Lidl frozen Goose 4.2kg, with giblets, instore (Inverurie)

This is now half price.

Splendid deal on goose from Lidl and there is loads left in my local shop. I cooked this before Christmas for the first time and it was good.

Here is what I learned.

Everyone says there isn't a lot of meat on a goose. There is a huge cavity, but there was a lot of meat on this goose.

A lot of fat came off. However, after what I read on the internet, not as much as I was expecting. Goose fat has a high smoke point so I am currently frying anything that goes into a meat dish with it. It is a bit "goosy" which makes me wonder how they get the goosy ness out of the goose fat you buy and imagining chemical stripping and all sorts.

I made gravy with the giblets in the pressure cooker and frankly, it wasn't worth the faff.

It takes forever to defrost.

Ignore the instructions on the back where it says 3 -4 hours. Minus giblets this is just under 4kg. An hour a KG? I don't think so. I gave it a high heat 15 minute blast, covered it, then 25 minutes a kg, took the foil off, turned it over and gave it another 10minute blast to crisp up the underside. I used a rack and I drained off the fat several times, including emptying the cavity. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Got a lot of neck skin which I cut off first. Also there are pads of fat at the entrance to the cavity which I removed. I rendered them to fry the stuff I served with it.

With all that fat, goose is very forgiving if you overcook it. Also, unlike chicken, it is okay to serve it a bit rare.