How to cook a goose or duck for the New Year's table so that they are not hard and dry: secrets from the cook

Duck or goose can be a great main dish on the New Year's table. But only if they were cooked according to the right recipe. Otherwise, the dish may be spoiled due to too hard and dry meat.

On Instagram, food expert Svitlana Levytska shared many secrets of cooking goose and duck. Following them, the bird's meat will never be dry, let alone hard. So you can safely cook this dish for the New Year.

Soaking the bird

If you have your own favorite marinade in which you are going to marinate the bird before cooking, soak it in water and salt in a 1:4 ratio for at least 10 hours. Then marinate it and leave it for another 10 hours.

If you are cooking without marinade, add bay leaf, black and allspice peppers, 10-15 pieces each, to the water where the bird will be soaked. Boil the marinade, cool it completely, and leave the bird to marinate for 10 hours, preferably overnight. After soaking, dry the meat thoroughly.

Stuffing for the bird

You can use any kind of stuffing for duck or goose. But orange fillets and zest, as well as quince and sour apples, are best.

Before baking, you can rub it with dry garlic if there is no marinade. And put it in the baking sleeve:

• Strips of zest
• A few pieces of ginger
• A star of anise
• Cloves – 2 pieces
• A few sprigs of thyme or rosemary
• A generous handful of coriander

Roasting the bird

Poultry should be baked in the sleeve for 2.5-3 hours. The goose or duck should be baked at 200 degrees for the first 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160 degrees.

Further steps

After cooking, take the goose or duck out of the bag or open the sleeve, grease it with your own fat, which has run out enough, and put it in a 230-degree oven to turn golden for about 10-15 minutes.