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Hóng Kitchen

Cantonese Roast Goose

Chinese · Hard · Serves 6–8

Cantonese Roast Goose
Cantonese Roast Goose
The siu mei shop's window centrepiece and the Cantonese roaster's highest seat: a whole goose, skin scalded tight, painted with the maltose glaze, dried overnight to the parchment shell, and roasted to the lacquered mahogany crackle over the five-spice-scented cavity. The duck's same doctrine at the goose's grander scale — and the home oven's own realistic path to the siu mei window's shine.

Quantities live in the recipe card.

The goose

The five-spice cavity salt

  • the cavity's aromatics

The glaze and the finish

  • the scalding and glazing liquor
- The scald and the tight skin: the goose poured over, kettle by kettle, with the just-boiled glazing liquor (maltose, vinegar and water) — the skin contracting to a drum-tight, slightly tacky finish. This scald is the crackle's own foundation: the skin's proteins set, and the overnight dry does the rest. - The overnight dry: the scalded goose uncovered on a rack in the fridge, 12–24 hours, to the dry, parchment-stiff skin. The wet skin steams and the dry skin crackles — the siu mei doctrine's one law, and the step no oven can rescue if skipped.
Step 1. The cavity's season and the seal — 10 minutes. The cavity rubbed with the five-spice salt, the ginger, spring onion and star anise tucked in, and the cavity closed with a skewer or the trussing needle's stitch — the sealed cavity steams the bird's inside while the skin roasts, and the open cavity the dry breast's own cause. Checkpoint — the goose's skin is dry and uniformly tacky to the touch, nowhere damp — a damp patch (usually the wing root's fold) blotted and air-dried another hour before the oven.
Step 2. The roast — 30 minutes at 200 °C, then 60 minutes at 160 °C, breast down to start. The goose on its rack over the drip tray, roasted 30 minutes at 200 °C to the skin's first tightening and colour, then the heat dropped to 160 °C and the goose turned breast-up for the remaining hour — the fat's steady rendering into the tray below (a half-cup ladled off at the turn if it climbs). Checkpoint — the goose is done when the thickest thigh reads 74 °C, the skin is a deep lacquered mahogany, and the drumstick's knuckle runs clear at the pierce — 15 minutes' rest, and the crackle's first test: the skin's audibly crisp push at the carving's first stroke. Chef’s Note — the goose carries more fat under its skin than any bird the home oven meets, and the drip tray is not optional equipment — it is the roast's own safety valve. The rendered goose fat is the roast's dividend, not its waste: strained and jarred, it keeps a month and is the roast potato's own finest cooking medium. The restaurant's birds hang in the vented oven's dry cyclone; the home oven's fan setting at the low leg of the roast is the closest imitation — and the overnight fridge dry, done properly, closes most of the remaining gap.
Cantonese Roast Goose

Cantonese Roast Goose

Prep: 1 hour, plus overnight drying · Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes · Total: About 12 hours (mostly unattended) · Serves 6–8

Ingredients

The goose

  • 1 whole goose, 4–4.5 kg, giblets removed, wing tips trimmed
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) salt, for the cavity's cure

The five-spice cavity salt

  • 2 tbsp (15 g) five-spice powder, 1 tbsp (15 g) salt, 1 tbsp (15 g) sugar
  • 6 slices ginger, 2 spring onions, 1 star anise — the cavity's aromatics

The glaze and the finish

  • 3 tbsp (45 g) maltose syrup (or honey), 3 tbsp (45 ml) hot water, 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar — the scalding and glazing liquor
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) dark soy, whisked into the final glaze coat

Instructions

  1. The cavity's season and the seal — 10 minutes. The cavity rubbed with the five-spice salt, the ginger, spring onion and star anise tucked in, and the cavity closed with a skewer or the trussing needle's stitch — the sealed cavity steams the bird's inside while the skin roasts, and the open cavity the dry breast's own cause. Checkpoint — the goose's skin is dry and uniformly tacky to the touch, nowhere damp — a damp patch (usually the wing root's fold) blotted and air-dried another hour before the oven.
  2. The roast — 30 minutes at 200 °C, then 60 minutes at 160 °C, breast down to start. The goose on its rack over the drip tray, roasted 30 minutes at 200 °C to the skin's first tightening and colour, then the heat dropped to 160 °C and the goose turned breast-up for the remaining hour — the fat's steady rendering into the tray below (a half-cup ladled off at the turn if it climbs). Checkpoint — the goose is done when the thickest thigh reads 74 °C, the skin is a deep lacquered mahogany, and the drumstick's knuckle runs clear at the pierce — 15 minutes' rest, and the crackle's first test: the skin's audibly crisp push at the carving's first stroke.

Troubleshooting

SymptomCauseFix
Skin rubbery, no crackleThe overnight dry skipped, or the scald skippedThe full 12–24 hours' fridge dry — the one step without a shortcut
Breast dry before the thighs finishThe roast ran hot and fastThe two-stage roast: 200 °C to colour, then 160 °C to finish
Smoke filling the kitchenThe drip tray overfilledLadle the fat off at the turn; the tray needs 1 cm of clearance

Storage, Make-Ahead & Variations

- The carved goose serves the day it roasts — the crackle's argument is same-day. The carved meat reheats gently under foil at 150 °C for 12 minutes; the skin's crackle does not return. The strained goose fat keeps 1 month refrigerated. - The same doctrine roasts the duck at the smaller scale (the 2 kg bird's timings: 20 minutes at 200 °C, 40 at 160 °C) — the siu mei shop's two windows, one architecture. The leftover carcass is the congee pot's and the noodle soup's own finest stock.