweetness to the gravy.
The roast vegetables in the tin gave the gravy amazing depth.
My guests were blown away by the taste.
A true centrepiece, everyone was impressed.