Halal-conscious recipe
Halal roast goose
A classic slow-roasted Halal goose stuffed with onions, bay and thyme, with a gravy built on the goose neck and Halal stock, made with apple juice or extra stock instead of cider.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Photo: Kora27 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Halal checks matter here
Goose is a permitted bird but needs Halal slaughter, and the classic gravy is made by boiling down a 500 ml bottle of cider with chicken stock.
Goose is a permissible bird, not a bird of prey, but the meat is only Halal when the bird is slaughtered according to Islamic rules, so buy a Halal goose. The classic roast then has one thing to change: the gravy is made with a bottle of cider.
This version follows Barney Desmazery's classic roast goose for BBC Good Food. The source boils down 500 ml of cider for the gravy; this site does not treat cooked-off alcohol as Halal, so the gravy here uses the same amount of unfermented apple juice or extra stock. Apple juice is our substitution and makes a sweeter gravy. Use a Halal chicken stock or a vegetable stock (see stock cubes).
The goose roasts for two spells of 1 hr 30 under foil, with the fat ladled out between them, then browns uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes and rests for 30.
Halal-critical ingredients
- The goose Goose is a permissible bird, not a bird of prey, but the meat is only Halal when the bird is slaughtered according to Islamic rules. Buy a goose from a Halal butcher or with Halal certification. See Goose.
- Cider The published gravy boils down a 500 ml bottle of cider. Hard cider is an alcoholic drink, and this site does not treat alcohol cooked into a sauce as Halal. Use unfermented apple juice or extra stock, as here. See Cider and Apple juice.
- Chicken stock Chicken stock cubes and pots contain chicken fat or extract that is not shown to be Halal. Use a Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegetable stock labelled vegan or vegetarian. See Stock cubes.
Safe substitutes
- 500 ml bottle of cider → 500 ml unfermented apple juice or extra stock
- Chicken stock of unknown source → Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegetable stock
Allergens
gluten (flour)
Ingredients
Goose
- 4–5 kg oven-ready Halal goose, trussed, with its neck
- 6 small onions, halved
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 bunch thyme
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
Gravy
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 goose neck, chopped into a few pieces
- 2 carrots, cut into small chunks
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small bunch thyme
- 500 ml unfermented apple juice or extra stock (instead of a 500 ml bottle of cider)
- 1 litre Halal chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp plain flour
Method
- Prepare the goose. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Remove the fat from inside the bird and prick the skin all over with a skewer, especially under the wings. Season the inside and stuff it with the halved onions, bay and thyme. Rub the breast and legs with the oil, season generously with salt and sit the goose the right way up in a large roasting tin.
- Roast under foil. Cover tightly with a large piece of foil, scrunching it at the sides, and roast for 1 hr 30 mins. Take it out, remove the foil, ladle all the fat out of the tin into a bowl and lightly baste the goose. Re-cover with foil and roast for another 1 hr 30 mins.
- Brown and rest. Pour off the fat again, baste, and return the goose to the oven without foil for a final 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Transfer it to a board or platter and rest it in a warm place for 30 minutes. Keep the tin for the gravy.
- Make the gravy stock. While the goose roasts, heat the oil in a sauté pan until very hot and fry the neck pieces until browned. Add the carrots and onions and fry for about 10 minutes until brown. Add the herbs, pour in the apple juice or extra stock and boil it down by about two-thirds, skimming off any froth. Pour in the stock, reduce by half, then strain into a jug. This can be made the day before.
- Finish the gravy. Pour all but about 2 tbsp of fat from the roasting tin, keeping the brown juices. Put the tin on the heat, stir in the flour to make a brown paste the texture of wet sand, then slowly stir in the gravy stock until smooth. Season and strain into a gravy jug.
- Serve. Serve the goose on a platter with the onions from the cavity scattered around.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Classic roast goose with cider gravy' by Barney Desmazery (serves 8: a 4 to 5 kg goose pricked all over, stuffed with 6 halved onions, bay and thyme, rubbed with oil and salt; roasted at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 under foil for 1 hr 30, fat ladled out, another 1 hr 30 under foil, then 30 to 40 minutes uncovered; rested 30 minutes; gravy from the browned goose neck, carrots, onions and herbs, 500 ml cider boiled down by about two-thirds, 1 litre chicken stock reduced by half, then thickened with 4 tbsp flour in 2 tbsp of the goose fat in the tin). We specified a Halal goose and a Halal or vegetable stock, and replaced the cider with the same amount of unfermented apple juice or extra stock. Apple juice is our substitution, not the source's, and will make a sweeter gravy. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
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Classic roast goose with cider gravy — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By Barney Desmazery. Serves 8, prep 30 minutes, cook 3 hours 30 minutes: a 4 to 5 kg goose stuffed with onions, bay and thyme, roasted at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 under foil for two spells of 1 hr 30 with the fat ladled out, then 30 to 40 minutes uncovered and rested 30 minutes; gravy from the goose neck, vegetables, 500 ml cider, 1 litre chicken stock and flour. We replaced the cider.
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Goose analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
Why goose is a permissible bird and why the meat still needs Halal slaughter.