Christmas goose with apple stuffing

Ingredients for 10 people
1 goose, 4.5-5 kg
3-4 tart cooking apples (e.g. Boskoop)
100 g sultanas
100 g diced bacon
750 ml clear chicken stock
2 onions
2 carrots
1 piece celeriac
˝ leek
4 cloves garlic
3 sprigs rosemary
A few sprigs of marjoram and lovage
Salt and pepper

Preparation
Rub the goose inside and out with salt and pepper. Peel and core the apples and chop coarsely. Fry the bacon in a skillet until crispy and add to the apples. Spoon into the goose together with the sultanas and marjoram, close the cavity and sew with trussing string.

Dice the carrots and celeriac, slice the leek into rings and cut the onions into quarters. Place the goose breast down in a roasting tin and arrange the prepared vegetables, the unpeeled garlic cloves and the herbs around it. Pour in the chicken stock until it comes one third of the way up the tin and roast in the oven at 200 °C (400 °F) for approx. 3˝ hours, turning the goose halfway through the cooking time. Make sure there is always enough liquid in the roasting tin and add more stock if necessary. 30 minutes before the end, brush the goose with salt water to give it a lovely crisp, brown skin.

Remove the goose from the roasting tin and pass the vegetables through a sieve. Add the vegetables and possibly a little sauce thickener to the juices in the tin, bring to the boil and adjust the seasoning. Remove the stuffing from the goose and serve separately. Dumplings and red cabbage or kale are ideal accompaniments.

Enjoy your meal.