Here’s a recipe from New York City-based Michelin-starred chef Kurt Gutenbrunner, a native of Austria where the Christmas goose is the go-to dish.

Serve it with your favorite sides. In Austria, these include red cabbage, baked marzipan-stuffed apples, roasted chestnuts, celery root purée and little bread dumplings served in a napkin.

The one thing you need to do in advance is let the goose dry out in the fridge overnight before roasting. This produces crisp skin. So head to the store and pick up your goose and trimmings.

An average goose serves six (or a fewer number of large portions). But even if you’re just one or two, you’ll be glad for the leftover goose.

RECIPE: CHRISTMAS GOOSE

Ingredients For 6 Servings

For The Sauce

Preparation

1. PAT the goose dry inside and out, using paper towels. Set it in a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered overnight. The next day…

2. REMOVE the goose from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature (about 1 hour). If the bird is still moist, pat it dry inside and out with paper towels.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. In a large roasting pan, scatter the carrots, celery and onions. Generously season the inside the inside of the goose with salt and pepper and stuff it with the apple, orange, quartered onion and thyme.

4. PRICK the skin of the goose all over. Season the outside of the bird with salt and pepper. Truss it and set it directly on top of the vegetables. Add 1/2 inch of hot water to the pan. Transfer the roasting pan to the oven and roast the goose until an instant-read thermometer interred in the thigh reads 165° to 180° and the juices run clear, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

6. MAKE the sauce: In a large casserole, heat the oil until smoking. Add the giblets, neck and wing tips and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the giblets, neck and wing tips to a bowl. Pour off most of the fat in the pot.

7. ADD the onions, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the wine and ice cubes and cook, scraping up the browned bits stuck to the bottom, until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Return the giblets, neck and wing tips to the pot and add enough water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Add the thyme and rosemary and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour.

8. STRAIN the stock into a large bowl, discard the solids. Return the stock to the pot and boil over high heat until it coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes.

9. DISCARD the apple, orange, onion and thyme in the goose’s cavity. Carve the goose and serve with the sauce.

 
THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS GOOSE

While modern American families tend to have a turkey, ham or roast beef for Christmas dinner, goose remains the traditional Christmas meat of choice for many Europeans.

Goose has been a feast bird as far back as ancient Egypt. According to FoodTimeline.org, before modern animal husbandry, geese were at the ideal stage to be eaten twice a year. The first time was when they were young, in the early summer; and the second when they were at their fattest and ripest, toward the end of the year.

Before Christianity took hold, Northern Europeans feasted on goose to give thanks to Odin and Thor for the harvest. By the Middle Ages, geese were the feast food at Michaelmas, which fell on the winter solstice (which occurs on December 21, 22 or 23, depending on the year), to honor the end of the harvest. It was just a short step to Christmas.