Remove any fat and skin from underneath the goose on the backbone and put it in a tight-fitting oven tray either on top of or to the side of the legs The fat will render down. Season the legs and cook for 21/2 hours, basting every so often Drain off the fat and use for roasting the potatoes. Put the legs aside ready to heat up 15 minutes before you serve the goose For the goose itself turn the oven up to 200C/gas mark 6. Spoon the stuffing into the cavity of the bird and season the breast, spoon over a little of the fat that the legs have been cooking in and put the bird breast down in a roasting tray. Cook for 45 minutes, draining any excess fat from the tray during cooking (add this to the fat from the legs for your potatoes) then turn the bird back up on to its back and cook for a further 20 minutes.

In a separate tray, roast the potatoes, topping up with goose fat as needed. You can give them a final blast when you’ve taken the goose out of the oven and it’s resting for 15 minutes Put the legs back in the oven to heat up now, too. Then remove the breasts from the bone with a sharp knife and slice thinly across the breasts with the skin down on the board. The leg meat can just be carved off the bone, or cut into chunks. Meanwhile (or even the day before), put the apples into a pan with the sugar and butter, cover with lid and cook gently, stirring every so often for 15-20 minutes until the apples start to disintegrate. You can keep the sauce chunky and natural, or blend it in a food processor. Check the sweetness and add more sugar if necessary, although it shouldn’t be too sweet to accompany goose.

Goose gravy It’s always a good idea to get ahead by having gravy, or at least the basis for it, already made. Beats scrabbling around after the meat’s cooked and leaving it to wait for the liquid in the roasting tin to take on some flavour. Try to keep a good supply of gravy in the freezer for roasts and quick sauces. With goose, or any poultry come to that, you’ll never have enough giblets and neck to flavour your gravy, so bring in reinforcements. I’d strongly recommend getting in some extra chicken wings, necks and bones to make the gravy up a couple days before. This recipe should make enough for Christmas Day, so scale up the quantities accordingly for large batches to store in the freezer.