RIVER ROAST WILD GOOSE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Rinse goose, drain and pat dry with paper towels, inside and out. Sprinkle cavity and all surfaces with salt and pepper. With a sharp knife, cut a quarter inch deep X in the root end of each onion. Fill goose body with onions and the fresh or dried sage. Close the cavity and tie legs together with butchers cord. Place in roasting pan on rack, breast-side-up. Cover with bacon slices and roast for about 2 hours. Remove bacon strips and dust goose with half of the flour. Continue roasting until crisp and done, about 30 minutes more. Transfer to heated platter and keep warm. Skim fat from pan juices and add remaining flour to juices, stirring over medium heat until smooth and thickened. Add stock slowly, stirring. Bring to boil and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on side as sauce. Serve with hot applesauce and baby Brussels sprouts. Fun Fact: In 1861, George Armstrong Custer graduated from West Point at the bottom of his class. However, during the Civil War (1861-1865), his skills at war propelled him to the temporary rank of brigadier general. After the war, Custer was required to revert to his previous rank of captain in the small regular army, but was always respectfully referred to as "General Custer." In 1866 he was appointed lieutenant colonel of the newly authorized 7th Cavalry. Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated Custer on June 25, 1876, at the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana, which resulted in his death and a total loss of his troops. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, near Hardin, Montana, is the site of the battle, commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand. He remains the youngest general in U.S. history.