Roasted Goose with Caramelized Apples - meat

Roast goose with apples, a specialty of Alsace, has become a classic Hanukkah dish in Paris. This recipe comes from Didier Lewkowicz, a butcher in the old Jewish quarter of Paris. Serve a French red Bordeaux with the goose.

1 13 pound goose -- giblets and neck
discarded
3 garlic cloves -- thinly sliced
8 Gala or Golden Delicious apples -- peeled, each cut
into 6 wedges
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Calvados
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350�F. Rinse goose inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Using knife, cut small slits all over goose; place garlic slices into slits. Place goose on rack, breast side down, in large roasting pan.

Roast goose 2 hours 45 minutes, basting occasionally with drippings and removing excess fat; reserve 6 tablespoons fat. Turn goose over. Roast until brown and thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175 F, basting occasionally with drippings, about 45 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, toss apples and lemon juice in large bowl. Pour 6 tablespoons goose fat into 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Using slotted spoon, transfer apples to baking dish; toss apples in goose fat. Add sugar, Calvados and cinnamon to apples; toss. Bake apples alongside goose until very tender and golden, about 1 hour.

Serve goose with caramelized apples.

Serves 8.

Bon Appetit December 1997