Polish Roasted Goose Legs {Gęsie Nogi}
When I was a young child, 6 years old and up, my grandma would take my brother and I to visit her family in central Poland, Łódź area, where she was from. We’d spend the summer “helping” around the farm. We worked on scarring chickens, ducks and geese, catching flies, climbing cherry trees, hiding in the hay and other important jobs. I got chased by a family goose a few times in my life. They’re vengeful creatures, and equally delicious. 😉
Polish geese are famous in Europe for their delicate meat. They are relatively easy to find, most large grocery stores will have a stock in the freezer section. I’m roasting goose legs “gęsie nogi” [gew-shye no-ghee] only, as I think the leg meat is the most delicious. Goose meat is super fatty. Long roasting allows the fat to soak into the tough meat, making it super tender, moist and full of flavor.
Polish Roasted Goose Legs {Gęsie Nogi}
Ingredients
- Goose legs
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh thyme or marjoram
- About 1/2 of an apple and 1/2 of a pear per leg
Instructions
Wash and dry goose legs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and herbs. Place in the fridge overnight.
Preheat oven to 300℉/150℃.
Wash apples and pears. Cut them into quarters, remove seeds. Place fruit on the bottom of a roasting pan and then goose legs on top of the fruit.
Roast for 2.5 hours, basting occasionally.
Serve with potato dumplings “kopytka” or “kluski śląskie”and a side of fresh and crunchy Polish salad. I chose leek salad, but cold beet salad or a carrot salad would also work great.
Save leftover goose fat for frying, it’s delicious. Strain out apples and pears, and store fat in a jar in the fridge.
This is a nice and easy Sunday dinner option. Doesn’t require a lot of work, but it surely delivers.
Smacznego!
Anna
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Hi Anna,
I went to the big Polish supermarket here in Amsterdam yesterday and I asked if they had frozen geese legs. No luck 🙁
I really wanted to try this recipe, sounds absolutely delicious.
Oh well, I did pick up some nice kielbasa and sour augurken, and also some very nice-looking red cabbage sauerkraut.
I love shopping at this place, they have wonderful selection, but it drives me crazy as nearly all the labels are only in Polish 🙂
Hello Anna,
We made your recipe for goose legs and it was truly delicious. I will be making this again and again whenever I can get my hands on goose legs! Thank you very much!