How To Roast A Christmas Goose On The Barbecue

Enjoy crisp, succulent goose cooked on the BBQ for Christmas dinner

A barbecue is the ideal piece of equipment for cooking the Christmas goose as all the fat can be collected in drip pans in the bottom of the BBQ. Just remember to keep emptying them as geese do give off a lot of fat, which is liable to set alight if you let the drip pans become too full. Reserve the fat for cooking your roast potatoes.

Bring the goose up to room temperature and take out any pads of fat from the cavity; prick the skin taking care not to cut into the flesh. You can keep the fat for cooking your roast potatoes. Cut off the wing tips and reserve to make the gravy.

Season the outside with either your favourite BBQ rub or just sea salt and ground black pepper. Stuff the cavity with stuffing or just rub with salt and pepper. If you have stuffed the bird or are cooking it on the rotisserie truss it well using string.

Heat the BBQ to 190C (374F) and set it up for indirect cooking. Place 2 Weber Drip Pans (one inside the other) in the area between the heat sources; between the char baskets or on top of the un-lit gas bars. Place the goose directly over the drip pans; either straight onto the grill or on the Weber Rotisserie accessory.

Baste every 30 minutes with the juices out of the drip pan.

Cook until the temperature of the bird reaches 82C (180F); check using the Weber Instant Read temperature probe, check in several places especially the thickest parts.

Let the bird rest for 30 minutes before carving; just cover with a double layer of tin foil to keep in the heat.

Gravy (courtesy of Weber)

• giblets
• wing tips
• 2tbsp rapeseed oil
• 1 carrot, 1 leek, 2 sticks celery and 2 eating apples; all washed, trimmed and diced into small pieces
• 250ml (8.8fl oz) white wine
• 500ml (17.5fl oz) chicken stock
• 150ml (5fl oz) apple juice
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

1. Into a heavy pan place the rapeseed oil, giblets and wing tips. Brown.
2. Add the vegetables and cook gently until soft.
3. Add the white wine, bring to the boil and reduce by half.
4. Add the chicken stock and apple juice, bring to the boil and reduce by half.
5. Strain through a sieve and season with the salt and pepper.

Spiced cranberry and apple stuffing (courtesy of Delia Smith)

• 250g (9oz) cranberries
• 700g (1½lb) Bramley apples; cored and diced into 1cm (½”) chunks
• 50g (2oz) caster sugar
• 1 large onion; peeled and diced
• 1/8 level teasp groung cloves or 8 whole cloves, crushed
• ¼ level teasp ground mace
• 2tbsp port
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stuff into the goose cavity. 

For more information, hints and tips on cooking the Christmas dinner on the barbecue just go to our Youtube channel where you will find numerous recipes, and not just for Christmas.