Confit D'oie (Preserved Goose)

Yield > 1
Ingredients :
1 x fat goose
1 lrg handful spiced salt made with:
2 lb sea salt, finely crushed.
1 tsp saltpeter
1 lb sugar
4 x cloves
1 x bay leaf
1 sprg thyme, crushed to powder
Melted fat:
1 prt goose fat
1 prt pork fat, clarified and strained
Method :
• "Confit d'oie is easy to prepare. It is an excellent food
that can be stored a long time. This dish is part of French
regional cooking; it is a specialty in Languedoc, Gascony, and
the Bearn."
• Method. Bleed a fat goose, pluck, singe, then completely
cool it.
• Slit the goose down the back, from neck to tail. Draw it
carefully to avoid harming the liver, which can be used in
cooking other dishes.
• Remove the fat that surrounds the gizzard and the
intestines.
• Cut the goose into four pieces: the two breast pieces with
the wings attached and the two legs. Leave the carcass bones
attached to each quarter.
• Rub the pieces of goose inside and out with spiced salt. A
large handful of this salt is enough for 1 goose.
• After rubbing the goose with salt, put the pieces in a
glazed bowl and cover with remaining spiced salt and a
dishcloth. Let marinate in this brine for at least 24 hours.
• Then remove the pieces of goose, shake the salt off
them, and carefully wipe. Plunge the pieces of goose into a
saucepan filled with tepid melted fat - half goose fat from the
bird and half pork fat, both clarified and strained.
• Gradually bring to a slow boil. The fat should boil but not
smoke.
• At the start of the cooking the fat will be cloudy, but as
the goose cooks, it will get clearer. It takes 2 hours to produce
a perfect confit. The goose will be cooked when the fat is clear;
if it has been cooked very slowly, a needle should penetrate
the meat easily.
• Drain the pieces of goose and remove any loose bones
from the carcass or the legs.
• Using a glazed earthenware pot, pour in a layer of the
cooking fat.
• Let is harden; then place the goose meat on top, without
letting it touch the sides of the pot, in a single layer. Cover
with another layer of half-congealed fat. Repeat until all the
goose meat is covered.
• Two days later pour a new layer of hot fat into the pot to
fill any empty spaces. The following day pour on the surface a
last layer of pure pork fat, well cooked, which, in turn, will
harden. Cut a piece of wax paper the size of the pot and place
it on top of the fat.
• Cover the pot and keep the confit d'oie in a dry, cool
place or refrigerate.
• Each time you want to use a piece of confit, first remove
the pork fat, then the cooking fat. After you remove a piece of
goose, first replace the goose fat, then the pork fat. This way,
the confit can be kept for a whole season.