Christmas Goose Wine Pairing

In this year’s Wines Direct Christmas Brochure, top chefs and influencers in the Irish food scene shared their much-loved Christmas dishes with you, paired with some of our favourite festive wines. This week we reveal their delectable recipes. Whether you are the head chef or kitchen porter at home, we hope you find ideas and inspiration for your own Christmas feast.

Clarke’s Marmalade Glazed Whole Irish Free-Range Goose & Goose Fat, Polenta Crusted Maris Piper Roasties

Chef Gary O’ Hanlon put his hand up for Irish Free-Range Goose. It was no surprise to us that Gary raised the bar with an adventurous alternative to the Traditional Christmas Turkey. He has mastered the almighty Goose with this stunning dish and adds extra flair with his goose fat, polenta crusted roasties.

Chef Gary O’Hanlon 📸 Harry Weir

Gary is the Culinary Director at Baxter Storey Ireland and prior to was Head Chef of Viewmount House, Co. Longford from 2008-2018. Gary is the winner of the 2018 Georgina Campbell Hospitality Hero Award for services to Irish Food. He also received awards for the Georgina Campbell ‘Best Restaurant in Ireland’ 2014, Food & Wine Magazine ‘Best Chef Leinster 2016, RAI Best Chef Leinster 2010 & 2017, & ‘Country House of the Year 2017’ Gary has been ever-present on our TV screens since 2008 with appearances on Master Chef Ireland, Four Live, The Today Show, Late Lunch Live, The Six O Clock Show and is resident Chef on ‘The Restaurant’ & regularly featured on RTE’s Healthy Appetite. Gary is also a columnist with The Irish Times and has a weekly Food slot on Newstalk’s Lunchtime Live.

📸 Harry Weir

Pairing Wine with Christmas Goose

Goose is naturally fattier and more flavoursome than turkey, allowing bigger wines to pair. For something really special, uncork Silvano Bolmida’s luxurious and almost sinful Barolo Vigne Dei Fantina. Its bold tannic richness stands up nicely to the rich meal. This is simply an outstanding Barolo. The Nebbiolo grapes for this wine are grown at a high altitude with maceration of up to 50 days. This helps refine the fierce tannins, and produces a fantastic wine which represents, as all great wines do, the identity of the vineyard, the vintage, and the producer, to a high level of perfection.

You may also find a new favourite in pairing Bender Paulessen Riesling with your succulent bird. A Riesling may not have a red’s tannic structure, but their intense minerality and high acidity, have long been a go-to white for hearty winter dishes. Andreas Bender, considered “Maverick of the Mosel” by his fellow winemakers, is known for his dry style of Riesling, traditionally made using natural fermentation. On the palate, this wine is wonderfully lean and fresh with invigorating acidity. Its mouth-watering mix of orchard fruit flavours is a perfect companion to your goose.

Clarke’s Marmalade Glazed Whole Irish Free-Range Goose &
Goose Fat, Polenta Crusted Maris Piper Roasties

Free-range goose is a tasty alternative to turkey at Christmas. The buttery flavour of a free-range bird is from geese enjoying their diet of lush Irish grass.

Gary met Pat Clarke and his wife at the Taste of Donegal and came away from their stall with some lovely jam and marmalade. It is now Clarke’s that Gary uses for his glaze. It adds a lovely flavour to the skin giving it a stunning caramelised finish.

“Maris Piper hands down make the best chips, best baked potatoes and the best roasties. Throw in the flavour from the goose fat, herbs and the texture from the polenta and you’ll never make a roastie any other way again.” Gary O’ Hanlon

Ingredients

1 large Free-Range Irish Goose, wings removed

2 oranges

½ jar of Clarke’s Marmalade

2 litres of water

2 onions

2 carrots

3 stalk of celery

salt & pepper

drizzle of vegetable oil

Method

Pierce goose all over with a fork

Pierce oranges with a fork and place inside the goose

Drizzle the oil over the goose and season with pepper, then sea salt and rub into skin

Place the goose wings, peeled carrot, celery, and peeled onions into the bottom of a deep roasting tray

Set the goose on tray and add water

Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 200C for 20 minutes

Turn the heat down to 180C and cook for a further 1 hour 40 minutes

Remove the foil, turn the heat back up to 200C and cook for 15 minutes (making sure to baste the bird every 5 minutes)

Now remove the goose from the oven

Heat ½ the jar of the marmalade in a small pot or a microwave and brush all over the goose

Place back into oven for 5-10 minutes or until it’s well caramelized

Leave to rest for 20 minutes before carving

Goose Fat, Polenta Crusted Maris Piper Roasties

Ingredients

10 peeled Maris Piper potatoes

4 tablespoons fine polenta

200 ml goose fat

4 sprigs of thyme

3 sprigs of rosemary

salt & pepper

Method

Cover the potatoes with cold water, season well, and boil gently until just cooked through

Strain water, place back in pot and back on heat to remove excess moisture

Give pot a few stiff shakes, not so much as to break the potatoes in half, but enough to ruffle the edges and expose lovely floury bits

Heat oil in a roasting tray

Add potatoes to hot oiled roasting tray and turn in the oil

Season with sea salt

Now coat in polenta, turn, and coat again

Add in herbs

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180C and bake until golden

Turn and repeat

Serve