Roast Goose with Fruit Stuffing

Description
Goose Frozen Whole by the US Department of Agriculture, public domain government resource—original source of recipe
 * Serves: 8

Ingredients

 * 1 thawed raw goose, 12-14 pounds
 * ⅓ cup butter
 * ¾ cup chopped celery
 * ¾ cup chopped onion
 * 8 cups day-old bread cubes
 * 3 cups chopped un-pared apples
 * 1 cup raisins
 * 1½ teaspoon salt
 * ¾ teaspoon black pepper
 * ¾ teaspoon thyme or sage

Directions

 * 1) Preheat oven to 400°F.
 * 2) In a large pan, cook celery and onion in butter until tender, stirring occasionally.
 * 3) Remove from heat and add bread cubes, apples, raisins, and seasonings. Set aside.
 * 4) Remove neck and giblets from goose.* Remove excess fat from body cavity and neck skin and discard. Pat goose dry with paper towels. Wings may be removed at second joint and cooked later* or leave wings attached and bend them to the back.
 * 5) Fill neck and body cavities with prepared fruit stuffing mixture.
 * 6) Fold neck skin to back and turn under, covering opening (can fasten with skewers or toothpicks if you have them). Tie legs together or tuck in band of skin at tail, if present.
 * 7) Place goose, breast-side up, on rack in large pan. Insert meat thermometer deep into thigh muscle, not touching bone.
 * 8) Roast, uncovered, for 1 hour at 400°F.
 * 9) Reduce temperature to 325°F and continue roasting for 2 to 2½ hours until meat thermometer reaches 180°F.
 * 10) During roasting, spoon off and discard accumulated fat at 30-minute intervals.
 * 11) When roasting is complete, remove goose to a platter and allow to stand 20 minutes for easier carving.