Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [112]
If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes. Light a grill for direct medium heat, around 375°F.
Impale one end of a bacon strip on a skewer. Thread a duck liver half and a tangerine section onto the skewer. Fold the bacon around the liver and tangerine, securing it with the skewer to hold in place. Add another liver half and another tangerine section, fold the bacon over the top and secure in the same way. Add one more liver half and tangerine section and secure with the bacon. Trim away any floppy unsecured bacon ends. Repeat with the remaining 3 skewers.
Brush the grill grate and rub with oil. Put the skewers on the grill, and cover the grill. Cook until the bacon is cooked through and the livers are grill-marked and firm to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes, turning every 2 to 3 minutes.
WHOLE GOOSE
Grill-Roasted Young Goose Stuffed with Sauerkraut and Apples
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
The tendency of geese toward toughness and fattiness is moderated when the animal is young (less than 10 pounds). Unlike mass-produced poultry, geese are frequently grown on small farms, where farmers actually know the individual animals they raise. So even though geese are harder to come by than ducks, the birds are often of better quality. In this recipe the natural fattiness is countered by an acidic stuffing of cured sauerkraut, which in turn benefits from the infusion of the goose drippings it receives during roasting.
INGREDIENTS:
2½ cups Molasses Beer Brine
1 young goose (about 8 pounds), washed and patted dry and carcass and thigh bones removed (see Know-How, below)
3 strips bacon, coarsely chopped
2 large onions, chopped
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 pound refrigerated sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon molasses
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the brine and goose in a jumbo (2-gallon) zipper-lock bag. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Refrigerate for about 12 hours.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the bottom of the pan is covered with fat and the bacon is still soft. Add the onions and toss in the fat. Cover the pan and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sauerkraut, rosemary, molasses, salt, and pepper. Set aside to cool.
Light a grill for indirect medium-high heat, about 350°F.
Remove the goose from the brine and pat dry. Fill the cavity of the goose with the sauerkraut. Skewer the cavity closed and tie the legs of the goose together with twine. Put on a roasting rack set in a disposable roasting pan.
Put the pan on the grill away from the direct heat. Cover the grill and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the inside of a thigh registers 165°F, about 1¼ hours, basting the goose with drippings every 10 minutes after the first half hour.
Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove the twine and scoop the sauerkraut into a serving bowl. Carve the goose as you would a turkey and serve with the sauerkraut.
KNOW-HOW: REMOVING THE BONES FROM A WHOLE BIRD
Place the bird, backbone up, on a work surface. Make a slit through the skin running straight down the center of the backbone. If you are right-handed, start boning the left side of the goose first. (Left-handed? Start on the right side.) Using short strokes, work your knife just under the skin, separating the meat from the bone all the way down the length of the backbone. As you are cutting, you should feel bone against one side of the knife at all times.
After the meat is disengaged from the backbone, move your knife over the outside of the rib cage. Continue to cut the meat from the rib cage in the same way that you disengaged it from the backbone. Stop when you reach the place where the leg joins the hip at one end of the goose, and where the wing joins the shoulder at the other end. If you pull the limbs up toward the backbone (in the opposite